Meditative Surfaces ~ one final day at TAC

Meditative Surfaces at The Art Center-Highland Park will close on Friday, July 10th at 4:30pm. If you haven't yet had an opportunity to experience this exhibition, your time is limited.

This 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.

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 of Influence... Corinna Button

Corinna Button, Little Black Dress, Stoneware

"The Art of Influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions" is currently on exhibition at The Art Center-Highland Park. The show presents more than fifty paintings, drawing, prints and sculptures created by fifteen fine artists from around the country. Each artist directed by their own specific passion, has created work not necessarily intending to address human rights issues... And yet they do.

I've selected pieces that are intriguing—with many levels of interpretation. Being conscious of the human rights issues outlined by Executive Producer, Cheryl Jefferson, I chose beautifully intriguing works of art that contain multiple levels of meaning—the meaning ultimately defined by the interpretation of the viewer.

Button's work—painting, sculpture, and prints—tend to explore humanity. Utilizing the figure as subject, the outcome defines a visual vocabulary where distressed beauty converges with quiet elegance. She points out...

"It's my fascination with people, the masquerades, performances and dramas seen in daily life that provides me with a continual source of inspiration."

"Little Black Dress" [shown above] seems to address the repression of women in male dominated societies. The bondage-inspired apparatus with voluptuous curves and pleated ruffles, accentuates the femininity of the form, referencing the beauty and grandeur of red carpet fashion. The piece may be a symbol of suppression, or perhaps the piece is just a nod to the beauty of women and fashion. Either way... it begins a dialogue.

The exhibition continues through December 29. The Art Center-Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, Illinois. This event is free and open to the public. All works are available for purchase.

The Art of Influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions includes works of art by: Corinna Button, James Deeb, Sheila Ganch, Claire Girodie, Sergio Gomez, Andrea Harris, Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, Richard Laurent, Kathy Liao, Chandrika Marla, Zoriah Miller, Nancy Rosen, Lorraine Sack, Valerie Schiff, Barbara Simcoe, and Anne Smith Stephan.

Originally from Sheffield, England, Corinna Button earned her BA (Honors) in Fine Art from Leeds Metropolitan University. Although continuing to paint, Button adopted printmaking as her primary medium of expression and earned a postgraduate degree in advanced printmaking from the Croydon School of Art. Her exhibition history is extensive, with shows in the US, Hungary, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Korea, and of course her country of origin, the UK. Her work is held in a number of important collections including the BBC, The University of Aberystwyth, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and Castle Lesley in Ireland. She has garnered recognition with awards, including the Hector Purchase prize and the University of of Aberystwyth prize . Button's work is featured in several publications, such as 'Extraordinary Sketchbooks' and 'Printmaker's Secrets' (Published by A&C Black). Button is an elected member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. Corinna Button works in several mediums and will often combine these, blending painting, printmaking and collage to create the qualities she is seeking in each individual work. The results are uniquely textured artworks that embrace both the deliberate and accidental elements of the artist's process.

"Ripple..." comes to a close

A few weeks back, I was contacted by Philip Hartigan, artist and faculty member at Columbia College in Chicago. Hartigan—born in the UK and now living in Chicago—asked me if I would consider meeting to conduct an interview related to my work and the three-person exhibition currently on view at The Art Center in Highland Park. Well... the interview was posted this morning on Hartigan's blog and it's worth a read.

As a reminder, "Ripple ~ Cause and Effect" at The Art Center in Highland Park will close on July 22nd. The exhibition—and the exhibition space— is wonderful. The three-person show includes sculpture by Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, and paintings by Yelena Klairmont and myself. The work flows together seamlessly. If you're in the area, take a quick trip to the Center... it will be worth the visit.

Opening Reception: Friday, July 2nd ...6:30-9pm

I spent most of the day—yesterday—transporting my pieces and installing the "Ripple~cause and effect" exhibition, which opens this Friday evening at The Art Center in Highland Park. The exhibition combines the work of Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, Yelena Klairmont and myself, to present a seamless presentation of the calm and chaos of nature. The work ranges from abstract to literal with both painting and sculpture. The Art Center is an amazing venue for this beautiful and thought provoking exhibition.

