Martin Hurtig has been a professor in the UIC School of Art and Design since 1962. Gallery 400 presents this exhibition of his paintings, photographs and ceramics on the occasion of his retirement in 2001.

Hurtig's paintings present themselves in the guise of utmost simplicity, but they are actually the result of an extensive process of thinking, planning, and organization. Art critic Corey Postiglione describes Hurtig's work as a "struggle with the very nature of art as practiced in the twentieth century; how to make it vivid and exciting both to the eye and mind."

Hurtig has exhibited his work extensively in one-person and group shows in the U.S. and internationally. He has received numerous commissions for his sculptural murals, including the Waukegan Public Library, the National Republic Bank, and a stained glass window and wall mural at the Union Church of Lake Bluff.