Four Local Artists Exhibit "Abstract Collaboration" at Oak Park Public Library in September

Four local artists who concentrate on abstract art will display their paintings in an exhibit titled "Abstract Collaboration" from September 2 through September 29 at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake Street. The artists, Holly Renald Cohn, Bea Giordano, Pern Krider and Nell Himmelfarb Schneider, all studied with Eleanor Himmelfarb at the DuPage Art League in Wheaton over the past 20 years. A reception to meet the artists will be held Sunday, September 11 from 2 pm to 4 pm at the Oak Park Public Library, Second Floor Art Gallery. The reception is free and open to the public.

"Studying with Eleanor Himmelfarb had a huge impact on my life," notes Pern Krider. "Eleanor inspired all her students to take risks, and to be courageous with that brush! Our group has been together almost 20 years. It's been a wonderful journey, watching all of us develop and putting Eleanor's teachings into practice," concludes Pern Krider.

Bea Giordano says that she tried to be a realistic painter for that was what she understood art to be. "I got pretty good at recording what I saw but, for some reason, I never was able to finish a painting without changing something. When I began to study art with Eleanor Himmelfarb, instead of being a recorder of what I was seeing, I began using the visuals of line, form, color, texture, and contrasts to share my feelings and evoke a response from the viewer of my works."

Holly Renald Cohn has taught art as a painting instructor in acrylic, oil and watercolor for adults at Elmhurst Park District in Elmhurst, IL. Holly earned a BA in Art at Antioch College in Ohio and has studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been showing her work in group exhibitions since 1996 at numerous galleries in Illinois and Indiana. She created a solo exhibition for the Elmhurst Art Museum in 2003 and 2010.

Bea Giordano has shown her work in group exhibitions including the "Harrison 5" group show at Gallery Pink in Oak Park, two Chocolate Moon shows in Elmhurst, and with "Students of Eleanor Himmelfarb" at North Central College in Naperville and with the Elmhurst Artist Guild in Elmhurst Art Museum.

Pern Krider studied illustration, design, photography, and painting at the American Academy of Art and at the College of DuPage as well as with Janice Elkins at Gallery Pink in Oak Park. Pern's work was featured in a solo exhibit at the Theosophical Society in Wheaton, IL. She has appeared in a group show by the "Harrison 5" at Gallery Pink and another group show by students of Eleanor Himmelfarb at North Central College in Naperville, IL.

Nell Himmelfarb Schneider studied art at the University of Houston (Texas) and the Museum of Fine Arts, also in Houston. She has done post graduate work at the University of Minnesota in Art History. Currently, Nell belongs to an informal painting group that has studied with Janice Elkins at her Oak Park studio. Nell has been an interpreter for the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust (when it was the FLW Home and Studio) and is a former director of the Chicago Architecture Foundation. She established the Art After School program a the Minnesota Museum of Art in St. Paul when she served as education director there.

The Art Gallery on the Second Floor of the Main Library presents the work of local artists each month. Artists interested in exhibiting their work in the Art Gallery should call 708-697-6915. See http://www.oppl.org/events/gallery.htm for upcoming and past exhibits.