Prof. Onli is currently preparing selected Rhythmistic Visual Fine Art for a major exhibition Summer of 2019 at the Box Factory For the Arts in upscale St. Joseph, Michigan-USA.
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The Box Factory for the Arts, 1101 Broad Street, Saint Joseph, MI 49085
The Rhythmistic Smorgasbord":
This showcase will give intelligent curators and collectors the unique opportunity to experience varies pathways in Onli's decades long dynamic Rhythmistic practice as he is now on the threshold of his Vintage Phase. Onli grew up during the last era of Great American Illustrators.
He wanted to be one and during his early 20s he illustrated for the likes of Playboy, WGN, Delmark Record"s, National PTA Magazine, The Singer Society For Visual Education and other clients.
Working from the outside in!
He was shocked when he finally was accepted to the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago to discover their entire studio curriculum was absolutely into "Conceptual Art" and devalued the robust American legacy of figurative painting along with its lavish commercial illustration applications. However he remained true to his ambitions to express himself using the narrative aspects based on the human face or body with his future-primitive flavor.
He may use photographs or live models as references but tends to modify them away from their original state to arrive at a more distinct, less sterile impact, not limited by simply copying the references to a common or boringly flat "Paint-By-Numbers" result or marred by the dedicated use of opaque projectors.
The Oustider looking In!
Onli did go on to earn a BFA in Art Education and a M.A.A.T. in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Both practices and degrees lead to a long career as an Arts Educator and clinical-community based Art Therapist. Except for a few years in the 1980s, when Onli was with the Younger Gallery in Chicago, and in 2001 with the Divine Gallery in Saugatuck, he has not been represented by galleries, curators or art representatives. This created a sort of outside the mainstream presence in Onli's practice. This on balance with his works being presented in alternative spaces, not for profit galleries and museums,
Onli has maintained a nexus of fine-art esthetics and commercial applications fueled by his experimental undercurrent of narrative future-primitive stylizations that he long ago referred to as "Rhythismtic" which is expressed in bodies or collections of work centered around a unifying theme. Concepts such as the metaphysical, the health giving watermelon, the morality of the "No Evils" proverb are a few.
Theme 1: “Outsider In”
“All hail the outspoken, the outrĂ© and the odd,” the report declares,
somewhat breathlessly. “As we become ever more inundated with
mass-replicated imagery and aggregated articles, our appetite for unique
messengers and standout visuals increases with each and every share…
consumers are rejecting anything that has even the slightest whiff of
Goliath… We’ve entered a new Age of the Strange.”
Current world events are causing hesitation in spending–buying patterns show some caution, but not when it comes to the arts.
Most art market report and agree that current uncertainty in politics and economics is affecting high-end spending. People are turning to experts and data to guide their decisions, and statistics show a shift from buying art from auctions to art dealers.
Recently art dealers are closing 63% of art sales, while auction houses experienced a 19% decline in sales in 2017. Trust, transparency, and discretion are key factors that collectors seek in a dealer’s reputation.
Overall, the outlook for the global art market is increasingly positive with an 18% increase in a positive outlook combined with an 8% decrease in negative opinions.
Mid-market prices between $10,000 and $50,000 see an uptick, while artworks over $1 million see a pullback.
Meanwhile,
because of changing spending patterns, galleries are reserving
high-dollar art pieces in their stock to avoid flooding the market and
driving prices down. Buyers are feeling more confident with mid-market
prices, and with this rise in optimism, collectors are purchasing more
emerging, though riskier, artists.