'Sculpting a Chicago Artist' comes to Oakton July 12
Oakton Community College's Koehnline Museum of Art will display the works of a world-renowned Chicago sculptor and the influences of his teachers as part of Art Design Chicago.
"Sculpting a Chicago Artist: Richard Hunt and his Teachers, Nelli Bar and Egon Weiner" opens Thursday, July 12, and runs through Sept. 14 at the college's Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road. The public is invited to a free opening night reception from 5 to 8 p.m.
Hunt, an African-American from Chicago's South Side, is one of the city's most prominent sculptors, with more than 125 works on public display. He was appointed by former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson as one of the first artists on the governing board of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Hunt received the lifetime achievement award from the International Sculpture Center in 2009. Hunt was greatly influenced by two dynamic teachers Nelli Bar and Egon Weiner at The School of the Art Institute. Both Bar and Weiner fled Europe after the rise of the Nazi regime and educated in prominent European academies in the 1920s.
Last year, the Terra Foundation for American Art awarded Oakton a prestigious grant of $20,000 for the exhibition that is part of Art Design Chicago, an initiative of the Terra Foundation for American Art exploring Chicago's art and design legacy with presenting partner The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
More than 75 cultural organizations throughout Chicago have partnered to develop projects for Art Design Chicago, covering the period between the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 and the turn of the 21st century.
"Over the years, the Koehnline Museum has produced significant exhibitions featuring Chicago artists and the Chicago art scene. This exhibition, funded by Terra Foundation for American Art, is a great acknowledgment of the museum's work, and it reinforces our mission of advocating Midwest artists," said Nathan Harpaz, the museum's manager and curator.
"As an institution dedicated to teaching and learning, it's appropriate to share these important works that illustrate the transforming power of education. The Koehnline Museum is pleased to provide the Oakton community access to many important artistic pieces, whether from Chicago artists or from around the world, helping them become more culturally competent and better citizens."
In addition, many special events will take place to coincide with the exhibition at the Des Plaines campus including:
• Professional Development for Teachers: 12 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, July 12, (registration needed)
• "Gallery Talk": 2 p.m., Wednesdays, July 25 and Sept. 5
• "Sculpture Walk": 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28
• Panel discussion, "Teaching Sculpture Now": 2:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30, Room 1604
Admission to the Koehnline is currently open for its summer schedule from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday. On Aug. 9, the museum returns to its regular operating hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information about Art Design Chicago, including partner organizations and exhibits, as well as Civic Committee and Advisory Committee members, visit artdesignchicago.org.