The Long Hike From Lake Forest Recent work by Regin Igloria April 7, 2006

Press Release The Long Hike From Lake Forest An exhibition of recent work by Regin Igloria April 7-28, 2006 Opening: April 7th, 2006
6-9pm

Damen Studio
4528 ? N. Damen Ave,
Chicago, IL 60625
[email protected]
www.damenstudio.com
contact: Sarah Hadley

Damen Studio is pleased to present the recent work of Regin Igloria. Regin Igloria is a Chicago-based artist who works primarily in drawing and artists' books. Since graduating from Rhode Island School of Design in 2004 with an MFA in Painting, he has pursued his search for home, a research project that attempts to weave the beauty and grandeur of the rural landscape with the frenetic energy of urban living. His most recent works interpret Western culture and its relationship to Nature with a consumerist mindset: that happiness may be obtained by escaping the daily routine. The Long Hike From Lake Forest is an exhibition based on a performance involving the artist hiking from his current home at The Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, IL to his childhood home in Albany Park, Chicago. The distance of approximately twenty-five miles was covered while carrying a backpack filled with blank, hand-bound books and two scrolls. These objects, along with photographs of the event, gouache paintings of embroidered patches and a wall drawing, will be on display in the gallery. The performance, which uses physical exertion as a metaphor for the human condition, directly relates to the artist's works on paper, which are also executed in a slow, tedious manner. In this regard, the artist hopes that his tedious efforts of experiencing nature will reciprocate joy and fulfillment, even though the devices that allow him to experience it may be tainted by the facility of suburban sprawl and consumerism.
The exhibition will open on Friday, April 7, from 6-9 pm and will run though April 28th. Damen Studio is open Sundays from 1-5 pm, and by appointment. This exhibition is part of a series of work that will continue in a related exhibition at Zg Gallery in June.