Newman University’s Steckline Gallery will open its 2010-2011 season with “Desires are already memories,” by Monika Meler. The exhibit will begin with a Final Friday reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27 and run through Friday, Sept. 17. Both the reception and admission to the gallery are free and open to the public.
An “Art for Lunch” event will be held Tuesday, Aug. 31 from noon to 1 p.m. The first 20 guests will receive a box lunch.
This event is also free and reservations are not required.
Meler emigrated from Brodnica, Poland to Chicago at age 10 with her family. Memories of her Poland youth remain vividly in her mind and find expression in the art of her printmaking.
“My work explores the invented landscapes and events that are components of these memories of childhood,” Meler said. “One part of me resides in America, while the other lives purely in a constant state of nostalgia for Brodnica.”
Meler uses techniques such as multiple layers and abstract forms. She also uses alternative print media. Meler feels that these techniques allow her to, “[negotiate] the tensions that invariably exist between traditional and alternative print media, which is similar to the way that I constantly negotiate the tension between past and present in everyday life.”
Ultimately this results in art that Meler feels can give the viewer a glimpse of her memories as a child growing up in Poland.
“My prints and artist books invite viewers to be in, look upon, and explore these spaces and events that exist in my mind,” she said.
The Steckline Gallery is located inside the De Mattias Fine Arts Center on the Newman campus, 3100 McCormick. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment. For more information, call 316-942-4291, ext. 2199.
