The exhibition opening will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday with artist talks starting at 6 p.m. The event ends at 7 p.m. The exhibits will be available for viewing until March 3.

Nate Jeffery teaches art at Penn West Edinboro, Penn State Behrend and Jamestown Community College. However, teaching art wasn’t his original goal. He applied to universities for his graduate degree solely to grow as a painter but found himself teaching as part of his service hours. He discovered he enjoyed sharing his knowledge with young people and realized his experiences gave him a unique position to see both academia and the world outside. He hopes these perspectives make him an empathic and passionate instructor.

Jeffery’s work is somewhat a documentary of his life and the people and places in it, but more than that, it is a way of looking for the profound in small ways. Jeffery said he views art, and life, as a series of adventures, obstacles, and mysteries that continuously piqued his curiosity.

The second exhibiting artist in February is Jesse Wolfgang, a Warren native who said he finds his inspiration in works such as Michaelangelo, the dark-worked blacks of Rembrandt’s portraits, the fine charcoal work of J. D. Hillberry, nature studies by Pennsylvania’s own Ned Smith, and the hyper-detail of Laurie Lipton’s pencil masterpieces.

This drawing of herons in Spartansburg, Pa., is among the works by Jesse Wolfgang that will be included in an upcoming exhibition at the Crary Art Gallery.

Wolfgang’s work focuses on realism. He has spent thousands of hours with his head in books at local libraries, his mother’s bookstore, and Edinboro University where he took some classes about art history, drawing, and color. Wolfgang said he enjoys the anatomy, mathematics, scale, creativity, and composition that goes into creating a realistic portrait along with deciphering the textures and dissemination of light that brings his work to life.

After sustaining a significant head injury Wolfgang spent years being limited. He was no longer able to play sports and memory impairments made daily routine tasks nearly impossible. He never felt limited by art.

“I was able to freely roam the chambers of my mind and use paper, canvas, clay, or whatever else to express a brain that seemed all but lost – in reality, I was just exploring the new me,” Wolfgang said. “My head injury made it difficult to communicate with others. Art has blessed me with being an outlet in which I have become able to communicate with others. Art saved my life.”

The Crary Art Gallery is a non-profit private art museum located at the corner of Market Street and Sixth Avenue in Warren. In addition to displaying its permanent collection, temporary exhibitions are held every other month throughout the year, beginning in February. Hours are Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 6 and Sundays from noon to 4. Admission is free. For more information, visit craryartgallery.org.