By Laura OlsonThe Daily Northwestern
Faces stare back from the walls. The figures, in various states of dress and expression, greet visitors in two and three dimensions, catching their eyes from the figures’ homes on canvas and in sculpture.
The works are part of two new exhibits – “Figures Upstairs and Down” and “The Next Generation” – at the Noyes Cultural Art Center, 927 Noyes St.
More than 60 people attended the opening reception for the exhibits Sunday, where both artists and models mingled with local art aficionados.
Portrait and sculpture works make up the “Figures Upstairs and Down” exhibit, featured in the center’s second-floor gallery.
The selection of paintings and sculptures was created by members of the Figurative Art League and the Evanston Art Center in the first joint showing by the two groups, according to Loyce Moskow, the league’s director.
The paintings were produced in the league’s workshop classes, using live models.
Moskow said many of the models have worked repeatedly with the group, which has been in Evanston for almost 30 years.
Although the works from each class are based on one model, the paintings reflect each artist’s style, Moskow said.
Stephanie Noble, a Chicago resident and longtime model, said she enjoys the pieces that do not mirror the models exactly.
“I like it when all the pieces look different, when they take on a unique style,” she said. “They’re doing what they love and it’s always beautiful.”
The gallery’s other new exhibit, titled “The Next Generation,” features works from five graduates of Chicago’s School of the Art Institute.
Chie Curley, one of the curators, said the pieces were chosen for their “striking” qualities.
“There are some real gems among the group,” said Curley, who has curated five shows featuring Art Institute students at the Noyes center.
The ground floor exhibit includes paintings, photographs and a three-dimensional paper project, which the artist describes as an abstract self-portrait.
Katie Fizdale, one of the featured artists, explained her project, a series of photographs taken at the now-closed Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania, to visitors at the reception.
Fizdale said she chose to photograph the prison after a friend told her about its history.
A short trip to take a few images evolved quickly into an in-depth project.
The series depicts the viewpoint from the prisoners’ beds in the historic Philadelphia-area prison, which opened in 1829. The prison’s method was to alter inmates’ behavior through solitary confinement, but it was abandoned in 1971.
“I wanted to relay a more private point of view,” she said. “It’s pretty horrific, but at the same time, there’s something very beautiful about it.”
Reach Laura Olson at [email protected].
