Press Room --

Meet Artist Judith Raphael at Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery

LOCKPORT, IL— On Sunday, March 3, 2013, visitors can come to the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery to meet artist Judith Raphael and hear her speak about her work.   This free “Meet the Artist” event begins at 2:00 PM and lasts approximately one hour; it is part of the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery’s Sunday Series of programs which accompany our current exhibition Figurism: Narrative and Fantastic Figurative Art from the Illinois State Museum Collection.  Reservations are not required to attend, though seating is limited.  Doors open at noon on Sunday to view the current exhibition; event begins at 2:00 PM.  Figurism runs through April 19, 2013.

For much of her career, Judith Raphael has focused on people.  In her paintings she builds distinct, full characters for compositions staged to reveal to viewers the narratives of modern civilization.  Raphael’s most recent work focuses on girls on the verge of adolescence, who are posed not as delicate flowers but in more aggressive postures of classical male sculptures.  In Raphael’s own words, “The Greek warriors and pontificating orators….seemed a perfect attitude for my bumptious girls.”  Raphael has had a long and successful career as an artist in both Chicago and New York, maintaining residences in both cities.  Primarily a figurative painter, Raphael was an associate professor at Moraine Valley College from 1969-2000 and a visiting artist at the School of the Art Institute for over 20 years.

Figurism: Narrative and Fantastic Figurative Art from the Illinois State Museum Collection brings together historical and contemporary artwork of more than fifty artists that emphasizes the power and the range of the narrative and expressive figure in Midwest art. The artworks in the exhibition demonstrate the many artistic styles which adhere to representation yet still capture feeling, experience, memory, and time.  Many lean towards the fantastic, with a heightened sense of the super-real and super-natural.  The work by more than fifty artists represented in Figurism reflect the range of styles, and variety of media, and the richness of figurative art created in the Midwest over the last century.

The Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery is located on the first floor of the historic Norton Building at 201 West 10^th Street in Lockport, Illinois, and is fully accessible to all physically challenged individuals.  Museum hours:  Sunday, noon to 5:00 pm, Monday thru Friday, 9:00 am until 5:00, closed Saturdays and State Holidays. Admission is free.  For information on exhibitions and related programs, becoming a member, directions to the museum, or to schedule a group tour of ten or more, please contact museum staff at (815) 838-7400 or visit the museum online at https://www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/lockport/.  The Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery is part of the Illinois State Museum system, including sites in Springfield, Rend Lake, Chicago, and Lewistown.