Thursday, January 3, through Thursday, February 28
Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery, 2200 69th Avenue, Moline IL
Watercolors, sculptures, mono-prints, and more will be on display in the first Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery exhibition of 2019, with the January 3 through February 28 artistic showcase boasting works by Linda Buechting of Quincy, Illinois, Paul Nitsche of Ridgeway, Wisconsin, and Corrine Smith of Rock Island.
Buechting presents a series of watercolors on the theme “American Appetite: Burgers to Bling,” juxtaposing images of fruit and plants – labeled with their proper Latin names – next to candy bars and other junk food with fake Latin names and descriptions. She began painting in 1990 after taking a watercolor workshop with local artist Sandy Meyer, and continued learning through workshops at Western Illinois University and Quincy University. Her watercolor and oil paintings depict floral arrangements, landscapes, and whimsical still-lives, and Buechting likes to use elements of humor in artworks, with recent exhibitions including the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society's Annual International Juried Exhibition and Watercolor USA in Springfield, Illinois.
Nitsche relies on classical formalities of anatomical exploration and the reliquary effigy to pair themes of illness/growth, beauty/decay, and dream/time. His sculptures are made from bronze, bones, glass and other materials, and with the artist represented by Abel Contemporary Gallery, his works have been exhibited throughout the country. Nitsche graduated with a BA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1992, and as he writes in his Artist Statement: “Medical and scientific museum work has long intersected with the artistic. There is a shared desire to explore the different perceptions of the body and what it means to be human. Similiarly, the religuary transcends simple objectification, and is a physical reminder of the miraculous.”
Smith explores the formal elements and principals of design through painting to create non-representational art, and her complex layers of acrylic paint, handmade papers, and mono-prints create compositions full of dimension, expression, texture, and pattern. As Smith writes in her own Artist Statement: “Each piece begins with several drawings combined, often one over another. One of my concentrations is to create a strong composition. I approach the work intuitively by laying in color choices, be it paint or handmade papers. Some of the paper I make myself. The papers allow for the application of immediatre color and texture. As the composition develops, each piece is rotated and shapes and lines get covered up and often new ones are created. For me, the evolution of the painting is an exciting, unknown journey that compels me to create.”
The Quad City International Airport Gallery is located opposite the airport's gift shop and restaurant, there is a $1 fee for parking, and more information on the January 3 through February 28 exhibit with artworks by Linda Buechting, Paul Nitsche, and Corrine Smith is available by calling (309)793-1213 extension 108 or visiting QuadCityArts.com.
