John Fraser at Roy Boyd Gallery

I attended Graduate School at Northern Illinois University in the late eighties. I was lucky enough to have been awarded a “Talented Student Scholarship” which paid for my advanced study of Fine Art… Painting to be specific. The school's assistantship program was amazing. All I had to do—in return—was to teach two Beginning Drawing courses each semester… that’s where my love of teaching began and that's were I first met John Fraser. We were fortunate enough to be included into a small group of budding Artists which were being groomed for survival in the world of fine art.

I have followed Fraser’s career over the past twenty years—on occasion—attended his receptions and even exhibited one of his pieces at Gallery 180. Well… John Fraser has a show opening this weekend at Chicago’s Roy Boyd Gallery. The work, defined by Paul Klein as “elegant, reserved, and reduced” is amazingly quiet even when presented in a large-scale format. Fraser’s mixed media collages—with influences of Mondrian—contain a variety of objects including segments of books and other found objects. The minimal intricacy of Fraser’s work has the wonderful effect of stimulating deep introspection.

If you’re in Chicago—or plan to be here within the next month—make the effort to drop by the Roy Boyd Gallery at 739 N. Wells. John Fraser’s show will be on display though March 2nd. Additional work by John Fraser can be seen at royboydgallery.com. Take a look... the images are simply beautiful.

Image: John Fraser, "Grey/Pink Relief (With 45 Degree Rule)", Acrylic and Mixed Media Collage on Wood Construction, 27.375" x 27.375" x 1.375", 2008

William Conger at the Chicago Cultural Center

I received an email from Artist, Julie Karabenick, reminding me to see the William Conger exhibition at the Cultural Center. The show is a fifty year retrospective and runs concurrently with an exhibition of current work, being presented at the Roy Boyd Gallery on Wells Street.

I spent some time—this morning—exploring the Conger exhibition at the Cultural Center. It's a wonderful exhibition but seems to require a larger space. I shared the gallery with only four or five other art lovers and yet the space seemed a little too cramped. The intensity of the paintings—my favorites filled with shards of rich color—were all competing for my attention. When you visit the show, take some time to sit and focus on each individual painting... They are beautiful.