The Merwin & Wakeley Galleries
Illinois Wesleyan University

May 7– May 29, 2008
Join us for the opening reception and an informal gallery talk with the artists
Friday, May 9: 4-6pm in the galleries

THE MERWIN GALLERY
Communication
Brian Gillis

Brian Gillis is an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Illinois at Springfield.  He received a Bachelor of Art in Art Education and a Bachelor of Art in Studio Art from Humboldt State University, and a Master of Fine Art from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He has shown work nationally and internationally.
Central to Gillis’ work is the use of innovative processes and storytelling strategies to mine and chronicle stories that "fall on deaf ears". He sees the story, storyteller, and audience as mortally bound and such that cannot wholly exist without the other two. He is interested in modes of communication, modes of allusion or implication, and vehicles that may influence various level of engagement by an audience. He juxtaposes objects and images to summon stories that are socially and historically relevant, can educe rich metaphors, and/or exploit modes of communication in an effort to increase audience awareness or consciousness Gillis’ intent is that the audience actively finds a story through investigation not just observation. The work is meant to operate as a catalyst of sorts where the story lies just below the surface and, through accessibility and piqued curiosity, the audience may engage in an investigation that leads to their becoming the primary storyteller.

THE WAKELEY GALLERY
PrivateThoughts for Public Scrutiny
Spencer Sauter

Spencer Sauter graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with degrees inEnglish and Art and from Illinois State University with a Master's Degree inArt. His teachers included Fred Brian, Ken Holder, and Harold Gregor.Sauter has worked as a truck driver, cook, refrigeration/air-conditioningparts counter man, book seller, data entry person, catalog designer,purchasing agent, graphic and web-site designer, teacher, as well asfreelance writer. (He wrote for The Pantagraph, reviewing theater, art, andmusic for nearly 10 years, and for University Communications at IWU.)
"I have lived in Chicago, New York City, as well as Bloomington-Normal,but travel abroad (Europe and the Caribbean islands) have had an indelibleimpact on my art.  In my current artwork, I juxtapose the human figure and a landscape tosuggest narrative and socio-political possibilities. These works display notonly an obsessive interest in materials -beads, paper, and computergenerated images-- but also a very formal concern for spatial and colorrelationships."



  Merwin & Wakeley Galleries
Ames School of Art
Illinois Wesleyan University
6 Ames Plaza West
Bloomington, Illinois  61701
Gallery Information:309.556.3822

GALLERY HOURS: Monday-Friday: 12-4pm
Tuesday evening: 7-9pm Saturday
Sunday: 1-4pm
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.