The Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St., will open an exhibit of mixed-media work by Nick Vaccaro with a reception on Monday from 7 to p.m.

Vaccaro, an art professor who also served as chairman of Kansas University’s art department for four years, lived from 1931 to 2002.

He thought of himself as a “poetic abstractionist,” a self-described painter who also enjoyed working in other mediums. His “magic boxes,” constructed with others’ throwaways, provide the name for his Lawrence Art Center exhibit.

The show will run until Jan. 10, 2015.