NEWS INDEX Archives 2007 December

Two new I space exhibitions explore world of poster art, colors

Melissa Mitchell, U. of I. News Bureau arts writer
217-333-5491

Mary Antonakos, I space director 312-587-9976

Click photo to enlarge Jay Ryan's "Bear and His Dog" Click photo to enlarge John Phillips' "Study for Big Red"

12/4/07
          
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Holiday lights won’t be the only bright, shiny objects attracting attention in Chicago’s River North arts district this season. Two colorful exhibitions at the University of Illinois’ I space gallery, on view Dec. 7 through Jan. 12, will illuminate the area as well:

• “Jay Ryan: animals and objects in and out of water” focuses attention on the poster art of the Chicago-based U. of I. alumnus.

Ryan, who founded his print studio, The Bird Machine, in 1999, is known in the Chicago area and beyond for his posters – typically teaming with whimsical, sometimes manic, creatures – promoting bands described by Chicago artist and author Audrey Niffenegger as “both obscure and well-known on the indie club circuit.”

“The posters function as advertisements for bands’ gigs, but they also unify a social scene and create an identity for a certain sound, place, time,” she said. “Someday soon the posters will hang in a museum and visitors will come and look at them, and then the posters will be a little different. You had to be there, but even if you weren’t, the world of Jay Ryan will still unfold for you in its splendid, frantic glory.”

• “Bright,” curated by Lela Hersh, features the work of Chicago-based artists Jo Hormuth, Cheonae Kim, John Phillips and Eric Tucker, and German artist Markus Linnenbrink, all of whom use color as a primary visual element.

Hersh, a Chicago-based independent curator and arts consultant, said a saturated palette isn’t all the artists share in common.

“The optical play in the work of Tucker and Kim may entice viewers to look for illusions in Linnenbrink’s visually jolting and aggressive paintings,” she said.

“The provocative palette and puffy rectangular “Chiclets” of Hormuth’s installation are kindred spirits with the bold hues and eclipses of Phillips’ painting. Music is embodied in the cadence of Kim’s line installation as it is in Phillips’ mastery of shapes and space. When viewed together, Tucker’s wall sculptures resonate with the structural physicality of Hormuth’s ‘Wink.’

“The controlled use of solid colors in all these works contrast the emotional tenor in Linnenbrink’s small painting ‘LETMEBEYOUREYES – ORANGE.’ ”

An artists’ reception, free and open to the public, is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. on Dec. 14 at the gallery, 230 W. Superior St., Chicago. I space gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.