While so much has seemed unknown for so many of late, the NIU Art Museum took a stab at a mysterious suite of exhibitions. “Windows to the Subconscious” is a juried exhibition exploring the meaning of dreams. It features the work of 13 artists selected from applicants from around the country who responded to our call for entry asking for their perceptions on dreams and nightmares. The selected artists are Brandin Barón, Natalie Christensen, Marcella Hackbardt, Sandra Leonard, B. Lynch, Alejandro Mazon, Mark Pease, Mary Porterfield, Janelle Rebel, Jeffery Reinhart, Maria Robinson, Martha Wagner and Liu Yang.
“Surrealist Classics from the Museum Collection” features another 13 artists: Hans (Jean) Arp, Hans Bellmer, Salvador Dalí, Georgio de Chirico, Paul Delvaux, Max Ernst, Fernand Léger, René Magritte, Roberto Matta, André Masson, Joan Miró, Man Ray and Odilon Redon. These pieces come from a donation by Melvin and Dicky Pfaelzer that would become the foundation of the NIU Art Museum. Initially associating as a group in the 1920s, the Surrealists were deeply interested in interpreting dreams as conduits for unspoken feelings and desires.
“Phantasmagraphica: The Early Psychedelic Work of British Artist Douglas Binder” includes a selection of intriguing gouache paintings on paper and a panel from a larger triptych donated to the museum by M.A. Lipschultz of Chicago. This sampling of Binder’s work in the collection was selected by museum curator Peter B. Olson along with NIU M.A. in art history John Hosta (2024). Hosta’s project entailed accessioning the large donation of Binder’s work, interpreting the pieces, photographing and condition reporting the artwork, and conducting interviews with Douglas Binder.
“A Deb Sokolow Sampler: 20 Years of Speculative Drawing” rounds out the suite. Sokolow is a Chicago-based artist for whom observed reality becomes a point of departure for researching and imagining the unknown and the plausible.
These four shows will be on display from March 19 to May 10 with a public reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 19. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday; noon to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday; noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday; and by appointment for group tours.
Images
“Windows to the Subconscious”
Marcella Hackbardt, “Dream Kitchen,” 2022, Archival pigment print.
“Surrealist Classics from the Museum Collection”
Max Ernst, “Sign for A School for Pirates,” 1965, Lithograph. Gift of Melvin Pfaelzer, 1975.61
“Phantasmagraphica…”
Douglas Binder, “Procession,” 1970, Gouache and graphite on paper. Gift of M.A. Lipschultz, 2023.21
“A Deb Sokolow Sampler…”
Deb Sokolow: “Visualizing An Interstitial Zone of Space,” 2023, Graphite, crayon, colored pencil, pastel and collage on paper.
Parking on the Northern Illinois University main campus is administered through AIMS Mobile Pay or parking pay stations available in the visitor pay lot located at 200 Carroll Ave. 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.
Interested in becoming an NIU Art Museum member? Membership entitles you to priority registration and discounted fees on Get-On-The-Bus Trips, exhibition announcements, special, member-only previews, receptions and special events, a subscription to Museum Notes newsletter and a 20% discount on NIU Art Museum catalogues. Friend, or basic, annual membership rates are Individual: $25; Dual: $45; Student: $10; Senior: $15; and Dual Senior: $25. Sponsor- and patron-level annual memberships, at $100 and $250 respectively, include the option of an artist print as a premium and free NIU Art Museum-produced catalogues. Benefactor-level annual membership is $500 with the option of a private tour (several options to choose from). Payment may be made by credit card, cash or check. Students must attach a current student ID to their membership application. The NIU Art Museum can process your membership over the phone (815-753-1936).
You can apply for membership at the museum or print the online form available at https://www.niu.edu/artmuseum/join/index.shtml and mail it with your payment to the NIU Art Museum, 1425 W. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb, IL 60115.
