May 2024 Newsletter

CSI Project Space and Gallery News

Image credit: Marianne Lovink, *Plank* series (detail) and *Shortstop* (detail)

Marianne Lovink
New Work/Chicago

May 9-18, 2024

Opening Reception May 10, 6-8PM

Created after relocating to Chicago during the pandemic, this exhibition by Marianne Lovink is a survey of new work exploring the dynamic interplay of sculptural form and its graphic embellishment. Of particular interest to me is how an imposed motif can conform to, but also resist, the underlying structure, creating intriguing visual tension.

Although the graphic black and white energy of repetitive form has been a common theme over the years; the most recent introduction of color has also added a new vibrancy and playfulness to the previously spare palette of previous works.

CSI Project Space
1912 N. Damen Avenue
Chicago, Il, 60647

Special gallery hours: May 9, 10, 16 & 17, 1-6pm; May 11, 12 & 18, 12-5pm

Parts Apart

Exhibit Opening reception: Thursday, May 23rd, 5-9 pm

Parts Apart, is a multi-media exhibition featuring new graphite drawings in a painted environment by Zsófia Otvos. Her pieces are about moments of feeling torn apart to complete happiness. She will also showcase the 40 illustrative drawings for the original fairy tale, Tzia. Guest artists presented are Melissa Kolbusz WIRED jewelry, and Lidoska Guietti oil paintings.

Other notable dates:
- Memorial Day p-Art-y and sale: Saturday, May 25th, 5-9 pm
- Tzia book release first anniversary and signing event: Sunday, May 26th, 11 am - 6 pm
- Closing reception: Saturday, May 31st, 4-8 pm.

For more information please visit www.zsofiaotvos.com | www.wiredresistance.com

Foam Carving Workshop

May 15 from 7-9PM at Project Space

We had so much fun at last month's Carving Foam workshop that Jyl Bonaguro decided to offer another one on May 15th from 7-9pm. Register on Eventbrite.

Welcome to the Carving Foam Sculptures Workshop Carve & Sip! Design, carve, and paint your own sculpture in foam during this 2 hour workshop class under the tutelage of professional stone sculptor, Jyl Bonaguro. With techniques similar to carving stone but without all the sweat, you will explore the techniques of blocking, detailing, and finishing as you create a stunning masterpiece. No experience is necessary!

Details: Adults Only Ages 21+. No previous experience is required to participate. All materials are provided along with aprons. BYOB. $40 admission fee.

Perfect Artist Exhibition Space or Special Events in Bucktown in Professional Gallery

Gallery rental available: 
May 20 – June 2 (OPEN 2 weeks); Aug. 14 – Sept. 6 (OPEN 3 weeks)

$500 per week professional gallery space includes track lighting, WiFi, folding chairs, pedestals, 8 foot ladder, bathroom no kitchen, 24 hr access. Features:

• Great local commercial district with artisans and small businesses.
• Gallery floor plans available upon request. 950 sq feet

For specs and details: https://tinyurl.com/project-space-rental

For additional information: info@chicagosculpture.org

CSI Educational Art Workshops in 2024

Michael Gallager, in celebration of the incoming “Mother’s Day”, will conduct an after school activity this May 6th for the CSI Educational Art Workshops in 2024 from 4:30-5:30 pm at The Boys and Girls Club of America, located at the Lathrop Homes, 2915 N. Leavitt in Chicago.

CSI Grants Committee News

Grants for Arts Projects (GAP)

Deadlines for FY25
GAP 2: July 11, 2024 for project start date of June 1, 2025

Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) provides funding to strengthen US arts/culture ecosystem

NEA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and mutual respect for diverse beliefs and values of all individuals and groups. Please see link for possible funding eligibility:

www.arts.gov/grants/grants-for-arts-projects/artistic-disciplines

CSI, as an arts organization can help support application processes for CSI members. If any member of CSI is interested to apply for any of of these grants please email: Anthony May - Grants Chair - anthonyheinzmay@chicagosculpture.org

Current CSI Exhibitions

Opening: Saturday, June 8, from 6-9 pm

Artists periodically ask themselves, "How am I doing?" A closer look often inspires auto-biographical work. Objects are born of thoughts and feelings, then made from an examined life. Self / Portraits invites sculptors to check-in on their condition.

