Christopher Cannon’s artworks—screen prints, drawings, collages and, most recently, custom toys—explore social, economic and political topics by boldly reimagining the familiar.
Elmhurst College will host Cannon’s exhibition “Re-struc-tured” Toys & Works on Paper from October 21 through November 23 in the Founders Lounge of the Frick Center. A reception with the artist will be held on Tuesday, October 22, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The artist’s talk begins at 5:00 p.m.
Cannon, who teaches graphic design at the College of DuPage, utilizes elements of architectural design to address environmental and physical changes to urban landscapes. In his recent “Detroit” series, Cannon deals with the effects of memory by combining the vague, idealized recollections of his youth with the reality of personal and public landmarks.
His appreciation for nature and his interest in popular culture inform the conceptual process in his current projects, which involve recycling used toys to create new and exciting custom characters called “Mash-Ups of the Multiverse.”
“Chris Cannon’s screen prints make powerful statements about our environment,” says Suellen Rocca, curator and director of exhibits at Elmhurst College. “The works are bold, with a strong sense of graphic design.”
Rocca describes his toys, created from parts of toy figures made between the 1960s and the present, as “weird, quirky and wonderful invented creatures.”
“Re-structured” Toys and Works on Paper can be viewed from Monday, October 21, through Saturday, November 23. A reception with the artist will be held on Tuesday, October 22, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Founders Lounge. The artist’s talk begins at 5:00 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. For more information, call (630) 617-3390.
Elmhurst College hosts approximately 12 art shows each year in two campus venues. In addition, the College’s A.C. Buehler Library permanently houses the College’s unparalleled collection of Chicago Imagist and Abstractionist Art, which explores the vibrant, often outrageous, yet precisely crafted works of Chicago artists between 1950 and the present. For more information about the Elmhurst College Art Collection, please contact Suellen Rocca at (630) 617-6110 or [email protected].