NANCY  LURIE GALLERY

September 1, 1982

 

1632 N. LaSalle, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS  60614 (312) 337-2882

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RE: CLAR MONACO

October 15 - November 24, 1982

 

CLAR MONACO--PAINTINGS           

ONE PERSON EXHIBITION AT NANCY LURIE GALLERY

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Chicago: On Friday, October 15, 6-9 pm, Nancy Lurie Gallery will open a

 

ONE PERSON EXHIBITION OF THE PAINTINGS OF CLAR MONACO.

 

Clar Monaco's premiere solo exhibition at Nancy Lurie Gallery will

feature a new body of work. These recent paintings display an important development for Monaco in terms of their increased scale, their use of multi-figured groupings and their greater complexity on both formal and symbolic grounds.

 

Previously Monaco had been painting "portraits" for several years. These bust-length figures, painted on a more intimate scale, are not neutral records of specific individuals, but rather were intended to convey psychological states, or as the artist describes them, "moods of the soul". In 1980 Monaco was awarded the Virgine K.Headberg award for one such portrait included in the Chicago and- Vicinity show.  In Monaco's new paintings, his interest in the psychological and the symbolic has been expanded in his multi-figural groups. These present a complex web of interpersonal relationships, centered around the idea of the changing of powers and the casting of spells. The black cross, a recurrent symbol in these works, embodies the malevolent force which underlies the characters' interactions. By subverting a traditional symbol of hope, Monaco's paintings question the stability of communal beliefs, faiths and desires.

 

Monaco's style of painting--the anatomical distortions, the vigorous brushwork, the non-naturalistic color, the anxiety-ridden tenor--owes its inspiration to the original German Expressionists. Monaco's stylistic development was independent of the current neo-expressionist movement; his aesthetic sympathies with the original movement have been long -standing and unaffected by fashion.

 

Originally from Spokane, Washington, Monaco came to Chicago for his MFA from the University of Chicago. He has been in numerous group shows in Chicago and the West Coast, including the recent Figuration exhibition at the University Art Museum, Santa Barbara, CA.

 

This exhibition is on display October 15 - November 24, 1982.

Gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11-5.

For additional information and photographs call 337-2882.