Divided Beauty By Ginny Sykes

Sykes works in abstract figuration, suggesting alternate, metaphoric readings of classical and spiritual themes such as identity, sexuality, loss and transformation. Of the work, Joanna Gardner-Huggett, professor of art history at DePaul University, says, “there is an immediate engagement with Sykes’s stirring gestures and organic forms that float, multiply, and clash within and against the boundaries of her works she initiates regarding women’s practice of abstraction and feminism’s conflicted discourse with modernism.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ginny Sykes’s work explores contemporary notions of visual art and performance collaboration. She has exhibited in the US and internationally, including Transcultural Exchange’s “The Tile Project, 2004-2008” (a permanent tile installation in 22 countries), and “Pandora Meets Sarajevo,” an exhibition she co-curated featuring artists from Bosnia, Vietnam and the US. Sykes’s performance work incorporates dance, sound, text and visual art installations, most recently in “Velocity” by the collaborative group VIGA.

The image shows Ode to Pandora, 29 1/4” x 41”, charcoal and pencil on paper by Sykes.

“Lessons of Water and Thirst” was co-created with Pont des Arts Ensemble and their newest work, also entitled “Divided Beauty,” will premiere on October 24th at Woman Made Gallery.

Sykes has completed over 30 public art works, often initiating them within her community, including collaborations with the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Public Art Group, that have resulted in significant architectural and spatial interventions for parks, civic spaces, schools, museums, and hospitals. Recent projects include a glass tile mural at O’Hare airport and a mural for the Latin School of Chicago’s new middle school. A respected educator, Sykes has taught in both the Museum and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as through Gallery 37, the Illinois Arts Council, and Beacon Street Gallery residency arts programs. Sykes has received honor awards from the Illinois chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and has been awarded several Ragdale Foundation residencies. Her expertise ranges from traditional European painting techniques to contemporary and conceptual studio practice.

Sykes is Artist Liaison for the Chicago Public Art Group. Her work is included in the publications “A Guide to Chicago Murals,” “Urban Art Chicago,” and “The Chicago Public Art Guide.”

Woman Made Gallery is free and open to the public and the exhibition will be up through November 13, 2008. -- www.womanmade.org