Contemporary artists David Menard and Molly Carter will present their mixed media works in an exhibition called Dick and Jane opening Friday, April 11th in the Kortman Gallery. The exhibit, Dick and Jane, according to the artists statement includes their works on paper which explore issues of identity in contemporary culture and the veneer of the American Dream from the experience of growing up in a placid suburban environment to the analytic examination of beauty, fashion, and the current day idealized female sex object.

Menard and Carter, husband and wife who are both accomplished artists, will be showing together for the first time in this two-person exhibition.

Menard, assistant professor of art at Rockford College, makes visual reference in his works to the old Dick and Jane grammar school books of the 1950s and 60s. My drawings are packed with visual imagery of childrens games, ice cream cones, and young boys and girls running through fragmented landscapes of trees, clouds and fences, says Menard.

Carters work which examines female identity and sexuality appropriates images from her collection of fashion magazines and books. My works are layered, painted, drawn and stitched as I combine these fragmented images, said Carter. I create a cotton-candy reality in which my dysfunctional dolls exist.

The Menard/Carter exhibition will be the second in a series of two-person shows in the Kortman Gallery. The series is called 2at22, celebrating J.R. Kortman Center for Designs twenty-two years in business.

The opening receptions for Dick and Jane will be on Friday, April 11th from 5:00pm to 9:00pm and Saturday, April 12th in conjunction with the Spring ArtScene. The Kortman Gallery is located upstairs at 107 North Main Street, Downtown Rockford. Admission is free and open to the public. For more in formation call 815/968-0123 or visit www.jrkortman.com.

What: Dick and Jane art exhibition featuring the works of David Menard and Molly Carter.
This second in a series of two-person exhibitions dubbed 2at22 celebrating J. R. Kortman Center for Designs twenty-two years in business.

Where: Kortman Gallery, upstairs at J.R.Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main, Downtown Rockford

When: Opening receptions, Friday, April 11, 5:00pm9:00pm and Saturday, April 12, 3:00pm9:00pm.

Gallery open MondaySaturday, 10am6pm. Exhibition runs through May 31.

Tickets: Free admission