The newest exhibit in the Carroll Art Gallery in the Visual Arts Center is titled “Paw Paw: Works on Paper” by Wesley Berg.

Berg is an artist and trail-runner from southern Ohio. Most of his work includes wolves, and sometimes bears and other animals seen in nature.

“It’s a comparison of animals in nature versus humans and how we interact and if there’s similarities or differences between those two,” Melissa Yungbluth, the gallery director for the School of Art and Design said.

Berg said in his artist statement that his drawings and other visual works stem from the human experience in nature. He said he is seeking to better understand the connection and relationship humans have with the natural world while living in an increasingly modern and developed society.

“Through traveling to remote places, hiking and trail running, I am attempting to shape moments of timelessness,” Berg continues in his artist statement. “For me, this immersive process inspires a connectedness to the natural world. From these experiences of connectedness, I create drawings to describe the delicate balance between man and nature — both historically and in the present.”

The artist demonstration is Wednesday,  from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Carroll Art Gallery, where Berg will be doing a full work from start to finish on the back wall.

Yungbluth encourages people to come in and watch Berg, ask questions and talk to him during the process.

“When you’re working with charcoal, there is not much room for mistake because it smudges so easily, so we encourage people to come in and watch him draw from start to finish. I thought that would be a great opportunity for students to see,” Yungbluth said.

Berg will also be making classroom visits and critiques.

The artist talk is Wednesday at 5 p.m. in room 209 in the Visual Arts Center. The opening reception for Berg’s exhibit is Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m.

The exhibit will be up from Feb. 20 to March 31. All events are free and open to the public.

Hannah Swartz can be contacted at [email protected].