Flatscape #106, 2010

​In Harold Gregor's Flatscape #106, raking sunset light accentuates complex patterns of striations overlaid by concentric circles, the unintentionally lyrical effect of methodical crop cultivation. Seen from above, the flat terrain of rural Illinois is unified by a harmonious range of vivid tints. The familiar landscape is envisioned as a nearly abstract arrangement of color, line, and shape.

Prairie farmland has been Gregor's primary artistic subject since he settled in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1970 to teach at Illinois State University. Three years later, inspired by a farm scene printed on a cornmeal bag, he began painting his series of aerial views that he titled "Illinois flatscapes." Derived from photographs taken from low-flying airplanes, these large paintings use striking color, pattern, and texture to draw our attention to the unseen beauty of a landscape purposefully molded by human activity.

A Detroit native, Gregor studied art theory and art history as well as studio art. Early in his career, he resisted trends toward social realism, abstract expressionism, and pop art instead applying the exacting techniques of photorealism to rural subjects. Gregor has made easel paintings, watercolors, and mural paintings in a variety of styles for some six decades. His Illinois work focuses on both intimate trailside spots and broad panoramas of landscapes explored by walking, driving, and flying. His aim, according to the artist, is to suggest "an affirmative sense of place that reminds us of our shared concerns about the land."