The Urge to Embellish - ISM Museums and Galleries
All our exibitions are organized and developed by our curatorial staff and participation in an exhibition is by invitation of the curators. We are happy to consider your work or your exhibition proposal if you are an artist that resides in the state of Illinois, or your proposal has a connection with Illinois history. Proposals should be sent to: Fine Art Curators
Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery
James R. Thompson Center, Suite 2-100
100 W. Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601
The Urge to Embellish
This exhibition examines a basic human impulse-the urge to embellish. Visitors will have the opportunity to view an eclectic array of new acquisitions and rarely-seen works from the Illinois State Museum Collection made predominantly by non-professional artists. The objects reveal how embellishment has been guided by experimentation, learned behavior, social expectations, and tradition. Included are commemorative, ceremonial, decorative, functional, and whimsical objects spanning nearly two centuries with a heavy concentration from the mid-to late-nineteenth century when the idiom of effusive ornamentation reached its zenith and pervaded visual culture. The exhibition is comprised of 2- and 3- dimensional pieces constructed with beads, ceramic, feathers, fibers, human hair, metal, papier-mâché, porcelain, and wood. For more details click here for full Press Release.
Learn about other exhibitions currently at the ISM Museums and Galleries.
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