P.M. Wentworth
Imagination Mars
Collection of Intuit: the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
promised gift of Jan Petry

Take Me to the River

Press release:
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art will commemorate its first 15 years with an exhibition, catalogue, and symposia entitled Take Me to the River, September 15, 2006-January 5, 2007 at Intuit, 756 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago IL 60622. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm and Thursday 11:00 am to 7:30 pm; admission is free. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, September 15 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at Intuit.

Curator Ken Burkhart will organize the exhibition that celebrates the life and spirit of Intuit. Take Me to the River will examine the contemporary times of the 60s and 70s, a time that witnessed a convergence of energy in Chicago that shed light on the wondrous and enigmatic creations of self-taught artists like William Dawson, Lee Godie, Aldo Piacenza, Justin McCarthy, Drossos Skyllas, P.M. Wentworth, and Joseph Yoakum among others.

Through related symposia and an exhibition catalogue, Take Me to the River will be the catalyst to bring together artists, historians, curators and collectors in this celebration.

In conjunction with the exhibition, we will present a series of panel discussions that will explore Chicago’s cultural landscape in the early years, the emergence of outsider art in Chicago, and the relation of both these topics to development of Intuit. Each panel will be designed around specific elements of the artist, the collector, and the historian. Professor of Art Theory and Criticism (School of the Art Institute of Chicago), James Yood will facilitate the conversations that will set the stage for a public dialogue examining the multi-dimensional perspectives that surround the history and the cultural climate of Chicago.

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