The Riverside Arts Center hosted a lively artist panel on Feb. 9 with photographer Jay Wolke, focusing on his solo exhibit “Building Place: Big Boat Little Pond” curated by Paul D’Amato and Laura Husar Garcia.
About 50 people attended the event, which lasted about 90 minutes. The exhibit will run until Feb. 22 at the center, located at 32 E. Quincy St.
Wolke is a Chicago-based artist and educator, known for his photographic monographs, including “All Around the House” (1998) and “Along the Divide” (2004). Currently a Professor of Photography at Columbia College Chicago, Wolke previously served as chair of the Art and Design Department.
The panel provided insights into their experiences and expertise in curating Wolke’s solo exhibition, which showcases his large-format color photography exploring the intersection of nature, architecture and habitation. D’Amato and Garcia led the discussion.
Wolke said he found the discussion insightful, saying, “Whenever you see your own work filling a room or up on the walls, it’s a very different experience than if you’re just looking at it on a computer screen. So actually, when you see that print, which is really the manifestation of the picture, it’s the print that carries the weight. That’s what really either has weight or doesn’t, as far as I’m concerned. Just seeing the work up has made a big difference for me.”
Wolke’s photo exhibit invited deeper reflection, offering a thoughtful exploration of the relationship between humans and their environments through striking images like “Quarry Workshop,” “Carrara” and “Italy,” where the merging of industry, nature and history tells a compelling visual story.
Joanne Aono, exhibition director at the center, said, “The discussion was insightful, engaging and attended by a mix of colleagues of the three photographers and former students of Jay Wolke.” When asked about surprising or impactful insights from the artist talk, Aono said that audience members were curious about Wolke’s influences, highlighting his deep engagement with photography.
“People asked about his influences and he could easily name them off and talk about each one. He also shared his joy for photography, explaining that it’s what he loves to do,” Aono said.
On the panel, Wolke mentioned wanting to create photographs that guide the viewer on how to interpret them, similar to how a sentence or essay requires a logical sequence of parts of speech and ideas to effectively communicate a message.
“There is a particular grammar in photography, and obviously, there’s a lot of graphic material, especially color theory in my work. I’m very interested in how color, light and space work. Those are the three things in photography that really become the vocabulary, or the rhetoric, of the medium. That’s how I choose to approach it, and I guess that sort of explains a little bit,” Wolke said.
As the exhibition comes to a close, the Riverside Arts Center is looking ahead to future programming. Aono believes every exhibition is stellar, with Wolke’s being particularly special due to his unique character. Normally, they would show an artist in just one gallery, but Wolke’s work has had a broader impact.
“Jay’s work is being shown in both the Freeark Gallery and the FlexSpace. The funny thing is we could have used a third gallery because there were so many great photographs we could have included,” Aono said. “Paul and Laura had a difficult time choosing which pieces to feature in the exhibition. As for what’s next, we have a lineup of exhibitions planned throughout the year.”
