Refreshing Summer colors will brighten your world all year 'round...great design from J. R. Kortman!

Sweet Summer...time for relaxing and leisurely entertaining...add the bright colors of summer to your table or home interiors with one these design ideas from J. R. Kortman Center for Design. The yellow boat is a butter server, storage, and knife, from fridge to table...hand-painted sky "Allessandro" wine opener...multi-colored seashell bracelet...cobalt blue Finish glass vases by Alvar Aalto...bright blue plastic "Biscuit" container from Alessi & the Michael Graves sugar & cream servers..."plow" your urban garden with the cute "lady" bug garden tool...shiny, elegant art glass from Robert Burch makes great wedding gifts...expandable plastic wine rack works great on the patio kitchen along with plastic plates with Magritte images...light green ceramic vase and free-formed tea light holder look great on the outdoor dining table..."seedpod" birds make great house warming/hostess gifts...and beautiful coin pearls on gold chain shine with iridescent summer colors. All beautifully designed for you and your home available only at J. R. Kortman Center for Design!

Celebrate Summer and the 4th of July with Red, White, & Blue from J. R. Kortman Center for Design!

We're celebrating the USA's colors with great summer gift ideas in Red, White, & Blue! How about ketchup & mustard squeeze bottles that wink at you! Or a "Diabolix" bottle opener designed by Biagio Cisotti?...both, a fun addition to any backyard BBQ. Sparkle at a 4th party with a red crystal necklace or serve your guests from a red serving tray from Alessi. Make an elegant summer statement with a tea set designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Hand blown glass vase and paperweights make great wedding gifts. And keep the picnic table a fun place even after dinner with colorful wind-up toys that will bring a smile to everyone's face. Red white & blue from around the world sold here in the great USA at J. R. Kortman Center for Design! Stop in and EXPLORE!




Imagination rules when choosing a gift for Graduation, Weddings, and Father's Day @ J.R. Kortman Center for Design

The Summer gift season is here...find a gift...a creative, imaginative, extraordinary gift for the graduate, bride & groom, or Dad at J. R. Kortman Center for Design. A watch, a wine opener, an elegant bowl, a glass paperweight, a cool book on art or popular culture, a wall clock, a Michael Graves water Kettle, a colorful collectable toy, hand crafted jewlery, or a piece of original art...any one of these would be enjoyed and treasured by those who are so special to us in our lives. Let your imagination rule as you EXPLORE and discover the perfect gift at J. R. Kortman!

Rockford artist Johnathan Kuss presents paintings in "Our Controlling Nature" exhibition open First Friday, June 5th in Kortman Gallery


Rockford artist Johnathan Kuss creates rich, detailed, and alluring still life paintings that, at first glance, seem like classical imagery. However, his unconventional placement of personal items with a banana or an orange tells a story about how we relate to nature in an exhibition titled, “Our Controlling Nature” opening Friday, June 6th in the Kortman Gallery.
    “My paintings are a comment on our complex relationship with nature and
the various ways we exert our commanding influence over it,” says Kuss in his artist’s statement. “It is through this exploration of our interactions with the natural world around us that I begin to
understand the human condition.”
    “Creating narratives from personal items, the subject of each of Johnathan’s images is presented with a subtle irony,” says Doc Slafkosky, gallerist for the Kortman Gallery. “For instance, a classic image of a pear is stabbed by a a switchblade, or a mango pierced by a railroad spike. His paintings definitely start a conversation.”
      The Johnathan Kuss exhibition, “Our Controlling Nature” will be on display through July 31st. The First Friday, June 5th opening reception will be from 5:30 to 9pm featuring music from (DJ) Terrible (D. J. Maclin). The party will continue after the reception at least until midnight. The Kortman Gallery is located upstairs at J. R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main Street.  For further information call 815/968-0123 or visit www.jrkortman.com.



What: “Our Controlling Nature,” an exhibition of works by Johnathan Kuss opening reception, First Friday, June 5th, 5:30 to 9:00pm...featuring music from (DJ) Terrible (D. J. Maclin)
When:  The exhibition runs through July 31st. Gallery & Store open Monday to Saturday, 10am – 6pm.
Where: Kortman Gallery, upstairs at J. R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main Street, Downtown Rockford
Admission: Free and open to the public



Memorial Day week Alessi sales event! Exceptional value on Extraordinary designs from Alessi @ J. R. Kortman!

