Opening this weekend at The Art Center-Highland Park

There are four wonderful exhibitions opening this weekend at The Art Center-Highland Park. Although the exhibitions are on view, the reception is scheduled for Friday, May 22 from 6:30-9pm. The shows include: Meditative Surfaces, Aftereffect; a solo exhibition by Teresa Hofheimer, From Nature; a national juried exhibition and a presentation of public sculpture by Eric H. Steele.

This latest version of the always-evolving fine art exhibition, Meditative Surfaces, brings together the work of six very different artists—with a visually reoccurring theme that explores the meditative influences of variations on repetition. The show is comprised of two painters; Charles Gniech [myself] and Rebecca Moy, a mixed media artist; Deanna Krueger, two photographers; Maggie Meiners and Doug Fogelson, as well as sculptor; Josh Garber. The work produced by this group of artists, is assembled to encourage audience introspection.

Teresa Hofheimer, Loss of Innocence, pastel on linen 48 x 30"

Teresa Hofheimer - Aftereffect
Aftereffect is a series of paintings and drawings—produced sporadically over the past decade—which address the power and resilience of the human spirit in the aftermath of tragedy. The work is a reaction to our society’s increase in gun violence. Hofheimer points-out that “Since 2001, more than 5,000 people have been killed on the streets of Chicago, outpacing the 2,000 killed in Afghanistan.” She continues to explain the victims are typically our youth. Half the recent victims are under the age of twenty-five. The concept is harsh yet the imagery is approachable and thought provoking.

Jody Berns, In the Heat of the Night, photograph 12 x 12"

With beautifully composed imagery created by conceptually driven fine artists, From Nature— national juried exhibition—offers a fresh look at the world around us. The exhibition presents an exciting and alternative view of elements found within nature. Highland Park resident, Jody Berns is included in the exhibition with a twelve-inch square black and white digital photograph titled “In the Heat of the Night”. The image presents a confined thorny botanical composition utilizing strong chiaroscuro to silhouette the sharp yet inviting forms. The title alludes to the passions of the forbidden—like Joseph Cornell’s boxes—presenting the uncomfortable dichotomy of pleasure and pain. Less conceptual imagery in also included.

Eric H. Steele, Victor, steel, 96 x 28.5 x 21

TAC also presents the large-scale sculpture of Eric H. Steele in The Center's sculpture garden with smaller pieces shown in the foyer. Steele’s beautiful steel constructions address the space between destruction and hope. Steele's work will be presented through December 12th. The other shows mentioned above continue through July 10.

The Art Center-Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road in Highland Park. The gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 9-4:30 and on Sunday, by appointment. All of the works on exhibition are available for purchase.

The Art Center-Highland Park is dedicated to promoting the appreciation of contemporary fine art through exhibitions by both established and emerging artists. We foster creativity through the experience and discussion of fine art and offer extensive educational opportunities through a broad range of classes, panel discussions, workshops and lectures. A nonprofit organization, The Art Center-Highland Park connects artists with the community at large—supporting creativity at every level. 

The Art Center-Highland Park ~ From Nature

Save the Date: Friday, May 22 from 6:30-9pm

Jody Berns, “In the Heat of the Night”, Digital Photograph, 12” x 12” 

This past weekend, I selected work for inclusion into the "From Nature" exhibition, to be presented at The Art Center-Highland Park this spring. With beautifully composed imagery created by conceptually driven fine artists, “From Nature” offers a fresh look at the world around us. The exhibition presents an exciting and alternative view of elements found within nature.

Highland Park resident, Jody Berns will be included in the exhibition with a twelve-inch square black and white digital photograph titled “In the Heat of the Night”. The image presents a confined thorny botanical composition utilizing strong chiaroscuro to silhouette the sharp yet inviting forms. The title alludes to the passions of the forbidden—like Joseph Cornell’s boxes—presenting the uncomfortable dichotomy of pleasure and pain.

James Tansley, “Hot Aspect”, Acrylic on Canvas, 18” x 24”

“Hot Aspect”, a vibrant abstract acrylic painting created by Chicago Artist, James Tansley, will  also included in the “From Nature” exhibition. With complex botanical references, the intimate canvas combines gestural organic forms with a refreshingly spring color palette.

