Students from Olivet University's Art and Design College received a literal and conceptual viewing of abstract paintings by artist Robin Kandel at San Francisco's Andrea Schwartz Gallery.  The exhibition featured graphite drawings which consists of thousands of layered pencil strokes to create  rhythmic patterns and abstract images representing landscapes; inspired from her familiar car trips.  Inspired by the term "distance," Kandel brings the concept to visual life through the work of a pencil.

"I was itching to go somewhere, I had been for a while. I wanted open space and distant views. Instead, the piece in progress on my studio floor grew. It could be bigger still," said Kandel.

One of her pieces entitled "one mile drawings" was composed of 5,280 pencil lines.  The thick layers of graphite produced a textured landscape on its own as the drawing buckles and folds upon itself.  The drawing notes that if all the drawn lines were laid end to end, it would stretch out to a length of one mile. 

"Each drawing is made with a #2 pencil, a straight edge, and a thought of distance. I concluded, there's the distance we've come and the distance we’ve yet to go. We are the point where these two lines meet," noted the artist.

Olivet design students, who primarily create their work on computer software, had the opportunity to see the beautiful combination of hand made art, conceptualization, and contemporary design. 

Robin Kandel earned a BFA from the University of Michigan and has exhibited her work internationally.  For more information, visit the Andrea Schwartz Gallery website  http://www.asgallery.com