Whimsical, profound sculptures by New York sculptor Miriam Bloom open the fall season at the DePaul University Art Gallery, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., in Chicago. The exhibition runs from Sept. 27 through Nov. 24.

The sculptures, delicate forms in porcelain and papier-mâché, are at once a meditation on the human condition and a playful tweaking of the human body with their bulbous shapes and skin-like surfaces.

The twisting form of "And How" is handmade paper molded over a skeletal armature of wood. It combines abstracted references to both male and female organs in a precarious balance of opposing forces. Bloom refers to such forms as "containers for ambiguity," and their hollow interiors underscore the notion of the body as a vessel, a perennial theme in her work.

Bloom, who was born in Chicago, has had solo exhibitions at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica, N.Y., Colgate University, and has participated in numerous international group exhibitions. She will attend an opening reception for "Strange Attractors," on Oct. 8 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the DePaul Art Gallery.

"Strange Attractors" includes 14 sculptures, eight drawings and a number of small clay studies for finished works. The exhibition catalogue includes an interview with the artist.

The art gallery hours are: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public. For more information call the gallery at 773/325-7506.