ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (July 6, 2021) — From July 2 to August 31, 2021, Quad City Arts’ Art at the Airport presents paintings by Ann Kauff of Arlington Heights, IL with woven tapestries by Kara Fedje of Davenport, and ceramic sculpture by Will Van Dyke, of Evanston, Illinois.
Ann Kauff presents Rooted in Place: Farms, Barns, and Bungalows, a series born out of residencies through the Fields Project in Oregon IL, that embedded artists in the everyday life of farm families. This residency deeply impacted her work. She was drawn to the simple shapes of barns, and how firmly they were rooted in their environment. With the advent of the pandemic her subject matter broadened. She set about taking long walks in her neighborhood as a way of dealing with stress. As she walked, she noticed a similar sense of rootedness in the small ranch houses and bungalows that she passed. Through a combination of plein air painting and painting from photographs, Kauff focuses on the relationship between land, sky, and the structures people call home. Kauff states that, “The paintings that succeed allow the viewer to step into a place that is both particular, and at the same time universal.”
Kara Fedje creates colorful handwoven tapestries inspired by environmental landscapes. Fedje explains, “I draw with yarn to create hand woven tapestries on my loom. My inspirations, often derived from my feelings towards nature, are re-imagined into a drawing, and then a weaving.”
Having worked in museums and studied art history, she is compelled by contemporary conversations about art, but also colorful works by German Expressionists, Franz Marc, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, and her good friend and former professor Rowen Schussheim-Anderson.
Will Van Dyke is a painter and ceramic artist who has an abiding interest and delight in the visual, whether it is wooden barns, corn cribs, steel bridges, ceramic bowls, concrete silos, or a rusted piece of metal in the street that catches his eye as he walks to work.
Most recently he has incorporated water-tower, corn-crib, and silo sculptures into his ceramic work, echoing his delight in these urban and rural structures, many of which are being lost forever, as corn cribs collapse under their own weight after years of neglect, and water towers, especially in Chicago, which are eliminated as the buildings they stood on are demolished to make way for new, taller buildings.
In addition to the airport gallery, the artist’s works can be seen and purchased online: https://www.quadcityarts.com/art-at-the-airport.html.
Art at the Airport in The Quad Cities International Airport gallery is easy to find. It is just across from the gift shop and restaurant and right before the security checkpoint. The gallery never closes, and you will pay just a dollar for parking.
Quad City Arts is a non-profit local arts agency dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the Quad City region through the arts. Support for art exhibitions is provided by the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Quad City Arts Gallery is located at 1715 Second Avenue in the Arts and Entertainment District of Rock Island. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 10AM-5PM, and Saturday, 11AM–5PM. For more information, contact Dawn Wohlford-Metallo 309-793-1213 X108, or by e-mail at dwmetallo@quadcityarts.com.
