Renee McGinnis- An Icon Among Icons
A Retrospective, curated by René Romero Schuler
Opening Saturday, January 11, 2024 5-8pm at Re-Invent Gallery
202 E. Wisconsin Ave, Lake Forest, IL 60045
I have known Renee McGinnis for over fifteen years, and from the moment we met, I have admired her. She is a beautiful, statuesque, blonde bombshell of a woman, with a brain that’ll humble you within about five minutes of conversation. So steadfast in her vision and her convictions, you just can’t help feeling a sense of confusion about your own. She is strong, confident, and never seems to be at a loss for direction.
But all of that said, I have never once felt intimidated by Renee. She is as kind as anyone can possibly be. She hails from a small Illinois town called Dwight; a very quaint Midwest farming town in about the middle of the state. From the time we first spoke, she referred to her own mother and father as “Mom” and “Dad” (as if they were mine too), which endeared her to me that much more.
Renee is an award-winning artist who received a BFA from Illinois Wesleyan University, and went on to the University of Chicago for graduate studies in Sociology. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, and she has current representation in Chicago.
Renee has also been a juror for several art competitions, and she has co-curated shows with James Rondeau, of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as the renowned (now deceased) artist, Ed Paschke.
Renee McGinnis is best known for painting man-made super structures, decaying in surreal gardens or adrift on the high seas. These are her own metaphors for modern humanity.
Throughout her career McGinnis has never limited her practice to one single body of work or aesthetic. It is clear after seeing her plural evolution that as an artist, she has a curiosity and capability that allows several bodies of work to emerge with a seriousness one usually finds with the singular perspective of art making.
The “Jeweloids” you will see in this exhibition are the tendons to the muscle of her large scale oil paintings. These playful, somewhat provocative paintings, provide this artist with release and opportunity for rapid experimentation. Each work breaks down the human body into jeweled, geometric, organic and colorful components with some elements migrating to other areas of the painting or radiating from the center of a jewel attached to the surface . Many works touch softly on emotion, or procreation and longing, and suggest the stuff we are all made of and the manner in which we adorn ourselves to attract one another.
The few icons you see in this exhibit are the ancestors of it all. They come from a calm and noble place. They honor the work that great people do, and the beauty and splendor of that work. These are the paintings that grounded Renee McGinnis in the early years of her practice. And it is these that moved me to curate this retrospective of the work of someone I consider to be a modern Chicago Icon.
