Elisa Boughner's "Needful Things" in the Lori Roderick, Luca Cruzat, and Elisa Boughner exhibits at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery -- through January 3
Tuesday, November 2, through Monday, January 3
Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery, 2200 69th Avenue, Moline IL
Works in a trio of disparate artistic mediums, by a trio of Illinois talents, will be on display at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through January 3, with the Moline airport showcasing ceramic sculpture by Rock Island's Lori Roderick, collagraph prints by Carbondale's Luca Cruzat, and acrylic paintings by Glenville's Elise Boughner.
In an Artist's Statement, Lori Roderick says, "I started out drawing, painting, and reading lots of novels in college. A friend recommended a pottery class and as soon as I got my hands in clay I was hooked. I kept reading, too, and graduated with English and art majors. A few years later I decided I needed to learn more about making pots and went to the University of Iowa for graduate school. I make vessels and sculptures by hand, building each piece with coils of terra cotta clay. I paddle, carve, or otherwise leave marks that hint at how they were created and react in interesting ways with the layers of glazes I paint on. Pieces are fired in my studio kiln multiple times and have a variety of final treatments like wax or gold leaf. Often when I begin a piece, I only have the most general idea of what the final outcome will be. Building coil by coil gives me plenty of time to make decisions as I go."
Luca Cruzat received her MFA in Printmaking from Carbondale's Southern Illinois University, and also received a Master of Foreign Language and Literature in French from the same institution. Describing her works, Cruzat states, "My subject matter emerges from close, personal observation and engagement with the ordinary. This may incorporate everyday clothes, whether used, collected or discarded; a faded flower; or hair. My work is likewise provoked by emotions, feelings, conflicts, fears and uncertainties, searches and questions. The process itself shapes the answers or provides a partial momentary response. For me, the entire creative process from plates to prints leads to greater personal understanding, transformation and expression. In turn, the viewer, may share this experience."
On Elisa Boughner's Web site, her biography states that she "was born in the United States, raised in Mexico, and studied art in America and Europe. Her work reflects the influence of each of these cultures, and of a range of painting styles from the Impressionists, through the German Expressionists, and finally the Cubist. The result is a unique and highly personal style that brings extraordinary vibrance to often ordinary subjects. Boughner uses traditional forms such as still life, but animates them through bold, often unconventional color and dynamic brushwork. By using often densely layered colors she achieves a complex, subtle and wide emotional range that transforms studies of external surfaces into exposes of internal feeling. The contrast between her objective subject matter and subjective treatment generates a creative dissonance that brings the paintings richly to life.”
The Quad City International Airport Gallery is located opposite the airport's gift shop and restaurant, there is a $1 fee for parking, and more information on the Lori Roderick, Luca Cruzat, and Elisa Boughner exhibits on display through January 3 is available by calling (309)793-1213 and visiting QuadCityArts.com.
