human ~ a national juried exhibition

Above is an image of Young Suk James Kim's "Expulsion" which was just one of the pieces acquired for The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago's Permanent Fine Art Collection. It became a part of the school's collection as a purchase award during a show titled "The Human Form" which was presented at Gallery 350 from July 31 - September 6, 2006. Well, It's time to explore figurative imagery, once again, with "human" a national juried exhibition, which will run at Gallery 180 from January 16 through March 1, 2012. The Deadline for entry [received] is Saturday, October 15.

This National Juried Exhibition is open to all artists, living or working in the US. Work must be original. All media except video and installation are eligible. Sculpture is encouraged. No size restrictions. Each artist may submit up to 3 pieces for the entry fee of $30.

The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago will purchase at least one piece from the exhibition for inclusion into the school’s Permanent Collection. The collection is diverse and can be viewed online at gallery180.com. The Purchase Award/s will be selected by committee and will be announced at the opening reception.

All submitted works must be for sale. The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago will retain a 50% commission from all purchases made during the exhibition. A portion of the commission will be donated to Heartland Alliance for their work in Human Rights. The exhibition will be highly publicized. A color exhibition catalog will be produced to help promote sales.

You can download the Exhibition Prospectus on the home page at gallery180.com

Image: From The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago Corporate Collection: Young Suk James Kim, "Expulsion" oil, 56" x 66"
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Tom Torluemke ~ Precious and Few

Tom Torluemke's exhibition, titled "Precious and Few", will open at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago on August 5th. This incredible body of work is filled with imagery laced in surrealistic fantasy. Torluemke uses this strange and beautiful realism to convey his thoughts on current events as well as presenting the emotions that define humanity. Torluemke writes:

"With the exception of the two paintings each depicting a couple kissing, my works are motivated or inspired by the desire to combine ideas, thoughts, emotions and feelings for the creation of a painting so that those thoughts and emotions, etc. are turned expressively into a material form.

Life's complicated. Its range is vast. I don't understand it, I only sense there's some rhythm to it. Much of which is near invisible, or at least I can't describe it with words. So I choose to use images, color and shapes to come as close as I can to the mystery of life. Once I think I'm close to it, it's like it was a mirage, I rub my eyes to see if it's real and it's gone again.

Back to the kissing paintings, what I do best. When life gets too difficult, I think of a tender, loving moment. That's why I make those."

The paintings of Tom Torluemke will be presented at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago through August 31. Previews begin on July 26th. An Opening Reception will take place on Friday, August 5 from 5:30-7:30 pm. This exhibition is free and open to the public. All works are available for purchase. Gallery 180 is located at 180 N. Wabash—at the corner of Lake and Wabash—in Chicago’s Loop. The gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 8am-8pm, Friday 8am-5:30pm and Saturday 9am-5pm. Additional information can be found at gallery180.com.

Image: At Home 2007, [kissing], oil on canvas, 70 x 54.5", $12,000.00

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