Many places exist on campus that are little-known to students: nestled in the corner of the Illini Union is one of them: The Illini Union Art Gallery.

The gallery displays a new exhibit each month by local artists for students and the community to see. This month’s exhibit, “The Dormancy of Dusk” by Bryan Warsaw, captures the essence of the fall season.

Warsaw, a research specialist in horticulture, helps manage three of the University’s research farms. His work here, as well as on other family-owned farms, has greatly influenced his artwork.

“The whole farming, rustic life, I love it,” he said. “I can see sunsets, sunrises, storms, the stars at night. It’s just freedom to me.”

Kati Rakestraw, a close friend of Warsaw’s, also attributes his farm life as one of his greatest artistic influences.

“Farming and the lifestyle that comes with it has been a large part of the foundation of who he is, as it is the backdrop he has had since birth,” she said in an e-mail. “He is still actively involved in the field and this influence manifests itself in his work not only obviously, but in the form of appreciating every season and every season’s unpredictability in what it may bring.”

“The Dormancy of Dusk” is a collection of Warsaw’s photographs, poetry, paintings and metalwork, all inspired by that period of time between day and night.

“In the evening I just feel rejuvenated and energetic, and as the world slowly shuts down, there’s this whole other realm awakening,” he said. “There’s this side to us that we may not realize is there all the time, but we realize it more at that time of day. It’s a magical time.”

Many of his pieces in this collection are left intentionally untitled because he does not want the title affecting how viewers perceive the art.

“Everyone will have their own take on it. Art should be for everybody, and they should get something out of it,” he said.

Because of this, interpretation of individual pieces could differ greatly from individual to individual.

“When I first came in, the first thing I thought was some of the things gave me an ‘American Horror Story’ kind of vibe,” said Katherine Rola, senior in NRES. “There are certain pieces in the gallery which I think are absolutely, fantastically adorable, like the iron statues. They remind me of the ‘LittleBigPlanet’ video game,” Rola said.

“But there are certain pieces that really evoke deeper, beyond-comfortable emotions, which I think is interesting because then you get to think about, ‘Why do I feel this way about this?’”

The gallery is free to all visitors and is open Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to midnight, and Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Warsaw’s collection will be on display until the end of this month.

“He is in there, telling you a story with each image,” Rakestraw said. “See if it can find you; maybe you will find your own place in it.”

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