This much-anticipated retrospective celebrates one of Illinois' most
distinguished painters, Chicago artist Vera Klement. The exhibition
features an array of Klement's awe-inspiring, large-canvas paintings.

Called the ‘grand doyenne' of the Chicago art scene, Klement's love of paint is astounding: vibrant layered colors are applied in a
lavish manner, echoing the gestural movement of Abstract Expressionism. The artist's evocative paintings are not just about what is on the canvas but often what is not. Nicely balanced, large-scale abstract canvases on signature white ground are commonly paired with metaphoric objects: the vessel suggesting the female form and the male principal represented by the tree-trunk.

Born in the Free city of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), Klement immigrated to
the U.S. with her family just before the Holocaust, and was raised in
New York. "Her move to Chicago in the 1960s and her long and
distinguished career as an artist and professor at the University of
Chicago led her to play a key role in the development of one of
America's major art centers, and her impact on our region as artist and
teacher has been vast," wrote contemporary art critic James Yood. Guest
curator is Ingrid Fassbender of Fassbender Fine Art, Chicago. A catalogue—with essay by contemporary art critic James Yood—complements the exhibition.