It's a Small World

Good things do come in small packages, and Harper College is ready to prove it again. The College next week will launch the 31st Annual Small Works National Art Exhibition, a collection of small-scale pieces - all of them measuring well under two feet - by artists from across the United States. Photography, paintings, sculptures and more will be showcased as part of the exhibit; two dozen artists will be represented.

"It's always interesting to see the quality and the variety of the work," Harper Art Curator Margaret Buchen says. "This show proves artwork doesn't have to be big to have a big impact."

Exhibiting artist Kate Friedman of Evanston uses digital manipulations of previous photographs as raw material for her paintings. Her mixed media on canvas laser print "Glade" was created by painting directly on a digital print without a preconceived idea. She says, "My work seeks to uncover a common language, one that speaks of both nature and technology, of the intuitive and the rational, of chaos and order."

Hans Habeger, also of Evanston, focuses on side and rear views of building facades of superstores and strip malls. He says the stores imply the larger culture of consumerism in which we live. The mundane settings are devoid of figures, although the paintings imply a previous or future presence of people.

The Harper mainstay exhibit, which drew more than 580 submissions from more than 200 artists, requires that every piece measure 22 inches or less, including any frames.

Submitted works were judged by Debora Wood, Senior Curator at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum in Evanston. The exhibit is sponsored by the Harper College Educational Foundation.

Viewing times are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays from Monday, March 30 through Thursday, April 23 in Room C200, Building C, on Harper's main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine.

Note: Hours may be limited during the show's first week - Monday, March 30 through Friday, April 3 - because of spring break.

Please call in advance to confirm times, 847.925.6568. The free show is open to all.