Press Room --
 LOCKPORT—A new exhibition of contemporary art opens at the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery on August 24, 2010. Entitled Pathways and Portals: Art, Nature and Science, this exhibition features the work of thirteen Illinois artists and one Illinois-based collaborative project. The exhibit runs through February 18, 2011, and admission is free. Special events and programs are planned; please contact the gallery for information. Artists act as visionaries for culture and show us different ways of perceiving, exploring and understanding the world. This exhibition—curated by Jane Stevens, Associate Curator, Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery—presents mythology, science, religion, nature and art as portals to other realms and to our understanding and appreciation of the wonders which surround us daily. Work includes multimedia installation, drawing, painting, and sculpture by artists Granite Amit, (art)n, AnnMarie Cernoch, Michele Corazzo, Shawn Decker, Indira Johnson, James Mesple, Kelley Quinn, Dusty Seno, Eugene Skala, Sharon Skolnick (aka Okee-Chee), Michelle Stone, Joan Truckenbrod, and Robert Wapahi. Electronic media generated works include Granit Amit’s installation On the River Already which refers to an individual’s mystical journey traveled through an ancient ecstatic meditation. Illinois-based collaborative project, (art)n’s virtual photograph, Oceans of Change, is a visualization of ocean currents and temperature. AnnMarie Cernoch’s Infinity Gliders represents spatial infinity, focusing on the line between the virtual and physical worlds. Shawn Decker’s Motion Study (Air) focuses on sound and the dynamic spatial aspect of air as a medium. Joan Truckenbrod’s video installation Elastic Soliton creates a sense energy that emanates from suspended fiber forms, suggestive of human shapes, which speaks to the fragility of life. In her graphite drawings, Meditation Series, Michele Corazzo refers to trails she has hiked where she is completely absorbed by her surroundings. James Mesple’s paintings feature the mythology of Flora, goddess of spring and flowers, and Hermes, the messenger of the gods. Eugene Skala paints rooms from his life, permeable spaces made mythical and dream-like, with doors, ladders and routes of entry and escape. Painter Sharon Skolnick (OkeeChee), a registered Fort Sill Apache, captures courage and strength in her signature horse paintings. Robert Wapahi scratch board renderings reflect on his Dakota-Sioux heritage and the roles of ancestors as story keepers and spiritual guides. Indira Johnson’s installation The Twenty-fifth Bowl addresses the serving of water and the preciousness of it as a valuable resource. Kelley Quinn creates mosaic mandalas, an ancient form that connects the twelve stages of the “Great Round,” from resting in darkness to opening to Grace. Artist and collector, Dusty Seno’s Americana-themed installation includes carved wood pieces done with her late husband and her own graphic illustrations. Michelle Stone’s From the shadows…a garden…grue-some creatures mimics nature’s on-going process of evolution. Stone’s papier mâché and acrylic forms focus on the shadow side of nature and life. The Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery is located on the first floor of the historic Norton Building at 201 West 10th Street in Lockport, Illinois, and is fully accessible to all physically challenged individuals. Museum hours are noon until 5:00 pm on Sunday and 9:00 am until 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The Museum is closed Saturdays and State Holidays. Admission is free. For information on exhibitions and related programs, becoming a member of the Friends of the Lockport Gallery, 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. For more information about the exhibit Pathways and Portals: Art, Nature and Science, please contact Jim Zimmer, Director or Jennifer Jaskowiak, Curator at 815-838-7400.
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