Artistic Legacy on Display at Elmhurst Art Museum

Whether they paint, sculpt, dance, write, design or work in the musical sphere, artists are remembered either for their renown or for their impact.  The Elmhurst Art Museum’s exhibition simply titled Sandra Jorgensen movingly commemorates both. 

An accomplished modernist artist who also led a distinguished academic career, Jorgensen’s name is frequently associated with a Chicago art movement that formed, coalesced and eventually gained international notoriety in the 60’s and 70s.  Christened the Chicago Imagists and noted for their irreverent and often wry approach to how they perceived and created art, their influence is still evolving and growing; much in the way appreciation of Jorgensen’s work may likely continue to flower.  Theirs was a voice that countered the Pop art dictum emanating from the east coast fifty years ago.  Between the handful of core members there was a shared love of exploding colors and daring departures from the norm.  The Imagists, many of them recent graduates of the School of the Art Institute, added liberal injections of bombast and humor to their artistic brew.

Although Jorgensen would not be considered a member of the Imagist camp, her appreciation for their aesthetic stance and creative output led to a lifetime of advocacy and support for their artistic contributions.  With her unorthodox approach to color and shape, and the arresting visual presence of her paintings, Jorgensen shared a kinship with the movement she admired so much.  The differences between them are also noteworthy.  Imagist art is often rife with kinetic energy.  With Jorgensen, there is serene stillness.  Imagist art often spills over with satirical cultural commentary.  Jorgensen’s work is personal, autobiographical and feels psychically “from a distance”.  It’s sometimes more reminiscent of Edward Hopper, another artist Jorgensen admired.  

Because the museum went to great lengths to share an understanding of the person as well as mount a memorable retrospective, it was possible to get a sense of the individual in addition to gaining a deep appreciation of what she created.  In many ways, the Elmhurst show is very like the Warhol exhibit that just closed at the Art Institute; where Jorgensen’s work has also been shown.  

A blaze of purpose who loved shoes and thrilled at indulging a swarm of passions; including embarking on “quests” like visiting all the Woolworth’s in Indiana or traveling to eleven states in ten days.  Jorgensen spent much of her career as a “fearless” professor at Elmhurst College “who piqued your sensitivity to things visual” before becoming its Arts Chair and serving on the board of the entity that helped launch the Elmhurst Art Museum, the Elmhurst Fine Arts and Civic Center Foundation.

Her art is the interior Jorgensen. Or seems to be.   The vehicle that takes her from near frenetic enterprise to the contemplative and serene.  A world where symmetry rises to the spiritual and her still lifes can swoop you to an entrancing twilight zone. 

The City of Chicago commissioned a sprawling mural from Jorgensen for a library project in 1985.  The brilliantly rendered reproduction created for the current exhibition perfectly captures the concentrated power and velvet intensity of her art. 

The artist passed away in 1999 and her work, like that of many artists in the latter stages of life, shifted during her last years.  It became lighter, brighter.  Somehow quietly joyous.  Although the primary components of her technique and the textural feel of her work are still very much there, for the unprepared, the transition can still be jolting.  Indicative of the capacity for constant exploration and growth in the creative mind.

McCormick AfterParti, the companion exhibition running concurrently at the museum with Sandra Jorgensen through April 12^th and presented by Could Be Architecture, has its own ideas about the boundaries of art.  By taking an interactive approach, they’ve upended convention to show how adaptable context and space can be to new ideas.  Using a Miesian masterwork, the museum’s permanently installed McCormick House as their template; the design team of Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison invite you to get physical with the space.  With input from the museum, they’ve reconfigured the house’s rooms and developed programming that encourage you to touch, feel, enjoy and “live” in the space.  All with the objective of dispelling static notions of what architecture is by injecting it with life.

Sandra Jorgensen

McCormick AfterParti

January 24 – April 12, 2020

Elmhurst Art Museum

150 Cottage Hill Avenue

Elmhurst, IL   60126

elmhurstartmuseum.org