ZIA Gallery celebrates its first anniversary

In Winnetka—on Chicago's Northshore—there is a wonderful storefront gallery that opened its doors about a year ago. Marking this anniversary, ZIA Gallery will be presenting an exhibition comprised of the ZIA Gallery Artists. The work ranges from the self-analytical photography of Maggie Meiners, and the hyper-real bridge paintings of Roland Kulla to the highly conceptual, meditative surface paintings, which I’ve been producing for the past two decades. The Reception for this group exhibition will take place on Friday, July 29 from 5-7:30pm. Information follows… I hope that you’re able to attend.

ZIA|Gallery celebrates its first anniversary
with a Group Exhibition showcasing all of its artists.

The creative impulse is fundamental to being human. Compelling art engages the mind and spirit. From an intuitive process to a deliberate, analytical approach and every combination in between, ZIA’s artists bring their diverse expressions to life. Come see the strength and individuality inherent in their artwork.

The exhibition includes work by: Mary Burke, Clyde Butcher, Michael Cutlip, Marc Dimov, Rick Dula, Holly Farrell, Charles Gniech, Karina Noel Hean, Anne Hughes, Bob Krist, Deanna Krueger, Roland Kulla, Maggie Meiners, Julie Meridian, Josh Moulton, John Musgrove, Matt Schofield, John Vlahakis, Kathy Weaver, Carl Wilen, and Beverly Zawitkoski

The public is invited to attend the opening reception July 29, 5–7:30. A number of our artists will be in attendance pleased to welcome you and answer any questions while you take in their works and enjoy a beverage and delicious, appetizers. The exhibition runs Friday, July 29 through August 31, 2011.

Group Exhibition of ZIA|Gallery Artists
Opening Reception: July 29, 5pm - 7:30pm.

ZIA Gallery
548 Chestnut St. Winnetka, IL 60093
847-446-3970
ziagallery.net

Image: Charles Gniech, Meditation II, 48 x 36"

George Billis Gallery at Art Chicago

April 29 - May 2, 2011, Opening Preview April 28
The Merchandise Mart, 12th Floor

The George Billis Gallery [New York and LA] will be representing my work, this year, at Art Chicago. Art Chicago, the annual international fair of contemporary and modern art, brings together the world's leading emerging and established galleries. Art Chicago offers curators, collectors, artists and art enthusiasts a comprehensive survey of current and historic work, from cutting-edge to modern masters in a wide variety of media including: painting, photography, drawings, prints, sculpture, video and special installations.

The show runs through Monday, May 2. Tickets are valid for Art Chicago, NEXT, and the Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair. Adults: $20 daily or $25 multi-day pass... Seniors, Students or Groups: $15 multi-day pass, Children 12 and under are free. It's an amazing event... wear comfortable shoes!

Image: Charles Gniech, "Quiet Surface I", 24" x 24", acrylic on canvas
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Sheridan Road ~ ZIA Gallery

It’s always nice to receive recognition for the work you create as an artist. About a month ago, Maggie Meiners, Deanna Krueger and myself met with writer, Laura M. Browning and photographer, Jim Prisching at the ZIA gallery to discus our upcoming exhibition. Browning and Prisching work for Sheridan Road Magazine and were meeting with us to learn about “Reflections” the three-person exhibition presented at ZIA Gallery through March 19th.

The wonderfully written single-page article—complete with color images—gives a little insight into our individual bodies of work and concludes by pointing out that each of us is actually just attempting to find peace within the chaos of modern life. Browning concludes the article by pointing out, “…Each artist’s work is about fragmentation and about reflection, about giving something back to its audience.” The article is beautifully written and the portrait by Prisching is wonderful. Images from the exhibition are available at ZIAgallery.net
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ZIA Gallery ~ The Missed Reception

It’s highly unusual that I don’t make it to the opening reception of a local exhibition that includes my own work. In fact, I think that this was a first.

Last Friday, ZIA Gallery in Winnetka, opened a three-person exhibition titled “Reflections”, which presented my acrylic paintings along side of the photographic imagery of Maggie Meiners and the mixed media pieces of Deanna Krueger. Painfully, a respiratory infection kept me in bed. Feeling miserable, I knew that there was no way to attend the event. Waiting until the last minute—hoping that I might feel better, I made a call to the gallery and my apologetic words came out sounding a bit like a toad… they understood.

