Seasons Creep Under a Shading Tree

As a rare glass house by Mies Van Der Rohe, the McCormick House (1952) is in constant conversation with its surrounding environment. For the home’s original location on Prospect Ave in Elmhurst, the landscape architect Alfred Caldwell added additional trees—specifically Elm trees—and shrubs to the site for shading and privacy for its owners. With the help of Caldwell, Mies intentionally built early glass homes such as the McCormick House under shadows of cooling trees before the wide availability of air conditioning, which also allowed residents to enjoy continuous views of the changing seasons.

Seasons Creep Under a Shading Tree is an exhibition of works by Leslie Baum, Flor, Azadeh Gholizadeh, James Kao, and Jaclyn Mednicov that considers nature from the vantage point of a McCormick House resident. Their paintings and sculptures recall moments within natural cycles, from dormancy to growth, that may have been experienced from within the glass home during the last several decades, including the gradual lengthening of some seasons. Season creep refers to this deviation of nature’s cycles, such as green canopies that last into late Fall or earlier indications of Spring, possibly brought on by climate change. Throughout the exhibit, visitors will experience different seasons and contemplate the sublime qualities of nature, humbling scale of trees, and the fleeting beauty of nature.

Curated by Lauren Iacoponi, Manager of Exhibitions and Collections