Philip Pearlstein, one of the most important and innovative figurative artists of the 20th century, will be in Asheville April 5-6, at the invitation of UNCA. While here, Pearlstein will jury UNCA's annual student exhibition and give a public talk. His visit is made possible by the UNCA Art Department, the Highsmith Distinguished Visiting Scholar Fund, the Asheville Art Museum and Dr. and Mrs. David Cogburn.

Pearlstein will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at Diana Wortham Theatre. A reception and book signing will follow at the Asheville Art Museum. Admission is $5 for the general public and $3 for Asheville Art Museum members.

UNCA's 33rd Annual Juried Student Exhibition opening reception will be held in UNCA's University Gallery, located on the first floor of Owen Hall, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, April 7. Exhibition awards and scholarship announcements will be made at 7:30 p.m.

Pearlstein was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1924. He completed a B.F.A. degree at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University) where Andy Warhol was both a classmate and a roommate. In 1955, Pearlstein earned a M.A. in art history from New York University and was later awarded a Fulbright fellowship to study in Rome. From 1956-1963, Pearlstein was an art instructor at the Pratt Institute and simultaneously served two years as visiting critic at Yale University. Since 1963, he has been distinguished professor of art at Brooklyn College.

Pearlstein's work is internationally recognized and is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. A retrospective of his work was recently held at the Milwaukee Art Museum. At age 76, he is still reinventing the human figure and breaking boundaries within the school of Realism.