Oakton art exhibit features Chicago couple's compositions

Oakton Community College's Koehnline Museum of Art will display unique compositions by Chicago-based husband and wife artists Thursday, Feb. 7, through Friday, March 22, at the college's Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road.

The public is invited to a free opening night reception for "Intersection of Place and Time: Indira Freitas Johnson and Karl Johnson" from 5 to 8 p.m.

"The manifestation of artist couples has always been fascinating and stimulating," Koehnline Museum of Art Manager and Curator Nathan Harpaz says.

"This will be the third exhibit at the museum featuring Chicago artist couples. Karl and Indira met at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1960s, and as their work evolved from life experiences in India, Sweden and the U.S. over the span of four decades, their thoughts and ideas have informed each other's work."

The sculpture and paintings in the exhibition explore the constant process of transformation and change in the cycle of decay, strength and vulnerability, as the artists create a dialog between nature and human intervention.

Harpaz adds, "Both artists take discarded objects and combine them in different ways, charging them with a renewed energy and sensibility so that they function physically as well as spiritually, reinforcing the idea of the sacredness of everyday life."

The Koehnline Museum of Art is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more details, call (847) 635-2633 or visit www.oakton.edu/museum.