January 25, 2005
Posted online January 29, 2006

Museum offers rich showcase of exhibits

By Tim Crosby

Beautiful bedding – Hand-tufted coverlets, such as this one, were made by talented artisans during the Great Depression and became a staple of Southern textiles, eventually spreading throughout the country. A collection of these items is on display at the University Museum at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Works of art celebrating fine painting, women artists, life on the river, motorcycles, stone architecture, photographs and much more will grace the halls of Southern Illinois University Carbondale's University Museum this semester.

Now in its 131st year and located on the ground floor at Faner Hall, new exhibits on display are recent works by Michael Onken in the Mitchell Gallery and "Hand-Tufted Coverlet," curated by Sandra Mahs and Herb Meyer, in the South One Gallery.

Also, "They Eye of the Beholder," curated by Bob DeHoet, is on display in the Hall of Art Gallery. The exhibit consists of sculptures that are responses to modern sculpture in the museum's permanent collection.

Dona Bachman, director of the University Museum, said the exhibits scheduled for the next few months are a rich showcase. The season gets off to a great start with paintings by Onken, a longtime Carbondale artist who has traveled the world.

"He's a major talent," Bachman said. "Some of his watercolors we'll be showing really reflect the time he spent in Scotland and his paintings on ceramics show the influence from his time in Japan."

The "Hand-Tufted Coverlets" exhibit illustrates a lesser-known chapter of the Great Depression, Bachman said. The items, used as bed spreads, were a staple of the South, where the craft eventually spawned a thriving textile industry.

"It's a very unusual exhibit and one that involved a lot of research to bring it to the public," Bachman said. "It shows how people used their talent to survive the Depression and feed their families."

A complete listing of exhibits and artist receptions scheduled for the spring semester follows:

• Now– Feb.12, Mitchell Gallery: Michael Onken: "Recent Works. "

• Now – Feb. 26, South One Gallery: "Hand-Tufted Coverlets," curated by Sandra Mahs and Herb Meyer.

• Now – June, Hall of Art Gallery: "The Eye Of The Beholder: Visitors' Responses to Modern Sculpture in the Museum's Permanent Collection," curated by Bob DeHoet. Sculptors included in this exhibit are: Aldon Addington, Red Grooms, Richard Hunt, Brent Kington, David Smith, Richard Stankiewicz, Ernest Trova, Nicholas Vergette and Tom Walsh. Community and University responders included Sarah Capps, Teresa Fix, Sally Gradle, Gayle Klam, S.J. Kozak-Budd, Marianne Lather, Shirley Clay Scott, Blanche Sloan, Fred Sloan and Katlin Trotter.

• Feb. 1-April 14, South Two Gallery: "Celebration of Women Artists In Fiber & Clay" curated by Lori Huffman. The exhibit will feature local artists Karen Fiorino, Judy Groskind, Anita Hayden, Karen Linduska, Amy Naas and Darby Ortolano.

• Feb. 10: A reception for Mahs and Meyer of "Hand-Tufted Coverlets" and for artists involved in "Celebration of Women Artists In Fiber & Clay" is set for 4 to 7 p.m. at the museum.

• Feb. 17-March 10: Mitchell Gallery: Daniel Overturf, "The Illinois River."

• March 1: A reception for James Warfield is set for 7 to 9 p.m. at the museum.

• March 3-March 31, South One Gallery: "James Warfield's Stone Poems," sponsored by the School of Architecture.

• March 11-19: Museum closed for spring break.

• March 20-April 14, Southern Illinois Gallery: "Illinois' Southern Shore." Text by Jane Adams and photographs by D. Gorton. Sponsored, in part, through a grant to the University Museum from the Illinois Humanities Council.

• A celebration of women's scholarship programs. Time and place to be announced.

• March 26: A reception and talk by Adams, of "Illinois'Southern Shore," is set for 2 to 4 p.m. at the museum.

• April 4-15, Atrium Gallery: "Theater Designs: Mordechai Gorelik & Darwin Reid Payne." Coordinated by Ron Naversen and sponsored by the Department of Theater on the 40th anniversary of McLeod Theater.

• April 17-21, South Two Gallery: "Inspirations From The Forest," an exhibit from the Smithsonian Center For Folklife & Cultural Heritage. Coordinated by Pat York

• April 18-May 13, Southern Illinois Gallery: "Matthew Clay Robison: Irish Woodcuts." Sponsored by the Irish Festival.

•April 3-28, South One Gallery: "Thumpers & Thunder: The Story of Motorcycles in Southern Illinois." Curated By Larry Busch and Nate Steinbrink.

• April 22: A reception for Busch and Steinbrink is set for 2 to 4 p.m., at the museum.

• April 28: A reception for the Rickert-Ziebold Trust winners is set for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the museum.

• May 24-June 12, South Two Gallery: "5,199 Miles Journey: Korean Art Glass." Coordinated by Jiyong Lee, School of Art & design. Coordinating and expanding major cultural outreach programs is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.