'The Next Generation' of Artists at Noyes Art Gallery

The Noyes Art Gallery’s newest exhibit, “The Next Generation”, launched today at the , 927 Noyes St.

The free exhibit features the work of four emerging Chicago-area artists, all of whom are graduates of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The exhibit will run through May 9 and an artists’ reception will be held Sunday, April 1 from 3 to 5 p.m.

Before going to meet the artists in person, read some choice excerpts from their statements, in which they explain and add perspective to their creations:

Megan Diddie: “I approach my work from the viewpoint of a vengeful environmentalist who is describing nature overcoming mankind. The plants are slowly taking over the space, consuming human bodies and thriving as an invasive species whose survival techniques are relentless in a foreign environment. The vegetation is mawkish and malevolent. … My process consists of obsessive mark making, smudging, covering and reworking the surface with a variety of mediums from beeswax and ink to pencil shavings and casein. I want to have an intimate experience with the work that re-creates my perceptions of nature.”

Rebecca George: “My current work is about exploring the individuality of animals and their impact on people through relationship. … I consider the animals as the subject, worthy of being offered up to the viewer for a closer look, aiming to reveal their fragility, endurance, and the remarkable impact they have on our lives. … In addition, the work explores the longing to escape the limitations of life as a longing for freedom; paintings examining the implications of captivity, confinement and the domestications of animals becomes a metaphor for the human desire to be liberated from limitation.”

Saiko Kase: “All human beings have to deal with the reality of a finite existence, the only certainty in life. No One escapes sickness, be it physical or mental, aging, and eventually, death. Through my work, I explore the life cycle, intense emotions, recurring patterns, and other aspects related to time. My mortal, vulnerable body and other organic materials form a vessel that provides the physical embodiment of intense emotions such as isolation, vulnerability and helplessness, Sustained physical endurance and intense labor are frequently required in my practice. They function as a temporary escape or avoidance of reality as they offer refuge, rehabilitation, and finally, psychological and emotional meditation.”

Benjamin Stagl: “Meta maps such as Google Earth offer seemingly endless databases filled with 3D geometry that represent and mimic physical reality. Collecting digital models from these landscapes allows me to distort and amalgamate known structures, composing propositional objects that reference existing buildings, but treat those recognizable edifices as sculpture. Moving between digital and physical manifestations, I unmoor my architectural subjects from their pragmatic limitations. Denying concrete reality, this practice extracts and investigates embedded histories, metaphoric potentials and mystical substance contained within the structures.”