The Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission (BFAC) themed show, “Art Narratives: Combining Text & Art,” features work of six artists, through Nov. 5, Rotunda Gallery, Town Hall, Bethlehem.

Invited by the BFAC to participate in the exhibit were Paul Deery, Lucy Gans, Domenick Naccarato, David P. Richards, Maryann Riker and Barbara Schulman.

“We wanted to incorporate the written word with the visual image. These six talented artists have done that in their own individual voices,” says BFAC co-chair James DePietro. Forty-five pieces are in the curated exhibition.

Easton-based artist Deery creates works of scrambled sculpted text from a variety of materials. His on-site installation, “Pillar of the Community” (2021; rope, mixed material, twist ties, 30 in. x 30 in. x 84 in.), pays homage to immigrants, past and present, with an excerpt from Emma Lazarus’ poem, “The New Colossus,” from the Statue of Liberty. It’s assembled from letters formed with rope glazed with blackened epoxy.

Gans, chair, Department of Art, Architecture, and Design, Lehigh University, gives women a voice through her printmaking and encaustics. “I Never Told Anyone” (2011; monoprint with watercolor, gouache, ink and graphite, 30 in. x 22 in.) depicts a distraught woman besieged by feelings of “Guilt and Shame.”

Naccarato, of Easton, has mixed media pieces from his “Number Word Vignettes” series. “Number Word Vignettes: One” (2020; mixed media on fiberboard, 11 in. x 11 in.) projects a contemporary industrial look created with layered elements. These include found objects, such as wire screen and carpentry hardware.

Richards’ “Icarus” (2020; cut photography collage, 8 in. x 8 in.) is assembled with images the artist photographed and printed on watercolor paper run through an inkjet printer. The cut-out elements include a pair of feathers and a cigarette butt on a slab engraved with the quote “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” These are arranged in layers to provide an illusion of depth. “Sometimes it just isn’t possible,” quips Richards about his visual tale of the demise of a character from Greek mythology. After living in Allentown for two decades, Richards relocated to Salisbury, Md.

Phillipsburg, N.J.,-based mixed-media artist Riker is the designer of three-dimensional book sculpture and other pieces which blend words with images. “Finding Center” (2021; mixed media, 7 in. x 5 in. x 3 in.) is the last piece in a series of foldable “artist books” created with prints on archival paper and found objects. “It can tell a narrative much more in depth than what a regular assemblage or collage can do,” explains the artist.

Schulman’s “Death Maze” (2020; mixed media textile, 27.5 in. x 26.5 in.) is a quilted political narrative comparing gun violence in the United States with COVID-19. Patches from the Museum of Death in New Orleans are interwoven with sugar skulls and other related images on hand-dyed fabric.

The exhibition, sponsored by the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission, is curated by co-chairs James DePietro and Richard Begbie, with the assistance of Vince Gentilcore, Barbara Kozero, Stacie Brennan and Ward Van Haute.

Rotunda Gallery, Town Hall, 10 E. Church St., Bethlehem. Gallery hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, Closed weekends.

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com