‘Sculpture’ featured at Fine Line’s Kavanagh Gallery through Aug. 8
An eclectic mix of formal and whimsical artworks are now on display at the “Sculpture” exhibit at Fine Line Creative Arts Center’s Kavanagh Gallery in St. Charles. Many of the artists are from Illinois.
Artists from Illinois include Brad Cahill, Megan Groves, and Kathryn Parenti, who all use different materials to create their art.
Brad Cahill carves stone. His work explores mythology and is often influenced by ancient legends and contemporary folklore. Cahill began carving stone in 2002 to try to understand this archaic art form.
Cahill has two pieces in the show: “Frequent Seas,” a hand-carved limestone piece that looks at motion within a stable structure and “This Department Has Worked [2] Days Without Accident,” another hand-carved limestone piece.
This piece is about a blue-collar worker who endured an industrial accident and is now on “comp-time.” The figure is carved as a horse, referencing the character of Boxer in the novel “Animal Farm.”
Another Illinois artist, Megan Groves, paints, draws, and sculpts, creating colorful work that explores many themes, including childhood, parenthood, generational issues, and interrupting the mundane with the magical and whimsical.
However, her piece in this show has been created using Lego bricks (influenced by play with her children). Following closely the rules of Lego building, which include no gluing, Groves’ piece “Broomstick” is a 70-inch replica of the Nimbus 2000 from “Harry Potter.”
Kathryn Parenti works with clay using hand-building techniques. Parenti has two pieces in this show called “Protector” and “Air.” “Protector” is a figurative bust with beads and horseshoe nails in muted tones of browns and creams, while “Air” is a figurative bust gasping for air, in light shades of blue. This piece “Air” was awarded Best of Show.
The award winners also include: Awards of Merit — Marcy Rogge’s “Sensei & Grasshopper,” Jodi Younglove’s “Modern Take on a Victorian Fruit & Flower Urn,” and Connie Orbeta’s “A Tribute to Maya Angelou ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’”; and honorable mentions Carolyn Davis’ “Whether Vane,” Jennifer Hoeft Nagle’s “Michaela and Lydia,” and Bethany Newman’s “Monolithic Ovaloid in Black.” Lawrence K. Johnson was the judge for the show.
The exhibit runs until Aug. 8 at the Fine Line, 37W570 Bolcum Road in St. Charles. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is always free to visit. For information, visit fineline.org/pages/sculpture-2.