Cheri Reif Naselli has the Blues

Cheri Reif Naselli’s Le Lac is a meditation in blue. Painted on a heavy, wooden block, the image wraps around the corners in a liquid embrace. It is a simple, timeless scene: gently peaking water and above, a subtle play of light and atmosphere - recalling Dutch landscapes - all awash in milky blues.

The lack of specificity lends the piece an enigmatic haze - evocative of the mysteries contained in the rippling of any deep water. We might wonder if what lies behind those clouds are mountains or just more water. The French title might suggest Lake Geneva, however, in Chicago we know that Le Lac, or The Lake only refers to Lake Michigan. Here, Reif Naselli has created a contextually transmutable landscape that transcends place and time and in doing, reveals the continuity of both.

Come contemplate it at ARC until October 29^th

By Rachel Brown

Jan Parker Spins a Good Yarn

Today kicks off Ooh-La-La Chicago, ARC’s annual members show! Throughout the month, ARC blog will be giving you a sneak peak at the work of each of the members and affiliates showcased in the exhibition!

First up is recent member and multi-media artist Jan Parker whose evocative installation is elegant in its simplicity but demanding of contemplation for all of its tangled complexity. Prefabricated Happiness: A Self Portrait is a 7 lb 8 oz ball of blood-red yarn, cradled between a smooth swath of the same yarn and a shiny, new rocking chair. The piece plays with notions of motherhood and manufacturing and perhaps teases out the parallels embedded in our conception of both. The image, both gentle and jarring, contains a psychological heaviness. Even the word, “yarn” is redolent of a yearning. The fabric from certain angles appears like a pregnant belly and is indeed pregnant with the viewer’s own projections of domestic bliss - acquired, avoided or sadly lost.

Ooh-La-La opening reception is Sunday, October 9^th

By Rachel Brown