Oakton museum hosts new sculpture exhibit

Oakton Community College will host a reception Thursday for the opening of an exhibition featuring the works of sculptor Egon Weiner.

The exhibition, "Egon Weiner: Pillar of Human Emotions," runs through Sept. 19 at Oakton's Koehnline Museum of Art in Des Plaines. It will feature sculptures from the museum's collection, as well as recently discovered bronze, metal, and wooden pieces, officials said.

Weiner, who escaped Germany in 1938 and later became a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is known for sculpting the Pillar of Fire, a 33-foot bronze sculpture at the site where historians believe the Great Chicago Fire started, now the site of the Chicago Fire Academy.

The reception is from 5 to 8 p.m. at the museum, 1600 E. Golf Road. Museum hours until Aug. 11 are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For more information, call (847) 635-2633, or visit www.oakton.edu/museum.