DePaul University's John T. Richardson Library, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., will host an exhibit of contemporary Czech-Slovak art in the Haber Lounge from March 19 until June 15.

"The Iron Curtain is Broken...Velvet Curtain Reveals" exhibit includes 22 works by eight artists, who will be exhibiting for the first time in the United States.

The opening reception is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. March 19 in the library's Haber Lounge. The reception and exhibit is free and open to the public.

Among those artists in this exhibition are Boris Jirku, who is the director of the Atelier of Figure Drawing at the College of Commercial Arts in Prague. He is an influential Czech painter and book illustrator, who has exhibited in several countries.

Also included in this exhibit are Pavel Kryml, a curator of European Art at the National Gallery in Prague; Ales Knoket, Czech painter; Roman Dvorak, who works as a painter, sculptor and graphic artist; Mirek Kaufman, an abstract painter; and Pavla Soukupova, who was prohibited by government officials from exhibiting her art in the 1980s, and only was allowed to display her work after 1990.

Most of the works on display are paintings on canvas.

The exhibit is part of a project by John Persons, who is a student in DePaul's School for New Learning. Persons' area of concentration is international studies, and this exhibit represents the major piece of his work.

Persons, who returned to school after 25 years as a professional photographer in Glen Ellyn, is working toward a bachelor's degree in international studies. He hopes to become a cultural liaison between the United States and other countries.

Persons describes the exhibit of as "a mosaic of contemporary art that has not been seen in the United States."

The Richardson Library is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m.-midnight; Friday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, noon-midnight.

For more information call Melissa Trevvett, associate director of the library's special collections department, at 773/325-7864.