February 12 – May 7, 2017 Cleve Carney Gallery
CHICAGO, IL – In her first solo exhibition at Hyde Park Art Center, “A Modern Day Shaman’s Hybrid Devices, Power Objects, and Cure Books,” artist Rhonda Wheatley showcases sculptures created using vintage and found materials engage with the viewers subconcious to act as tools of healing and transformation. The exhibit will be on view in the Cleve Carney Gallery at Hyde Park Art Center (5020 S. Cornell Ave.) from February 12, 2017 through May 7, 2017. A public reception with the artist will take place in the gallery on Sunday, February 26 from 3 to 5 p.m.
“Welcoming Rhonda Wheatley for her first solo-exhibition at the Hyde Park Art Center is an honor,” said Director of Exhibitions Allison Peters Quinn. “ Rhonda has shown multiple times here in group shows and is an active and sought after teacher in the Art Center’s classes. Seeing her growth as an artist reminds us of the unique and necessary role the Art Center plays in the lives and progression of Chicago artists.”
Wheatley’s assemblage-based sculptures repurpose vintage electronics and other objects to release trauma, translate messages from one’s subconscious and tap resources from past and future lifetimes. Vintage clocks, radios, and TV antennas do not “turn on” in the ways they were originally intended, rather, they are powered by energies from unseen realms; their functionality occurs within the user’s awareness.The artist incorporates natural materials including quartz crystals to amplify intention, fossils which carry the energy of millions of years, and barnacle clusters to enhance one’s ability to adhere to intended personal changes, as well as snakeskin sheddings, cicada wings and moss. She also uses handmade elements, such as sacred geometry drawings and ceramics. Additionally, unstretched canvas works and altered books, in which Wheatley records experiences, dreams, and ideas, provide a glimpse into the mind of the creator while also highlighting her spirituality and work as a healer.
“My sculptures are imbued with healing intent and energy,” states Rhonda Wheatley. “Each object is also attuned to the combined symbolic meanings of my materials. I use titles to address the function of the works as contemporary artifacts, rather than ‘art objects,’ revealing how they may be used in spiritual and healing practices and by whom. My work is inspired by my dreams and mystical experiences and informed by metaphysics and spiritual traditions across African, African diasporic, Native American, and other cultures.”
Wheatley will offer several public events at Hyde Park Art Center during the exhibition, including a Second Sunday family art activity on February 12, 2016, 1-4 p.m.; “Write It Out: A Journaling Workshop,” on Wednesday March 15, 6-8 p.m., ages 15 and up; and “Excavating Myself & Eavesdropping on Your Future,” a performance in which Wheatley will give tarot card readings to audience members in between readings from a selection of personal journal entries, on Friday, April 24, 2-4 p.m.
About Rhonda Wheatley
Rhonda Wheatley is a Chicago based artist whose sculptures, paintings, and written works explore consciousness, the metaphysical, and personal transformation.Wheatley has exhibited throughout Chicago, in solo shows at David Weinberg Gallery and FLATFILEgalleries and group shows at Glass Curtain Gallery, Gallery 400, the Koehnline Museum of Art, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago Artists Coalition, and more. Wheatley’s work has also been exhibited at the Black Fine Art Show in New York City, G.R. N’Namdi Gallery in Detroit, and in art fairs and exhibitions in Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Nashville. She’s been featured in publications from the Chicago Reader and Chicago Tribune to Timeout Chicago Magazine and the Detroit Free Press. In 2007 Wheatley was a Ragdale Foundation Chicago Connection Fellow, in 2008 she was a featured lecturer as part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Artists Connect Series, and from 2003 to 2007 she was a Board Member of Woman Made Gallery.
Wheatley received an MA in Writing from DePaul University, Chicago and a BA in English Literature and African American Studies (Minor) from Loyola University of Chicago. She currently has a studio residency and is a teaching artist at Hyde Park Art Center.
Hyde Park Art Center is a unique resource that advances contemporary visual art in Chicago by connecting artists and communities in unexpected ways. As an open forum for exploring the artistic process, the Art Center fosters creativity through making, learning about, seeing, and discussing art—all under one roof. The Art Center is funded in part by: Allstate Insurance Company; Alphawood Foundation; Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts; Bank of America; Bloomberg Philanthropies; a CityArts grant from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; Crown Family Philanthropies; David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation; Field Foundation of Illinois; Harper Court Arts Council; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; Irving Harris Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; The Joyce Foundation; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; National Endowment for the Arts; Polk Bros. Foundation; The Reva and David Logan Foundation; Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust; and the generosity of its members and people like you.
