August 2 First Fridays at Five Features “Magical” Works

Fabricating-for-FundingLubeznik Center of the Arts will host an opening reception for its newest exhibitions with its monthly cultural series First Friday at Five on August 2 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. Exhibits, detailed below, will run from August 2, 2013 to October 27, 2013.

The headline exhibition in the Hyndman Gallery is “Magical Realism: Possible Not Probable” which features images that are highly-detailed and realistically-depicted but are invaded by something not quite right, or too strange to believe. During the reception, visitors will be entertained by magician James Pierce, who has been performing since 1993 and is a member of the Society of American Magicians. He has built illusions for David Copperfield, Chris Angel, and David Blaine. Artists included in the exhibit are Todd Baxter (Chicago, IL), Robert Gadomski (Homewood, IL), Nicole Gordon Chicago, IL), Laurie Hogin (Mahomet, IL), Priscilla Humay (Higland Park, IL), Elaine Pawlowicz (Dallas, TX), Casey Riordan Millard (Cincinnati, OH), and Caleb Weintraub (Bloomington, IN).

The Brincka/Cross Gallery will feature Olivia Petrides (Chicago, IL), illustrator of the Peterson Field Guide to Western Trees, and Peggy MacNamara (Chicago, IL), Field Museum Artist-in-Residence, where artists will present realistic observations of nature in “The Documentation of Nature”. Lubeznik Center exhibitions curator, CarolAnn Brown states, “The work in the Hyndman and Brincka /Cross galleries are in direct contrast with each other. Although the artwork is all highly-detailed, the works in “Magical Realism” interpret a combination of reality and fantasy, whereas the work in “Documentation of Nature” is more scientific – a documentation – showing actually what’s there.”

Along with natural imagery, the Robert Saxton Gallery will feature “Water Wrackets”, an installation and digital short film by Benjamin Funke and Gabrielle Gopinath. Chicago artists Funke and Gopinath create a psychedelic meditation on water paired with a sequence of luminous images of local tributaries.

Additionally, the Conference Room Gallery will feature a series of mixed media works by Valparaiso, IN artist Melissa Washburn entitled “Nesting Instinct”.

The inner lobby will feature an interactive exhibit entitled “Fabricating for Funding” where visitors can vote for their favorite design by placing cash inside. The design that obtains the most cash value wins! In a unique partnership with Illinois Institute of Technology, Architecture and Furniture students Adam Weisseet, Marina Khakhayeva, and Maria Savrasova, designed and built donation boxes inspired by the Lubeznik Center mission. This project not only provides three very different interpretations, but also helps raise funds for Lubeznik Center.

First Fridays at Five are part of the Michigan City, IN Uptown Art Walk held the first Friday of every month.

The Lubeznik Center is located at 101 W. 2nd St., at the lakefront in Michigan City, IN. Gallery Hours are weekdays from 10:00am to 5:00pm, Thursdays we have extended hours until 7:00pm, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00am to 4:00pm. For more information please visit www.lubeznikcenter.org or call 219-874-4900. All times are based on Central Daylight Time.