Jacob Polhill is the latest guest on “Meet the Artist,” the podcast from the Register Star newsroom where we meet the artist who makes our community a more beautiful place.

Polhill, 23, is a Rockford native and Harlem High School graduate. He is currently living on the West side of Chicago while studying industrial design at University Illinois-Chicago.

Polhill opened his most recent solo exhibit on Friday, Oct. 4, called “Out of the Box” at J. R. Kortman Center for Design & Kortman Gallery located on North Main Street in Rockford. The show runs through November 16th. 

Polhill’s work puts on public display the dysfunction and grace that inhabits the human mind. Polhill’s work commonly features a bubbly, humanoid figure in twisted postures that he calls “Lil Doody” who is painted onto clean, bold backgrounds. The figure is often meant to mirror Polhill’s own mental state. 

Another motif of his work creates a dialogue about bucking expectations. These designs are luxurious, psychedelic memes of repeating lines of text that form a color-shifting snake squirming in mid-air. A recent illustration says, "Sometimes the things that make us feel full and comfortable in the moment are the things that hold us back."

His artistic voice draws from rock concert advertisements from the 70s and 80s, Cubism, and an animated style made famous by Disney and Nickelodeon.

Listen to the podcast online at rrstar.com, and subscribe to "From the Newsroom: Rockford Register Star" wherever you find your podcasts.

More information

Rockford Register Star: www.rrstar.com

Host: Scott P. Yates; 815-987-1348; syates@rrstar.com; @scottpyates

Jacob Polhill: IG @jacob_polhill

https://www.jacobpolhill.com

“Out of the Box” exhibit: Call 815-968-0123 or visit www.jrkortman.com.

Rockford Area Arts Council: www.artsforeveryone.com 

2019 Fall ArtScene: www.fallartscene.com

Shout Outs:

Nate Barksdale: https://www.instagram.com/natebarksdale_/

Kaws: https://www.instagram.com/kaws/

Hebru Brantley: https://www.hebrubrantley.com/

Chris Crack: https://chriscrack.bandcamp.com/

Javier Jimenez: https://bit.ly/2VbYmO7 

Balta Ramirez: https://bit.ly/30Hqw4A

Vic Rivera: https://bit.ly/35akxbN

Music:

From https://filmmusic.io

"Too Cool" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)