The Koehnline Museum of Art

An Adventure in Art at Oakton

Named for Oakton Community College's founding president William A. Koehnline, Oakton's museum is a space dedicated to the celebration of art. The Koehnline Museum of Art is committed to establishing and encouraging an exciting environment for art accessible to everyone. Its programs and exhibits are designed for students, college employees and members of the greater Chicago community. The museum serves a variety of educational purposes and illuminates current directions in regional, national and international art. In fulfilling these purposes, the museum:

  • Advocates for the support of local art and makes an active effort to present Chicago area artists.
  • Focuses on contemporary art reflecting excellence and educational value through a diversity of genres and aesthetic principles.
  • Seeks opportunities to explore its exhibits' educational potential, provide supplemental materials to amplify viewers' understanding of art on exhibit and stimulate research.
  • Supports online resources to develop and increase awareness of both temporary exhibits and Oakton's permanent collection of modern and contemporary painting, sculpture and graphic art.
  • Provides expertise for the display, documentation, conservation and expansion of Oakton's permanent collection.
  • Serves as a lab for Museum Studies courses.

Museum Credentials

Exhibitions

Patrick Miceli: Played Out

May 12 – June 30, 2022

Over the past several years, Patrick Miceli had been using the image of the shoe intermittently, mainly as a project idea for his ceramic classes. Intrigued with both the results and the process, he fabricated pairs of ceramic shoes, firing the results with various surface treatments. By using shoes as images in his work, he has also discovered the cultural impact of the shoe industry that promotes athletic shoes as an emblem of status, not only within the culture at large but also in a variety of subcultures. Shoes have become such a sought after status symbol that a criminal black market has evolved around them to economic inequality, gangs, and drugs. Miceli’s Played Out is also about the significance of identity, attachment, and desire.

Sculpture Invasion 2022

July 14 – September 30, 2022

Members of Chicago Sculpture International (CSI) return for the fourth time to one of the area’s largest juried exhibitions. Sculptures and scale models will be on display in the Koehnline Art Museum, and an impressive group of outdoor sculptures will “invade” the Des Plaines campus. CSI seeks to expand public understanding and appreciation of Chicago sculpture, engage artists and art professionals in a dialogue to advance the art form.

Koehnline Museum of Art Advisory Board

Will Crawford
Professor of English

Erin Crowe
Student

Moritz Kellerman
Professor of Art

Linda Korbel
Dean of Liberal Arts

Judy Langston
Professor of Art and Graphic Design

Nancy Nash-Sidlin
Manager of Graphic Design and Production

Mark Palmeri
Professor of Art

Lou Pierozzi
Professor of Art

Erick Rohn
Assistant Professor of Art

Katherine Sawyer
Chief Advancement Officer

Amy Zumfelde
Professor of Modern Languages and Humanities

Interested in exploring Museum Studies? Oakton offers courses for students to be introduced to museum curation and get a closer look at the Koehnline Museum of Art and nearby institutions' inner workings.

Academics

Introduction to Museum Studies
Art 120
This introductory credit course emphasizes the role of the curator in the museum field, especially in the areas of collection management and exhibit preparation. Although the course focuses on the art museum, the basic principles also apply to other types of museums such as history, science or nature. The Koehnline Museum at the Des Plaines campus serves as a lab for this course. For more information call: (847) 635-2633.

Museum Studies: Field Experience
Art 240
Students will obtain hands-on experience in the museum field through an internship (paid) or practicum (unpaid) for 10 hours per week at a Chicago area art, history, natural history, science, or botanic garden museum. Throughout the internship or practicum, students will meet with the instructor to provide detailed reports of their work experience. For more information call: (847) 635-2633. 

 

Publications

Publications are available at the Koehnline Museum of Art or on Amazon.

Passages: Corey Postiglione, November 1998, essays by Nathan Harpaz, Bonnie Hartenstein and Michael Rooks.

For All Ages: Patrick Miceli, January 1999, essays by Nathan Harpaz and James Yood.

Expressions toward the End of the Millennium, May 1999, essay by Nathan Harpaz.

Mayan Procession: Winifred Godfrey, June 1999, essays by Nathan Harpaz and Rene Arceo.

Fragments of Refuge: Fern Valfer, August 1999, essays by Nathan Harpaz and John Brunetti.

Red: Space 900 Group, Dec. 1999, essay by Nathan Harpaz.

Myungah Hyon: Installation, February 2000, essays by Nathan Harpaz and Gregory Knight.

Glancing Back: John Pitman Weber, May 2000, essays by Nathan Harpaz and Michael Piazza.

Painting in Chicago Now, July 2000, essay by Corey Postiglione.

Max Ernst: From the Collection of William A. and Phyllis G. Koehnline, September 2000, essay by Nathan Harpaz.