Curated by Thomas Plum

CSI Project Space
1912 N. Damen Avenue
Chicago, Il, 60647

CSI Members - Teachers Needed for Workshops

The educational art workshop program wants to build a stronger presence in the community for CSI that promotes marginalized communities to use art as a way for people to connect with each other.

Presently, we are looking for artist members with creative projects to be completed in roughly 60 minutes for the boys and girls club at the Lathrop Homes, located at Damen and Diversey in Chicago.

Artists receive a stipend and materials budget. Any interested members with ideas for a kid’s art workshop activity that is roughly 60 minutes please reach out and email or call Set Gozo at setgozo84@gmail.com or (773) 372-5508.

Land Acknowledgement

The City of Chicago, and its surrounding areas, have always been and always will be, home to numerous Native American communities. As a team dedicated to the uplifting of Indigenous People's sovereignty everywhere, we recognize that each program and exhibition associated with this project is taking place on the traditional homelands of the Council of Three Fires - the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa - as well as the Menominee, Miami, and Ho-Chunk Nations. Further, we acknowledge that Chicago is home to one of the largest urban Native American communities in the US. We therefore invite each of our non-Indigenous colleagues to learn more about the forced removal of many of the communities listed above from the state of Illinois and to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into their line of work. To provide immediate assistance to Native American Communities in Chicago, you can send donations to the city's American Indian Center here.

Current CSI Exhibitions

CSI x ALMA Group Exhibit

2024 Chicago Sculpture International Juried Exhibition at ALMA Art and Interiors

Exhibition runs through September 1, 2024

Art After Hours on Friday evening of EXPO ART WEEK, and features extended hours at over 45 galleries and creative spaces throughout the city of Chicago. With a myriad of exciting events unfolding throughout the evening, be sure to plan your night accordingly using the Gertie programming schedule and map. No matter your background—whether you’re an art aficionado or a newly minted collector—Art After Hours is a great place to forge relationships with new galleries, artists and other collectors!

About CSI x ALMA: Both Indoor and Outdoor Sculptors were invited to enter up to three works for the Annual Spring Exhibition at ALMA Art and Interiors in Chicago, IL. The exhibition will coincide with Expo Chicago, International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art, April 11- 24, 2024 Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois. Alma Art and Interiors, established 2021, is a contemporary fine art gallery in the historic Bridgeport Arts Corridor featuring over 80 artists in 10,000 sq. ft.

ALMA Art and Interiors
3636 S. Iron Street
Chicago, Illinois 60609

(847) 922-5736 or (224) 522-4525
Gallery hours: Open Sundays 12 to 5pm

Contact the gallery at: hello@almaartandinteriors.com
For general information about the exhibit: info@chicagosculpture.org

CSI Call for Entries

By Degrees III (2024): Call for Submissions

Entry Deadline: Sunday, July 28, 2024, midnight central standard time
Notification by: Sunday, August 18, 2024
Artwork Drop-Off Date: Sunday, September 8, 1-5pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 14, 6-9pm
Pick-Up/Deinstall Artwork: Sat/Sun, October 5-6, 1-5pm
Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 14 - Friday, October 4, 2024

Often an artist’s most groundbreaking work comes from being immersed in a culture of study and intellectual pursuit. Chicago, home to some of the most globally revered academic arts institutions, could be considered a sort of proving ground for tomorrow’s most promising contemporary emerging artists. Chicago Sculpture International (CSI) is calling for artists who are enrolled in, or recently (2023 or later) graduated from a degree-seeking program to submit works of sculpture, installation, and media work to be featured in the third annual juried group exhibition By Degrees, scheduled for September 14 - October 4, 2024, at CSI Project Space in Chicago.

Artists will be able to submit up to 3 works for consideration. There is no fee for entry. Accepted artists will be granted a one-year non-transferrable student membership to CSI. This call is not limited to students and graduates of Chicago-area institutions, but accepted artists will be required to gallery sit for at least one 4-hour shift during the exhibition run.

