Roger Blakley, “To-Two” (2004), painted cast bronze
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Central Illinois-based artists Roger Blakley and Harold Boyd will exhibit their latest work in two new shows on view Oct. 15 through Nov. 20 at I space, the Chicago gallery of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• “Roger Blakley: New Works” consists of wall-mounted and freestanding cast bronze sculptures by the artist, a retired professor of art at Illinois. Many of the sculptures’ components are cast from fruit and seed pods, but the complex constructions – finished in shiny, bright hues of automobile paint – hardly resemble anything found in nature.
Harold Boyd “Collaborators” (2004) acrylic on paper
• “Harold Boyd: Tributes” features works on paper by the retired Illinois State University art professor. Boyd’s watercolors – populated by caricature-like Buddhas, moon-faced girls and other figural forms that are at once amusing yet disconcerting – reflect the artist’s interest in the duality of human nature.
The exhibition is accompanied by essays by Marcel Franciscono, a U. of I. professor emeritus of art history.
An opening reception is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 15 at the gallery, 230 W. Superior St., Chicago.
I space gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
