Press Room --

Curator's Talk — Focus on Artist Rebecca Wolfram at Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery

LOCKPORT— Discover the mysterious and evocative paintings of Chicago artist Rebecca Wolfram at a curator’s talk at the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery on Sunday, August 19, 2012, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.  ISMLG Curator Jennifer Jaskowiak will present “Focus On Rebecca Wolfram,” providing an overview of how this politically engaged artist explores ideas of culture, custom, and tradition in her paintings.  This ISMLG “Talk & Tour Program”—part of our continuing “Sunday Series”—is free and open to the public; reservations are not required though seating is limited.  Rebecca Wolfram is one of four artists featured in the current exhibition Focus 4: Four Solo Exhibitions on view thru October 5, 2012.  Also included in the exhibition is the work of Illinois artists Steven Robnett, Don Seiden, and Mario Trejo.

Rebecca Wolfram is a Chicago painter and has been painting for over twenty-five years.  Her works, done mostly in a dark, organic color palette of yellows and browns, portray the ideas of internal struggle and a questioning of cultural practices.  Her art is informed by her cross cultural experiences, as an English as a Second Language teacher and world traveler.  She explains that her painting is generated by unconscious material.  Some of her paintings show clear and direct messages, while others require the viewer to search for the meaning.  Wolfram has been known to use her artwork to address difficult subjects which exist within the world as a way of confronting and challenging the viewer.       

Focus 4: Four Solo Exhibitions (thru October 5^th) features the work of four Illinois artists: Steven Robnett, Don Seiden, Mario Trejo, and Rebecca Wolfram. Elgin artist Robnett narrates the human experience from multiple perspectives in tightly rendered paintings and compositions of charcoal, pastel, and colored pencil. Seiden—Chicago-based painter, sculptor, and art therapist with more than 50 years experience—explores life, art, and the creative process utilizing mixed media.  Southern Illinois artist Trejo combines rigorous processes and acute attention to detail in compositions that resonate between calm fluidity and struggling chaos. Chicago-based painter Wolfram delves into the effects of culture, custom, and tradition as they reflect and shape social behavior and society. 

The final one-hour informal presentation by a Focus 4 curator is Focus On Mario Trejo by Robert Sill, ISM Assistant Director of Art (September 9).  Later, be prepared for a chilling dramatic performance of Grimm’s fairy tales—some set to music and as they were originally intended for adults—by professional storyteller Judith Heineman and musician Daniel Marcotte (September 30).  Presentations are free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Jim Zimmer, jzimmer@museum.state.il.us or Jennifer Jaskowiak, jjaskowiak@museum.state.il.us. They can also be reached by calling (815) 838-7400.