Opening Reception: Dan Oliver, Afire

Inspiring art education, exhibitions, and expression for all. The Evanston Art Center is a non-profit that has supported the arts for more than 90 years.

Evanston Art Center

The Evanston Art Center is pleased to invite the public to the opening of "Afire" featuring work by Dan Oliver!

October 2021 is the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Today, whether it’s uprisings and protests, or wildfires around the globe—fire is once again in the news. To facilitate public reflection on these past and present events, the Evanston Art Center presents Dan Oliver: Afire. In his latest body of work, Afire, Dan Oliver explores the theme of fire in all its metaphorical complexity. Passion, rage, chaos, destructive power, transformation, danger, energy, life, hell, protest, wildfires and global warming—fire means so many things and we have a complicated relationship to it. Two of the artist’s most vivid childhood memories are the burning of his family’s parish church and a neighbor’s home. Fire is simultaneously a deeply imprinted symbol and a timely crisis. The exhibition Afire is scheduled to open in October 2021, the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire.Dan Oliver grew up in the Southern Illinois cities of East Saint Louis and Belleville. He studied with Lester Goldman at the Kansas City Art Institute for his BFA, then, inspired by the Chicago Imagists, moved to Chicago, and earned his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Shifting between narrative, abstraction, the personal and the historical, Oliver’s intention is to always capture a psychological reality. His paintings have a dream logic, and are inspired by diverse sources ranging from pop culture to 20th and 13th century painting. His Catholic upbringing, his travels in Europe and Asia, his interest in art history and philosophy, as well as current events all merge and reemerge in his work. Dan Oliver currently resides in Chicago, and is married to artist Valerie Beller. He is also a museum exhibit designer, and the director of Glow Exhibitions, a private art gallery in Chicago.<a href="https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/exhibitions/daniel-oliver" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Learn more.</a>GALLERY HOURS &amp; VISITOR INFORMATION FOR COVID-19 GUIDELINESDan Oliver: Afire will be on display in the Evanston Art Center's First Floor Gallery from October 16–November 10, 2021. The exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.All visitors are required to wear face masks. Please adhere to 6' social distancing requirements when in the gallery space. Gallery Hours<ul><li>Monday - Friday: 1 pm - 6 pm</li><li>Saturday &amp; Sunday: 9 am - 4 pm</li></ul>Galleries are accessible. This event is free and open to the public. The exhibition is partially supported by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.Artwork shown (L to R): Church Fire, 2020, 20" x 20", acrylic on canvas; Inferno, 2019, 18" x 18", acrylic on canvas

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Opening Reception: Dan Oliver, Afire

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Opening Reception: Dan Oliver, Afire

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