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Jack Olson Gallery plans faculty sabbatical exhibition

August 28, 2015
Nina Rizzo’s “In Between Trees,” gouache on paper, 2014

Nina Rizzo’s “In Between Trees,”
gouache on paper, 2014

NIU’s Jack Olson Gallery will host “Focus,” an exhibition celebrates artistry and research produced as the direct outcome of recent School of Art and Design faculty sabbatical leaves.

The show runs from Monday, Aug. 31, through Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Room 200 of the Visual Arts Building. A reception is planned from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17.

Participating faculty artists are Michael Barnes, Todd Buck, Katie Kahn, Nina Rizzo, Kurt Schultz and Kryssi Staikidis.

  • Barnes conducted lithographic research at print studios in Belgium and France, and was focused on acquisition of knowledge of traditional practices often lost in the contemporary American print studio.
  • Buck created new effective patient education materials for the health science community, mainly for chiropractic care – the intention to design and create visual images that can easily help a patient and physician point to an area of pain and easily identify which nerves are involved so they can determine best treatment options.
  • Kahn was an artist-in-residence at Roswell, allowing her to focus without external distractions on an intensive series of mixed-media works.
  • Rizzo explored the relationship between paint as physical substance and its ability to describe space. Seeking direct experience in distinct places and the opportunity to make work while present there, she was an artist-in-residence at four established and competitive residency programs in four very different locations. The aim of her research was to produce a single body of paintings consisting of four unique parts for later exhibitions.
  • Schultz engaged in an extensive exploration of animation, interactive and sound techniques using current state-of-the-art digital media tools during the production of animated video and sound pieces.
  • Staikidis authored a collaborative ethnography about a Guatemalan Maya painting apprenticeship. Her sabbatical year was devoted to final data collection and collaborative writing of the 10-year research study conducted among three artists, two Guatamalan Maya painter/mentors and herself.

For more information, call (815) 753-4521 or email JackOlsonGallery@gmail.com.