Schuyler Maehl: NOWHERE

October 26 - December 2, 2010

Permeating the walls of Gallery 2.5 with colorful explosions of frenetic energy, Maehl's drawings and sketches provide an intimate view of his working process. These works frame the entryway to Gallery 3, where Maehl's recent paintings and sculpture are on display. Created from memories of the "nowhere" places he occupied during his sojourns in Iceland, these introspective reflections are suffused with the sounds of Maehl's original musical compositions.

NOWHERE, directly refers to the works in Gallery 3, the self-described "nowhere" places Maehl spent his time: caves, forests, and a spot overlooking the wild North Atlantic, which felt to him like "the end of the world." The title also draws attention to Maehl's physical and temporal distance from his subject matter. No longer in Iceland, Maehl is "now here" in Chicago, painting, and dreaming of the formative time he spent in another country.

Maehl has collaborated with the internationally recognized performance art group, Gelitin, since 2007. He is also a member of the Iceland-based collective, MoMS. His work has been exhibited in the prestigious Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; as well as at Deitch Projects, New York; Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France; and Lost Horse Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland. Maehl received his B.F.A. from Illinois State University in 2005 and currently lives and works in Chicago.

This exhibition is curated by Kendra Paitz and is sponsored in part by Theatre of Ted and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.