J. R. Kortman Center for Design / Kortman Gallery

Starting Wednesday, May 6th, J.R. Kortman Center for Design will be open for curbside pick-up from 1-5pm Wednesday through Saturday! We know that Mother’s Day,  birthdays, anniversaries, and other occasions for gift giving go on!
    Let us be your personal shoppers! Check out J.R. Kortman Center for Design on Facebook or our #jrkortman on Instagram for gift ideas.  Besides our “store hours,” we can also be available anytime by appointment for curbside pickup or local home delivery. You can text 815-540-7187 to request purchases and delivery options…and we can gift wrap!
    Don’t forget you can buy a J.R.Kortman eGift Card on line, by clicking the link below. We are also participating in Rockford Art Deli’s T-shirt promotion “HereForGoodRKFD.” When you purchase a J.R. Kortman designed T-shirt from RAD, we get 40% of the proceeds…which is helpful in theses challenging times. There’s also a ink below where you can order a shirt online.
Hope you all stay safe and well!
Warmest regards,
Doc&Jerry
J.R. Kortman eGift Card link:https://squareup.com/gift/KY1M23Q2N1Q25/order?external_source=postoffice-egift-widget&external_token=aJONaSBq6MAh1nIL
Order T-Shirt here: https://rockfordartdeli.com/products/j-r-kortman-center-for-design

Store telephone: 815-968-0123

 

When Rockford artist Norm Knott and Door County artist David Franke met, there was an immediate connection, not only with the visual imagery in their work, but also the inspiration behind the engaging pieces they create. They both see the world around them through a spiritual lens that is reflected in their work…both using the eye as a visual theme in many of their pieces.
    The two artists come together in the exhibition, “Eye to Eye: Here’s Looking at You” opening Friday February 7th, 5:30 to 9pm in the Kortman Gallery in downtown Rockford.
    “I look at the eye from the  inside out,” said Franke. “Many people look into the eyes to see your soul, your essence…I’m using my eyes to see my world, and interpret my world.”
    Frank, who lives near Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, creates quirky, eye-catching interactive sculptures and assemblages often with the eye as the focus of the piece.
    It was former Rockford gallerist Charlene Berg who introduced David Franke to Norm Knott while visiting her Gallery X, now in Door County.
    “She immediately saw not only the visual connection in our work, but also our like minded inspiration in our art,” said Knott. “Our work is very different, but their is a definite visual and spiritual connection with our art.”
    It’s this connection that motivated Kortman Gallery director Doc Slafkosky to invite the artists to exhibit together in this two-person show.
    “Eye to Eye” will feature Knott’s personal, wearable art along with his “Normaments,” a term Knott coined to describe his pieces that you could also refer to as “table jewelry.”
    Franke will be exhibiting be small scale sculptural assemblages and mixed media works that he has become known for in the Door County art scene.
    “Eye to Eye: Here’s Looking at You,” featuring the 3-Dimensional, and mixed media works by David Franke & Norm Knott opens First Friday, February 7th, with an artists’ reception from 5:30 to 9 pm in the Kortman Gallery, located upstairs at J. R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main Street in Downtown Rockford. The exhibit will run through March 31st. For more information call 815-968-0123.

At J.R. Kortman Center for Design explore and discover cutting edge design in our store on the first floor and intriguing art from artists, both local and international, upstairs in the Kortman Gallery...since 1986 @ 107 North Main Street in Downtown Rockford.

Holiday Hours:
Sunday………………. 1-5pm
Monday………………11am-6pm
Tuesday (Xmas Eve)…..10am-5pm

 You're invited to our 5th annual Naughty or Nice Holiday Shopping Party, this Thursday, December 19th, 6-9pm. Christmas shopping is not only fun, but you can find out if you've been bad or good in 2019 by reaching into Santa's mystifying grab bag. Win a "nice" gift if you've been good, or a "naughty" lump of coal, if you've been bad. Santa knows! And best of all, the Kortman Gallery Bar will be open with master bartender, Jennifer Langworthy!

J.R. Kortman Center for Design introduces two new ornaments to the Rockford Landmark Ornament Collection for 2019. One features the new Embassy Suites Hotel in the historic Ziock/Amerock building,  and the other, a view of the Rock River with the Jefferson Street Bridge. The ornament celebrates the United Way of the Rock River Valley’s 100th anniversary.
    “The Ziock/Amerock Building has been a part of the Rockford downtown skyline for over 100 years” says Fred DeLaRosa, General Manager of the new Embassy Suites Hotel. “The long-anticipated hotel, opening in April of 2020, will be an exciting addition to Rockford’s downtown cultural life. This ornament represents not only a landmark of the past, but also the future.”           
    The second new ornament for 2019, commissioned by the United Way of the Rock River Valley features a view of the Jefferson Street Bridge and the west bank of the Rock River. Also depicted are shadowed figures representing generations of Rockford people who have supported and been helped by the United Way for the past 100 years. The image is based on an original painting by Rockford artist Patricia Burkholder.
     “We took images of the hotel and the river scene painting to Beijing where the artist who hand-paints each ornament was able to transpose them on the inside of a clear ornament sphere, utilizing an ancient Chinese folk art technique” said J.R. Kortman co-owner Doc Slafkosky. “It’s fascinating to see how our artist communicated visually with the Chinese artist through the language of art.”
     For more than 20 years J. R. Kortman Center for Design has been featuring hand-painted ornaments depicting Rockford landmarks, sold year round at the downtown Rockford concept store and gallery.
           Besides the Embassy Suites Hotel and United Way river scene ornaments, the Rockford Landmark O.rnament Collection includes YMCA Log Lodge and Coronado  Stage, the Prairie Street Brewhouse, East and West High Schools, St. Anthony Church, Blackhawk Statue, “Symbol” sculpture, two views of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House, a special edition of Memorial Hall,, and the North Main Street Armory. Other ornaments available in the Landmark Collection include, the Beattie Park Gazebo, the Faust Landmark Building, Coronado and Midway Theater Buildings, the Woodward Governor building, and the Sinnissippi Burr Oak Tree.  Over the past 15 years the “Symbol” ornament has been the best selling ornament in the collection.
    “Other top sellers include four ornaments depicting different scenes of the beautiful Anderson Japanese Gardens and Nicholas Conservatory,” says Slafkosky.
    In addition to the Swedish Historical Society’s Erlander Home, other historic houses in the collection include the  “Limestone Mansion,” home to the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, and the “Cobblestone House,” located at 2127 Broadway, one of Rockford’s oldest houses.
    The ornaments are available for $25 exclusively at J.R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 North Main Street, Downtown Rockford