The faces behind the frames: Costello’s newest art gallery on display

There are many beautiful places to look at here at the University of St. Francis, but nothing compares to the art gallery found at the entrance to the Performing Arts Center. With the photographs of Micheal “Chester” Alamo-Costello and the art of Chris Beaty currently on display, there is no better time to look and admire the beauty behind the first exhibitions of the 2026-27 school year.

Micheal “Chester” Alamo-Costello is not just an artist, a historian and a writer, he has been a professor at the University of St. Francis (USF) since 1999. With his wide body of work, which includes his “Art Drop” series and multiple published books, he has consistently provided the USF art gallery with his photography for exhibitions. Once again, he has given the campus the chance to view his work with his current before mentioned exhibition, titled “University Portraits: 1999-2026”.

“I’m at a place now where I feel like I am basically accessing all of the work," Costello said. “I feel like I am in one of the most active times in my life in terms of exhibiting and publishing.”

Across his many years at USF, Costello has taken a wide collection of photos of students, some of which are currently on display in the exhibit.

“I like the idea of documenting the type of students we have. The student population is very different than when I started in 1999. It’s much more diverse I would say. You see a cycle of students in terms of style. Like what they wear and the different haircuts. I think of it as documenting the changing faces of St. Francis.”

Change is a main theme celebrated within Costello’s current exhibit. It is something that he finds important to face head on; with the impact of change not being definitive.

“I think a lot of people get caught up wanting everything to stay the same, but it’s never going to stay the same. It’s all relative, you can make it as good or as bad as you want,” Costello explained. “When I look back at the photographs, it reminds me of some of the great things our students have gone on to do.”

Although people likely want to leave with the pictures in their pocket, Costello offers something else for them to leave the exhibit with.

“I think that the exhibition illustrates why it's important to have art on campus. I think that the space feels alive. I think that’s very important to understand the arts have always been a very important part of the history at the University of St. Francis,” Costello said. “I want people to realize that it’s something beyond pictures on a wall. People from all different types of disciplines have the opportunity to see this. It’s good to make people aware of the visual arts and how it’s important to the university's identity.”

Along with Castello’s photography, there is also a solo exhibition on display in the Performing Arts Center featuring art from Chris Beaty. Beaty is a Chicago based artist best known for his collage-inspired paintings and drawings. Beaty used this art style to explore themes such as identity, memory, and perception in the exhibit titled “Shifting Focus”. He is also a professor at USF, and has been teaching for over three years now.

“Chris is very traditional. Technique and precision is very important in his practice. He’s doing a format of painting collage. He takes references from pop art and early 20th century art forms like dada and surrealism. He’s really devoted to making a hyper-realistic approach. He wants people to be able to dissect and see specific things like the details of the subject or something that relates to the work,” said Costello.

Both exhibits will remain on display until October 9, so stop by the Performing Arts Center’s gallery to enjoy the art of two amazing artists while you can!