Judith Raphael’s paintings focus on images of people with the goal of describing human nature, psychologically and metaphorically, in visual form.
In the last decade Raphael began concentrating on the subject of young girls—a theme, she says, that evolved naturally from her life with younger sisters, granddaughters and a daughter. The images show the courage and endurance of young girls, as well as the vulnerability of childhood and the need for protection on our fragile planet.
Elmhurst College will host an exhibition of Raphael’s paintings from March 2 until April 1 to celebrate Women’s History Month.
“My paintings are meant to reconfigure the insouciance I see in the girls and women in my life, their courage and endurance,” Raphael says.
Her recent body of work has evolved from Hubble space telescope images of the universe. “The image ‘Surveying the Universe’ represents my concern about the vulnerability of childhood and feels very pressing as the media presents yet more information about protecting children on the planet,” she says.
Raphael’s exhibition can be viewed days and evenings in the Founders Lounge of the Frick Center from Monday, March 2, through Wednesday, April 1. A reception with Raphael will be held on Wednesday, March 4, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with an artist’s talk at 5:00 p.m. Both the exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. For more information, call (630) 617-3390.
The exhibition is one of about a dozen art shows that Elmhurst College hosts each academic 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, please contact Suellen Rocca at (630) 617-6110 or srocca@elmhurst.edu.