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

Twisted Homage

Mirjana Ugrinov’s Homage is a series of brilliantly colored, undulant curves suspended from the ceiling. Rolling and collapsing in on themselves, the pieces are like three triumphant flags - waving in tribute to colorist masters Ellsworth Kelly and Henri Matisse.

Ugrinov took an element of Kelly’s design - irregular forms that seem to float and animate his pieces - and reinterpreted it in three dimensions. She did the same thing with Matisse’s La Gerbe; capturing the vitality of his colorful cut-out shapes in a fluid 3 dimensional design, full of movement. Ugrinov makes clever use of the simple, rectangular shape of canvas. By curling the forms she reveals secret crevices and casts shadows - poetically referencing the way the genius of our idols can both inspire and elude us.

The flags are still there until October 29^th

By Rachel Brown