The Art Center in Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road. For additional information, contact The Art Center at 847.432.1888. I hope that you have an opportunity to experience this amazing collection of work.

Visual Narrative ~ Paula Kloczkowski Luberda

Visual Narrative is currently on display at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. The show includes a wonderful cement figurative sculpture by—one of my favorite artists—Paula Kloczkowski Luberda. The work—personally inspirational—depicts an interaction of a man and woman interpreted with pure body language. Kloczkowski Luberda's statement from the exhibition catalog reads:"

Connected, united, joined, or linked. As an Artist, I seek to create work with concepts strongly rooted in my exploration and observation of humanity. I manipulate the colors, textures and patterns of the materials used to convey my intentions. I strive to create a bond between the viewer and the work... to approach the viewer with a dialogue addressing society or humanity as a whole. It is important for us to understand what we have in common and how we connect..."

She goes on to explain the included piece...

"He/She presents a physical, psychological, and philosophical interaction between two figures. This reflection of humanity induces the observer to explore their personal relationships, moments of interaction and how both are perceived."

The Visual Narrative exhibition at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago continues through July 22nd and it is worth seeing. Gallery 180 is located at 180 N. Wabash in Chicago's Loop. If you are unable to make it to Chicago, you can review the exhibition online at gallery180.com

As a side note, I will be exhibiting with Paula Kloczkowski Luberda and Yelena Klairmont at The Art Center in Highland Park. That show—titled "Ripple ~ cause and effect", opening July 2nd—will include some of Kloczkowski Luberda's rock formation work.

Image: Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, He/She, 2001, cement, 31 x 9 x 3" and 30.5 x 8 x 3"

Ripple – Cause and Effect ...opening July 2nd

The Art Center—located in downtown Highland Park— is the venue for a three-person exhibition titled "Ripple~cause and effect" which will be opening on July 2nd. The exhibition is a powerfully inspirational collection of painting and sculpture, which presents imagery focused on the meditative surface patterns found within nature. The works of Yelena Klairmont, Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, and myself have been compiled to create this peacefully compelling exhibition.


The oil paintings of Yelena Klairmont are the most literal of the group. Klairmont captures the result of a compromised pool of water—portraying the ripple effect as a beautiful thought-provoking moment in time.


Paula Kloczkowski Luberda creates powerful stoneware rock forms with intriguing surface features. The wonderfully glaze-washed forms are manipulated and organized to create intriguing compositions in space.


Influenced—for almost two decades—by the hundreds of the pre-historic stone circles throughout Great Britain, I use the surface patterns of the Megaliths to create meditative imagery...

Britain is littered with more then four hundred and thirty of these prehistoric sites—most people are familiar with Stonehenge— yet there are areas concentrated with megalithic structures as far to the north as the Scottish Islands, and as far to the south and west as Cornwall. The largest complex of circles is just to the north of Stonehenge, at Avebury. My work is influenced by the meditative qualities of the fluid surface patterns found at some of these monuments. I have taken some artistic liberties, in the replication, manipulation and abstraction of the surface patterns found on these massive stone slabs, yet the work continues to convey the serene qualities regularly associated with nature and inner peace. The pieces included in this exhibition are representative of some of the fluid markings found within the rock surfaces. The process of creating each piece is as centering as the imagery itself.

“Ripple – Cause and Effect” will be presented at The Art Center of Highland Park from July 2 through the 22th. An Opening Reception will be held on July 2 beginning at 6:30pm. The Art Center in Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road. For additional information, contact The Art Center at 847.432.1888. I hope that you have an opportunity to experience this amazing collection of work.

Images, top to bottom:
Yelena Klairmont, "Ripple #7" oil on canvas, 40 x 30"
Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, "Three Goddesses" ceramic, 40 x 36 x 12”
Charles Gniech, "Meditation II" acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36"