Art Review Archives:

	V. 9 thru 10 chronological (current)
	V. 7 thru 8 chronological
	V. 5 thru 6 chronological
	V. 3 thru 4 chronological
	V. 1 thru 2 chronological
	Alphabetical Index V. 1 thru 4
	Hotlist Current 2008
	Hotlist Archive 2008
	Book Reviews

Artists of Rogers Park: Diana Berek, Patricia Galinski, Peter Jones, Ken Klopeck. Pat Olsen, Luis Vargas, David Westling
August 20 - November 15, 1999

Excalibur (Nightclub)
640 North Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
Telephone: 312/ 266-1944

and Marty Lazer (Artists Representative)
118 North Peoria
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Telephone: 312/ 633-0706 (Sales)

Luis Vargas

Twenty-five acrylics on canvas by Luis Vargas are on display in Excalibur's Aura room. Vargas' canvases range in style from an almost Cezannesque and analytical representationalism to a more flamboyant and expressionist manner. By background, Vargas is an educator and art instructor and has a number of exhibitions to his credit.

"Palms and Fields" (1997: 18"x24") is representative of many of Vargas' landscapes at the more Cezannesque approach: the composition is well-managed and the larger contours that delineate the land and sky stabilize the lively dynamic of the cultivated fields and softer clouds. Here, the parceling that results from human cultivation is exploited for its geometric patterns. This, together with the varied hues which break and emphasize divided plantings give a rewarding visual dynamic to the painting. The contrast between the rough-edged stand of palms at the viewer's right and the pacific soft-edge of background clouds at the upper left quarter of the painting create a frame which further unties the scene.

"Wind Over Hills" (1997: 30"x24") is another fine example of Vargas' attention to prominent geometries of contour to be drawn from natural vistas. And in "Wind Over Hills" the sculpting of cloud forms, sweeping and dramatic, echo his more expressionist brushwork. Many of the works in this mode predominate in rich and glowing greens and blues, and earth colors and warm hues are used as separator elements in his composition. "Tall Palms" (1994:20"x16") is a dramatic acrylic study, but its drama lies in the juxtaposition of the deep green and blue terrain against the very light grey and sparsely blue sky, where the clouds are of a much softer modeling. This is all the more underscored by the striking thrust of the lone palm from the painting's lower half.

The curation of the show has gathered, for harmony and consistency of presentation, the cooler works toward one wall, and united the more expressionist pieces together. This latter grouping carries color to a fauvist, tropicana color sense. "Fields Aflame. (1997:30"x40") vividly displays Vargas' attraction into a fauvist expressionism in one series of paintings exhibited at Excalibur. In acrylics such as "Fields Aflame" and "Flaming Palms" (1997: 24"x18"), as the titles indicate, the artist resorts to raw color and a violent placement in composition, and the sense of geometrical shape is analytical, explicit and veers toward near abstraction.

Peter Jones

Peter Jones has nine ink jet printings on exhibit in Excalibur's Living Room. These are photocollages which incorporate figure drawing models from classes at the Peter Jones Gallery on 1806 West Cuyler, Chicago. The artist uses various Sony digital cameras, as well as a 70s vintage Nikon and a 1917 Kodak 11x14 gallery camera. The actual collages are manipulated in Adobe Photoshop(TM).

Despite Peter Jones' use of modern high tech, there is a certain Victorian air to many of his collages -- one thinks of Lewis Caroll (himself one of the early photographic pioneers), Aubrey Beardsley, Arthur Rackham and (in some Peter Jones pieces), even the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. The titles lend support to that first impression: "The Dreamers," Lady with Lilies," "The Emporess," "Lady with Little People," ... . It is interesting to compare the computer collage of Peter Jones with the Anglo-Swedish photographer, Oscar Gustave Rejlander. Rejlander is best noted for "Two Ways of Life" (1857), in which he used 30 negatives of hired models to create that ambitious, and acceptably erotic tableau. Rejlander, Henry Peach Robinson (another English Victorian), and other such pioneer photographers held to the conventions of painting, while exploring photography's potential. And in the process, they dispelled much of the stereotypes about Victorian 'straight lace.' Fantasy and Freud win out over Mother Grundy: then -- and in the work of Peter Jones.

Patricia Galinski

Patricia Galinski is represented by nine pieces in the Lobby: five watercolors and four photo assemblages. The watercolors consist of well rendered portraits, one of which -- No.3 in the list which accompanies this exhibition -- is "Self-portrait" (21"x20". Towards the back area of the Lobby is Galinski's "Three Figures," a graceful, somewhat analytical Cubist interpretation a la Braque.

Patricia Galinski's photo assemblage are duotones and display a sensitive intuition of form, light and shade.

Ken Klopack

Ken Klopack's eight acrylics are hung in Club X of Excalibur. Klopack's work reveals a near Byzantine insight into human types as we see them in public situations. His general technique tends toward a direct and wry stylization such as one associates with many artists of The New Yorker, Harpers and The Atlantic. Klopack has a Bachelors degree in Secondary Art Education and an M.A. in Special Education, both from Northeastern University, Illinois, and he has pursued independent study in painting with William Conger and Lorraine Peltz, Northwestern University.

Diana Berek

Diana Berek is represented in "Artists of Rogers Park" by eight artworks in the Aura room's first floor and four additional works on that venues' second floor. The art on exibition consists of oil, and occassionally acrylic on canvas and generally reveals a hard-edge, effectively mannered symbolism, although Berek does offer works which delight in formal design for its own sake.

"Dance: Imaging Freedom" (1994: 44"x38"), which also was titled, "Dance For The Millennium," is an eye-catching oil painting and a good example of Berek's work. In it, five female figures dance at water's edge, under the canopy of a stormclouded twilight and before uprooted morning-glories and arbutus. At the nearest foreground, three winged fish emerge as if in concert with the cryptic rites. From above, red, and yellow, rays of light stream down upon the scene as a unifying visual component, and a suggestion of celestial sympathies. The manner of execution recalls the primitivist, Henri Rousseau, a painter who, although an 'outsider,' was at the fore of psychological and nouvelle primitif art. "Facing the Millennium" (1994: 30"x40") confirms that Berek's style and composition, direct and symbolistic, are much attuned to contemporary graphic expression, and this, often with a programmatic intent. Her imagery is tense, effective and, with concentration, readable in meaning.

"Moon/Sumacs@River/Earth" (1998:36"x24") is a particularly fine example of Diana Berek's art for love of formal design and it is quite enjoyable. The sensuous curves and infoldings of the night clouds counterpoint red sumac fronds in a dance of contour and color; a bright moon seems a fulcrum against which all other elements are measured.

To a degree, Diana Berek combines a telling instinct for design and composition with unusual but effective palettes in the serve of programmatic ideals. Her works reveal a sensitivity for form and contour and often employ it towards an orphic mannerism. Where all elements integrate and 'cooperate,' Berek presents very fine artworks.

"Artists of Rogers Park" will run until November 15, 1999. Excalibur offers the advantage that the artists' work is arrayed coherently throughout separate rooms. But the visitor is well advised to phone Excalibur and come earlier to view the art -- the club gets festive and distracting as the evening wears on. The club is at 632 North Dearborn and the phone number is 312/ 266-1944. And those wishing to purchase artworks should contact Artists Representative, Marty Lazer at 312/ 633-0706.

GO BACK TO PART I

--G. Jurek Polanski

Jurek Polanski has previously written and art edited for Strong Coffee in Chicago. He's also well known and respected among the Chicago museums and galleries. Jurek is currently a Visual Arts Correspondent for ArtScope.net.