At September’s First Fridays event in Aurora, the Library will be host to a special collection. Artwork from members of The Aurora Art League will be on display in the Santori Library Atrium, 101 S. River Street, Aurora, for its 64th Annual Member Show. Those who attend can enjoy an evening of art and music at the Aurora Public Library District (APLD) beginning at 5:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2.
Did you know the Aurora Art League held its inaugural meeting at the Aurora Library in 1919? The current group has approximately 50 active members from the Aurora area. This year’s Member Show will feature 75 original works of art created by participating artists. There will be a variety of handcrafted pieces, including paintings, photographs, and mixed media pieces. These artists have been working diligently on their craft for the honor of being awarded the Best in Show ribbon. Last year’s Best in Show was presented to artist Susan Fichtel for her pastel work entitled, Eloise.
Making the difficult decision this year falls to artist Cheryl Holz who has a solo exhibition at Water Street Studios in Batavia featuring a collection of her own mixed media pieces inspired by nature. In Holz’s artist statement on her website www.cherylholz.com, she describes the inspiration behind her work: “My work is a homage to nature’s strength, beauty, and diversity. I emulate natural aging processes by building up and wearing away paint and plaster on hollow wooden panels. Anything from dragonfly wings to prairie grasses are embedded at various points of the process. The symbolic implications of the methods and materials are as important as the imagery.”
The Aurora Art League is honored to have her as this year’s judge.
When you stroll through the show and determine your own Best in Show winning piece, you can enjoy entertainment provided by acoustic jazz guitarist John Papadolius, the leader of the gypsy jazz ensemble, Chanson du Chat, which performs all over the Chicagoland area. John is returning to play for us again at the Member Show reception. He performed at last year’s event. We are so happy to have him back! Can’t make it to First Friday? The exhibit will be on display in the Atrium until 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept 3. We hope to see you there!
Andrea Tiberi is the communications coordinator for the Aurora Public Library District.