Robert Arneson. “A Hollow Gesture,” 1980. Lithograph, (40.25 x 30 in). Gift of Jerome H. Meyer, 1986.40.
Three exhibitions featuring the theme of portraiture are set to open Wednesday, Aug. 28, with a public opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12. A talk with photographer Sandro Miller begins at 6:30 p.m.
“Seeing Each Other: Portraits in Time and Place” features both emerging and experienced artists. Thirty-one works by 23 artists were selected by invitation and from a national call for entry by NIU Art Museum staff and members of the museum’s Exhibition Advisory Committee. Each entry explores the time-honored tradition of portraiture in a unique way, often finding universal narratives and concerns within intimate and personal imagery.
The artists participating in this exhibition include: Trudy Borenstein-Sugiura, Maggie Capettini, Alyssa Corrigan, Virginia Derryberry, Carly Ellis, Dan Farnum, Julia Fauci, Shawna Gibbs, Charles Gniech, Heather Green, Nicholas Gully, Dean Krueger, Carol Luc, Kiara Aileen Machado, Dana Major, Dave Menard, Danielle Piloto, So Young Song, Veronica Storc, Ann Toebbe, Dillon Ward, Amy Yeager and Dan Zamudio.
“Hold Still: Portraits from the Permanent Collection” is curated by NIU Art Museum’s Assistant Director Peter B. Olson. Portraiture, like “still life” or “landscape” has been a pillar of art genres since time immemorial. Peter combed through our permanent collection to assemble an exhibition of portraits including Japanese actor prints and Andy Warhol Polaroids. Gritty to the idealized, there are images of individuals, groups, the self and even animals.
Artists featured in this exhibition include: Robert Arneson, Mary Bero, Letterio Calapai, Paul Cézanne, David F. Driesbach, Cal Kowal, Toyohara Kunichika, Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi, Mauricio Lasansky, Sandro Miller, Dale Osterle, Ed Paschke, Claire Prussian, Jun’ichiro Sekino, Neal Slavin, Doug Stewart, Beth van Hoesen, Robert von Neumann, Ken Walker, Andy Warhol and Donald Roller Wilson.
“Homage to Humanity: Portrait Prints by Sidney Chafetz” is also curated by Peter B. Olson and presents a series of prints by Sidney Chafetz. Chafetz (1922-2013), a Jewish American artist, devoted his life to education and the arts. An avid reader, Chafetz employed his talents as a printmaker to depict his social and literary heroes. In this exhibition, many of his portraits are gathered into a cultural hall of fame.
People featured in these portraits include: Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Sholem Aleichem, James Baldwin, Roger Baldwin, Samuel Beckett, Sigmund Freud, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsburg, Amy Lowell, Vladimir Mayakovsky, A.J. Muste, George Oppen, Herbert Read, George Bernard Shaw, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Edith Sitwell, James Thurber, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Nathaniel West, Walt Whitman and William Carlos Williams.
This exhibition suite runs Aug. 28 to Oct. 19, 2024.
Please check our website go.niu.edu/artmuseumevents for our hours, program schedule and instructions on how to join virtual talks. Have our event announcements and program information delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up at go.niu.edu/artmuseumsubscribe.
Calendar of Events
Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024
Public Opening Reception, 5 to 8 p.m.
Refreshments provided. A talk with photographer Sandro Miller begins at 6:30 p.m. in Altgeld 125.
Location: NIU Art Museum Galleries
Saturday, Sept. 14
“Face and Personna” Drawing Workshop, 1 to 5 p.m.
Observational and conceptual approaches to drawing a representative and an expressive self-portrait led by NIU foundations/drawing instructor Cynthia Hellyer-Heinz.
$10 covers materials. For ages 17 and above. Open to all skill levels. Limited to 12 participants. Preregistration deadline: Tuesday, Sept. 10. Call the museum 815-753-1936 to register and pay. Location: Visual Arts Building 212
Saturday, Sept. 21
Curator’s Talk, 1 to 2 p.m.
