The latest Quad City Arts’ Art at the Airport – on display through April 28 — presents aquatic paintings by Brian Buckles of Waterloo, Iowa, fiber tapestries by Rowen Schussheim-Anderson, Davenport, and coiled fiber baskets by Kelly Hanson of Moline. Brian Buckles was born and raised in the Quad-Cities, yet has had a lifelong fascination with marine life and sharks. “The cruelty of shark finning and the unsustainable fishing practices that are threatening the survival of many species are the inspirations for my work,” he says of his aquatic paintings. “Because most people... Read More

For Western Illinois University art professor Bruce Walters of Davenport, a 37-year career teaching in higher education has been accentuated by the personal artwork he’s created, in a wide variety of media. As he prepares to retire from teaching in May, an exhibit of part of his inspired work — titled “What the Hand Dare Seize the Fire?” — is on display at the University Art Gallery in Macomb through April 2. The title of the current exhibit is taken from a 227-year-old poem, “The Tyger,” by William Blake. “The first drawings in this exhibition are drawn from... Read More

Quad City Arts announces the open Call for Entries for public sculpture to be considered for exhibition in the Quad Cities on a one-year lease. Currently, the cities of Bettendorf, Rock Island and Moline participate in the program with their own selection committees who choose from the available sculptures for pieces that provide points of interest, inspire discussion, and attract visitors to the community. Quad City Arts has facilitated the leasing and installation of public sculpture in the Quad Cities since 2002. All the sculptures are for sale and can be purchased by individuals, businesses,... Read More

Living Proof Exhibit has made many hearts leap in the Quad-Cities with its “Make Hope Soar” birdhouse project, and now that art initiative has taken wing for Chicago senior citizens. Chicago Methodist Senior Services (CMSS) this month has partnered with the Moline-based nonprofit, so far producing 80 decorated birdhouses (done by staff and residents) that will be given to people impacted by cancer. “It’s really been an amazing turnout for this project,” Jenn Ross, the art programming coordinator for CMSS, said Friday. “I think there is this real strong connection to cancer and how it... Read More

From the time I first saw Tim VanHyfte’s artwork, not long after I moved to the Quad-Cities in the mid-’90s, I was absolutely enthralled. VanHyfte had a beautiful, intricate, original and wonderful style that was distinctly his own. Most of Tim’s subjects were women, and his artwork presented them as beautiful mysteries, fantastic worlds and journeys to be taken through merely the look in their eyes, the way they held themselves, the environments in which they were presented. It was reminiscent of a Gen X version of Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World” —... Read More

The Western Illinois University Department of Art and Design recently hosted its annual High School Art Exhibition and Awards, with work submitted by students from 10 regional high schools. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition was held virtually and was judged by WIU Professor Emeritus Julie Mahoney. She chose 100 works for the show from more than 270 entries, submitted by more than 100 students. The competition is sponsored by Blick Art Materials in Galesburg, the WIU Bookstore, the WIU Department of Art and Design and the College of Fine Arts and Communication. The winners of the... Read More

The Art Legacy League (ALL) has found a new home on the Davenport riverfront and will hold a two-hour open house on Friday, Nov. 20. Founded in 2012, the nonprofit ALL is dedicated to the memory of Father Edward Catich and his contributions to the calligraphic arts, history of writing, and his long legacy of teaching. Father Catich (1906-1979) was an internationally renowned artist, calligrapher and visionary instructor who founded the St. Ambrose University Art Department. The ALL moved from J.B. Young Opportunity Center, 1702 N. Main St., Davenport. It had been there since 2018, and is now at... Read More

The new Quad City Arts Art at the Airport exhibit (Nov. 4 to Jan. 4, 2021) presents Nancy Lindsay’s landscape paintings, Marcia Whitmore’s botanical watercolors and a selection of fossils and minerals from Augustana College’s Fryxell Geology Museum. Nancy Lindsay, of Stone City, Iowa, discovered the beauty of the Iowa landscape when she moved to Iowa in 1998, when her husband introduced her to all the scenic areas. “Palisades, Pleasant Creek, Pinicon, Wapsipinicon and Backbone Parks are some of my favorite places to paint,” Lindsay said in a Quad City Arts release. “As a landscape... Read More

Are you a local artist looking for a spot to exhibit? Would you like to exhibit in one of the most popular gallery spots in the area? Get your submission ready for Quad City Arts! Quad City Arts invites artists residing within a 250-mile radius of Rock Island, IL to submit a proposal for a gallery exhibition during 2021-22. Selected artists will be paired with one or two additional artists for a 2-month long exhibition between July 2021 through August 2022 in one of our two large exhibit spaces. Cohesive bodies of work are highly desired. All media will be considered. To enter, go to QuadCityArts.com... Read More

Brandon Nees’ vibrant new mural at Moline’s Spiegel Building has been drawing raves from art fans around the Quad-Cities! QuadCities.com Arts Reporter Jonathan Turner was there for the unveiling of the artwork, and has provided us with a fantastic video showing the creation of the mural. You can check it out here, on the QuadCities.com YouTube channel.  Read More