Address: Chicago, Illinois

Other Website: http://www.caconline.org/gallery.asp?artist=Roberta_Reb_Allen

E-mail: roberta.reb.allen@att.net

Over the past ten years I have been working on a series of small watercolors of a child at play. In creating this series I was interested in three things. First was to convery the exuberance and sense of freedom which children find in play. As part of recreating these feelings from my own childhood experiences, I also wanted to express the unique physical sensations which each different type of play produces. Secondly, I was challenged by the idea of producing the works from a child's artistic perspective by using expressive brush work and minimal detail. Finally, I wanted to produce strong images of a young, active girl as a counterweight to the images of passive females found in so many fine art and popular images.

I vividly recall sitting down to read my daughter a popular children's book which illustrates words only to find that all the active words like "jump" and "throw" were portrayed by male figures and the words associated with sedentary activities were all depicted by female figures. There is still a conscious need to present a more balanced and realistic picture of growing up female.

2006
Viridian Artists, 17th National Juried Exhibition, New York, New York. Juror: Robert Rosenblum, Curator Guggenheim Museum

2004
Fresh Materials, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Solo Show, University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan

2003
Solo Show, Mack Avenue Gallery, Detroit, Michigan

2002
Evanston and Vicinity Biennial, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, Illinois. Jurors: Kathy Cottong, Director, The Arts Club of Chicago and Michael Rooks, Assistant Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Solo Show, Gallery Annex, 3 Arts Club, Chicago, IL
Three-Person Show, Acorn Gallery, Union Pier, MI

2001
Figurative Works Competition 2001, Armory Art Center, West Palm Beach, Florida. Juror: Susan Masuoka, Director, Aidekman Arts Center, Tufts University. Juror's Choice Award
Twelve Squared, Christopher Art Gallery, Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL
Solo Exhibition, Works from The Child at Play series, Uptown Public Library, Chicago, IL

2000
Solo Exhibition, Works from The Child at Play series, Cook Energy Information Center, Bridgman, MI
Crosscurrents, Annual Juried Art Exhibit, John G. Blank Center for the Arts, Michigan City, Indiana. Juror: Franz Schulze, art critic and educator
Art And Social Justice, Colfax Cultural Center, South Bend, IN. Recipient of Juror's Award. Juror: Steve Moriarty, curator of the photography collection, Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame.

1999
Second Annual Chicago Art Open, Chicago, IL
Stills In Life, The Appleton Art Center, Appleton, WI
A Celebration Of The Earth, The Blue Moon Studio and Art Gallery, Skokie, IL
Works from Child At Play series, On-going Exhibition, Old Town School of Folk Music Children's Center, Chicago, IL.

1998
Urban Edges II, Barrington Area Arts Council, Barrington, IL. Juror: Ben Dallas, former curator, National Gallery of Art.
It's My Doll And I Do What I Want To, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Figure Revisited, Galeria Mesa, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ
Juried Visual Arts Exhibition, Three River Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Juror: Sheena Wagstaff, curator, The Frick Collection, New York, NY
Silent Victims, Illinois State Capitol Building, Springfield, IL. Curator: Woman Made Gallery, sponsored by the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Janina Started All Of This, Hyde Park Art Center Members' Show, Chicago, IL. First Prize, Works on Paper. Jurors: Tom Blackman, owner TBA Exhibition Space; Gelsy Verna, Assistant Professor, Art and History Department, University of Iowa; Jay Dandy, collector.

1997
Myth America, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI. Juror: Carol Jacobsen, University of Michigan.
4th Annual ARC Regional, ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois. Honorable Mention Award. Juror: Ann Sass, Whitney Museum of Art.
10th Annual Women's Works, Northwest Area Arts Council, Woodstock, IL
Children In The World: Exploring The Rights Of The Child, SXU Gallery, St. Xavier University, Chicago, IL.

1996
Pun Intended, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
20th Annual Alice & Arthur Baer Art Competition and Exhibition, Beverly Art Center, Chicago, IL. Juror: Margaret Farr, Assistant Director of Education, Museum of Contemporary Art.

1995
19th Annual Alice & Arthur Baer Art Competition and Exhibition, Beverly Art Center, Chicago, IL. Jurors: Hamza Walker, Renaissance Society, University of Chicago and Debra Wilk, Senior Editor, New Art Examiner.

Chicago Artist Coalition

Woman Made Gallery