Other—more literal—interpretations of the nature theme will be seen throughout the exhibition including; a large format photograph by Ilza Arajs [Evanston, IL] of an ostrich fern unfurling, a simplistically beautiful photographic composition of an eggshell by Vera Todd [Evanston, IL], and a tightly-painted composition of seashells, situated on a highly polished surface, by Chicago Artist, Helen Oh. I'll be talking more about these artists in future posts.

“From Nature” will be presented at The Art Center-Highland Park from May 7 through July 10, with a public reception scheduled for Friday, May 22, from 6:30 to 9pm. The Art Center-Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road in Highland Park, Illinois. Gallery Hours are Monday through Saturday from 9am–4:30pm and Sunday, by appointment. All work in the exhibition is available for purchase. The exhibition continues through July 10.

The Art Center-Highland Park is dedicated to promoting the appreciation of contemporary fine art through exhibitions by both established and emerging artists. We foster creativity through the experience and discussion of fine art and offer extensive educational opportunities through a broad range of classes, panel discussions, workshops and lectures. A nonprofit organization, The Art Center-Highland Park connects artists with the community at large—supporting creativity at every level.

Selections have been made...

Frances Cox, Black Apricot Tree, Oil, 34 x 40"

This past April, Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago opened an exhibition titled "From Nature" to benefit the Ragdale Foundation. The exhibition was produced to help call national attention to the Ragdale Foundation and to raise money to support the Ragdale residency program. I've written about the program in past posts but basically the program allows artists—from all over the world—to attend Ragdale and create in a beautiful, serene, and uninterrupted environment.

The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago is committed to supporting the arts as well as to supporting Ragdale by purchasing at least one of the exhibited pieces for inclusion into the school's permanent collection. Actually... the school has chosen to purchase three. The pieces selected for inclusion into the school's permanent collection are: "Black Apricot Tree" an oil on canvas painting by Frances Cox [Wilmette, IL], "Blue Leaf on Stream" an oil painting on canvas by Diane Kunzler [Glidden, IA], and RK Williams' [Denver, CO] Platinum-Palladium Print titled "Fog and Light". Commissions from the sale of these pieces—as well as all other sales in this exhibition—will be donated to The Ragdale Foundation residency program.

Many of the works are still available. If you are in—or passing through—downtown Chicago, please drop by to see the exhibition. Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago is located at 180 N. Wabash, at the corner of Lake and Wabash in Chicago's Loop. You can also review the work on line at gallery180.com


Above: Diane Kunzler, Blue Leaf on Stream, Oil on Canvas, 24 x 24"


Above: RK Williams, Fog and Light, Platinum-Palladium Print, 4 x 5"

Andrea Harris... From Nature

I've known Andrea Harris since my days at The Fine Arts Building Gallery. She is a wonderful artist and quite a prolific painter. Andrea has worked with a few different subjects but the most interesting to me are her landscapes. Most of her images are created on canvas with oil and wax. The above image, which is included in the "From Nature" exhibition at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, is twenty-four inches square and titled "Beyond the Clearing". This image has a loose, impressionistic feel yet created with muted earth tones. The image evokes a quite feeling of tranquillity. The painting is available for $1,200.

I spent some time, talking with Andrea when she dropped off her work for the "From Nature" exhibition. She has been compiling a book which documents this work. A book signing is scheduled for the fall to coincide with a show of her works at Homey Gallery, located at 3656 N. Lincoln in Chicago. If you haven't been to this gallery, make the effort. Being an avid gardener, I found a variety of indoor and outdoor pieces of which I had interest. One such piece was the rug shown below. It is a soft carpet of rock-like texture. I was intrigued.

From Nature ~ A National Juried Exhibition to Benefit The Ragdale Foundation

I spent most of the day, on Saturday, hanging the "From Nature" exhibition at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. Hanging exhibitions are always like Christmas morning... opening boxes which have made their way across the country and you never know what to expect of the contents. Seeing the actual work—relative to the digital or slide representation—has always intrigued me. It's a lot like studying a painting in an art history book and then seeing that same painting hanging in a museum. There is often a disconnect. But each box that I opened this weekend resulted in finding a treasure.

