University Gallery

The University Gallery is a contemporary art gallery that serves the Art & Design Department, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, as well as the city of Lowell and the greater Merrimack Valley Region. The gallery hosts 4-6 major exhibitions each year, including the biannual B.F.A. show featuring the senior projects from the Art & Design studios. From emerging artists to seasoned practitioners with national and international reputations, the University Gallery's exhibition program showcases a broad variety of artistic approaches, media and content reflecting the curricula of the Art & Design program and enhancing the cultural environment of the community and surrounding area.

The University Gallery is located on the first floor of Mahoney Hall at 870 Broadway Street, Lowell, Mass.

Gallery Exhibitions: Admission is free and opening receptions usually include a lecture by the curator or exhibiting artist.

Rick Parker: Basic Training for Graphic Novelists

Curated by Professor K.E. Roehr

November 15 – December 20, 2024

Artist’s Talk: Monday, November 18, 2024, 3:30 p.m.

Reception: Monday, November 18, 2024, 5 - 6:30 p.m

UMass Lowell’s Department of Art & Design is pleased to present Rick Parker’s: Basic Training for Graphic Novelists, the work of esteemed cartoonist, Rick Parker. The exhibit will be on view from November 15 – December 20. in the University Gallery in Mahoney Hall on 870 Broadway Street, Lowell, MA. There will be an artist’s talk and reception on Monday, November 18 at 3:30 p.m. in Coburn Hall room 255, followed by a reception in the University Gallery in Mahoney Hall from 5:00-6:30 p.m. These events are free, wheelchair accessible, and open to the public.

In 1966 Rick Parker was drafted into the United States Army, an experience that inspired the making of his illustrated memoir. Drafted is about Parker’s experiences in the US Army during the Vietnam War, and his longing to return home and pursue a career as an artist. It’s an honest coming-of-age story of identity and a pursuit of passion in an environment that demands conformity. The show displays Parker's creative process with all that goes into creating Drafted and a graphic novel.

Amazon writes: “...Parker shows how Vietnam was the last war in the United States that instituted the draft; how the draft affected those who served; and how we as Americans think of war and our soldiers once they return from service. He also shows how being an artist helped him to survive his time in the army.”

Rick Parker is the artist of MTV’s well known comic book series, Beavis and Butt-Head, published by Marvel Comics, the same company where he got his start as a letterer in the 70’s. Parker is also the illustrator of the Ghoulunatics and a series of parody comics for Papercutz, which includes titles such as Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid, Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring, Breaking Down (a Twilight Saga parody), Percy Jerkson and the Ovolactovegetarians, The Hunger Pains, and The Farting Dead.