High School Invitational

The work from the High School Invitational is up in the gallery. It is exciting to see the work being produced from high schools across Northern Illinois! We thank the following schools for their submissions & participation:

Rockford Jefferson

H.D. Jacobs

Nequa Valley

Dundee Crown

Belvidere

Hampshire

Vernon Hills

Bartlett

Libertyville

DeKalb

Lakes Community

East Aurora

Metea Valley

Antioch Community

Oswego

Paintings, drawings, sculptures and jewelry done in a wide variety of medium, conveyed in a diverse body of subject matter is represented by all the participating schools.

As part of the juried selection, three winners were chosen for their exemplary work:




"Unlock"
colored pencil

By Evan Jarzynski.

From the class of Mrs. Lynn Stockton, at Rockford Jefferson.

Awarded best in show.

"My Soul"
pen & ink on block print.


By Ian Harris.

From the class of Mr. Ray Gossell, at Libertyville.

Awarded second place.

"Ignorance III"
oil on canvas

By Cindy Fonseca.

From the class of Ms. Susan MCcarron, at East Aurora.

Awarded third place.

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Honorable mentions awarded to:

Monique Marchwiany
Hallie Morrison
Stephanie Sanders

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"Unlock" colored pencil By Evan Jarzynski. From the class of Mrs. Lynn Stockton, at Rockford Jefferson. Awarded best in show.

A New Beginning

After the close of "Crafting Maya Identity", the gallery closed for 10 days. Jody prepped the gallery walls, removing the Maya freeze accent, spackling and painting. The work for "A New Beginning" arrived last Monday, and the crew (Courtny, Ashley, Natalie, Carrie, Jacob, Jody, and I) finished installation in time for the reception yesterday evening. A special thanks to Manny for spending two days assembling his presses and water filtration system in the gallery.

"A New Beginning" celebrates the careers of retiring NIU School of Art faculty members Yale Factor, Ronald Mazanowski, and Manuel Hernandez.

Crafting Maya Identity

An exhibition of carvings by the Maya artisans Miguel Uc Delgado, Jesus Marcos Delgado Ku, Angel Ruiz Novelo, and Wilbert Vasquez, guest curated by Mary-Katherine Scott and Jeff Kowalski.

Although the technically refined and visually complex carvings of the Puuk region of Yucatan are often described as handicraft or "tourist art", it no longer seems appropriate to tag them pejorative connotations associated with such terms. Rather, they provide important information regarding how a relatively recent artistic "tradition" emerged in and responded to a particular context, and communicates significant messages about the changing nature of Maya cultural identity, and how such identity is constructed, represented, and understood by both the artisans themselves and tourist visitors in the context of cross-cultural contact and global interconnections. 

Crafting Maya Identity Sept. 19 reception

After a day-long symposium on Globalization, Tourism, Cultural Identity, Authenticity, and Art, attendees enjoy a private reception in the "Crafting Maya Identity" exhibition at the Olson Gallery.

Crafting Maya Identity DeKalb High School Tour

DeKalb High School students tour Crafting Maya Identity and meet the exhibition curators and Maya artisans

Crafting Maya Identity exhibition tour with School of Art Director Doug Boughton

The NIU School of Art Director Doug Boughton enjoys a tour of the exhibition with guest curators Mary-Katherine Scott and Jeff Kowalski, and Maya artisans Miguel Uc Delgado, Jesus Marcos Delgado Ku, Angel Ruiz Novelo, and Wilbert Vasquez

Hooray! Our new office enclosure for receptions is finished

We were finally able to finish the enclosure for the office to be used during receptions. This comes in rather handy to hide office clutter from sight. The enclosure was inaugurated during the reception for "Crafting Maya Identity" on Thursday September 17. Thanks to Kim and Jacob for their help on the project, and to Dean Holly for providing the $$$.