"Heade"

This exhibition presents mixed media works by WIU associate professor of art Jenny Knavel. Incorporating the rich variety of forms, textures, and colors found in the wildflowers and plants of the Illinois Prairie, Knavel creates rich surfaces and imagery connecting with our surroundings. Jenny Knavel's mixed media panels are an investigation and fusion of cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural concepts and images. Her influences include historical and scientific botanical illustration. Illuminated manuscripts, Japanese screen painting and American quilt blocks also inform her aesthetic. In this show, Flora: Volume I, prairie plants and other native flowers from Illinois serve as the source of inspiration. The work includes panels with atmospheric fields and acutely rendered botanical images. The pieces in the show pay homage to the long tradition of women painting flowers and speak to important local environmental and ecological concerns.

This exhibition is partially sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. The exhibition is co-sponsored by the WIU Women's Studies Program, WIU Women's Center, WIU Foundation, College of Fine Arts and Communication, and the Department of Art.