Defining Territory: Contemporary Drawing Exhibition - Opening Reception

Curated by Joan Stolz and Matthew Watt

Saturday, September 28 – Saturday, November 9, 2013

Reception: Thursday, October 3, 6-8 p.m.; Gallery Talk by Stolz and Watt at 7 p.m.

Music by the Parkland Guitar Ensemble

Parkland College Associate Professors in Art & Design Joan Stolz and Matthew Watt have curated “Defining Territory: Contemporary Drawing,” a group drawing exhibition at Parkland Art Gallery that opens Saturday, September 28 and runs through Saturday, November 9, 2013.  They have selected five artists who have a collective interest in the theme of transformation and abstraction, yet whose work differ from one another in terms of content and process. Some of the artists incorporate observation and the use of traditional drawing mediums while others call on memory and history as a catalyst and utilize a more organic process.  The exhibition will feature several abstract drawings completed in printer’s ink, china marker, charcoal, graphite, monoprint, and collage.   Insects, landscape, cartography, biology and geology are some of the subject matter or references found in the work.

The exhibit participants are comprised of a mix of studio artists and faculty at several U.S. educational institutions: Karina Noel Hean, based in Santa Fe, NM and a teacher at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design; Patti Jordan, Adjunct Professor at Laboratory Institute of Merchandising College in New York City; Lucas Monaco, a studio artist practicing in Brooklyn, NY; Sara Schneckloth, an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at the University of South Carolina; and Shelby Shadwell, an Assistant Professor in the Art Department at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie.

In conjunction with the exhibit, an opening reception honoring the artists is scheduled for Thursday, October 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. and will feature a curatorial talk by Stolz and Watt at 7 p.m. An additional lecture by exhibiting artist Shelby Shadwell will be held on Thursday, October 17 at 1:15p.m.in the gallery.

“We chose artists with very different approaches to abstract drawing.  The ideas conveyed by the drawings are quite compelling, and I feel that the aesthetics of these works make them accessible to people who don’t normally respond to abstraction. The exhibition is really about tension,” explains Stolz. “The tension comes from the friction between realism and abstraction. No matter how realistic or abstract it is, it is the artist who ultimately defines where the line is drawn. That is where it gets really interesting.”

Parkland Art Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday; and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. To find the gallery when classes are in session, we suggest using the M6 parking lot on the north corner of the campus. Enter through any door and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point of the first floor, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area.

Programs at the gallery are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Parkland College is a section 504/ADA-compliant institution; for accommodation, call 217/351-2505. For more information on the invitational, please call the gallery office at 217/351-2485 or visit www.parkland.edu/gallery.