THE ELMHURST ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES PROGRAMS FOR NORMAN TEAGUE’S A LOVE SUPREME
John Coltrane and other musicians provide personal, cultural, and spiritual touchstones to over 30 artists and designers
CHICAGO -- The Elmhurst Art Museum announces programs for A Love Supreme, a solo exhibition by Norman Teague inspired by legendary jazz musician John Coltrane, with an adjoining group exhibition in the Mies van der Rohe’s McCormick House featuring over 30 Chicago-based BIPOC artists titled A Love Supreme: McCormick House Reimagined. Teague uses Coltrane’s album “A Love Supreme” as a cultural touchstone to consider design influences from his life-long home in Chicago, exploring how the power of bold improvisational jazz and unapologetic Black aesthetics have expanded the minds and inspired creative communities of color. Celebrating BIPOC designers and a variety of cultural influences in Chicago at a time when the country is reckoning with representation across industries and disciplines, A Love Supreme takes place at the Elmhurst Art Museum from January 20 to April 28, 2024.
A Love Supreme features new sculptural and installation-based works by Teague, providing a setting to heal, unify, and activate community. Visitors are greeted by a collage of Teague’s personal influences, including John Coltrane, designer Chuck Harrison, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), the Civil Rights era mural the “Wall of Respect,” sculptor Martin Puryear, and others.
With these cultural inspirations in mind, Teague presents new assemblage pieces with used brass instruments embedded in ceramics, and designed objects and sculptures that convey the power of jazz, such as a new, monolithic wood sculpture that references the shape of a horn. Central to the exhibit are African-influenced objects, including a large-scale round house created as a gathering place to celebrate, experience, and discuss Black life and shared culture.
“I believe there is a quest for craft from the imaginations of Black America that needs to be heard, seen, and felt as safe, desired, and beautiful. And it can only come from us. This turning point of awareness in American history will only get greater as time goes on—and design history will follow,” says Teague.
In line with his highly collaborative practice, Teague uplifts other creatives while expressing joy through design. For the adjoining exhibition in Mies van der Rohe’s 1952 McCormick House, co-curators Teague and Rose Camara, Charles Hummel Curatorial Fellow at The Chipstone Foundation, asked others, “What is your Coltrane story? Who awakened you personally and artistically?” Works on display by over 30 artists include furniture, blown glass, and fiber art pieces that transform the house from the picture of upper-class, white suburban living to an alternative interior reimagined by BIPOC architects, designers, and artists.
The exhibiting artists selected by Teague and Camara include Oluwaseyi Adeleke, Germane Barnes, Cain Baum, Bryana Bibbs, Paul Branton, Steve Bravo, Brandon Breaux, Roger Carter, Funlola Coker, Summer Coleman, Shani Crowe, Max Davis, Juan de la Mora, Julius C. Dorsey, Brian K. Ellison, Stephen Flemister, Krista Franklin, Toni L. Griffin, Andres L. Hernandez, Roland Knowlden, Marvell Lahens, Roberto Lugo, Cedric Mitchell, Obiora Nwazota, Lola Ogbara, Rosemary Ollison, Daniel Overbey, Suchi Reddy, Tony Smith, Edra Soto, Jomo Tariku, Norman Teague, Raymond A. Thomas, Fo Wilson, and Sadie Woods. A Love Supreme: McCormick House Reimagined provides a new narrative about the bold, bright, and vast number of Black and Brown designers who are the future of American design.
The exhibition includes audio components. Headphones and smartphone are recommended to provide a fuller experience.
The Elmhurst Art Museum is located at 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst (IL), 25 minutes from downtown Chicago by car or public transportation (Metra). On the museum’s campus is the McCormick House, a single-family home designed in 1952 by Mies van der Rohe, one of the great architects of the 20th Century. The McCormick House is one of only three residences designed and built by Mies in the United States – and one of only two open to the public.
The Museum is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Friday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Regular admission prices are $18 for adults (ages 18+), $15 for seniors, $10 for students, and $5 for children. For more information, please call 630.834.0202 or visit elmhurstartmuseum.org.
Latest Stories
- CTU Gathers with Faith-based Leaders to Highlight Recent Tentative Agreement Wins for Students and Educators
- COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONER KISHA MCCASKILL TAKES CENTER STAGE AS SOUTH SUBURBAN COMMUNITY UNITES FOR A GREENER FUTURE
- RICH TOWNSHIP SUPERVISOR CALVIN JORDAN LEADS HEARTWARMING SPRING CELEBRATION FOR HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES WITH “EASTER JAMBOREE” CELEBRATION
- Local Musician’s Career Spans 50 Years
- Have Questions About Money? The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office Can Help
Latest Podcast
STARR Community Services International, Inc.
