MONMOUTH, ILLINOIS (September 29, 2026) — Beautiful, haunting dreams — the kind that stay with you well after you've risen for the day.
The new art exhibition at Monmouth College, which features the work of a college art professor, Kenneth Hall, strives to create that sensation.
Hall, a professor of drawing and painting at the University of Northern Iowa the past two decades, has painted works for an exhibition he's titled "Was It Just a Dream?" It will be on display in the college's Len G Everett Gallery through October 23. On that final day, Hall will be on campus for a reception and gallery talk at 3PM.
"The title has multiple meanings," said Hall, who earned his MFA from Miami University in 2007.
"The titles of my new works are based on common dating communications such as 'dating is hard' or 'looking for emotional intelligence.' The mixture of abstract forms/space with photo-derived elements that I've collected over the past decade lends a whimsical quality to an otherwise sensitive subject."
Hall creates imagery that he calls "mysterious and seductive, immersive and resonant with the senses. I hope to stir some deeper thought about our fragile conditions of existence. Ultimately, I hope the work is beautiful and haunting and offers a unique experience to the viewer."
The art professor, who earned his BFA in 2004 from Columbus College of Art and Design, says he enjoys the balance of pursuing his painting career with the challenge of mentoring younger generations of artists.
Hall has exhibited work internationally in Hamburg, Germany, and nationally in Los Angeles and Chicago (The Other Art Fair) and New York City (Parallax and ArtExpo fairs), with additional solo exhibitions in a range of venues, including Bowling Green State University, Penn West Edinboro, Truman State University, and Hastings College.
He also served in the Coast Guard for ten years, where he had a variety of roles from weapons officer on a 210-foot cutter to project engineer at a civil-engineering unit. He enjoys storm chasing and playing guitar when he is not in the painting studio.
