“Bailey, Mars Wunderlich, & White" at the Quad City Arts Center -- through August 11. (pictured: Ronin Bailey's "Tonquas— Troy, Ohio")
Through Friday, August 11
Quad City Arts Center, 1715 Second Avenue, Rock Island IL
A trio of Midwestern artists working in a trio of artistic mediums will be displaying gorgeous new works at the Quad City Arts Center through August 11, with the Rock Island venue showcasing photography by Robin Bailey of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, oil paintings and ceramic sculpture by Janis Mars Wunderlich of Monmouth, Illinois, and oil paintings by Lee White of Muscatine, Iowa.
Robin Bailey is a photographer who grew up in small factory towns across Ohio. His current series of documentary style photography tries to catch the glimpse of the Midwest’s vibrant and unique past he remembers growing up in before many of the industrial jobs disappeared. Every photo presents a contemporary scene found in towns across the Midwest that still survive from this past time and show a glimpse of then still surviving now in the present. The scenes are presented in a way that recreates the sights, sounds, and feelings of the past, and reinstalls the wonder and inquisitiveness people had as children growing up in this era of Midwest history.
Janis Mars Wunderlich is an assistant professor at Monmouth College working in ceramics, and her current body of work explores the myths and metaphors of creation stories. Mars Wunderlich’s earthly sculptures and paintings visualize ancient world creation stories from a feminine perspective, and uses imagery to speak to the dualities and relationships that humans, animals, and plants have to each other.
Lee White is an assistant professor of art at Augustana College whose oil paintings depict motifs of figures huddling underneath tables. As a series, the figures represent a myriad of connotations -- most notably, being representative of the tragedy of school shootings. Interested in the human condition and repression as a function of enigmatic memory, White's work has been published and exhibited internationally. He received the Ester A. Madison Painting Scholarship at the University of Iowa, as well as the Eleanor Page Fox Painting Award from Davenport's St. Ambrose University.
Bailey, Mars Wunderlich, & White is on display through August 11, with regular gallery hours Mondays through Fridays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is free. For more information, call (309)793-1213 and visit QuadCityArts.com.
