Igor & Marina ~ Chicago Cultural Center

Walkers XVI (Rhinoceros), 2008, oil on canvas, 68 x 48"

Knowing that the shows had changed, I dropped by the Chicago Cultural Center this weekend, to see what was new in the Michigan Avenue Galleries. The Michigan Avenue Galleries are three exhibition spaces on the main floor of the Cultural Center. They typically show though-provoking work by some local artists.

When I entered, I was greeted by an unexpected surprise… Making my way to the second of three galleries, I was faced with paintings by the painting duo, Igor & Marina. I had been introduced to the work of Igor Kozlovsky and Marina Sharapova roughly ten years earlier, when I juried one of their paintings into an exhibition presented at The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. Since then, I have followed the work of this husband and wife collaborative team—mostly via the Thomas Masters gallery on North Avenue. The artists seem to have left Master’s Gallery and are currently represented by KL Fine Arts Gallery in Chicago.

The five paintings in the Igor & Marina exhibition are from the “Walker” series, which references various segments of the history of fine art. Movement has been a subject in art throughout time. The presentation of movement was attempted within cave paintings and Egyptian sculpture, through the onset of photography and into film. The subject of motion continues in fine art today. From the artist statement…

“Our project, “Walkers,” is meant to open a new chapter in the long history of painterly images of motion. We propose to build on a series of works we have been creating over the past 4 years, works that in their painterly technique synthesize many past epochs of artistic achievement in new and compelling ways. In particular, our exploration of the paradoxical relationship of motion and stasis is paralleled by a simultaneous consideration of the relationship between abstract and figurative art and between conventionality and verisimilitude. 

If you’re in Chicago, take some time to see this work. While in the Cultural Center, there is also a truly interesting photography show by Patty Carroll, in the adjacent gallery. Carroll’s show is titled “Anonymous Women”. That work is also pretty amazing.