RITA GRENDZE - HELIOTROPES AND SKEPTICS - The Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery of Joliet Junior College

Rita Grendze, installation view of Heliotropes and Skeptics at the Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery of Joliet Junior College

There is only one week left to experience the Rita Grendze exhibition at the Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery of Joliet Junior College. The exhibition is titled Heliotropes and Skeptics and includes a series of beautiful watercolor and mixed media works, which flank a fiber-based sculptural installation. Together, the works offer a unique “feel-good” experience—perfect for Chicago’s gray winter days.

Grendze uses the heliotrope/skeptic metaphor as a way to reflect on human nature. The word heliotrope comes from the combination of the Greek words for “sun” and “direction.” It is commonly understood to symbolize admiration and love. The term brings to mind the way in which a plant’s leaves follow the sun as it moves across the sky—instinctively reaching toward light.

Within this context, Grendze explains that the skeptic should not be thought of as a negative influence, but as a necessary one. Without the skeptic questioning, the heliotrope would not be challenged to explore a stronger argument or deepen their convictions.

The installation of the exhibition visually reinforces the idea of “following the sun.” As you enter the main space of the gallery, you are immediately met by a series of colorful and friendly worm-like forms that seem to guide you into the space, subconsciously directing you toward an ominous black piece hung on the rear wall. These plush fiber-based creatures seem to wander throughout the space, creating a playful yet mysterious presence.

Rita Grendze, Uneclipsed, yarn, cord, metal hoop, 2024

The soft textures and vibrant colors invite a tactile response, tempting viewers to engage with the work. While the instinct may be to touch, the forms function as visual guides leading the viewer through the installation—much like heliotropic plants turning toward the light.

Make an effort to see this exhibition. It is well worth the time. Heliotropes and Skeptics continues through March 13 at the Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery of Joliet Junior College. The gallery is on the main campus, located at 1215 Houbolt Road in Joliet, Illinois 60431. Exhibitions are free and open to the public.

Rita Grendze, Stitches and Symbols, watercolor, graphite, yarn on paper, 2022

Rita Grendze is a sculptor making art from ordinary objects. Both her undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as her year of study on a Fulbright Grant, focused on fiber art. For Grendze this has translated into a lifelong love of process and abundant, accumulative materials.

Grendze has taught at Maryland Institute, College of Art in the Fiber and Foundations departments, as well as at Jersey City University. Since moving to the Chicago area in 2001, she has worked in theater, created props for outdoor spectacles, has taught community workshops in Chicago and the suburbs, has completed commissions, and costumed plays, created large-scale installations and managed a gallery.

Grendze currently teaches in an arts integration program on the elementary and middle school levels. She is committed to introducing new ways of problem solving to a generation that is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic lock down. The bulk of her time, however, has been dedicated to her studio practice and to her family. Her recent residency at Millay Arts infused new energy into her home studio. Grendze shows regularly, including a recently completed two-person show at the Schingoethe Museum and a solo show at Waubonsee Community College.

Rita Grendze, Stitches and Symbols (detail), watercolor, graphite, yarn on paper, 2022

The Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery is a 2,055 square foot state-of-the-art exhibition space in the J-Building on the Main Campus of Joliet Junior College. The main campus is located at 1215 Houbolt Road in Joliet, Illinois 60431. Curated by Director Suzanne Gorgas, the gallery hosts several shows and receptions each year which feature the work of contemporary visiting artists and are accompanied by artist lectures. Gallery hours are Monday–Friday, 8am–8pm. Learn more at: https://jjc.edu/about-jjc/places-interest/laura-sprague-art-gallery

Joyce Polance - Landscapes

Joyce Polance, Uprising, 2021, 30x36"

I’ve been curating fine art exhibitions for roughly twenty-five years. During that period, I’ve worked with literally hundreds of artists. One of the most prolific and inspiring has been painter, Joyce Polance. I was thrilled to see that Polance's work was selected for exhibition by curator, Suzanne Gorgas of the Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery.

Currently on (virtual) exhibition at the Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery of Joliet Junior College, is "Landscapes," a vehemently powerful exhibition of paintings by fine artist, Joyce Polance. The exhibition features twenty-one bending, twisting, and flowing compositions that blur the definition of landscape. Each canvas forces the viewer into a chaotic yet texturally-beautiful reality, weaving a visual story of emotional turbulence.

