'Intention: Art of Randi Holt' at Elmhurst Artists' Guild Gallery
The Elmhurst Artists' Guild is pleased to announce "Intention," a solo exhibit by guild member artist Randi Holt in the EAG Gallery at the Elmhurst Art Museum, 150 S. Cottage Hill Ave., Elmhurst.
Holt's paintings will be on exhibit Jan. 27 through March 10. The artist's opening reception will be 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2. It is open to the public.
The exhibit will include more than two dozen of Holt's watercolor and ink paintings and drawings, and will be curated by Holt's former art teacher, Suellen Rocca, curator and director of exhibitions at Elmhurst College. Rocca was a founding member of the "Hairy Who" and the Chicago Imagists art movement established during the 1960s.
The centerpiece of "Intention" is "L'Origine du Monde," a large watercolor, ink and acrylic painting that is reminiscent of the Big Bang Theory of creation as if shown organically, as the life of a flower through a time lapse lens. The soft apricot colors of the poppy-like blossoms exploding from the center of the flower help to tell this story without words gently, in a way that draws the viewer's introspection.
"My intention is to capture the first moment of observation. The play of light reveals the scene, and my visceral reaction compels me to record what I see. Within this present moment, there is the relationship with the past and future; my mind recognizes the continuity of time through visual pattern," Randi explained.
Other works included in the show share this same theme. "Shadows No. 1" is an ink and watercolor painting depicting branches with some leaves and flowers in delicate hues of gray and black against a white background. The image is so subtle that the viewer must wonder how much is real, and how much is shadow work.
It is easy to see the foundation of nature in Randi Holt's body of artwork. "Nature inspires my daily studies; through its ephemeral quality the illusive magic of life reveals itself in patterns and details," she commented. "Skins and Bark," an ink and pastel work, embodies this "magic of life" in the soft rendering of two luscious poppies, one ochre and one coral colored, with pistols and stamens prominent, connected by a strip of bark above.
The Palatine artist is a 2012 graduate of Elmhurst College, with a B.A. in art.
Most of the artworks are available for purchase. The EAG Gallery is open during regular museum hours, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday.
Museum admission is $9, $8 for seniors (free first Friday of each month). The Elmhurst Art Museum and Elmhurst Artists' Guild members, students and children under 18 are admitted free.
For information on the museum, visit www.elmhurstartmuseum.org or www.facebook.com/elmhurstartmuseum/.
The EAG gallery is nonprofit, operated by the Elmhurst Artists' Guild. It features contemporary artworks through group, individual and invitational exhibitions. Exhibits are partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council. For information on the art guild, visit www.elmhurstartistsguild.org or follow Elmhurst Art Guild on Facebook.