Hatfield Art Exhibit is on display at UCA

CONWAY — The University of Central Arkansas College of Fine Arts and Communication and Division of Outreach and Community Engagement are hosting the Gene Hatfield: A Lifetime of Distinction, Achievement and Emeritus art exhibit at UCA Downtown, 1105 Oak St., through Aug. 25.

UCA Downtown is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Hatfield, a Conway native, a UCA alumnus and a UCA Department of Art professor emeritus, created a collection of multimedia collages, paintings and sculptures. This exhibit features a representation of his evolving painting style, subjects and media, as well as two metal sculptures.

Much of Hatfield’s work made a statement about his feelings toward the wastefulness of contemporary society. Several of his pieces are registered with the Smithsonian Institution’s Save Outdoor Sculpture program, continually adding value to the art community.

Hatfield died Feb. 18, 2017. It is estimated he created more than 2,000 pieces of art, much of which was temporary by nature.

Hatfield’s art is represented in public and private collections in France, England, Little Rock, Conway, New York City and Washington, D.C. He donated a large body of his own work and works by other artists to the University of Central Arkansas Foundation in Conway.

Hatfield was born Nov. 23, 1925, in Conway. Growing up during the Depression, he had to learn to be frugal and learned to see beauty in clutter from his grandmother, whose yard was known as a “treasure chest of junk.”

In November 1943, at age 18, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Hatfield was injured on April 22, 1945, while fighting in Germany. The muscles under his left eye were severed when he was struck by shrapnel from an anti-tank grenade. Already a professed artist, he was afraid he would lose his sight, but an army surgeon in England saved Hatfield’s vision and his life.

Hatfield was honorably discharged from the Army, having received a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star and a Medal of Meritorious Service. He earned a Bachelor of

Science in Education degree from Arkansas State Teachers College (now the University of Central Arkansas) in 1947. In 1948, he earned a Master of Arts in Education degree from Colorado State College (now the University of Northern Colorado) in Greeley. He then returned to Conway to teach at what is now UCA.

In October 1956, Hatfield met Nicole Wable, a native of Montreuil-sur-mer, France, while she was visiting friends at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. They were married Aug. 17, 1957, in Nicole’s hometown. After their wedding, the couple

lived in Conway, where Nicole became a professor of foreign language at UCA. They had three children: Hadrian, Marc and Mathilda.

Spanning both the art and theater departments, Hatfield taught drawing, painting, sculpture, crafts, design, art history, art appreciation and stagecraft until he retired in 1985. He was named professor emeritus by UCA in 1995.

He received the Arkansas Arts Council 2010 Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement and, in 2013, was featured by AETN in its documentary series