We're celebrating Memorial Day week with 20% off on all Alessi products! This is limited time authorized Alessi sale just in time for weddings, graduations, and Father's Day. Don't miss this opportunity to acquire something extraordinary from Alessi for 20% off!
P.S...we will be closed, Monday (Memorial Day)...sale starts today & goes through the end of May.

May First Friday...Art, Music, and a relaxing evening in the Kortman Gallery!


May First Friday will be a refreshing and relaxing evening in the Kortman Gallery as Dennis Horton mixes up Blue Breeze Martini's or your favorite beverage while you enjoy the art of Paul Pinzarrone, Becky Downing Pelley, and Ellie Pinzarrone in an exhibition called "Nature/Nurture: A Family of Artists' now on display in the gallery. Relax to a chilled music mix by DjOC... A great way to celebrate the start of May, the "lusty month of May!"
P.S. Don't forget your Mom on Mother's Day (May 10th)...Explore and discover an extraordinary gift for her from J. R. Kortman Center for Design!

Spring shopping at J. R. Kortman Center for Design!

Spring has arrived! It's the season for Mother's Day, Graduations, and Weddings. Explore J. R. Kortman for extraordinary gifts that will be treasured for a lifetime! After shopping, step upstairs and see the "Nature/Nurture: A Family of Artists" exhibition in the Kortman Gallery feature the works of Paul Pinzarrone, Rebecca Downing Pelley, and Ellie Pinzarrone...now through May 30th.
P.S. Original Art is also a makes a great gift!


"Nature/Nurture: A Family of Artists" opens Friday, April 10th in the Kortman Gallery

Are artists born or made? Is there an art gene? If your mom and dad are artists will you become one because you grew up surrouneded by their creative energy or is it something in your blood? “Nature/Nurture: A Family of Artists” an exhibition opening Friday, April 10th in the Kortman Gallery featuring works by Rebecca Downing Pelley, Paul Pinzarrone and their daughter Ellie Pinzarrone lets you ponder these questions while seeing this visually exciting show by these three accomplished artists.
“Nature/Nurture” highlights the colorful, intricate, creative unrelated art in different media, but connected by the mother, father, daughter family relationship.
Paul Pinzarrone has exhibited his work extensively since 1976 creating contemporary images in airbrush which evolved into his dramatic, sensuous, and complex digital images that he presents in this exhibit.
Becky Downing Pelley, a recent winner of the prestigious “Golden Apple Award” is not only an artist, but has been teaching art in the Rockford Public Schools and Boylan High School for more than a generation. She creates intricate, colorful, and captivating watercolors.
Ellie Pinzarrone, artist and art historian, “paints” amazing images with embroidary and beads on fabric. Her work references classical paintings along with contemporay images she creates with a needle, thread, fabric, and beads and a great deal of imagination. Ellie was featured in a solo exhibiton in the Kortman Galllery in 2014.
“Art fans of each of these talented artists are in for a visual treat to be able to see this family of artists show together in one exhibit,” says Kortman Gallery director Doc Slafkosky. “Will there be a family resemblance? Is there a common visual element in their work? This is what makes this show so fascinating!” 
 The “Nature/Nurture: A Family of Artists” exhibition will be will be on display through May 30th. The Friday and Saturday, April 10th and 11th opening receptions are in conjunction with the Spring Rockford ArtScene. The Friday opening reception will be from 5 to 10pm and Saturday 3 to 9pm. The Kortman Gallery is located upstairs at J. R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main Street. For further information call 815/968-0123 or visit www.jrkortman.com

Fill your Easter Basket with things extraordinary form J. R. Kortman Center for Design

Surprise that special someone this Easter with an extraordinary gift from J.R. Kortman. From a sculpted zinc rabbit to double opera length pearls, from an "Anna" corkscrew to glass and stainless steel spice jars or dazzling art glass by Robert Burch or a beaded "eye" pendant by Betsy Youngquist...you will find something wonderful that will be treasured for a lifetime. Visit us Monday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm and explore our store and gallery.