Milestones of Photography, December 2000, essay by Nathan Harpaz.

Plucked Chicken Press: The Oakton Community College Collection of Stone Prints by Will Petersen and His Contemporaries, 2001, text by Nathan Harpaz. Available on Amazon.

Richard Hunt: Wings, February 2001, essay by Nathan Harpaz.

Illinois Landscapes: George Atkinson, Harold Gregor, Fred Jones, May 2001, essay by David Sokol.

Sculpture in Chicago Now, July 2001, essay by Corey Postiglione. Available on Amazon.

John Himmelfarb: Inland Romance, September 2001, introduction by Nathan Harpaz and essay by Gerald Nordland.

Didier Nolet: Full Circle, December 2001, essay by Garrett Holg.

Jiang Xue-Bing: A man of Four Legends, February 2002, essays by Nathan Harpaz and Zong Ying.

A Gift to Biro-Bidjan: Chicago 1937; From Despair to New Hope, 2002, text by Nathan Harpaz. Available on Amazon.

Gay Riseborough: Dark Times II, May 2002, essay by Robert Kameczura.

Philip Livingston: Open Book/Intimate Pages, July  2002, essay by Stephanie Bowman.

Otto Neumann: Fidelity to the Human Form, September 2002, essay by David Sokol.

Sandra Perlow: Swing, December 2002, essay by John Brunetti. 

Dennis Kowalski: Mars, May 2003, essay by Nathan Harpaz.

Keith Krueger: Assemblages, July 2003, essay by Nancy Sausser.

Asaph Ben Menhaem: Monumental Woodcuts and Related Works, September 2003, introduction by Nathan Harpaz and essay by Aimee Brown Price.

Alpha and Omega: Small Sculptures and Models by Jerry Peart, December 2003, essay by Victor Cassidy.

Seymour Rosofsky: Fresh Glance, May 2004, introduction by Nathan Harpaz and essay by Diane Thodos.

Monuments and Fragments: Installation by Michico Itatani and Pavel Kraus, September 2004, introduction by Joseph Karoly

Words and Pictures: Paintings by James Mesple, Poetry by Effie Mihopoulos, December 2004, introduction by Nathan Harpaz.

ArtWalk at Oakton: Koehnline Museum of Art Catalog and Guidebook of the Oakton Community College Art Collection, Des Plaines Campus, 2005, text by Nathan Harpaz.

Agustin Portillo: America, February 2005, introduction by Nathan Harpaz, and essay by Diane Thodos.

Paintings by Moritz Kellerman and Bill Moll, May 2005, essay by Nathan Harpaz.

Material and Object, A Romance: Sculpture by Mimi Peterson, July 2005, essay by Erik Peterson.

I’mPact: An exhibit exploring the pact between nature and soul to create infinite individuals, September 2005, text by Stephanie Bowman.

Andrew Young: Harbour, December 2005, preface by Nathan Harpaz, essay by Britt Salvesen.

Turbulent Times: The Expressionist Art of Diane Thodos, May 2006, introduction by Nathan Harpaz, essay by Victor Cassidy.

Joseph Delaney: People and Sights of Urban Life, February 2007, introduction by Nathan Harpaz, essay by Frederick C. Moffatt.

Sculpture Invasion, July 2007, introduction by Nathan Harpaz, essay by Victor Cassidy.

Barbie Meets G.I. Joe, September 2007, essay by Nathan Harpaz.

Convergence: Jewish and African American Artists in Depression-era Chicago, February 2008, introduction by Nathan Harpaz, essay by Richard Courage. Available on Amazon.

Leo Politi: Mexican Images of Olvera Street, May 2008, essay by Nathan Harpaz.

Ink Paintings by Qigu Jiang: Figures, May 2009, text by James Elkins and Nathan harpaz. Available on Amazon.

Joseph Meert: Painting in the Shadow of Success, July 2009, essay by Nathan Harpaz. Available on Amazon.

Gregory Orloff: Prints from the Great Depression, September 2009, essay by Nathan Harpaz. Available on Amazon. 

Curt Frankenstein: Dream World and Real world, December 2009, Introduction by Nathan Harpaz, and essay by David Sokol (UIC). Available on Amazon.

Corey Postiglione: Retrospective of Paintings 1972-2010, February 2010, Introduction by Nathan Harpaz, and essay by Max King Cap.

Fragments of Color: Georg Stahl, September 2010, Introduction by Nathan Harpaz, and essay by Georg W. Stahl. 

Two Plus Two =  Jackson, Owens, Williams, and Wheatley, February 2012, Introduction by Nathan Harpaz.

Steven Jay Urry: A Retrospective, May 2012, Introduction by Nathan Harpaz, and essay by Victor Cassidy.