All of the pieces in the exhibition are wonderful. I found myself shopping as I hung—or placed—each piece. In any case, the exhibition opens today with a reception this Friday, April 24 from 5:30-7:30. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Commissions from the sale of work will be donated to the Ragdale Foundation.

Ragdale is an artists' retreat located on the grounds of Arts and Crafts architect Howard Van Doren Shaw's 1897 summer home in Lake Forest, Illinois. The artists' community, which is situated just 30 miles north of Chicago and overlooks 50 acres of prairie, now hosts over 200 emerging and established artists of all disciplines each year. These writers, artists, and composers come from around the country and the world to work and experience Ragdale's remarkable gifts of community, tranquility, and creativity. Additional information on the Ragdale residency program can be found at: ragdale.org

Image: Sheila Ganch [sculpture], Deanna Krueger, and Renee McGinnis. Exhibiting Artist Information, Images and Pricing can be found at: gallery180.com/nature.html

Maggie Meiners... From Nature

I've written about the photography of Maggie Meiners in past posts. And her acceptance into the National Juried Exhibition, "From Nature", gives me yet another opportunity to point out the brilliance of her work. I always find Meiners' imagery to be is so engaging in a quiet, introspective way. Within her abstractions, the viewer is asked to look at a scene they may have experienced numerous times before, and now to look again but with a new set of eyes. These images are about looking at our surroundings and not taking life for granted. They are about focusing on a moment and finding one's self.

You can see "Snow Abstract" in the "From Nature" exhibition presented at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago from April 20-July 24 with an opening reception on Friday April 24th from 5:30-7:30. The show is free to the public and commissions from the sale of work will be donated to the Ragdale Foundation. Additional work by Maggie Meiners can be seen at maggiemeiners.com

Ted Preuss... From Nature

This Ted Pruess image, "Desert Oasis #9", is one of the amazing pieces selected for the "From Nature" Exhibition opening at Gallery 180 on April 20th with the Opening Reception on Friday, April 24th.

Preuss—creating beautiful photographs of women as subject as well as art form—produces these pieces using a Platinum Palladium process. I found a wonderful section on his web site were he explains a bit more about this process then I've discussed in previous posts. The process is intriguing but I believe the most interesting aspect of Preuss' work is the passion for formal elements from which the images seem to be created. In defining his work, Preuss reveals his love for the human form and admits that his images are simply "...studies in light and form which blend formal and sensual qualities...". Take a few minutes to review his "Oasis of Mara" series. I love the image titled "Home". It's clearly about the contrasts of line, shape, texture and color.

From Nature... One of the Selected Works

The "From Nature" exhibition to benefit The Ragdale Foundation, has been selected. The show will be presented at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago from April 20 - July 24. The reception will be on April 24th from 5:30-7:30. The show consists of twenty-four works by twenty-one Artists from around the country. It includes painting, drawing, photography, sculpture and mixed-media.

The above image is a Platinum Palladium Print titled "Fog and Light" by RK Williams of Denver, CO. This is just one of the amazing images in the show. The mystical glow of the light moving through the fog—defining the trees— creates a peaceful, quiet sanctuary. The piece is an intimate, four by five inches in size.

A quick overview of Platinum Palladium Prints... The labor-intensive process for creating platinum prints was created by British Inventor, William Willis Jr. in 1873. Platinum images are contact prints and—based on their chemical composition—are highly permanent.

What's to Come...

I plan to use this blog to share general information as well as personal insights regarding my experience in the Chicago Art World. I'm also going to use this venue to shamelessly promote the various exhibitions at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago.

That said, please be aware that there is a call for submissions for a National Juried Exhibition titled, "From Nature". This exhibition is an exploration of all things found in nature... landscape, the figure, still life and abstraction are all valid entries. The exhibition is a benefit for The Ragdale Foundation, which has generously provided a two-week artist residency as one of the show awards. The entry deadline is March 14. Download the full prospectus at gallery180.com