Elmhurst Art Museum

Nikki Renee Anderson creates ceramic sculptures and installations that explore the feminine experience based on her personal history. The Cherry Series is intended to create fantasy objects and explore cultural stereotypes about beauty, desire and femininity. The sculptures resemble abstract desserts, which reference to the female body. The inspiration for this project comes from Anderson's personal experience.

Her father owned a restaurant and bakery and as a child she spent many hours there while he was working. Sometimes she helped out with cooking and baking tasks. Other times Anderson would just pick a treat from the bakery case to eat. Anderson also struggled with my weight as a little girl. This project reflects the beauty and delight Anderson saw and experienced at the bakery as well as the gluttony and shame of her body. It also reflects cultural expectations and stereotypes about the female body.

Inspired by Whiting, Indiana, a city defined by its large oil refinery, Emmett Kerrigan’s latest paintings depict factories and smokestacks. The bold, colorful factories combined with black power lines heighten the basic elements of shape, line, and color, as well as create interesting compositions. Older pieces inspired by nostalgia for the simple toys of childhood as well as Midwestern farm landscapes will sit alongside these new works, providing a visual chronology of Kerrigan’s interests.