An exhibition opening this week at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines will feature four prominent Chicago-based black artists in honor of Black History Month.
The exhibition will showcase more than 20 works of art, including pieces made of bronze, plywood and mixed media, and artwork using acrylic, collage and vellum cutouts.
Visitors met the artists — Preston Jackson, Joyce Owens, Bernard Williams, and Rhonda Wheatley — at the opening day reception Thursday, Feb. 2 at Oakton’s Koehnline Museum of Art, 1600 East Golf Road, Des Plaines.
Jackson, professor of sculpture at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, offers a different perspective on history through his depictions of people who made a difference.
Owens, curator of the Galleries Program at Chicago State University, challenges the public to look beyond the masks people wear through her art.
Williams, a former instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, incorporates signs and symbols in his artwork as a commentary on the complexities of history, human development, and movement through the ages.
Wheatley focuses on language and the written word in her paintings and collages on canvas and paper.
The exhibit, which runs through March 23, was the brainchild of Gregory James, assistant vice president for Student Affairs/Office of Access, Equity, and Diversity, who died late in 2011.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
