Looking Out – Circle Contemporary
Opening Reception:
5:30-8:00

Ardillio Anderson— Johannes Barfield — Caleb Beck — Danny Frownfelter — Aaron Kleeblatt —Sandy Williams IV — Jean Wilson— Christina Zion
guest curated by Jake Troyli

In the exhibition Looking Out, a group of eight artists has been assembled, each bringing their own unique approach to what it means to create, understand, and engage with the portrait. In a moment where so much of an individual can be so highly visible, and yet so easily distorted or obscured, how do we reckon not only with our neighbor’s image, a stranger’s, or even our own? While some of the artists in this show create brand new characters directly from their imagination, others re-shape references using their own visual language, and some elect to present us with the likeness as it already existed, but in a new context that can make us question our relationship with it in the first place. How do we look at a person, at a portrait, and what do they see when they look back?
Jake Troyli is an artist living and working in Chicago, IL. He received his BA from Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN (2013) and his MFA from the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL (2019). He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, ME in the summer of 2019. In 2020 Jake had his first solo exhibition Don’t forget to pack a lunch!, with Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, IL. Troyli was a Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center fellow for the 2019-2020 season, was an ACRE resident in Steuben, WI (2018), and received a Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist Grant, Largo, FL (2017). His work has been in numerous group exhibitions, including Skyway: A Contemporary Collaboration, The Ringling Museum, Sarasota, FL (2021), Universes 4, Galerie Droste, Paris, France(2021), My Sweet Doppelgänger, Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles, CA(2021), Show Me Yours, Monique Meloche gallery, Chicago, IL (2019), Coco Hunday Presents, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, GA (2019) Malmö Sessions, Carl Kostyál Gallery, Malmö, SE (2019) and Extra Butter, Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, FL (2019). Jake has been featured in New American Paintings issues 141(cover artist) and 142, as well as A Common Practice: Basketball & Contemporary Art. Jake is represented by Monique Meloche gallery in Chicago, IL.

Virtual Guest Curatorial and Artist Talk
Friday, December 10
1 p.m. (CST) RSVP for Zoom info
circlecontemporary@artsoflife.org
Gallery Hours with Curator
Saturday, December 11th 1pm-4pm
Gallery hours by appointment (circlecontemporary@artsoflife.org)

*IMPORTANT COVID PROTOCOL If you have recently tested positive for or are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, we ask that you stay home. Temperature checks will be conducted upon entry. There is a 10 person limit inside the gallery. Masks required for all attendees – with proof of vaccination for anyone over the age of 12.

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Tags: Aaron Kleeblatt, Ardillio Anderson, arts of life, Caleb Beck, Chicago, Christina Zion, Circle Contemporary, Danny Frownfelter, East Garfield Park, Jake Troyli, Jean Wilson, Johannes Barfield, Looking Out, Sandy Williams IV