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Ernest “Popeye” Reed
Adam and Eve, c. 1977
Carved limestone
8 1/2” x 11” x 3 1/2”
Collection of Michael and Cindy Noland

american stone carving
March 8 - May 25, 2002

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art will present the exhibition, American Stone Carving, from March 8 through May 25, 2002, at Intuit, 756 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; admission is free. The exhibition opens with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 8.

Curated by artist Michael Noland, American Stone Carving, features sculptural work by William Edmondson, Ernest “Popeye” Reed, Raymond Coins, Lonnie Holley, Charles Simmons, Tim Lewis, Ted Ludwiczak, David Marshall, William Cross, and others. Art historian Michael Hall will present a lecture, Back to Basics -- Folk Sculpture in Stone, on Thursday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m.

William Edmondson (1870 - 1951) was born near Nashville, TN, and began carving when inspired by a vision. He carved gravestones, free-standing figurative sculpture, and garden ornaments using discarded blocks of limestone and tools made from railroad spokes. Animals, biblical subjects, and secular figures were his dominant images. Raymond Coins (1904 - 1998), who lived most of his life in the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina, began creating stone and wood carvings after retiring from his work as a farmer and local tobacco company. His subjects included animal and human figures, some in bas-relief. Popeye Reed (1919 - 1985) was born in Ohio, and began carving sandstone and limestone in 1968. Subjects included people, animals, figures inspired by Greek mythology. Lonnie Holley (born 1950) lives near Birmingham, AL, and makes carvings from industrial sandstone. His work is highly thematic and centers on the human condition.

Running concurrently with American Stone Carving, is the exhibition Sam Doyle, which has been extended through March 30. The exhibit, Eight from Europe: A Study Collection, featuring works by Adolf Wolfli, Carlo Zinelli, Augustin Lesage, Pasqual Verbina, Ana Zemankova, Scottie Wilson, Aloise Corbaz, and Madge Gill will open Friday, April 19, with a reception from 5 - 8 p.m., in Intuit’s back gallery.

A reading and panel discussion of Jean Dubuffet’s famous 1951 “Anti-cultural Positions” lecture will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, at Intuit. The lecture will be read by James Yood, art historian at Northwestern University, followed by a panel discussion featuring Russell Bowman of the Milwaukee Art Museum; Hannah Higgins of the University of Illinois Chicago; Ruth Horwich, arts patron and collector; and Lisa Wainwright of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Reservations are suggested for this lecture; the cost is $10 for the public, $5 for Intuit members.

Visions from Inside the Classroom , an exhibit of student work inspired by self-taught artists, will open on Thursday, March 14, with a reception from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Center Space, Gallery 37 Center, 66 East Randolph. This exhibit will run through April 6.