Museum Curator and Collections Manager Peter B. Olson shares his insights on the portrait works in our collection.
Location: NIU Art Museum Galleries
Thursday, Sept. 26
Poetry and Prose Homage, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Participatory reading of writings by the literary figures represented in “Homage to Humanity.” Readers may choose to read from one or multiple of the following: Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Sholem Aleichem,
James Baldwin, Samuel Beckett, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsburg, Amy Lowell, Vladimir Mayakovsky, George Oppen, George Bernard Shaw, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Edith Sitwell, James Thurber, Nathaniel West, Walt Whitman and William Carlos Williams. Preregistration for readers deadline: Tuesday, Sept. 24. Call the museum at 815-753-1936 to register your artist and selection of their work. Listeners welcome.
Location: Altgeld 125
Sunday, Oct. 6
“Finding Your Portrait Style” Photographic Workshop, 1 to 4 p.m.
Portrait lighting and communication workshop with studio, environmental, gallery and hands-on components led by NIU Photography Manager Wade Duerkes.
For ages 17 and above. Open to all levels: SLR to cell phone. Limited to 16 participants. Preregistration deadline: Thursday, Oct. 3. Call the museum at 815- 753-1936 to register.
Location: Altgeld 125
Sunday, Oct. 13
Get-On-The-Bus Trip: The Art Institute, Noon to 7 p.m.
In conjunction with our portrait exhibition suite, we will head to the Art Institute to see two innovative portraiture exhibitions; “Paula Modersohn-Becker: I Am Me” and “Kabuki-Actor Portraits by Tõshũsai Sharaku,” along with a tentative stop in Warrenville to visit the Ivan Albright studio.
Transportation cost: $40 NIU Art Museum members; $45 nonmember seniors/students; $52 nonmember adults. Admission to the Art Institute on your own; $27 adults, $21 seniors (65+) and students. Illinois residents receive this discounted rate. Admission for non-Illinois residents: $32 adults, $26 seniors (65+) and students. Be sure to have your Illinois state ID or driver’s license to receive the discount. Trip registration and payment deadline is Friday, Sept. 13. Call the museum at 815-753-1936 to reserve your seat on the bus.
Thursday, Oct. 17
“Intimate Interiors” Artist Talk, 6 to 7 p.m. and Workshop, 7 to 9 p.m.
Visiting painter/collagist Ann Toebbe shares detailed aspects of her unusual and complex portraiture work. She will then lead a hands-on workshop in which participants will inventory a personal interior in a more free-form way. Lecture open to all. Workshop limited to 16 participants. Preregistration for workshop deadline: Tuesday, Oct. 15. Call the museum at 815-753-1936 to register.
Location: Altgeld 125.
About the NIU Art Museum
Serving Campus and Community by Balancing Traditional and Contemporary Art to Explore the Connections Made through Visual Culture.
Part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts‘ vibrant and active arts community on campus, the Northern Illinois University Art Museum is a resource for the NIU campus, local community and beyond.
The NIU Art Museum is located on the first floor, west end of Altgeld Hall, at the corner of College Avenue and Castle Drive on the main campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.
Parking on campus is now administered through AIMS Mobile Pay or parking pay stations available in the visitor pay lot located at 200 Carroll Avenue and at accessible parking spaces in front of Lowden Hall with accessible aisles and route to Altgeld Hall. Campus parking is free on weekends and after 5 p.m. weeknights in nearby Lots 3 and 14.
The exhibitions and programs of the NIU Art Museum are sponsored in part by the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Friends of the NIU Art Museum, the NIU Arts and Culture Fee, and the College of Visual and Performing Art’s Season Presenting Sponsors Shaw Media and WNIU/WNIJ.
New Gallery Hours
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday
Noon to 6 p.m. Thursday
Noon to 6 p.m. Friday
Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday; and by appointment for group tours.
Exhibitions are free and open to the public.
