William Eckhardt Kohler: Walking
January 21 � February 26, 2011
Project Space: Shauna Angel Blue: Concrete Village: RUIN
Opening Reception: Friday January 21

William Eckhardt Kohler In the Gorge, 2010 oil on canvas, 39.5” x 39.5”

Linda Warren Gallery is proud to open 2011 with William Eckhardt Kohler�s first solo exhibition at the gallery, �Walking�. On view will be a selection of Kohler�s most recent oil paintings on canvas, both large and small scale, which reveal the most pronounced foray of the integration into abstraction and representation in his work to date. Nothing more dramatic or less inspiring than a walk in nature serves as muse for Kohler�s ever evolving painterly expression. Trees, birds, mountains and rivers continue to represent themselves as more than sufficient challenges to recreate nuanced and complex pictorial spaces and act as a receptacle for the funneling of an ever evolving and maturing inner world. Looking inward, toward the multifaceted and mysterious terrain of the subconscious and spiritual realms, has been, and continues to be, a significant aspect of Kohler�s practice, whether in subject matter, process, or both. In earlier work, Kohler focused on the dream worlds and psyches of others. The most apparent shift in �Walking� is that dialogue now is between the artist, himself and the elements on the picture plane. It is Kohler�s process, to revisit in memory - jogged by the plethora of drawings and watercolors he creates plein air - and reconstruct on canvas, the private places, dreams, emotions and meditations of his inner and outer experiences. Lyrical marks, colorful patterning, and a wide range of intellectual concerns, unfold into compositions that leave vastly open a world for subjective interpretation and a walk and journey of the viewers own.

William Eckhardt Kohler The Dream of Domenicino, 2010 oil on canvas, 52” x 72”

There is a strong relationship between William Kohler�s work and �Concrete Village: Ruin� - the medium and large scale photographs of Shauna Angel Blue on display in the Project Space this month. As husband and wife, these artists share life experience and a passion for both inner and outer exploration. Though Blue�s work is entirely rooted in the photographic medium, using a Hasselblad medium format camera to achieve her results, the technical aspects offered by her equipment do not dictate Shauna's photography. She uses her tool to capture her own painterly and compositional viewpoints, which are filled with the extraordinary usage of light. Furthering her desire to interpret and express a world filled with endless and fascinating juxtapositions, blurring the boundaries of the real and the imagined, Shauna prints her work on watercolor paper, further softening an unmistakable vivid reality. The images are never digitally manipulated.

William Eckhardt Kohler In the Gorge, 2010 oil on canvas, 39.5” x 39.5”

�Concrete Village�, was more than a lucky find, on a lucky day. It is a site Shauna has revisited time and time again, representing as it does, a treasure trove of subject matter - a surreal site chock full of humor, beauty, sensuality, decay, strangeness and history � all the material necessary for the seemingly endless new creation. It is no surprise that Kohler found inspiration in this secret garden as well. He reveals that several watercolor studies made here are referenced in the paintings in �Walking� - a further testament to these artists� ongoing exchange and synergy.

William Eckhardt Kohler received his BFA in 1985 from the Maryland Institute College of Art and his MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1987, where he has taught. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, the Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London and other venues abroad. His work can be found in many public and private collections. Shauna Angel Blue received both her BA in 1991 and MFA in Photography in 2000 from Columbia College in Chicago. She has been the recipient of several grants and awards. Her work has been shown both nationally and internationally and is in numerous private and public collections.

For more information or images from the gallery please contact Chris Smith or Linda Warren at 312-432-9500 or chris@lindawarrengallery.com