Opening today, October 6th at Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago are two group exhibitions and 2 solo exhibitions.  The group exhibitions include: “A Study in Midwest Appropriation” curated by Michelle Grabner, and “Light and the Unseen” curated by Julie Rudder.  The two solo exhibitions include: Oli Watt’s “Here Comes a Regular” and Amanda Gentry’s “Expanding”.

 

 

Andrew Falwkoski.  Courtesy of the gallery.

Andrew Falwkoski. Courtesy of the gallery.

 

“A Study in Midwest Appropriation” is a group exhibition curated by painter, critic, and curator Michelle Grabner, the group exhibition A Study in Midwest Appropriation surveys the defining trait of appropriation in contemporary art from the heartland. Artists included in the show from Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis present a range of image and content-borrowing strategies, from the critical to the open-ended, the humorous imitation to the urgent copy. Click here for more information.

 

 

Pamela Bannos, from series The Light, 2008-2012, archival inkjet print, 30 x 40 inches

Pamela Bannos, from series The Light, 2008-2012, archival inkjet print, 30 x 40 inches. Courtesy of the gallery.

 

“Light and the Unseen” is a group exhibition curated by Julie Rudder. Light – which illuminates, reveals, and renders visible—has long been utilized as a marker for clarity, rationality, and intelligence. Light and the Unseen recognizes this history and takes it as its point of departure, using it as a touchstone for further exploration. The artwork in the exhibition sheds light on light’s complex relationship to that which is not visible, but with which light has inevitable, intricate ties: the unseen. Click here for more information.

 

 

Oli Watt.  Courtesy of the gallery.

Oli Watt. Courtesy of the gallery.

 

“Here Comes a Regular”, the first exhibition surveying the comically absurd work by conceptual artist Oli Watt. Once described as the unsung hero of appropriation, Watt has been producing and exhibiting prints, sculptures, installations, and new neon works since 1999, all of which use a unique brand of “dad humor” to shift our perception of pop culture. Watt generates his artwork from the desire to make real the fictional objects that mark pivotal humorous moments encountered in cartoons, novels, films, music, and personal history narratives.  Click here for more information.

 

 

Amanda Gentry.  Courtesy of the gallery.

Amanda Gentry. Courtesy of the gallery.

 

Emerging artist Amanda Gentry unveils a new series of nine works in the exhibition titled “Expanding”, which explores the pillow as a metaphor for the mental and physical weight of the human experience. Gentry’s repetition of hundreds of swollen and sealed vessels has a restless, uncanny effect, while her delicate use of color and soft materials render the unconscious state of sleep. Featuring some objects made in the Art Center’s Cerf Hill & Sagan Ceramics Classroom where Gentry took classes, the exhibition marks the first major solo show for the artist.  Click here for more information.

 

For more information on Hyde Park Art Center visit here.