Thursday, September 11, 2008

Blog Installation No. 5: Ossia Fine Arts Space

This blog installation is part of Chicago Connection: The 5 Artists Project, showing through November 1, 2008, at Ossia Fine Arts Space in the Fine Arts Building. For the duration of the show, anyone coming into the gallery on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. will be part of the blog.

Louise LeBourgeois stopped by the gallery today. Her comments on the show: "What I get is the artists' love of materials. Color and material stand out in this show. There is the the sheer joy of color, even with a limited palette."

Born in New Orleans, Louise has traveled the world and has lived in Chicago for 30 years. She earned an MFA in painting from Northwestern University and had the opportunity to study with Maria Tomasula, Ed Paschke, Bill Congor, and Jim Valerio -- artists she refers to as "painters' painters." Working mainly with oils and using reference photographs as a starting place, she focuses on representational imaginary landscapes.


Louise LeBourgeois. Cane Field #353. 2007.
Oil on panel, 24" x 24".

"I paint using many layers of glaze. The end result is a smooth and reflective surface. From time to time, people will mistake my paintings for photos, which always surprises me because my landscapes often seem too dreamy or other-worldly to be photos. There's always an unreal quality to the images I make."


Louise LeBourgeois. Point #357. 2007.
Oil on panel, 24" x 24".

Acknowledging that living in different locals (New Orleans, England, South Carolina, Chicago) has influenced her work, Louise became very interested in how landscapes contain "potent signifiers of place." She believes that although people influence their surroundings, the landscape also dictates how the culture of a place will develop.

She is represented by Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, and Gallatin River Gallery, Big Sky, MT. Her recent solo shows include Timescape, Alfedena Gallery, Chicago; Upward: New Paintings, Gallatin River Gallery, Big Sky, MT. Two group shows this year include one at Addington Gallery in Chicago and the other show at the Beverly Arts Center.

For more information on Louise and her art, go to her website www.louiselebourgeois.com.

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