The following day, I received a few calls from supporters concerned at my absence. I was told that the reception was well attended and that the exhibition looked great. So today—a week later and feeling a bit better—I headed up to ZIA Gallery to experience the show for myself. I was pleased. Anne Hough, the Gallery Manager, did a wonderful job presenting the work. We chatted for a bit and discussed the variety of press that the show received. I’ll be sharing some of that in future posts.

If you have an opportunity to head up to the north shore of Chicago, visit ZIA Gallery at 548 Chestnut. The show continues through March 19th.
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Zia Gallery February 4 - March 19

Earlier, this fall, I was asked to join the Zia Gallery in Winnetka. The gallery—located at 548 Chestnut—is managed by Anne Hughes. Last week, Hughes organized a photo-shoot with local press for our upcoming three-person exhibition with the working titled, "Meditative Reflection" or simply, "Reflection". A segment from the press release follows.

From February 4 - March 19, 2011, ZIA Gallery will be featuring a three-person exhibition of works by Charles Gniech, Deanna Krueger, and Maggie Meiners. Each artist employs a different process and medium to develop bodies of work which involve reflection. Meiners' photographs depict direct, symbolic constructs of self, while Gniech uses both the process of painting and his abstracted interpretations of previously human-interpreted natural forms to evoke meditation. Deanna Krueger combines a high-tech, medical diagnostic film with a hands-on, seemingly crude manipulation of materials to arrive at a sophisticated, shimmering reconstruction.

Opening Reception: Friday, February 4, 5-7:30pm.

ZIA Gallery is located at 548 Chestnut Street in Winnetka, Illinois. Additional information regarding this and other upcoming exhibitions can be found at: ziagallery.net The gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10-5.

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"

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

Save the Date... Friday, February 19

The Art of Human Rights
Benefiting Heartland Alliance
Friday, February 19th at the River East Art Center in Chicago

I've been working with Heartland Alliance—for the past few years—on their annual "Art Against AIDS" benefit—now "The Art of Human Rights". I act as one of the jurors for the live auction, donate one of my pieces in support of Heartland's efforts, and host the Preview Exhibition at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. The 180 show is a small selection of the works donated to the event by some very generous Fine Artists from around the country.

This year, I have donated a copy of "Attorney" [shown above], a two-color hand pulled lithograph that I created in the late 80's. It is one of an edition of fifteen, each valued at $550. From the abstract series titled "Uniforms", the work 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.

I hope you will join me at the Heartland event. All proceeds from the purchase of work at "The Art of Human Rights" event will go directly to Heartland Alliance to fund their HIV/AIDS programs and services, which include: primary care, referrals, assistance with transportation and lab costs, housing, alternative therapies such as chiropractic treatment and massage therapy, HIV prevention education, and oral health care. "The Art of Human Rights" benefit will take place on February 19th at the River East Art Center in Chicago. Additional information on the event can be found at: artofhumanrights.com.

Image: Charles Gniech, Attorney, hand-pulled, two-color lithograph, 1989, ed of 15, 12x17 framed to 18x24

Blue Stone...

Charles Gniech, Blue Stone, 36" x 15", acrylic on canvas, 2006

In many cases—when I'm exploring new technique—I work on smaller canvases like the image above from 2006. Creating these painted "sketches" allows me an opportunity to make adjustments to my process before moving on to larger surfaces. And sometimes the sketch becomes a finished piece in itself. Blue Stone is such a piece. Additional work from this series can be seen at gniech.com


Detail: Blue Stone, 36" x 15", acrylic on canvas, 2006

Quiet Surface

The above piece is titled "Quiet Surface" from 2009. It is acrylic on canvas and measures 24" square. The genesis of this body of work stems back—more than fifteen years—to when I was obsessed with the various stone circles of Great Britain. At that time, I had the opportunity to travel to Britain a couple of times each year, spend a few days in London, and then head out to the countryside with little more then a duffel bag and a sketchbook. There are more then 430 prehistoric stone circles in Great Britain, and at that time, I was only able visit a handful during each adventure.

I find it interesting that the visits to those sites continues to effect the production of my imagery even today. I plan to use this blog to tell the stories of my adventures and to present the work which continues to be produced as a response to of those experiences.

Meditation III

From a body of work titled "Surface Paintings" from 2009

My exploration of the meditative surface patterns—influenced by various prehistoric monoliths—continues with a series of works comprised of mostly neutral color tones. The color shift is based on observations in nature, which seems to relax the human psyche. Additional work from this series can be found at gniech.com

Image: Charles Gniech, Meditation III, 48" x 36", acrylic on canvas, 2009