(un)Common Resemblance is a solo exhibition of recent works by Chicago based artist Christine Forni featuring painting, sculpture and drawing. For many years, Christine Forni has been observing nature’s visual patterns. She is inspired by the consistencies in how all living things, including human beings grow and evolve. Tree branches, antlers, coral, rivers and the capillaries beneath our skin share remarkable common growth patterns and visual arrangements. There is a new law in physics, Constructal Law, which describes what she has learned by observation. Constructal law is a theory that the generation of design (configuration, pattern, geometry) in nature is a physics phenomenon that unites all animate and inanimate systems. The constructal law was stated by Adrian Bejan in 1996 as follows: “For a finite-size system to persist in time (to live), it must evolve in such a way that it provides easier access to the imposed currents that flow through it  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructal_law].” It governs evolution in biology, physics, technology and social organization.

Forni believes science and art compliment each other, sharing a common root in the desire for human understanding and the essential expression of life. Her work invites the viewer to take a closer look and understand that not all things can be understood quickly at first glance. For instance, the Blood Coral paintings may appear to be coral or capillaries but are actually studies from antique German etchings of an extinct cypress tree root system. The recent sculpture Prometheus resembles the shape of a human head but also looks like it could have been found beneath the earth resembling a cluster of crystals that grew together. This sculpture is made of bronze, steel, resin and pyrite, better known as Fool’s Gold.  Christine Forni’s (un)Common Resemblance exhibition proposes a close inspection into the natural order of living things while finding a respectful balance for the natural world.

About Christine Forni

Christine Forni is a Chicago-based, multidisciplinary artist working in sculpture, painting and metals. Each material she chooses both informs and forms a visual vocabulary for her distinctive pieces.

Currently, her iron sculpture Passage is on display at the Rockford Art Museum Biennale. She has also exhibited her drawings and jewelry at the Center Catala d’Artesania and taught metalsmithing at Escuela Llotja in Barcelona. Her art jewelry is featured in all of the Art Jewelry Today book series and the recent edition of Lark Book’s 500 Necklaces.

Christine’s work has been recognized globally for it’s inspired aesthetic combining various techniques from glass enameling to hand built porcelain. Her jewelry has been carried by galleries and museum stores such as Kalo Fine Jewelry Gallery in Scotland, de Young Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian, MCA, and the AGO museum in Toronto to name a few. In 2011 her pieces were on exhibit at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo that examined the possible extinction of red coral. In 2012 She exhibited her oil painting with 33 Contemporary Gallery in Art Energy Future, a group exhibition that traveled to the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino, Italy. In 2013 her 24kt gold drawing was chosen for an exhibition at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art and her 14kt white gold miniature drawings set on brooches were included in the La Frontera traveling exhibition at the Museo Franz Mayer in Mexico City. Christine Forni’s current body of work is an exploration of time and our interactions with nature.

Exhibition information:

Exhibitions Dates:  June 20 to July 12, 2014
Opening Date/Reception: Friday, June 20, 2014
Time: 7 pm to 10 pm

Location: 

33 Contemporary Gallery
Zhou B Art Center
1029 W. 35th St, 1st Floor, Chicago, IL 60609
Gallery Hours: Monday through Saturday 10am to 5pm.
Website:  http://www.33contemporary.com