We are pleased to present an exhibit of the works of Chicago artist Phyllis Kresnoff (1915-2006).
 |
Though she was "always doodling" in her youth, her early artistic intentions were to become a musician, a jazz pianist. Despite being accomplished in both jazz and classical piano, marriage and family brought her to realize that she would not pursue a musical career, and the visual arts emerged as her primary focus.
Painting and drawing were her media of choice through the 1940s. In the early 1950s, she took ceramics classes, instilling in her the satisfaction of creating in three dimensions. In the late 1950s she took lessons from a blacksmith to learn the techniques of working in metal, and in 1960, she went to the Art Institute of Chicago to study welding. There she worked with Eldon Danhausen, who nurtured and helped further the honing of her "eye" and her technique.
Together Phyllis and her husband Charles traveled the world, both influenced by their many and varied experiences. In her bronze temples and copper fountain, one gets a taste of Japan. Some of her sand castings were inspired by her trip to Iran. And, the hill towns of the Mediterranean are a recurring theme in her sculptures, prints, ceramics and textile designs.
|
Like the desire to travel and experience new people and places, her creative sense was always ready for a new opportunity. Working in virtually all media, the process of artistic creation was a driving force throughout her life. Her palette was at times subdued and at others exuberantly colorful. Phyllis was 90 when her final public work went on display at the Arts Club of Chicago. "She was always working", her son Bruce recalls, "but would drop everything if Oscar Peterson was playing in town".
Her work was shown at several Chicago area galleries, as well as shows at The Art Institute of Chicago and the Arts Club. She also exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Denver, Kansas City and Mexico City. Her copper sculpture called "Fantasia" is depicted in John Rood's 1962 book, Sculpture with a Torch. The bronze "Madonna" was selected and published as a prize winning sculpture by The Smithsonian.
This exhibit is a celebration of a life immersed in art, lived fully and embraced by love.
"It is like improvising at the piano by ear and by touch. The sounds are audible only to me at the time. I much prefer to say what I have to say through my sculpture. If in the saying, my own curiosity about the nature of things, my deep joy about some things or the painful searching for others is reflected in my work deeply enough to help the sensitive observer find their meaning as well...if they hear a little of the same music that moves me and feel some of the rhythm...then that kind of success is my goal." -Phyllis Kresnoff
