Four Chicago Artists: Theodore Halkin, Evelyn Statsinger, Barbara Rossi, and Christina Ramberg
鈥淸A] work of art exists as a whole. No explanation can convey to the heart the full meaning and wonder of art. That meaning is a live thing and withers at the [word鈥檚] touch! 鈥�Evelyn Statsinger
Unlike many 20th-century cities where artists were expected to work within the parameters of a predefined canon, Chicago鈥檚 artistic influences circulated freely. In a do-it-yourself and communal spirit, local artists made their own way, creating a shared set of decidedly Chicago artistic values consistent across generations and statuses. Thus, despite the 20-year separation between Theodore 鈥淭ed鈥� Halkin and Evelyn Statsinger and the generation of Barbara Rossi and Christina Ramberg, each of these four artists shared a commitment to personal authenticity and a talent for inventing original, imaginative compositions inspired by the world around them.
On a material level, these values translated into pieces that reworked found and imagined sources into new forms. In her own practice, Rossi called this 鈥渇orm invention鈥濃�攕he once used dish rags to evoke ringlets of hair鈥攂ut her term speaks broadly to the innovation at the core of each artist鈥檚 work. Halkin created landscapes reconfiguring architectural components into fantastical worlds. Statsinger鈥檚 intricately patterned drawings and experimental sketchbooks were playgrounds for shape and figure. Ramberg transformed corsets into urns.
These four artists, all formally educated at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and informally inspired by the city鈥檚 cultural resources鈥攆rom the Field Museum to Maxwell Street Market鈥攄eveloped highly unique practices. The works that resulted are as visionary as they are true to feeling, centering the transformation of shape, line, and color into otherwise incommunicable meaning.
The exhibition brings together approximately 95 drawings, sketchbooks, prints, photograms, quilts, and ephemera from these four artists to showcase how their lives intersected across generations to shape the visual culture of our inimitable city.
It is held in conversation with Christina Ramberg: A Retrospective, the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the iconic Chicago artist in almost 30 years.
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鈥淸A] work of art exists as a whole. No explanation can convey to the heart the full meaning and wonder of art. That meaning is a live thing and withers at the [word鈥檚] touch! 鈥�Evelyn Statsinger
Unlike many 20th-century cities where artists were expected to work within the parameters of a predefined canon, Chicago鈥檚 artistic influences circulated freely. In a do-it-yourself and communal spirit, local artists made their own way, creating a shared set of decidedly Chicago artistic values consistent across generations and statuses. Thus, despite the 20-year separation between Theodore 鈥淭ed鈥� Halkin and Evelyn Statsinger and the generation of Barbara Rossi and Christina Ramberg, each of these four artists shared a commitment to personal authenticity and a talent for inventing original, imaginative compositions inspired by the world around them.
On a material level, these values translated into pieces that reworked found and imagined sources into new forms. In her own practice, Rossi called this 鈥渇orm invention鈥濃�攕he once used dish rags to evoke ringlets of hair鈥攂ut her term speaks broadly to the innovation at the core of each artist鈥檚 work. Halkin created landscapes reconfiguring architectural components into fantastical worlds. Statsinger鈥檚 intricately patterned drawings and experimental sketchbooks were playgrounds for shape and figure. Ramberg transformed corsets into urns.
These four artists, all formally educated at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and informally inspired by the city鈥檚 cultural resources鈥攆rom the Field Museum to Maxwell Street Market鈥攄eveloped highly unique practices. The works that resulted are as visionary as they are true to feeling, centering the transformation of shape, line, and color into otherwise incommunicable meaning.
The exhibition brings together approximately 95 drawings, sketchbooks, prints, photograms, quilts, and ephemera from these four artists to showcase how their lives intersected across generations to shape the visual culture of our inimitable city.
It is held in conversation with Christina Ramberg: A Retrospective, the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the iconic Chicago artist in almost 30 years.
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The Art Institute of Chicago announced its exhibition schedule for the first half of 2024.
Stunning and much-deserved, it鈥檚 the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever devoted to the Chicago artist鈥檚 work.
After the Second World War, Chicago became home to a vast number of artists.
The Art Institute of Chicago is presenting Four Chicago Artists: Theodore Halkin, Evelyn Statsinger, Barbara Rossi, and Christina Ramberg on view from May 11鈥揂ugust 26, 2024.
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