Oakton’s art exhibit bridges science and art, May 11 - June 29

Rotblatt-Amrany began her career in figurative art in 1985 while living in Pietra Santa, Italy, where she was part of a marble carving community.

Des Plaines, Ill. (May 1, 2023) – Get together with family and friends for an immersive experience at Oakton College’s new art exhibit “Cyclical Nature of Emergence,” featuring Julie Rotblatt-Amrany’s multi-media installations bridging science and art while pondering the purpose of humankind. The exhibit — free and open to the public — runs from May 11 to June 29 at Oakton’s Koehline Museum of Art, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines, Ill.. A public reception for the artist will be held at the Museum Thursday, May 11, 5-8 p.m.

Rotblatt-Amrany’s work embraces the limitlessness between what is in and around us. Whether it’s the birth of stars, the human race, or just life itself, an endless expanse is interconnected and entangled.

“Artists create mostly from an intuitive place while scientists’ work is of an empirical nature,” said Rotblatt-Amrany. “I would like to be part of the link that bridges the gap between art and science. On this path, I observe the micro and the macro universe, two sides of a natural polarity that together comprise a unified whole.”

Born in Chicago and raised in Highland Park, Rotblatt-Amrany founded and developed Rotblatt-Amrany studio in Highland Park with her husband Omri Amrany, now located in Fort Sheridan. Among her earlier commissioned work is “The Spirit: Michael Jordan” for the United Center, “Milkovsky Memorial for a Partisan of WWII” for the Jewish Community Center in Skokie, “Healing Energy” for the NorthShore Kellogg Cancer Center in Evanston, “We Will Never Forget” for the Chicago Police Gold Star Families Memorial & Park, and “Preservation of the Union: Abraham Lincoln” for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield. Her many statues of sports figures can be found in stadiums around the U.S.

While working on the “Quest for Exploration” installation for the Chicago Adler Planetarium, Rotblatt-Amrany realized that both multi-media (sculpture, glass, projection and photography) as well as the subject of space (macro and micro) were of keen interest to her. This piece gave rise to the hunger to further investigate the macrocosmic universe and compare this to the invisible microscopic world. This duality of the inner and outer world became her focus.

Presently, Rotblatt-Amrany’s thoughts wander to the direction and purpose of humankind. She uses visual metaphors in clay, bronze, ink, collage or oil paint.

For more information about the Koehline Museum of Art and its exhibits, please visit https://www.oakton.edu/about/koehnline-museum-of-art. The Museum is open Monday - Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. September through May; and Monday - Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. June through August. For special visits, call 847.635.2633.

“By a Thread” depicts the birth of a star and the birth from an egg. The artist aims to address ideas about the spontaneous emergence of life throughout the universe.

“By a Thread” depicts the birth of a star and the birth from an egg. The artist aims to address ideas about the spontaneous emergence of life throughout the universe.

The bronze “Covid” is Rotblatt-Amrany’s reflection on the COVID-19 pandemic, the mask becoming our parachute.

The bronze “Covid” is Rotblatt-Amrany’s reflection on the COVID-19 pandemic, the mask becoming our parachute.

In her most recent work, “Hybrid in Trouble,” Rotblatt-Amrany suggests that humans are rapidly becoming hybrids as we are fully ensconced in, and focused on media.

In her most recent work, “Hybrid in Trouble,” Rotblatt-Amrany suggests that humans are rapidly becoming hybrids as we are fully ensconced in, and focused on media.