'Teachers and Students' exhibit on display at Marmion

An exhibit titled "Teachers and Students" by artists Robert Wilson and Gregory Chapman will be on display through Feb. 24 at Marmion Academy's Dr. Scholl Gallery, 1000 Butterfield Road, Aurora.

There will be a reception, open to the public, from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12. To view the exhibit during school hours, email Lisa Dzuricsko, ldzuricsko@marmion.org, to secure an appointment time.

Wilson has been recognized as a top ceramic educator and an award-winning artist. His work explores both the traditional functional and contemporary sculptural realms.

His most recent exploration of teapots breaks from ideas of traditional forms. His figure teapots play with recognition and acceptance of society's many unique body types.

Wilson discovered his passion for clay while a student at University of Illinois. His degree led to his teaching ceramics at Barrington High School from 1968 to his retirement in 2005. He earned a master of fine arts at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

Chapman follows in his teacher's footsteps. He learned much from his high school teacher, Wilson, and is himself an award-winning teacher and artist.

Chapman teaches at St. Charles East High School. His humor infuses his clever clay work. His paintings and drawings are packed with wild, expressive color, pattern, and movement.

"Art is the stuff of life," Chapman said. "The need to create things with meaning and beauty comes from the core of our being. If this need is not met, it leaves us with a feeling of distraction and restlessness.

"I teach others to meet this need. I create to meet the need myself. Long live art, and may creation counteract and suppress the destructive edge of our nature."