The work of the School of Education’s Felipe Gacharná and his brother, Carlos Eduardo Gacharná, is being showcased in the Academic Staff Art Gallery in Bascom Hall.
Their photography series is titled, “Flow: The Art of Felipe and Carlos Eduardo Gacharná.” An opening reception is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 14, from 2:45 to 3:30 p.m. The Academic Staff Art Gallery is housed in room 270 of Bascom Hall. The exhibit runs until January 2020.
The Office of the Secretary of the Academic Staff launched The Academic Staff Art Gallery in the 2010 to showcase talented artists from within the academic staff. Exhibits change on a semester by semester basis.
Felipe is a web developer with the School of Education’s Office of Communications and Advancement, while his brother, Carlos, is an alumnus of the School of Education’s Art Department, who today is an artist and educator living in Long Beach, California.
Describing the exhibit, Felipe explains that artists and scientists now share similar positions on the edge of human understanding.
“While scientists aim to enlighten by deciphering quantitative data, artists delve into the ephemera of the human conscience in the hopes of inspiring others,” says Felipe. “But what if enlightenment and inspiration share more than it appears?”
The Gacharná brothers, who were born in Colombia and are both UW-Madison alumni, explore this very question through their photography. They use high-powered black lights and special fluorescent dyes in an effort to capture the material nature of energy itself. 
“That eternal, ever-changing force that controls and composes the universe might have something to teach us about the fundamental human experience,” says Felipe. “What if society learned to embrace change and transformation, even in times of loss? ‘Flow’ poses the hypothesis that if we accept the transient nature of life, like energy itself, we might be better able to appreciate the beauty of a single moment. We hope you enjoy these works as opportunities for quiet reflection –- on the universe, and yourselves.”