Art in Alternative Spaces
ANATOMICALLY CORRECT & STEPPENWOLF
THEATRE PRESENT:
Rock, Paper, Scissors
A "battle" of works in
stone, paper and metal
Artists: Walter Arnold, John
Kearney, Elyn Koentopp
Nicole Aimee Macaluso, Jenny Schelewitz,
Midori Tajiri Schleitwiler, & Glenn Wexler
Exhibited at:
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
2nd Flr Gallery
1650 N. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60614
Free Opening Reception: Friday, July 16, 1999 (6:30 - 7:30 p.m.)
Artwork is on display at Steppenwolf’s 2nd Floor Gallery through August 29, 1999.
There is no charge for viewing of the artwork.
Regular viewing hours are one hour prior to theatre performances.
For more information contact the gallery at .
This art exhibition is in complement to Steppenwolf’s
production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh.
BIOGRAPHIES
WALTER ARNOLD
(Limestone and Marble Sculptures)
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| ""Diamond" Limestone 8" x 6" x 10" | "Silverdale" Limestone 12" x 12" x 6" |
"Marquinia" Marble 6" x 6" x 8" |
| A Chicago area native, Mr. Arnold began sculpting in stone at the age of 12. At 20, he began an apprenticeship in the marble studios of Pietrasanta, Italy, (the center of marble carving since the Etruscan times) carving portrait busts, Madonnas, and other sculptures. From 1980 to 1985, he worked at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., producing almost one hundred architectural carvings. In 1985, Mr. Arnold returned to Chicago and established a studio specializing in architectural sculpture and ornament in limestone, marble and bronze. He designed and carved two memorial sculptures to the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, (one for the Harold Washington Social Security Center), and another for the Chicago Park District. His work includes a neoclassical tympanum for the Commonwealth Edison substation in downtown Chicago; the design and carving of a gothic limestone facade for the restaurant Medici on 57th, carved relief panels for the North and South entries of the Helen Brach Primate House at the Lincoln Park Zoo, a sculptural turtle water fountain for Goudy Square Park in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, and memorials for Chicago’s Seneca Park/Eli Shulman Playlot, Morrie Mages Park and the Marovitz Golf Course. In 1998, he created the four 12 foot tall Telamones sculptures for the Chicago House of Blues Hotel lobby. His work in architectural restoration includes carvings for the Chicago Tribune Tower, the Museum of Science and Industry, The Terra Museum of Art, The Motorola Museum of Electronics, The University of Chicago and Loyola University. Mr. Arnold also creates custom sculptural fireplaces and fountains for private residences. Most recently, you might have seen his work on cable’s HGTV (Home and Garden Television) program, "Dream Builders" and "Modern Masters." | ||
JOHN KEARNEY
(Welded Sculpture from Chrome Automobile Bumpers)
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"Dragonfly" Welded Stainless Steel and Bumpers 16" x 36 1/2" x 33" |
"The Apparition was a Success" Steel and Medical Instruments 38" x 6" x 15" |
"Medical Peacock" Steel and Medical Instruments 19 1/4" x 17 1/2" x 20" |
"Mosquito" Welded Stainless Steel and Bumpers 20" x 34 1/2" x 28" |
Mr. Kearney, now age 74, is a prolific sculptor, painter, and silver/goldsmith who continues to create sculptures that adorn many public spaces around Chicago. His many outdoor creations have included a chromium plated bull elephant at the Lincoln Park Zoo, two goats at the corner of Clark and Deming Street, a gorilla hanging out for 20 years in front of the Uptown Hull House, an 18-foot tyrannosaurus rex at the Academy of Science, a life-size giraffe at the Museum of Science and Industry, a trio of deer at the Amoco Building terrace, two horses in the 1800 block of Sedgwick, and most recently the Tin Man in Oz Park. His sculptures can also be found at the Mitchell Museum in Mt. Vernon, IL, the Detroit Children’s Museum, and the Ulrich Museum of Wichita State University. His "Chromosaurs" (a t-rex and triceratops, and stegosaurus - weighing a total of eight tons) landed at the Dallas Museum of Natural History in 1998. He also has two bronzes at the Museum of Contemporary Art and two bronzes at the south entrance of the Field Museum. Mr. Kearney studied at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI (1945-48), at the Universita per Stranjeri in Perugia, Italy (1963), at Belles Artes, Rome (1963-64), received a Fulbright Award to Italy (1963-64), an Italian Government Grant to Italy (1963-64), and was a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome (1985, 1992 and 1998). He has been sculpting painting, designing and teaching at the Contemporary Arts Workshop in Lincoln Park for over 35 years. Mr. Kearney reminds us, with an ever-dwindling supply of materials, "Over the years, bumpers have gotten sparse, now they’re all rubber." Will Kearney ever retire? It depends, says the grandfather of five, "I don’t know whether I’m going to run out of bumpers or steam first!"
ELYN KOENTOPP
(Hand-made Paper Quilts)
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| "Broken Dresden Plate" Handmade paper, floss, found objects 24" x 36" |
"Corn Quilt" Handmade paper, cotton floss 54" x 54" |
"Quilting Bee" Handmade paper, ink, cotton floss 26" x 36" |
"I have chosen to make paper quilts because quilts speak to me in a timeless way. Through quilts we come to know our female ancestors since traditional history does not tell us about their lives. They are made to signify births, weddings and deaths; or are made perhaps for a friend or a remembrance. Quilts become records of family and community history. To me, quilts are metaphors of life." Ms. Koentopp received a B.S. from the University of Illinois, a M.A. in the Interdisciplinary Arts and a M.F.A. in Book and Paper Arts from Columbia College. She currently teaches art at the CCA Academy and ASA Academy, both alternative high schools that serve the needs of at-risk African American teenagers in North Lawndale; and has taught paper making through Gallery 37 . Her work has been exhibited at the Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts, the Beverly Art Center, Triangle Art Gallery, Lakeside Cultural Center the Chicago Cultural Center and the Levy Center Art Gallery.
