Tuesday, October 21, 2014

"Coolness!" Sculptures by Larry Ballard opens Fall 2014 exhibit season at Fr. Michael E.Komechak OSB Art Gallery


Larry Ballard’s “COOLNESS!” exhibition celebrates Benedictine University’s first anniversary of the Fr. Michael E. Komechak, O.S.B. Art Gallery. His show ran from August 25 – October 10, 2014

Ballard, a resident of Lisle and noted collector of folk art, started to make his own artwork about twenty years ago. He has always been fascinated with the creativity of so-called untrained artists, like Minnie Atkins and Mr. Imagination, with whom he became close friends. Larry Ballard’s own take on making artwork ranges from whimsical, to religious to political to endearing. He chooses to make animals, celebrities, and subtle statements about our urban living conditions and not so subtle statements about race and gun control. In all, the work is bold, brash, and  colorful.

Ballard makes his statues from carving wood and then paints them in psychedelic colors. His ability to get just the right attitude in the celebrities’ faces is uncanny. Andy Warhol has a vacant stare, as was his ‘look’. Michael Jackson in white paint  and his military style jacket recounts the musician’s latter days after much plastic surgery. Dennis Rodman’s serious stare amid the nose ring and chains defines his earlier look when he played with the Bulls, before more facial hardware nearly obscured his face.

The animals Ballard chooses to make are mainly dogs, and the exhibition at Benedictine University includes a spaniel, a dalmatian, a beagle, a junk yard dog – most with their tongues wagging and fangs showing. Other animals in the exhibit include a lamb, a hyena, a Tasmanian devil and a wolf. Each animal has their own personality and are quite endearing.


Ballard’s other side of the artistic coin falls upon social/political commentary. A piece that tells a tale of commonsense is the one of a gambler  holding out his two last dollars for the a politician and a Native American to take from him, saying ‘gambling makes the rich richer and the poor poorer’.

Another aspect of this is he is upfront about the effects of crowded urban dwellings where there isn’t enough room for people to live in confined quarters; where drugs and death prevail for those who live above the local Gun Shop, and where suicide is more common than we would like to know about. He addresses a very timely issue in the exhibit with his  painting called “Please Don’t Shoot Me”. In it, there are two men facing each other with their arms upraised. Surrounding them are angels and vicious dogs. The swirling colors around them speak about shouting voices and sirens and confusion.It was painted twenty years ago, but speaks to America’s on-going racial divide and misunderstandings that have garnished worldwide attention from the Trayvon Martin murder in Florida to the Ferguson, Missouri situation during the summer of 2014. 

Ballard nails it when it deals with societal truths of our own failings. The colorful manner with which he describes these serious situations leads us in like candy to a child and we are faced with the reality of our generation. These are strong pieces and one hopes Ballard will continue to make his visual voice heard.


“Ballard had been a longtime friend with our art gallery’s namesake, the former Fr. Michael Komechak, so it was an easy decision to select him for the gallery’s first anniversary show”, according to Teresa J. Parker, curator of the gallery.  “This show will start our season with subjects that will appeal to our students, and the community.”

Ballard has shown his work in museums and galleries in Chicago and in Europe. He is included in numerous public and private collection in the US and at the Vatican.




Solo Exhibitions:
2014       “COOLNESS!”,  Fr. Michael E. Komechak O.S.B. Art Gallery, Benedictine University, Lisle, IL
2002       Lindsay Art Gallery, Columbus, OH
2001       Judy Saslow Gallery, Chicago, IL
2000       Saint Matthias College, Tunsdorf, Germany
1998       Lownik Hall, Illinois Benedictine College, Lisle, IL
1997       Lakeview Museum of Art, Peoria, IL

Group Exhibitions:
2003       John Michael Kohler Arts Center & Museum, Sheboygan, WI
2002       Folk Fest, Atlanta, GA
2002       Lindsay Art Gallery, Columbus, OH
2002       Lakeview Museum of Art, Peoria, IL
2001       Krasa Hall, Benedictine University, Lisle, IL
2000       Lakeview Museum of Art, Peoria, IL
2000       Freeark Art Gallery, Riverside, IL

Collections:
Benedictine University, Lisle, IL
Crayola Factory Art Museum, Easton, PA
Folk Art Society of America, Richmond, VA
Lakeview Museum of Art, Peoria, IL
Matt Lamb Collection, Chicago, IL
Naperville children’s Museum, Naperville, IL
Pontifical North American College, Vatican City, Rome, Italy
Saint Matthias College, Tunsdorf, Germany



The Fr. Michael E. Komechak, O.S.B., Art Gallery is located on the 5th floor of the Kindlon Hall of Learning, at, 5700 College Rd., in Lisle, IL.  

Contact: Ph. 1-630-829-6320 Website: www.ben.edu/artgallery 
Gallery Hours: M-F 10-4p, Sat 11-3p and by appt.

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