[IMC] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SKY GALLERY 2014 WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Wed Apr 2 14:15:57 UTC 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Kelly White, Executive Director
              40 North | 88 West - Champaign County Arts Council
              kwhite at 40north.org, 217.351.9841

SKY GALLERY 2014 WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Six new Sky Gallery billboards to be unveiled during Boneyard Arts Festival

Champaign - 40 North | 88 West - Champaign County's Arts Council - and Adams Outdoors Advertising are pleased to announce the 2014 winners of Sky Gallery:

Maria Lux & Jane Desmond: "Don't Throw Rocks" (watercolor & ink) [602 E University Ave]
"Based on true stories about the creative and sometimes ornery behavior of crows, this piece serves to remind us of the active presence and energy of other kinds of animal minds communicating, reacting, and making decisions all around us. The intelligence, opportunism, and adaptability of crows make them fitting neighbors for humans-fellow urban-dwellers that share many of our own traits."Maria Lux is an artist with an MFA from the University of Illinois, and Jane Desmond is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. Though they come from different disciplines, they share an interest in the study of animals and have worked together in other capacities in the past.
Jamie Kruidenier: "Pennsylvania" (oil on wood panel) [407 W University]
"This 2' x 4' painting is a small section of a larger structure. I was drawn to the image due to its compelling asymmetric elements - window frames, openings, and panes. The rhythmic yet irregular sections within sections, along with the non-traditional colors and an artist's freedom to adjust the image - catch the eye as it moves across painting." Jamie has been practicing and refining her craft since elementary school and is a retired Parkland art instructor specializing in water base painting media.

Robert Chapman: "Becky's Woods #7" (mixed media on canvas) [103 W Marketview Dr.]
"This image is a close up of a larger painting, "Becky's Woods #7" It is from a new series of landscapes I have been working on that were born out of photos taken near Fairmont, Illinois along Jordan Creek. The creek runs through the former studio property of Robert Youngman who taught art at U of I. He just passed away 2 years ago. I am happy this beautiful place will be honored in this way."

Carol Farnum: "The Other Side" (watercolor) [2100 S Neil St]
"As an abstract watercolorist, I tend to break the "rules" of the medium by exploiting organic movement and fluidity of the paint.  My work is an abstract expression of the world around us as people, of our raw human nature and depth as people.  I hope people will consider, with "The Other Side", the beauty of our human condition as this metaphorical storm is imposed high up against a sky full of possibilities."

Jason Patterson: "NEW AMERICANS: OUR MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT & SOCIAL ELEVATION"
(fixed soft pastels, wood, wood stain, latex paint & decorative paper) [909 W Bloomington Rd]
"This series is a stylized, contemporary examination of images emerging from a specific period in American history - a collection of portraits rendered after 19th century tintypes, Daguerreotypes and ambrotypes. It intends to glorify that new age, focusing on the hope, and potential freedom and happiness many former slaves and previously freed Black citizens saw ahead of themselves after The Civil War. This work is not meant to tell a comprehensive history. It is an idealized history. A life that should have been opportune to all, but was only seen by few."

Lisa Kesler: "Dispersal" (acrylic painting) [2504 N Mattis Ave]
"I work as a painter, printmaker and illustrator. I usually use repeating patterns in my work to create a sense of rhythm and movement. I like to use crisp, bold colors to give my paintings energy. I'm inspired by textile designs and vintage advertising."

These 6 artists will have their image showcased on custom 10' x 30' billboards around C-U. The boards will be posted the week of the Boneyard Arts Festival. The locations provided represent the first of many, search for  billboards as they rotate throughout Champaign-Urbana over the next year.

SKY GALLERY:
Champaign County is an incredibly creative community overflowing with talent. Adams Outdoor Advertising and 40 North | 88 West wanted to feed those creative flames by creating a different type of rotating gallery. Sky Gallery is not only a unique opportunity for an artist to share their creativity with the community on a whole new level but also a chance to display their work on possibly the largest canvas in town: billboards!

All billboard space donated by Adams Outdoor Advertising. Production cost provided by 40 North.

40 North | 88 West is committed to cultivating creativity in Champaign County. Through advocacy, information and collaboration, 40 North supports and promotes the important role that arts, culture and education hold in making the community a great place to live, work, learn and play. For more on this and other 40 North programs, visit www.40north.org

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