Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Museum of Art

Past Exhibitions


Peter Gelker: Whirligigs

February 4, 2017 – June 3, 2017

Artist and Psychologist Peter Gelker brings together the worlds of folk art and psychoanalysis in this evocative exhibition featuring more than 20 handcrafted whirligigs. Whirligigs are hand-turned or wind-driven devices that revolve in a cycle and function as either a toy, a work of art, an object of amusement, or a kinetic garden ornament. Continuing in a tradition that has existed for more than 500 years, this second generation whirligig artisan hand carves and paints these psychologically charged works focusing on political structures, religious beliefs, social relations and mythology.

Image: Peter Gelker, Angel and Devil, courtesy of the artist.