"Ripple..." comes to a close

A few weeks back, I was contacted by Philip Hartigan, artist and faculty member at Columbia College in Chicago. Hartigan—born in the UK and now living in Chicago—asked me if I would consider meeting to conduct an interview related to my work and the three-person exhibition currently on view at The Art Center in Highland Park. Well... the interview was posted this morning on Hartigan's blog and it's worth a read.

As a reminder, "Ripple ~ Cause and Effect" at The Art Center in Highland Park will close on July 22nd. The exhibition—and the exhibition space— is wonderful. The three-person show includes sculpture by Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, and paintings by Yelena Klairmont and myself. The work flows together seamlessly. If you're in the area, take a quick trip to the Center... it will be worth the visit.

Opening Reception: Friday, July 2nd ...6:30-9pm

I spent most of the day—yesterday—transporting my pieces and installing the "Ripple~cause and effect" exhibition, which opens this Friday evening at The Art Center in Highland Park. The exhibition combines the work of Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, Yelena Klairmont and myself, to present a seamless presentation of the calm and chaos of nature. The work ranges from abstract to literal with both painting and sculpture. The Art Center is an amazing venue for this beautiful and thought provoking exhibition.

The Art Center in Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road. For additional information, contact The Art Center at 847.432.1888. I hope that you have an opportunity to experience this amazing collection of work.

The Art Center - Highland Park, Illinois

Some twenty years ago—after I graduated from school—I was trying to find ways of feeding myself as well as feeding my soul. I was working as a print designer yet wanted to continue painting and teaching. I ended up working a number of part time teaching positions, including one for The Suburban Fine Art Center in Highland Park. Well, over the years, the Center constructed a new space a few block from the original space, and they shortened their name to "The Art Center".

Earlier this week, I took a drive up to Highland Park. I hadn't been there in years. I wanted to check out the new space, since I—along with Paula Kloczkowski Luberda and Yelena Klairmont—have landed a show in the center's amazing main gallery. The three person show is titled "Ripple – cause and effect". It's a powerfully inspirational exhibition of painting and sculpture, presenting imagery focused of the meditative surface patterns found within nature. The works of Yelena Klairmont, Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, and myself have been compiled to create this peacefully, compelling exhibition.

The oil paintings of Yelena Klairmont are the most literal of the group. Klairmont captures the result of a compromised pool of water—portraying the ripple effect as a beautiful thought-provoking moment in time.

Paula Kloczkowski Luberda creates powerful stoneware rock forms with intriguing surface features. The wonderfully glaze-washed forms are manipulated and organized to create intriguing compositions in space.

Influenced—for more then a decade—by the hundreds of the pre-historic stone circles throughout Great Britain, my work uses the surface patterns of the Megaliths to create meditative imagery on which to ponder.

“Ripple – cause and effect” will be presented at The Art Center of Highland Park from July 2 through the 23th. An Opening Reception will be held on July 2 beginning at 6:30pm. The Art Center in Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road. For additional information, contact The Art Center at: 847.432.1888 or check the web site at: www.theartcenterhp.org

Ripple – Cause and Effect

Save the date for "Ripple: Cause and Effect" ...Friday, July 2nd 6:30-9pm

This is a powerfully inspirational exhibition of painting and sculpture, presenting imagery focused of the meditative surface patterns found within nature. The works of Yelena Klairmont, Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, and and myself have been compiled to create this peacefully, compelling exhibition.

The oil paintings of Yelena Klairmont are the most literal of the group. Klairmont captures the result of a compromised pool of water—portraying the ripple effect as a beautiful thought-provoking moment in time.

Paula Kloczkowski Luberda creates powerful stoneware rock forms with intriguing surface features. The wonderfully glaze-washed forms are manipulated and organized to create intriguing compositions in space.

Influenced—for more then a decade—by the hundreds of the pre-historic stone circles throughout Great Britain, my work uses the surface patterns of the Megaliths to create meditative imagery on which to ponder.

“Ripple – cause and effect” will be presented at The Art Center of Highland Park from July 2 through the 22nd. An Opening Reception will be held on July 2 beginning at 6:30pm. The Art Center in Highland Park is located at 1957 Sheridan Road and is open Monday through Thursday from 9-4:30, Friday 9-3 and Saturday 9-4:30. For additional information, contact the center at 847.432.1888.

Image: Charles Gniech "Quiet Wisdom" 40 x 40"

Textural Monument

Yesterday, I took a short trip down to St. John, Indiana to drop off a few paintings at the Steeple Gallery. The gallery began handling my work a couple of years ago. It’s a hidden gem… the four thousand square foot space is devoted specifically to original fine art and prints.

A few months back, the owner of the Steeple Gallery stopped by my studio to select some pieces. During that visit, she noticed a painting, which was the genesis of my current work. It was a piece that I never had intended to show or sell… but a number of people—who have visited my studio—have expressed interest. Well, in a recent telephone conversation, Sam asked if it was available and if I were willing to part with it. I agreed.


If you are in the area, check out the Steeple Gallery located at: 11107 Thiel Street, St. John, Indiana 46373 or contact Sam at: 219.365.1014

Above: “Textural Monument”, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36”, $2,000

The Cape

In the late eighties, I was working on a series of paintings that were truly abstract portraits. They were inspired by the people in my life at that time. I had just begun Graduate School and was sharing an off-campus apartment with an actor. I got to know many of the people working in the theater department and was invited to attend numerous events and performances. One of the performances was a show that included a spanish-influenced dance with a cape. It clearly made some sort of impression on me for the image ended up as a lithographic print as well as a canvas. The subject of the painting ended up with a very public career in the Chicago news media.

Additional work from this series—and more recent works—can be found at gniech.com

Above: "The Cape", oil on canvas, 72 x 50", 1989

Bitch...

Last week, I was contacted by one of my dealers who happens to be interested in pieces which I created during the late 1980's. She was looking for some new works—similar to pieces already in her possession. This request pushed me to explore the layers of paintings leaning against the walls of my studio. I spent hours going through the inventory of work, finding that I have kept many pieces, which reflect the various periods of my creative life. It's intriguing to look back at the progression of work. And it's funny that pulling them out of storage should have such an intense emotional affect. Revisiting them is like seeing old friends that you haven't seen in awhile.

The Image above—titled "Bitch"—is from a body of work called "Uniforms". This series was a symbolic exploration of abstract portraiture. As mentioned in earlier posts... the Uniform series explores the idea that we are constantly trying to evoke the illusion that our insecurities are non-existent. We create protective barriers—or uniforms—to deter invaders from the space within ourselves. The images use structural abstraction to symbolize these uniforms, which are observed in the attitudes, personalities and relationships people develop as a source of protection. Additional work from this series can be found at gniech.com.

Above: "Bitch" Oil on Canvas, 72" x 50" 1989