NICOLE AIMEE MACALUSO
(Hand-made Woven Paper Reliefs)
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"The Purging of Spring II" 2'x 4' |
"March of '97" 2' x 4' |
"May of '97" 2 1/2' x 4' |
| "The expressive medium of hand-built recycled papier mache' especially attracted me both aesthetically and environmentally. Instead of wasting both my funding and some trees, I decided to start collecting suitable junk papers for mache'. These papers had to be somewhat free of dyes, non-shiny and be of a moderate texture to enable me to cook them down to a very mushy ‘oatmeal-like’ consistency to create the texture and surface for my art." Ms. Macaluso received a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an M.F.A. from Northern Illinois University. Her work has been exhibited at Wood Street Gallery, Peter Jones Gallery, the Polish American Museum of Art, the Beverly Art Center, Yello Gallery, Woman Made Gallery, New Content Gallery, and the Riverside Arts Center, to list only a few. | ||
JENNY SCHELEWITZ
(Hand-made Paper with Botanicals)
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| Untitled 5" x 7" |
Untitled 5" x 7" |
Untitled 5" x 7" |
Ms. Schelewitz has worked in arts marketing in Chicago for nearly three years and currently is the Marketing Manager at Steppenwolf Theatre. She received a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing from the University of Iowa in 1995. Jenny was inspired to make her own paper by her artist cousin Cathy Saner who lives in Salt Lake City and her Aunt Lois Saner who gave her the materials to get started. "I was visiting my cousin last summer in Salt Lake City and she had just come off a weekend of making a bunch of paper. I was fascinated by the texture and beauty of the paper and was amazed by the process." All of Jenny’s pieces are made from recycled junk-mail and natural ingredients including pine needles, rose petals, essential oils, pressed flowers from her mom’s garden, tea grounds and just about anything that she finds in her apartment.
MIDORI TAJIRI
(Wax Paper and Butcher's Paper Lunch Bags Dresses,
and Mixed Media Relief Sculptures)
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| "Very Naughty
Girl"
Relief Sculpture 12" x 8" x 6" Cardboard, photo, metal, xerox, alphabet soup |
"Early
Girl"
box containing gum wrapper books, 2 paper bag dresses and 1 polaroid Inside 8" x 8" x 3 1/2" (Outside Detail ) |
"Lunch Dress" Wax Paper 3" x 8" |
"Lunch Dress" Butcher's Paper 3" x 8" |
"The materials I use are very important to the meaning of each piece. They are mostly bio-degradable and the paper is almost always acidic. This ensures that they will change and yellow with age, so like a living object they each have a lifetime. Another important element is the use of sewing. The stitching of the paper suggests mending and healing, yet because the stitches are through the paper, they are actually making the object weaker by perforating the object with every stitch; a dichotomy of mending and falling apart at the same time. The content of my work specifically relates to childhood experiences regarding abuse and early maturation, and about obsessive experiences and relationships." Ms. Schleitwiler was born in Chicago in 1972 into a family of artists and has been traveling extensively since the age of fifteen, living in the United States, Europe and Mexico. Midori received a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and studied at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. Her work has been exhibited at Roberto Lopez Gallery and South of North Gallery. In addition to being an artist, she is also a jazz vocalist.
GLENN WEXLER
(Prints on Hand-Made Paper, Marble Slabs and Brushed Steel)
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"Jason" Silkscreen on Marble 12" x 10" |
A native of Austin and Oak Park and a custom screen printer by trade, Glenn Wexler is steadily becoming one of Chicago’s most prolific and popular artists. His signage and graphics adorn the walls of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Terra Museum of American Art. He also has his own line of apparel, "Wexler-Wear." Influenced mainly by his background as a screen printer, Wexler applies the screen print process to his images which range from literal to impressionistic. He is also inspired by advertising, pop art, foreign newspapers, magazines and comic books, mostly Asian in origin. Besides the work in this exhibition, Glenn has silk-screened on glass, cast cement, enlarged photos of old paintings and a variety of found objects, including tree trunks. Internationally, Wexler’s work has been shown in Milan, Paris, Venice, Hong Kong, and Switzerland. Locally, his work has been exhibited at the Rockford Art Museum, Perimeter Gallery, Cindy Bordeau Fine Art, Oskar Friedl Gallery, Eastwick Gallery, Beret International Gallery, Lineage Gallery, Union League Club, Ann Nathan Gallery, Vedanta Gallery, World Tattoo Gallery, Peace Museum, in addition to numerous exhibitions in New York and Miami. Glenn also exhibited his work in Anatomically Correct’s exhibition "Feast for the Eyes: Food in Art" and "Through the Looking-Glass of Art" at Steppenwolf Theatre. Glenn was recently selected by the City of Chicago - Department of Cultural Affairs to paint a cow for the "Cows on Parade" project. His cow can be found on the Field Museum's Campus near the lake.
Anatomically Correct is an Illinois non-profit corporation dedicated to showcasing work by artists in public spaces in a combined effort to educate, diversify, and promote community awareness of the visual and performing arts.
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