Prairie State College’s Christopher Art Gallery in Chicago Heights has been closed since spring to prevent the spread of coronavirus but the venue has been presenting virtual exhibits since summer.
Quirky, from Oct. 26 to Nov. 18, is the latest online exhibit and a preview of the show that gallery director Beth Shadur said could be mounted during the 2021-22 season.
“We’re still doing what we would do in the gallery. We ask each artist to create an artist statement and I write the gallery guide but there’s nothing like looking at actual artwork in person. This is a little taste and will hopefully whet people’s appetite for next year,” said Shadur of Highland Park.
“I just think the work is fascinating. It’s so interesting and so unusual. Each of these artists has such an unusual take on the way that they paint and the way that they create images.”
Quirky features approximately 20 pieces by Oklahoma native Michael Noland of Woodstock, Illinois; Springfield native Kevin Veara, who lives on the south fork of the Sangamon River in Illinois; and New York native Diane Levesque and former Chicagoan Marilynn Propp, both of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“All of the images that you are seeing in these works are an altered sense of reality. They’re not realistic interpretations of what the artists are trying to convey,” Shadur said.
“For Diane Levesque, a number of her pieces have a cartoonish quality to them. These figures have distorted limbs and eyes that are too large a scale for the figure so they have this funky but violent edge. They’re both humorous and terrifying at the same time.
“Marilynn Propp works with underwater imagery so she’s looking a lot at turtles and other underwater forms but they’re threatened by man-made objects. You’ll see things that are industrial and that are man-made but they’re anamorphic.”
Media involved in Quirky include acrylic on canvas, watercolor and acrylic on paper, oil on linen and relief print, collage on handmade cotton and abaca paper with pulp painting.
“Both Michael and Kevin work with images from nature. Although Kevin Veara’s pieces do have a tremendous amount of detail and he absolutely understands the anatomy of birds and the look of flowers, the way he makes them look take on an almost otherworldly appearance,” Shadur said.
“They’re very large and the birds are densely surrounded by these flower forms and plant forms but they are created as patterns that are almost filigree or paisley. It’s densely packed.
“Michael Noland makes his figures appear otherworldly like the Chicago Imagists used to work with. They’re glowing with saturated color and he flattens everything into a pattern and shape so there is obviously nature but they are taken to a funky edge.”
When Christopher Art Gallery closed to visitors, its Annual High School Art Exhibit, 2020, was ready to hang for March 19-April 9. The exhibit was canceled.
Its Spring Student Showcase Exhibition, 2020, which was slated for April 27-May 13, also was canceled but Stillness, which was curated by Douglas Stapleton, was offered from June 1 to July 15 online through a partnership with Illinois State Museum in Springfield.
“It’s important to keep our visibility up. Obviously we don’t have the luxury of people walking in to the exhibitions but we’re still able to present beautiful, professional exhibitions,” Shadur said.
She coordinates with Mike Saldaña, website and content specialist from Prairie State College’s institutional support services department, for Christopher Art Gallery’s online exhibits, such as the recent Biomorphic from Sept. 21 to Oct. 14.
Christopher Art Gallery’s exhibitions will remain virtual until further notice, so staying aware of the shows and posting about them on social media is one way to help, according to Shadur.
“I always try to post the fact that the shows are on so if people can continue to share that, that would be great. That helps out the gallery and the artists,” she said.
Other upcoming exhibits presented by Christopher Art Gallery include Subtle Tensions, featuring works by Frances Cox and Megan Greene from Nov. 30 to Dec. 15; and Threads, featuring works by Sonji Hunt, Laurel Izard, Donna June Katz, Paula Kovarik and Bonnie Peterson, from Jan. 4 to 27, 2021.
Quirky
When: Oct. 26-Nov. 18
Where: prairiestate.edu/christopher-art-gallery/quirkyexhibition.aspx
Tickets: free
Information: 847-530-2558; prairiestate.edu/artgallery
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
