Jin Lee and Rhondal McKinney, an exhibition of photography will be on view in the McLean County Arts Center’s Brandt Gallery from January 13 through February 18, 2012. A reception and gallery talk with the artists – free and open to the public – is scheduled for Friday, January 20, from 5pm to 7pm.
The exhibition brings together Jin Lee’s color photographs of Lake Michigan and Rhondal McKinney’s black and white photographs of Illinois farmland. The images generate a dialog on nature and our relationship both physically and emotionally to our surroundings. Within a precise focus on composition and subtly in details, the photographs stimulate the eye to wander, search, and rest.
Jin Lee’s color photographs of Lake Michigan evoke a meditation on time and change. Fixed and yet in constant flux, the lake is defined by horizon, waves, and sky that are as steadfast as they are variable. This body of work demonstrates how water, in its natural forms, has remained elusive, powerful, and mysterious.
Rhondal McKinney’s black and white photographs of Illinois farmland have a tangible characteristic in their content of man-made agricultural landscapes and in the methodical processes of their development in the dark room. The sky in his images offers an ephemeral atmospheric quality while the soil has a palpable feeling of physical weight, moisture, and darkness. This contrast in sensation is comparable to the daydreams conjured while hands work a task repetitively.
Jin Lee is a Professor of Art at Illinois State University and currently serves as the MFA Graduate Coordinator. She earned her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and BA from Wellesley College.
Rhondal McKinney is a Professor of Art at Illinois State University. He earned his BA and MFA from the University of Illinois.
Jin Lee and Rhondal McKinney is generously sponsored by Susan Emmerson and Dennis French & Hanne Heckmann.
Learning Simple Things, an exhibition of abstract pastel drawings by John Cassidy will be on view in the McLean County Arts Center’s Armstrong Gallery from January 13 through March 3, 2012. A reception with the artist – free and open to the public – is scheduled for Friday, January 20, from 5pm to 7pm.
Inspired by literature, landscape, and the artist’s inquisitive thoughts, pastels as a material are given room to explore their capabilities. Each drawing is a unique experiment between the varying colors and types of paper and pastels Cassidy explores. Vibrant in color and complex in mark making, the drawings depict spaces only seen in the mind’s imagination. Shapes shift and dance throughout each composition convincing in both their concreteness and malleability. The exhibition demonstrates the time, care, attention, and passion that is all required in “learning simple things.”
Originally from Peoria Illinois, John Cassidy earned his BA and MA in English at Bradley University. During his graduate work in English, John began developing artwork relative to writing and poetry. He has lived and made his work in Bloomington for the past 17 years.
Learning Simple Things is generously sponsored by Cheryl D. Jackson.