The current exhibition in the Couloir Bleu features works by Beatriz Ledesma and Jon Randolph--complimentary visions of life to the South of us, both in dream and quotidian life.   The "official" OPENING
to greet the artists will be MARCH 10TH from 6 to 9 PM with some refreshment provided by Wishbone.

BEATRIZ LEDESMA
 
      Beatriz Ledesma identifies herself as an immigrant from Buenos Aires.  Her paintings are primarily oil on canvas with bold, vibrant colors as an expression of her Latin American roots and a strong, archetypal emotional content.  
     The images are figurative but set in dreamlike compositions to suggest a timeless internal world constantly responding to personal history and surroundings.  
Ledesma intends for the viewer to be transported into a space of self reflection and insight about memorable and incongruous aspects of life.
      You can see more of her work at www.beatrizledesmastudio.com
 
JON RANDOLPH
 
            For twelve years, Jon Randolph worked as staff photographer for Channel 11—PBS Chicago— shooting their shows (Soundstage, Book Beat, Sneak Previews, etc.). and sharpening his skills as documentary photographer.   Among his awards, he received a New York Art Directors award for an opening photographic essay on Cook County Jail and an Emmy nomination for slide/wild sound essays for Gene Sickle’s show Nightwatch.  In 2012, the post office issued a commemorative stamp for  Gwendolyn Brooks based on one of Randolph’s photos.
            Jon continues to free-lance editorial and location photos and his work has appeared regularly in the Chicago Reader, Chicago Enterprise magazine, Illinois Issues, Down Beat, Rolling Stone and others.
            In pairing with Ledesma’s colorful  and almost shamanist paintings, Jon decided to present works from his travels to Guatemala chronicling day-to-day life.  
You can see more of his work and contact him through: jonrandolph.com

    A new photo exhibit now graces the Couloir Bleu gallery at Wishbone featuring stunning works by DAPHNE WALSH.  The reception for the artist is this Friday from 6 to 9 PM and the show will continue through the end of November.
     Autumn in Chicago is a time when melancholic memories catch us with the slanting sun, the return of boots and twilight settling over the broken asphalt.  Daphne's photos are little jewel boxes of urban nostalgia from grainy black and white exteriors to quirky flashes of summer over the neighbors' hedge.  
     One part of the collection she calls the "Water Damage" series from droplets spattering the lens to strange liquid smeltings of faces and bodies submerged. . . . These are photos that evoke emotions, that pull you through time and the kaleidoscope of memory and what better time for a journey than now . . .?
     Daphne offers no commentary or artist statement.  The photos are left to speak for themselves, so linger a bit to savor the rich perfumes of these "fleurs du mal" of Chicago.  For more information about her works, check out the curated blog by Kay Whitfield that features more of the photos you'll see.  http://www.classicchicagomagazine.com/daphne-walsh-a-self-proclaimed-secret-photographer-of-chicago/
     For the discerning, I should also mention that Daphne has priced her framed jewels very reasonably and can be contacted through her site:  DAPHNEWALSH.COM

This Friday, the 25th, Wishbone will be hosting a reception for Marc Pokempner's themed photo exhibit in our "Couloir Bleu" gallery.   Drawn from his many years photographing the Chicago blues scene and the city's blood sport, politics, for the original READER and other publications, the show's title is HAROLD'S GOT THE BLUES.   The collection of black and white prints is drawn from Marc's books, HAROLD! and DOWN AT THERESA'S, but features other iconic photos you'll recognize of the young organizer, Barack O'Bama, as well as never-before-seen photographs of urban life in Chi Town.

The reception runs from 6 to 8 PM with the equally renowned Erwin Helfridge playing the keyboards and, of course, a nice gathering of people.   Beautiful digital prints are for sale and more information available through Marc's website http://www.pokempner.net/.

If you can't make the reception, be sure to tarry in our gallery to reflect on how far we've come (or how much remains the same) . . . as the show will be up through the month of September. 

For information abut exhibiting at Wishbone, contact Guy or Michael using our contact form on this website.

Lining our walls in the "Couloir Bleu"  is a rare photographic expedition from the music scene of New Orleans to India and back again to the alleys and backyards of  Chi Town. 

This Friday, July 29th, will be the official opening of the show "HERE AND THERE" by the well known Marc PoKempner and a chance to meet with Marc and friends over refreshments from 5:30 to 8:30 PM.  It's a dazzling exhibit of color work from a photographer who spent many years exploring Chicago's Blues clubs in black and white.

Mr. PoKempner was regularly assigned by the Reader for projects about Chicago’s neighborhood blues clubs, homelessness and Harold Washington’s election as Mayor.  His work has appeared in national and international magazines along specific subjects and as general photographic pieces.  We invite you to visit his website for more information about Marc and a sampling of his photo journalism over the years:  www.pokempner.net
    
In this show, he exploits the new possibilities presented by digital photography and printing, and explores places near and dear and distant and strange, in straightforward and also experimental interpretations.

Take a few extra minutes in our gallery or come by this Friday for a celebration!

Faithful to her Latin American Argentine) roots, the artist, Beatriz E Ledesma,  presents a vivid exhibition of oil paintings that explore the individual and collective unconscious.   "...An object becomes symbolic of a dream, a memory, a fiber of my imagination. My attention to painting is that of a focused researcher utilizing my inner dialogue and the connection with the world around me as the library from where to bring forward images."
The works on display during March and April are drawn from two larger series--mostly from  "Not Quite There Yet" and from "Personal Belongings."
The artist's statement for Not Quite There Yet  follows:
"In the “civilized madness” of war, hate, decadent religion, chaos and destruction,  my  consulting room for patients, led me to think more  about the internal aspect of safety in a chaotic world.  ...  What does it mean to be safe? How do we construct a safe inner space? How do we feel internally safe where everything we have taken for granted seems to be threatened?
Not Quite There Yet is my contribution to the interaction between outer and inner worlds. It explores our attempts to find a safe space in a world of chaos and destruction.
The canvas is divided into two sections representing  inner and outer worlds.  The outer section is an ethereal depiction of chaos -- rough strokes and poignant dark needles alluding to our wounded outer world. The inner window is clear, representing a self-reflecting, intuitive and spiritual space where awareness and imagination dare to transcend our greedy, ego-based mentality that is destroying our wonderful planet.
The work proposes a spiritual path establishing balance and awareness in our dear planet."
For more information about Ms. Ledesma or contact about purchase, please visit her website
at www.beatrizledesmastudio.com.   Meantime, enjoy the show in our Blue Hallway.

January and February come visit the vistas of dream as painted by Linda Boardman.  Ms. Boardman, now exhibiting in the Wishbone Gallery, worked for many years as a psychiatric nurse while continuing to paint the world as she saw it.  From Rousseau-like birds and forest creatures to the tangled subconscious of trees, her exhibit stops time and brings vivid color to what would otherwise be Chicago's monochromatic season.  Drop by the gallery or check out more of Ms. Boardman's works at lindaboardmanfineart.com/showcase.