Michael Brennan of Tallahassee created the centerpiece for the “Flight Path exhibit. His full-size model of a 1920s WACO7 bi-plane is 23 feet from nose to tip and has a 30-feet wingspan. On June 20, the McIlroy Gallery at Northwest Florida State College will open “Flight Path,” an exhibition that explores human flight, both real and fantastic, in art.

The exhibit, featured in one of two art galleries at the college’s Mattie Kelly Arts Center on the Niceville campus, features nine artists from throughout the Southeast with works in a variety of media and styles.

“Flight Path” is a nod to the 75th anniversary of Eglin Air Force Base and will showcase aircraft sculptures from the tiny to the colossal — the smallest having dimensions of only a few inches and the largest a wingspan of 30 feet – as well as paintings and digital art that evoke the sky and beyond, and prints and photographs that address flight and flying machines. The exhibit explores people’s relationship to sky, space and the heavens, and celebrates the longtime partnership between the Okaloosa-Walton region and the machines that allow humans to fly.

The centerpiece of the Flight Path exhibition, both conceptually and literally, is a sculpture created by Michael Brennan of Tallahassee.

“This artwork, a 23-feet nose-totip scale model of a WACO7 bi-plane from the early 1920’s, has a 30-feet wingspan and will fill our gallery floor,” noted NWF State College Galleries Director KC Williams.

Although not made of airworthy materials, the model – titled Model Airplane – was created according to original WACO specifications and will visually balance the show – “a perfect balance to the soaring ceilings, filtered light, and airy atmosphere of the McIlroy Gallery,” noted Williams.

Running concurrently with the Flight Path exhibition in the adjacent Holzhauer Gallery will be Owen Mundy’s “The Americans.” Mundy, an Assistant Professor of Art at Florida State University, served as a US Navy photographer before beginning his artistic training, and this military service informs much of his installation art. The Americans will feature his Military Family Tree, an expanding project that memorializes family members who have served in the US Armed Forces, and

Mundy has created a new installation for his exhibition at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center, an interactive photo booth that furthers his exploration of military portraiture and will allow visitors to create portraits of them.

Both exhibits are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday- Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. The Mattie Kelly Center is located on the Niceville campus of Northwest Florida State College at 100 College Boulevard.

See the Mattie Kelly Arts Center website at www.mattiekellyartscenter. org for directions or additional information or contact the Galleries at (850) 729-6044.