Architrouve exhibit spotlights the fun side of Bill Marhoefer
By LEAH BANKS
Contributing Reporter
About 100 people packed into the Architrouve gallery in West Town last Friday to celebrate "Genuine Object," the works of local artist W.K. "Bill" Marhoefer. The exhibit featuring sexy women, French bulldogs and a cast of surreal characters, is free and runs until June 7.
"You walk in here and you feel good," said Ken Thompson, an art lover who stopped by to see the show. "You walk in here and you smile, that's just what I needed-a positive emotional experience."
Marhoefer's surreal creatures-inspired by satyrs, skulls and baseballs-line the wall of this intimate gallery.
"They're fun, and scary, and beautiful, and whimsical, and frightening," said Tonya Pyatt, director of the Architrouve. "You can see his hands in the work," she said, referring to small thumbprints barely visible in the delicate figurines.
As director of the Architrouve, Pyatt has worked with Marhoefer in his other business, art restoration. Marhoefer and his wife, Michelle, own Broken Art Restoration, 1841 W. Chicago, where they specialize in repair of porcelain and ceramics. The Marhoefers started their business in 1980; they now repair more than 1,000 pieces of year.
About a year ago, Pyatt stopped by Marhoefer's studio to drop of a few pieces for repair and she noticed a few of his designs.
"I said, 'Oh, my God! I want you to do a show.' "
Marhoefer then began creating these fascinating creatures and, in 10 months, he had an entire collection. This is his first solo exhibition in more than 30 years.
"I love his humor," said John Nichols, an art collector, philanthropist and one of the biggest patrons in the history of the Chicago Art Institute. "I know him as a restorer and to see another side of him is fabulous."
Nichols said that Marhoefer has restored many pieces from his private collection of Chinese Han dynasty ceramics. Nichols bought three of the pieces from Marhoefer's collection.
"I told my wife that if nothing else comes out of this, it's going to be a fun party and we won't have to clean up after," said Marhoefer with a chuckle. It was his wife who encouraged him to spend more time on his own work.
"It got to be such a successful business that I just stuck with that," Marhoefer says of his restoration work. "I kept doing art, but I kept it in my private collection."
The opening was packed with art lovers of all ages. Children were leaning in to get a good glimpse of the surreal pieces.
Some of the pieces have heads made from animal skulls, but recently Marhoefer has used 12-inch softballs for heads instead. He said that he was inspired by an old baseball he found around his house one day.
"I just sort of looked at that baseball and thought what would it look like?" he said. "I like the look of the stitches; it gives them a doll-like look."
How did he crank out all of these pieces in such a short time?
"I've been doing this all of my life," said Marhoefer. "It's what I do."
Architrouve founders Bob and Darci O'Connell, also West Town residents, opened this mixed-use space in 2006 to support the pursuit of the creative process in all mediums.
"I want people to not be intimidated by art," said Bob O'Connell. "We want to take a lot of chances here."