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  Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery: Focus 4: Four Solo Exhibitions   

CHICAGO, IL - The Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery’s Focus 4: Four Solo Exhibitions, which runs from February 25 through June 21, 2013, features the work of four Illinois artists: Preston Jackson (Peoria & Chicago), Michael Onken (Carbondale), Steven Robnett (Elgin), and Suellen Rocca (Romeoville), all of whom explore human relationships in their distinctive artistic voice.

Preston Jackson's exhibition, curated by ISM Assistant Director of Art Robert Sill, features recent sculptures and paintings. Jackson tells poignant and sometimes personal narratives of African American experience—both past and present—in a distinctively bold and expressive realist style.

 Michael Onken's exhibition, curated by ISM Associate Curator Debra Tayes, features a selection of paintings and several wood cut prints, created mostly in the last five years. Onken creates narratives that reflect the quiet and sometimes isolated mysteries of our day to day lives—rendered in delicate, jewel-like images.

Steven Robnett’s exhibition, curated by ISM Director of Art Jim Zimmer, features paintings and drawings that tell ambiguous stories of our human existence.  Inspired by memory, news photos, and art historical references, Robnett‘s subjects range from the whimsical to the unsettling, skillfully rendered in his distinctive form of realism.

 Suellen Rocca's exhibition, curated by ISM Assistant Curator Doug Stapleton, features a selection of drawings and paintings that explore the symbolic realm of dreams where abstracted figures become entwined with trees, boats and birds. Rocca's images are coded with metaphoric relationships, rendered with delicate precision and brilliant color.

 Reception for Focus 4:  March 8, 2013, 5 PM to 7 PM, second floor gallery, 100 W. Randolph Street, Suite 2-100. After 6 PM, enter by the LaSalle Street door.

 Lunchtime Gallery Talks. Informal gallery talks presented by ISM Chicago Gallery staff, Noon. March 20, April 17, May 15, June 12, 2013.

 Focus 4 is an ongoing program that highlights the work of accomplished Illinois artists in four separate exhibitions. The artists are selected by four fine arts curators from various sites of the state-wide Illinois State Museum system.

 The Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery, 100 West Randolph, Suite 2-100, is located in the James R. Thompson Center and is one of five art sites around the state featuring Illinois artists and works from the Museum’s permanent collection. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, closed state holidays. The Gallery is free and wheelchair-accessible. Tour and school groups are welcome. Please call for appointments for guided tours at 312-814-5322. Visit our website at: www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/chicago/exhibitions.

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Note to editors: Selected high-resolution images are available for publicity. Contact Doug Stapleton, dstapleton@museum.state.il.us or (312) 814-5320.

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