Cédric Van Parys exhibition and lecture at the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago

Fri, Apr 5 - Fri, May 3  2024

School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago - Chicago Consulate Region

Cédric Van Parys, the Garofalo Fellow for 2023-2024 at UIC will present an exhibition and lecture.

The School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago presents the exhibition “Sentinels, Iron Portals of Chicagoland” by Cédric Van Parys. The exhibition runs from Friday, April 5, 2024 until Friday, May 3, 2024, with an exhibition opening on Friday, April 5, 2024, 6:00pm. Location:

School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago
845 W Harrison St
Chicago, IL 60607

A lecture by Cédric Van Parys will take place on Thursday, April 18, 2024, 6:00 pm. Location:

Graham Foundation
4 West Burton Place
Chicago, Illinois, 60610

As the Garofalo Fellow for 2023-2024, Cédric Van Parys has investigated and transformed the meaning of billboard infrastructures as representative monuments of American culture by juxtaposing and reconciling word, image and object.

There are plenty of surveys of America littered with commerce and ads, but this is not a project about advertisement. Van Parys is interested in the effect of these steel monopole structures on the people and the (local) urban environments. The billboard’s monetized side faces the highway and is directed mainly to drivers and passengers. But from every other viewpoint, we see a massive structure that removes part of the sky. Documenting those hyper-functional backsides reveals a monumental sacredness that resembles ancientmonuments such as Native American Totem Poles, Nigerian Shango staffs, or Inuit Inukshuk stone landmarks—all are markers of space. The billboard’s imposing scale fits the American landscape and was intended to do only one thing—sell. But the billboard is more than just an icon of American consumerism; like Sentinels, these structures guard and protect the community while at the same time welcoming you home.

The Fellowship concludes with an exhibition at the University of Illinois School of Architecture, where Van Parys will present a series of photographic and sculptural works manifesting a spiritual fundamentalism through conceptual and material appropriation. This is followed by a lecture at the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago.

About the Douglas A. Garofalo Fellowship

Named in honor of architect and educator Doug Garofalo (1958–2011), this nine-month teaching fellowship—supported by a grant from the Graham Foundation—allows emerging designers to teach studio and seminar courses in undergraduate and graduate programs and conduct independent design research. The fellowship includes a public lecture at the Graham Foundation and an exhibition at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) School of Architecture. To learn more about the fellowship, click here.

About Cédric Van Parys

Cédric Van Parys is an artist-architect and the founder of Cédric Van Parys | CCXD, a Rotterdam (NL) and currently Chicago (US) based practice operating at the intersection of architecture and the visual arts. Working across media and conceptual paradigms, his work is based on analytical research and is primarily concerned with the relation between monuments, public space, symbols, rituals, and aesthetics. Van Parys’ research, sculptures, and installations have been exhibited and constructed at the Venice Art Biennale, Venice Architecture Biennale, RAUM Utrecht, Shanghai Art Biennale, Biennale de Arquitetura de São Paulo, Plus359 Gallery Sofia, Sofia Art Week, and Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam.

Drawing inspiration from (architectural) history, archival research, and natural science, Cédric Van Parys aims to foster curiosity about the world we have made and inhabit and how this relates to the planet, the cosmos, and beyond.

Currently, Cédric Van Parys is the 2023-2024 Garofalo Fellow at the University of Illinois, Chicago, School of Architecture and the Arts.