Art in November: Rrap Kryeziu at saki

We're thrilled to present an exhibition by Rrap Kryeziu. An 18 year old ethnic-Albanian Kosovar, Rrap Kryeziu lived most of his life in Prishtina, Kosovo. He moved from Kosovo to Oak Park, Illinois in 2010 and is currently a senior at Oak Park River Forest High School.  Growing up in a war-torn land,  Kryeziu did not receive formal training in painting and was self-taught until 2011. Kryeziu paints primarily with oils because of the variety of color he can achieve, and uses large canvasses which help him to feel closer to his art and to himself.  His most recent works are abstracts that depict emotions more than the overtly tangible; he is trying to capture both internal and external movement, rather than the “subject” itself.  In 2009, Kryeziu's work was featured in a solo exhibit at the National Theater of Kosovo and was supported by the Ministry of Culture after he won an international painting prize in Montmartre, Macedonia titled "Golden Palette." Rrap’s art will appear at saki from November 5th to November 30th. 
Homeroom Chicago Emerging and Established Artist Exchange
Homeroom is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to encourage and facilitate new creative programming in Chicago. One way they do this is through the Emerging and Established Artist Exchange. The program involves high school juniors and seniors who are seriously engaged in a specific artistic discipline and work one-on-one with a Chicago artist already established in that field. The emerging and established artists work together to develop and execute a single project, in this case an exhibition. Unlike other youth arts programs that focus specifically on creative work, EEE puts an emphasis on the more practical elements of an active artistic practice: networking, promotion, booking, budgeting, and writing artist statements. By having students focus mostly on the process beyond creation, Homeroom hopes to give these young artists unique access to valuable things: A realistic experience of the often daunting process of presenting one’s art to the world, and an actual foot-in-the-door to the Chicago arts scene.

Reception: November 12, 6-9pm

Art Exhibition: November 5-30th