OLEAN – The Catta-raugus County Arts Coun-cil is pleased to invite the public to the opening of Quercus, a new exhibition of work from painter Sean Huntington. A reception is scheduled for Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Jamestown Community College’s Center Gallery in Olean.

Quercus, Latin for oak, is a scientific, historical, personal, and artistic exploration of the White Oak tree which towers over the artist’s childhood home.

Huntington comments, “The goal is to push my own boundaries in an interdisciplinary way. My nine to five job is art, mainly selling my work at festivals and at my studio in Ellicottville. Quercus is the result of a growing desire to explore my ideas without the constraints of having to make something that will sell. The show I’m creating is free of those constraints, and will explore how my own not-always-ideal history intersects with the tree that so influenced by imagination and artwork.”

The exhibition will include both watercolor and oil paintings as well as a core sample from the oak tree that served as the inspiration for the show.

The exhibition will open at the JCC Center Gallery with a reception on June 13 and will remain on display through July 31. The reception is free and open to the public and includes happy hour refreshments and hors d’oeuvres as well as a talk by the artist, Sean Huntington.

“Sean has been a consistent friend to the arts council for many years,” commented new Executive Director Tina Hastings, “So I’m excited that I’ll be making my first public appearance with CCAC at his reception. I look forward to meeting many arts council supporters and members that night as we celebrate Sean’s new work.”

The Cattaraugus County Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has served the greater Cattaraugus County region for more than 16 years with quality arts programs and services. The organization boasts a strong mission dedicated to promoting the creation, presentation and appreciation of arts and culture in the region, while nurturing education and commerce in the arts. CCAC is funded by the New York State Council on the Arts and by members and donors. For more information, see www.myartscouncil.net.