The Schingoethe Art Gallery

Manifested Destiny

Featuring the Art of Larry McNeil (Tlingit, Nisga)

September 20 - December 16, 2011

Larry McNeil makes art that is a visual manifestation of the provocative times in which we live.  Employing irony and satire, McNeil's art is about the intersection of cultures, American mythology, and embodies a distinctive sense of American identity.

McNeil is a Full Professor in the Art Department at Boise State University.  He has also taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.  He has won numerous fellowships and awards for his art, which reinforces his idea that art may strive to embody relevance, meaning and, hopefully, a sense of grace.

Opening Reception: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 4:30-7:00 p.m. with a lecture by the artist at 6:00 p.m.

Image: In the True Spirit of White Man, digital print, 2002, 24" x 48"

Rock, Paper, Scissors: Process and Perception

Curated by Meg Bero, Gallery Director

January 19 - February 29, 2012

Images from left to right: Portland (detail) by Matthew Picton, Ode to Blue Sharpie by Sarah Steinwachs, Totem (detail) by Brian Dettmer

"Rock, Paper, Scissors" explores the relationship between an artist's vision, medium and process.  Results are sometimes literal, sometimes abstract and often enigmatic.  The artists reference a variety of landscapes: social, political and other.

Featuring works by Marissa Bero, Robert Blunk, G.E. Colpitts, Brian Dettmer, Katie Kahn, Kari Kraus, Nancy Legner, Matthew Picton, Mark Rospenda and Sarah Steinwachs.

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 19, 2012 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Annual High School Art Show

Featuring West Aurora High School

March 13 - April 5, 2012

Opening Reception: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Annual Aurora University Graduating Art Major Exhibit

April 12 - September 15, 2012

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 12, 2012 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Tenth Annual Aurora University Student Show

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 7, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Annual High School Art Show

Featuring Batavia High School

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 3, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Scholarship award presentation at 6:00 p.m.

Images (clockwise): Brendan McGee, Ian Bosak, Gabrielle Domena, Megan Pieterick

Recent Works by Steve Lowery, Professor of Art at Aurora University

Steve Lowery has been teaching at Aurora University for nearly 25 years.  He is a painter whose work can be categorized as abstract expressionism or surrealism.  Many of his more recent pieces will be on display at the Schingoethe Art Gallery.  This exhibit is sure to inspire current art students and captivate the general public.

Opening Reception: Tuesday, January 18, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Image at right: "Sunny Afternoon," Steve Lowery, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 45" x 45"

Just as Curious When It's Sung

Featuring work by Katie Kahn

In this show, Kahn explores a place of engagement between the personal, political and natural worlds in order to examine that interaction, and to discover wherein lies individual and communal responsibility.

Opening Reception: Tuesday, September 14, 4:30-6:30 p.m. followed immediately with a lecture by the artist

Image at left: "Empty Stage," Katie Kahn, 2004-2009, oil on canvas, 58" x 68"

Aurora University Senior Art Exhibit 

Aurora University's graduating art majors showcase their paintings, drawings and photographs as part of their educational experience.

Opening Reception: Wednesday, April 7, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

March 3 - 31, 2010

Annual High School Art Show

The artwork of St. Charles North High School students will be on display in the Schingoethe Art Gallery during the Aurora University Annual High School Art Show.

Opening Reception: March 3, 4:30-6:30 p.m.; scholarship presentations will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Images (clockwise): Jessica Lewandowski, Jake Zitko, Kelli Alderman, Laura Kaplan, Alex Wasson, Matt Wienecke

Aurora University Faculty/Staff Fine Art Show

Many Aurora University faculty and staff lead a double life: artist/teacher, administrator, graphic artist, etc.  The visual creativity of the AU community will be on display in this third (not annual) AU Faculty/Staff show.

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 14, 2010, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Aurora, Apollo and Others: Narrative Paintings by J. M. Mesplé

Drawings, Paintings and Prints

Mythological imagery within a contemporary context is explored in the paintings, drawings and prints of J. M. Mesplé.

Opening Reception: Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 4:30-6:30 p.m. followed immediately with a lecture by the artist.

Image at right: "Elixir of Love," J. M. Mesplé, 2009, egg tempera and oil on canvas, 48" x 36"

...of a Feather

Drawings and prints by Peter Olson

Birds metaphorically represent the vast and complex natural world on many levels.  Although we as humans understand them in many ways, something about birds remains elusive, distant and unknowable.  They are always flying away from us.

