A Bold Return to Form for Chicago Artist Lee Tracy

When I was a young adult I longed to be free like a tumbleweed. The tiny shrub doesn’t grow upright, it grows crooked as it follows the sun. With age that tumbleweed becomes unhitched from earth. It begins to wander by rolling and hovering above the land on currents of air. Wind creates a course filled with both speed and stillness.

-Lee Tracy, Held Up

Lee Tracy, Tumbleweed on Fence, 54 x 48″, oil on canvas

In her projects, Lee Tracy embraces the energy of the terrestrial—using her hands to dig into the red clay of the New Mexico desert, ’cleansing’ symbolic shrouds in crystal lake waters in Maine, or spending days collaborating with the Onon River in Mongolia.  But these large installations are only part of her prolific media-spanning, socially-driven work over the past decade.

Lee Tracy, Blind Spots, 54 x 54″, oil on canvas

As an artist, she leaves no medium untouched– she explores painting, writing, drawing, installation and sculpture. In her oil paintings she plays with the vital lyricism of color, form, & texture creating large pieces with tremendous presence. Often playing off nature, the environment, philosophical ideas, and deep personal experiences, her works feel at once emotionally vivid and alive; projecting her voice through magnificent hues and an expressive brush.

Lee Tracy, Be, 70 x 80, oil on canvas

The upcoming exhibition hosted by the Josef Glimer Gallery and The Arts Palette, Memories from the Future, will feature Lee Tracy‘s paintings accompanied by a theatrical reading of the artist’s diary by Sheila Willis and music by cellist Lilianna Wosko.

Opening reception is Thursday, September 10th 6:00pm-9:00pm at Josef Glimer Gallery.

Reading begins at 7:30pm.

Hope to see you there!

Broke Loose and Free 48 x48, oil on canvas

To learn more about Lee Tracy, please visit http://www.leetracy.com or to inquire about the artist’s work at Josef Glimer Gallery, call 773-787-4640 or email info@josefglimergallery.com.

Ellen Holtzblatt in the Chicago Sun-Times

Our current exhibition, Ellen Holtzblatt: From Birth to Memory, received a special write-up in the Chicago Sun-Times! Critic Hedy Weiss describes Holtzblatt’s paintings as “stormy,” a perfect example of Glimer’s tastes toward “the subtly narrative.”

The exhibit was also included in The Sun-Times Mix— Cool Things to Do Dec. 12-14.

New Sculptures for our 35th Anniversary Special Exhibition

We’re just about  ready for our 35th Anniversary Special Exhibition, opening next Friday! This week local artist Thom Kapheim delivered the new bronze sculptures from his Baseball series. Reminiscent of Alberto Giacometti, the pieces examine how the rules and movement of a game can drive form. “I have created a visual dialogue based on tension and imminent action frozen in bronze,” explains Kapheim. 

The series is inspired by the artist’s time at his grandson’s baseball games. Yet stripped from their surroundings, the figures transcend any specific sport. In fact, they exist in a universe where play may not be quite play at all, but the basis for their societal structure. They ponder and pitch, dash and slide as their primary communication, government and survival.

The artist casts the sculptures in bronze from foam and wood maquettes, allowing him to thoughtfully mold each figure’s stance and texture. The result is all at once controlled, elegant and haphazardly primordial. We look forward to sharing them in person at our opening reception!

Foreground: Thom Kapheim, The Read, 2014, 30 x 16 x 13,” Bronze. Background: Thom Kapheim, Practice Pitching, 2014, 16 x 22 x 25,” Bronze.

Foreground: Detail of Thom Kapheim’s Monolith, 2014, 15 x 14 x 21,” Bronze.