‘We all have our purpose’

LEOMINSTER — A new art exhibit at the library is inspired by the idea of the importance of being part of a whole.

“Many Pieces One Image” is on display in the Leominster Public Library Community Room through Sept. 29. The collaborative project was led by art teacher and artist Iphigenia Gossios Burg and is made from 30 canvases created by Beacon of Hope students that make up a larger piece.

“The idea of having one image from many little parts is very universal,” Gossios Burg shared. “We have many examples in our surroundings where pieces are being put together to make a whole and wanted to express the idea of how important it is to be a part of a whole. Each piece is very important to make something to be complete, sufficient and whole. If one piece is missing, then there is an imbalance and the harmony is interrupted.”

The canvases are hung in a grid, 30 in total, each one painted by a student. The image created by them being all together is a vibrant sunset behind a flamboyance of pink flamingos, one of the city’s iconic claims to fame.

“When the students were painting their own canvases, it did not make any sense to them what it should be,” Gossios Burg disclosed. “Like life, we see our individuality as not important perhaps or we don’t understand how we fit in but in the end we all have our purpose, fitting together like a piece of a puzzle. Only when we step back it becomes visible and we can see the whole picture. So are our lives, every piece is as important as the next and we cannot be in harmony and have the complete picture if one is missing.”

The talented and seasoned artist was born in Greece, moved to Germany when she was nine, and then lived in Vienna, Austria as a teenager. Ever since Gossios Burg was a young child, she displayed her gift of art and her desire to learn and develop her artistic abilities.

She came to the U.S. in her twenties, where she studied art at the University of Massachusetts Boston. After college she ended up in Pasadena California, where Gossios Burg worked at the U.S. Center for World Mission as a full-time artist and won an artist of the year award there. She taught art to middle school and high school students and did some art for magazines and newspapers along with big tapestries and murals when she was on the Pasadena campus.

She now lives in Fitchburg as an active artist and Gossios Burg participates in exhibits in the area and is teaching after-school programs, encouraging children in the arts. In addition to fine arts, her passion also has expanded to making jewelry, some of which is on display along with her paintings at the Leominster Art Center & Gallery (LACG).

The gallery located at 45 Main St. serves the community by engaging and enlightening people through art to further enhance our community’s educational, cultural and economic development goals. LACG aims to foster an ability in local artists to promote and display their artistic talents in a variety of creative mediums and strives to extend its sense of community and dedication to all forms of art beyond the city borders.

Gossios Burg is a supporting board member at LACG, and more information about it can be found by following Leominster Art Center & Gallery on Facebook.

The exhibit at the Leominster Public Library is supported in part by a grant from the Leominster Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. When speaking more about the meaning behind “Many Pieces One Image,” Gossios Burg shared this.

“We cannot expect to be the same as all the others because then the picture would not exist and we could not complete a whole image with grace and harmony,” the creative expressed. “That is why it’s important to see each other and how valuable our differences are to make the complete picture work.”