ILC Muralist Visiting Artist of the Month
January 26, 2012
Highland Park painter
Doug Smithenry, who is creating a mural for the Information and Learning Center, is the Stevenson High School Art Department’s Visiting Artist of the Month for February. Samples of his work will be on display in the Rotunda Gallery, which is located in the 1400 hallway of the West Building. (In the picture at right, Smithenry is working on the ILC mural in the school’s building and grounds garage.)
Smithenry's traveling exhibition,
Coming Out Online, an installation of paintings that document the online testimonials of gay teens, was featured in the
Chicago Tribune and discussed on Chicago Public Radio's "848" news program. His work also has appeared in
Harper’s Magazine and
The Common Review.
He was a featured artist during Chicago Artists Month in 2009, and his work has been seen nationally and internationally. He also is part of a group show currently running at The Octagon Gallery in Chicago.
Raised on a dairy farm in south-central Illinois, Smithenry graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. He earned a master’s degree in fine arts from Washington University in St. Louis.