Last year, mixed-media artist Terry Rathje won second-place honors at the Rock Island Fine Arts competition with his sculpture Cubus. He now has 11 sculptures in an exhibit (running through November) at the MidCoast Fine Arts Gallery at the Iowa Welcome Center near LeClaire, but I'm not as excited about the works chosen for this show as I was by Cubus.
It has to be old, broken, rotting, or decayed for something to make it as Jon Stuckenschneider subject matter. I don't think the travel and tourism bureaus will want to hire him to do their photos, because his black-and-white gelatin prints evoke bleakness.
Kathleen Van Hyfte says her work is in a stage of transition, but I don't agree. There is a strong cubist element that runs through most of the works currently on display in a two-person show at the MidCoast Fine Arts Gallery near LeClaire.
Before September 11, 2001, the concept of the airport as town-hall meeting plaza was a great one. The Quad City International Airport was well on its way to realizing that ideal. There were plans for an office park to be located on or near the airport property, and people, not just travelers, would be lured to the facilities.
The great new show at the Quad City Arts Gallery in The District of Rock Island showcases a bit of a role reversal, with the woman being bold and the man being subtle. The show, running through August 8, features 27 wood turnings by Steve Sinner and 15 collages by Corrine Smith.
As changeable and far-ranging as Teresa Mesich's paintings are in the current show at MidCoast Gallery West (in the District of Rock Island), David Zahn stakes out two bold, solid, consistent themes: bronze busts and hand-thrown ceramics adorned by figures.
On Sunday afternoon at the Davenport Museum of Art, teenage girls stood three deep in some places, scrutinizing text at least as thoroughly as they absorbed Lauren Greenfield's photographs. Most pictures were accompanied by engaging interviews, usually with the photographic subject.
Ellen Wagener does the kind of drawings that work so well for so many people, there isn't much incentive to try anything new. Over a 10-year career, she has mastered a pastel version of genre painting, paying homage to the same row-crop agriculture, rolling terrain, and big sky that so captivated native son Grant Wood.
This year's Rock Island Fine Arts Exhibition is quite a bit different from last year's show. That's not surprising, because the exhibit will depend on the likes and dislikes of the juror. Last year, I recall more cutting-edge artwork, while this year there is more symbolism and whimsy.
Steve Banks' monumental reliefs, which he calls "toy pieces," are distinguished by meticulous production and finishes that could have been done in a body shop. Some of these reliefs are being shown at the Peanut Gallery in Rock Island through May 10.

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