Joyce Polance, Tumbles, 2020, 36x36"

Polance’s abstractions begin with a specific reference. She explains, “once the image is initially laid in, I cease looking at it. Instead, I engage in dialogue with the painting, letting it lead me to unknown places. Objects begin to change shape; planes become distorted, crashing into one another, melting. I often paint upside down in order to view the subject as an abstract composition, enabling me to focus on color and movement rather than on representation."

And Polance isn’t afraid to destroy imagery that she has created. She explains, “In becoming willing to destroy my work, I allow for something entirely new to emerge. These processes occur multiple times during the creation of a piece, removing the image even further from reality.”

Joyce Polance “Landscapes” continues through February 25—with a virtual artist talk scheduled for Wednesday, February 16th at 1pm via Zoom Media. Additional information may be found on the home page of the Joliet Junior College Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery

Joyce Polance, Ticket, 2019, 20x28"

About Joyce Polance: 
Joyce Polance is a New York-based painter working in oils. Her work consists of expressionist portraits and landscapes which explore the chaotic inner worlds of their subjects—both as depiction of the subjects' own vulnerabilities and of their connections to the tumultuous political atmosphere we are currently living in.

Polance has exhibited internationally and is the recipient of multiple grants and awards including six Chicago CAAP grants, a George Sugarman Foundation grant, two Judith Dawn Memorial grants, and a fellowship at Spertus Institute in Chicago. Her paintings are held internationally in private and corporate collections.

Polance was born in New York City in 1965. She attended Wesleyan University and received a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is represented by Judy Ferrara Gallery in Three Oaks, MI, Elephant Room in Chicago, IL, Gallery 13 in Minneapolis, MN, and Hemley Gallery online. Her paintings may be viewed on her website, www.joycepolance.com. Follow her on Instagram: @JoycePolance.

 

Yasemin Kackar-Demirel - A Virtual Artist Talk - 09.15.21 @12 noon

Yasemin Kackar-Demirel, Windmills yin your mind, 2020, 19.25 x 19.25

Please join Suzanne Gorgas, Gallery Director of the Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery of Joliet Junior College, on Wednesday, September 15, at 12pm (CST) for an Artist Talk with Yasemin Kackar-Demirel. Kackar-Demirel will be speaking about her Virtual Exhibition, titled Windmills of Your Mind, currently presented, virtually, at Joliet Junior College. The discussion will be presented via Zoom (Meeting ID 884 9298 6505  Passcode 476729). This is a free event sponsored by the Fine Arts Department of Joliet Junior College. 

A multi-talented artist, this exhibition focuses on the Kackar-Demirel's ongoing series of thread paintings.  In describing this mixed-media, textile work, artist Yasemin Kackar-Demirel's explains that this show includes a selection of thread paintings composed on upcycle fabrics. The embroidery is overlaid with image tracings, chosen from personal architectural photographs. With an obvious interest in abstraction, the artist seems drawn to unique and shifting perspectives. The imagery incorporates seemingly random stains of paint to reinforce architectural structure and guide new patterns and forms. 

 

Yasemin Kackar-Demirel's exhibition, “Windmills of Your Mind,” will continue through September 17 at the Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery of Joliet Junior College. You can also view additional imagery—in various media—on Kackar-Demirel's website... yaseminkackar.com

Yasemin Kackar-Demirel, You will find your way, 2018, 16.5 x 18.5

Yasemin Kackar-Demirel was born in 1978, in Istanbul, Turkey. She works in a range of mediums from paintings to mixed media drawings and works on textiles. Her work is a manifestation of her lived experiences in urban and natural environments; remnants of her mental and physical presence in the various places she visits. Through abstraction, she explores an array of concepts including freedom, boundaries, belonging, adaptability, residuals, and memory. Kackar-Demirel has received her MFA and a Museum Studies Certificate from Northern Illinois University (2004), and her BFA from Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul, Turkey (2001). She has had solo exhibitions at The Yard: City Hall Park, New York, Mooney Center Gallery, The College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY, C.A.M. Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey, Courthouse Gallery, Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY, and McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, IL, among other venues. Her works have been exhibited in group shows across the United States as well as internationally in Israel, Italy, and Turkey. She has attended the residency programs at the SVA in New York and AreaOdeon in Monza, Italy. In 2006, she was the recipient of Moon and Stars Project’s exhibition award. Her works have been featured in various catalogs and periodicals including Dovetail, Pikchur, New American Paintings, The Woven Tale Press (Digital), Fresh Paint, INPA 2 by Manifest Gallery. She lives with her son and husband and works in Cortlandt Manor, New York.