The Merwin and Wakeley Galleries

 

Spring 2025

January 21 – February 28

Reception and artist talk with Bobbi Meier and Ludvig Peres on Tuesday, January 28th at 2PM

 

Merwin Gallery

Beautiful Family Living

An exhibition of sculpture, collage and mixed media compositions by Bobbi Meier

"In the late 1990’s the title of an article in a woman’s magazine caught my eye. I was struggling to maintain an art practice while raising 3 young children, working full time as an high school art teacher, and juggling household management with my partner who was often traveling for his corporate design job. The title of the article was Beautiful Family Living. This short, hilarious statement set me on a path of making domestically oriented work that continues to this day.

Repurposed needlework portraits, sculptural objects of porcelain and fabric, monumental collage and interrupted domestic furniture are juxtaposed in domestically-inspired vignettes of work produced over the past decade. I use these materials as a foundation for the re-invention of the decor of my childhood home and as a reflection on the labors of my mother and grandmother. Beautiful Family Living emphasizes the fraught connections within our families, the things we choose to reveal and the things we do not, our perceived flaws, the feelings we hide, and the thoughts that remain unspoken." - Bobbi Meier, 2024

 

Raised in the Midwest by a Southern Lady and a NY prep-school Catholic; Bobbi Meier is an artist who explores themes of proper manners, keeping the “dirty laundry” hidden, and repressed sexuality in her work. Her abstract sculptures, collages, and installations cast the audience as voyeur, presenting uncomfortable situations laced with desire and embarrassment towards the body. With a BFA in Visual Communication from Northern Illinois University, MA in Art Education and MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she has doggedly pursued her ambitions to create provocative works that test the boundaries of what is public and private, what we choose to reveal and what we do not. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Kohler Foundation, and John Michael Kohler Art Center, where she was in residence in 2019. Additional residencies include; The Ragdale Foundation, Ox-bow School of Art and Artist’s Residency, and Sanskriti-Kendra in New Delhi. Her solo exhibition at Riverside Arts Center was supported by an Illinois Arts Council grant in 2023. Meier’s work has exhibited at institutions throughout the Midwest including The Franklin, Hyde
Park Art Center, The Museum of Surgical Science, Lubeznik Art Center, among others.
2024

 

Wakeley Gallery

Tender Gradations of Life
Ludvig Perés

Reception and artist talk for both exhibits: Tuesday, January 28th at 2PM

Tender Gradations of Life presents a solo exhibition that brings together photography, sculpture, video, and writing to explore the delicate balance between technology and the natural world. Through an interplay of these mediums, the exhibition reflects on how our connections to nature are reshaped by the digital landscape, inviting viewers to consider the evolving dynamics between the organic and the artificial. Drawing on Heidegger’s reflections on technology’s impact on existence, these works question how our sense of place and relationship with the environment are transforming in an age where the physical and virtual are increasingly intertwined.

Ludvig Perés is a Chicago based Swedish artist whose photo-based practice intersects traditional print media and sculpture. Perés' artistic exploration is centered around technology's rapid development and its impact on our lives. He employs a sociological approach to probe the relationship between technology and alienation, raising critical questions about its role in our hypermodern society.

Perés' work has been featured in a number of exhibitions, including Fotografiska Talent 2018 at the Swedish Museum of Photography (Fotografiska) in Stockholm. The following year, he was invited to attend the prestigious Eddie Adams Workshop XXXII to work and network with leading photo professionals. In 2022, he was awarded the IAP grant by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for his documentation of the Covid-19 pandemic's hardships at Chicago public schools through his work with CPS Lives. In 2023 his work with CPS Lives was exhibited at EXPO Chicago 2023.

 

Click here to visit iwuart and see what our students have been making recently.

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Gallery Hours 

Monday - Friday 12-4PM
Tuesday Evening 7-9PM
Saturday & Sunday 1-4PM

Location

Ames School of Art and Design
Illinois Wesleyan University
6 Ames Plaza West
Bloomington, Illinois 61701-2900

Artists interested in showing at our galleries click the link below for more information

All events are free and open to the public

 

About the Galleries

The Merwin and Wakeley Galleries provide exhibition schedules that support our curriculum, the University community and the general public. These exhibitions mostly consist of contemporary artworks in all media. Each exhibition is meant to suggest the variety of visual approaches one may choose to present an idea. Student exhibitions include the Annual Juried School of Art Student Exhibition, the B.F.A. Candidate Exhibition and the B.F.A. and B.A. Degree Exhibition.

About the Galleries / Artist Submissions