Opening Reception: Tuesday, September 8, 4:30-7:00 p.m.

Image at left: "Palm Warbler," Peter Olson, 2007, mixed media, 29 1/2" x 21 1/2"

Annual High School Art Show - St. Charles East High School

Confrontation/Contemplation

Featuring work by Mike Knierim and Carolyn Bernstein

Opening Reception Thursday, January 15, 2009, 4:30-7:00 p.m.

Bernstein and Knierim face the world head-on in this show about issues of war, loss and humanity.  Life is messy.  In "Confrontation/Contemplation," the goal is not to prescribe answers but, in their belief that art can evoke empathy and thus change, to simply present in the power of the visual the opportunity to reflect.  Curator, Meg Bero

Mike Knierim

Mike Knierim states, "Where you place your attention determines all."  Knierim tends to place his attention at the boundaries where things converge.  Such boundaries include encounters between natural and man-made, past and present, present and future, light and dark, right and wrong, have and have-not, levity and seriousness.  The list goes on...

For Knierim these things are all metaphors for the border between the conscious and subconscious aspects of ourselves.  Knierim seeks to create images and experiences which mediate between these levels of consciousness and reflect the dual nature of our being.  "My ultimate goal is to express myself in a manner that has the capacity to improve our lives by creating greater awareness and understanding of ourselves, our neighbors and the world at large."

Carolyn Bernstein

The guiding features of Bernstein's work are questions about what sparks and sustains curiosity and empathy.  Her work explores ideas of transcience, loss, and transformation.  "I find meaning and poignancy through an artistic practice that demands the careful and sustained examination of things that our culture discards, overlooks, or chooses not to talk about."

Root & Shadow

Featuring work by Christian Arrecis, Myongbeom Kim and Kim Strom

Images from left to right: "Chance," Christian Arrecis; "Tree #1," Kim Strom; and "Deer," Myongbeom Kim

The Root & Shadow art exhibition features the work of three artists who use photography to document their manipulation of the natural world, all in an effort to preserve, enhance, provoke and reveal.

Opening Reception Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 4:30-7:00 p.m.

"not for the season"

Featuring work by Tyler Hennings

The exhibition, "not for the season," indulges visitors in the pure joy of painting.  Viewers are immersed, aided by the chosen sizes of the canvases, in color and the movement of brush strokes.  Hennings invokes a strong sense of memory, both personal and shared.

Opening Reception Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 4:30-7:00 p.m.

Image at right: "hydrastatic afternoon," Tyler Hennings

Movement and Metaphor

Featuring work by Karen Lange and Dominic Moore

Opening Reception Thursday, January 10, 2008, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Image at left: "Untitled," Dominic Moore

Image at right: "Untitled," Karen Lange

Field Sketches Inspired by the Schingoethe Center

AU presents an exhibit of paintings and drawings by The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, Great Lakes Chapter, featuring Native American plants and artifacts from the Schingoethe collections.

Opening Reception November 14, 2007, 4:30-6:30 p.m. followed by a slide and specimen lecture on Native American plant usage with ecologist and botanist Pat Armstrong, M.A., University of Chicago.

Image at left: "Pitcher Plant," Julie Kulak

Image at right: "Turtle Amulet," Suzanne Wegener

Evidence of Human Habitation

Featuring work by Tom Berenz and Mike Knierim

Opening Reception Thursday, September 13, 2007, 4:30-7:00 p.m.

Image at left: "Cul-de-sac," Mike Knierim

Image at right: "Untitled," Tom Berenz

First Light II: New Artists, New Work

Featuring work by Deann Allerman, Marissa Bero, R. Hope Le Van, Maureen McKee, Gerardo Rios, Juan Sepulveda, Jon Stanicek.  Opening reception, Downstairs Dunham Gallery, adjacent to the Schingoethe Center.

Image at right: "Untitled," Marissa Bero, 2005, mixed media

A Voice of Their Own: Emerging Chicago Native American Artists

Curated by Meg Bero, Executive Director of the Schingoethe Center

Erica Lord (Athabaskan/Inupiaq), Chris Pappan (Osage, Lakota), Debra Yeppa-Pappan (Jemez Pueblo, Korean)

Image at right: "Fox Delegate to Washington D.C.," Chris Pappan, 2005, Acrylic on Wood Panel, 77.5" x 108", collection the Schingoethe Museum