Cummings Art Gallery at Mercyhurst University

🎨 Staff Gallery Pick 🎨

This Staff Gallery Pick features Ladybug by Serena Godoy. Painted in acrylic on canvas, the piece captures a close-up moment in nature. The bold color contrast and careful detail invite viewers to pause and appreciate the quiet beauty found in small, everyday moments.

See Ladybug and more works from the Juried Student Art Show on view at the Cummings Art Gallery. 🐞🌸

Open NOW!
The 2026 Patricia S. Yahn Juried Student Art Show, featuring work by art students at Mercyhurst University and currently showing at Cummings Gallery.

This year's juror is IUP Painting and Foundations professor Ivan Fortushniak

Reception will be on Thursday, March 19 from 5-7
Awards will be announced during the Reception at 6pm.

Come, see the work, and support the incredible talent of Mercyhurst student artists!

Meet artist and IUP Painting and Foundations professor Ivan Fortushniak. Enjoy complementary food and drink and amazing artwork.

We are excited to have an article published written by Cummings Gallery Attendant Muriel Zollinger on an interview with Ivan. Check out the article:

Inside the Artwork: An Interview with Ivan Fortushniak Inside the Artwork: An Interview with Ivan Fortushniak Monday, February 23, 2026 Muriel Zollinger, Mercyhurst student interviewer and Cummings Art Gallery attendant, interviewed Ivan Fortushniak. The full interview can be read below. Fortushniak’s work is currently on display at the Cummings Art G...

✨ Gallery Guest Pick ✨

We recently were visited here in the gallery by the Photography 1 students! During their time here, they chose a couple of their favorites.

One student chose “Highway Aftermath”, saying, “I am impressed with the detail and layering of watercolors in the show.”

Another student chose “State Route”, saying, “I found the contrast of time interesting. I like how the image looks like something from the past and how the McDonald's contrasts with that. I also appreciate how the images were done in two different medias, painting and drawing.”

Kathleen Plaza Johnson from Mercyhurst Preparatory School brought her Yearlong Painting class to the gallery. Her class of 10-12 graders learned aspects of Gallery curation and installation from Mercyhurst Cummings Gallery Director Matthew Coté. The students also got to see the current exhibition, Recollections, of work by IUP Professor and artist Ivan Fortushniak.

The gallery welcomes all students from the area and will always be available for special viwjnfs and lessons upon request. Contact us directly to learn more!

✨ Gallery Staff Pick ✨

This Gallery Staff Pick highlights “In the Midst Of” by Ivan Fortushniak. Created using oil, collage, and transfers, the work brings together layered imagery to create a quiet yet unsettling scene. It is suspended between memory, history, and the present moment.

See In the Midst Of up close as part of Recollections: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints at the Cummings Art Gallery.

✨Gallery Guest Pick✨

Today’s Guest Gallery Pick comes from Bella Mitlo, who selected Burial Site by Ivan Fortushniak. Created using watercolor and collage, this piece layers texture and imagery to evoke memory, place, and quiet reflection.

Be sure to stop by the Cummings Art Gallery to see Burial Site up close as part of Recollections: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints.

👨‍🎨 Meet the Artist! 👨‍🎨

We’re excited to introduce Ivan Fortushniak, the artist behind Recollections: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints, now on view at the Cummings Art Gallery at Mercyhurst University.

Ivan Fortushniak is a Professor of Painting and Foundations at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). He holds an MFA from the University of Cincinnati and a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design. His work has been exhibited nationwide at venues including the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and Rogue Buddha Gallery, and is held in permanent collections such as the Dayton Art Museum and the Spencer Museum of Art.

In addition to this solo exhibition, Fortushniak is also serving as the juror for this year’s Juried Student Art Show at Mercyhurst.

🖼️Stop by and experience the show in person!🖼️

We’re back! 🎨
The Cummings Art Gallery at Mercyhurst University is officially open after winter break!
Stop by Monday–Friday from 2–6 PM to see our new show: Recollections: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints by Ivan Fortushniak.

After a winter hiatus a new show is brewing at Cummings Gallery. Opening this Tuesday 1/20. More to come!

🖌️ Staff Pick of the Day 🖌️
Today’s featured work from The Yellow Chair exhibition is “I Can See You” by Aaron Edmonson.

🖼️ Watercolor and charcoal
💵 $200

Selected by staff member Olivia Connor, who was drawn to the expressive contrast between the two figures and the subtle tension created through shading and gesture.

Experience this compelling piece in person at Mercyhurst University’s Cummings Art Gallery as part of The Yellow Chair. 🍀🌼