June 3 - August 2, 1997
Visions Not Far From Normal is an exhibition consisting of paintings, sculptures, drawings, photography, and unique musical instruments by eight artists living in Illinois. As the title might suggest, obsessive or unusual themes underlie the work in this exhibition. Six of the artists are self-taught, three have exhibited widely, and two are exhibiting for the first time. Three are senior citizens.
D. Bill, of Danvers, is already a local legend for creating telephone pole totems with cartoony hatchet-hewn faces, many of which grace the yards of cartoony hatchet-hewn faces, many of which grace the yards of central Illinois.
Michael Bowlds, of Park Forest, makes intricately patterned colored-pencil drawings which offer surrealistic and wryly humorous glimpses of popular culture.
Josefina Ferran, who lives in Normal, paints colorful and vivid scenes based on their childhood memories of Cuba.
Glen Davies, an urban art teacher, artist and muralist, exhibits tarpaulins and wood sculpture inspired by Mexican ritual, comics, and 1960s visionary experience. Locally, he painted a mural for La Bamba, “Burritos as big as your head!”
Steve Johnson, of Bloomington, creates self-playing, hybrid musical instruments that are handcrafted from wood, metal, and surplus electronic parts.
Elizabeth Stein, a former art teacher in Bloomington, arranges kaleidoscopic collages with color Xeroxes from photographs of nature.
Irene Zion, a resident of Champaign, paints intimate and Kafkaesque portraits of family and friends, presented in frames with wood-burned images and writing.
Kenneth Rogers, of Joliet, presents macabre visions populated by clowns, dolls, and distorted beings.
Tuesday, June 3
7:00 p.m.