Please complete the application form HERE.
Look HERE for submission information.
For any questions contactprojectspace@chicagosculpture.org

Caption for photo: Above (left to right): Fairy Ring by Greta Olson, Soil Samples by Kristina Rogers, Two-Headed Fawn by Ariana Hocking, and Rest Area by Stella Moon

Members News

Thick Skinned: Lynn Basa, Christine Forni, Bobbi Meier

Thick-skinned cuts both ways. It’s the build-up of imperviousness to life’s abrasions over time and lived experience, but it’s also a form of concealment. Without these protections, the human condition would be unbearable. Lynn Basa, Christine Forni, and Bobbi Meier each have their way of approaching material as a metaphor for this survival membrane between the external world and themselves.

On View: April 5th - May 25

Epiphany Center for the Arts, Chase Gallery, 201 South Ashland Avenue, Chicago

Gallery visiting hours by appointment:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – 10:00 am-4:00 pm

To schedule an appointment contact: art@epiphanychi.com

https://epiphanychi.com/lynn-basa-christine-forni-bobbi-meier-thick-skinned/

Marci Rubin and Samuel Schwindt Solo Exhibits at Epiphany Center for the Arts

CSI Members Marci Rubin and Samuel Schwindt are having solo exhibits at Sacristy Gallery (Epiphany Center for the Arts) and they open Friday, May 31, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

About Marci Rubin’s Majora & Minora
In her sculpture and installations, Marci Rubin investigates a state of transformation, both literally and metaphorically through process and materials. Reclaiming, upcycling, abstracting, and manipulating discarded or donated clothing, Rubin questions and addresses the human body: structures & systems; proportions & scales; interiors & exteriors; textures & colors; and orientations & identities. The finished pieces unveil a dialogue that often generates debate about human rights and privileges, while touching on the status quo and deviation regarding personal bodily decisions.

About Samuel Schwindt’s Revealed Armor: Leather and Light
Inspired by archival research in Chicago, Samuel Schwindt’s site-specific installations and sculpture explore stories both forgotten and willfully disappeared. He rebuilds and recontextualizes Chicago Queer spaces of the past, seeking to showcase the LGBTQ+ community’s fight for equality. Curated by independent curator and media producer, Pia Cruzalegui, Revealed Armor: Leather and Light is an exhibition about untold tales and inconclusive archives. The work celebrates the humanity of LGBTQ+ persons, emphasizing light, boldness, discovery, and the impetus of an artist reconciling past and present.

For more information and tickets:
Marci Rubin exhibit
Samuel Schwindt exhibit

Epiphany Center for the Arts
201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, Illinois
(312) 421-4600

Gallery visiting hours by appointment:
M, Tu, Th, & Fri: 10am-4pm
To schedule an appointment contact: art@epiphanychi.com

HARPY · HUMAN · HYBRID · BEAST

Works by Nancy Lu Rosenheim
Show run: March 29 to May 11, 2024
Epiphany Center for the Arts
201 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL
312-421-4600

Gallery Hours by Appointment: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10:00-4:00
To schedule a visit, please contact art@epiphanychi.com

Nancy Lu Rosenheim’s menagerie celebrates the vulnerabilities and limitations inherent in the human psyche. Her characters expose the flaws we prefer to conceal – a hairy mole, age-spotted skin, and the cowering posture of
embarrassment or shame. Embracing sculpture, printmaking and works on paper, scale navigates between a seven-inch homunculus to a nine-foot worm, inviting the viewer to consider their own stature relative to other living beings. HARPY ·HUMAN · HYBRID · BEAST draws inspiration from Art of the Grotesque, balancing whimsy with menace. Rosenheim’s creatures assert both frailty and boldness and bear the distinct imprint of the human hand.

Rosenheim has been featured in the Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, NewCity, and Chicago Portraits. Exhibitions include the Hyde Park Art Center, Slow Gallery, and the Koehnline Museum, in Illinois, Galerías Cartel and Verlín in Granada, Spain. Rosenheim is Instructor at Northeastern Illinois University and College of Lake County. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, NY.

For information, please contact:
Julie Carpenter
Director of Art & Programming
Mobile: 708.704.3681
julie@epiphanychi.com

Memorial Sculpture by Nicole Beck

On May 24 at 12:15 there will be a dedication ceremony for the memorial sculpture created by Nicole Beck for Copeland Manor Grade School in Nicole’s hometown, Libertyville, IL. All are welcome.

The initial contact for the sculpture’s design was facilitated through a CSI contact to create a customized work to celebrate the life of a beloved 10-yr old student, Charlotte Frank who lost her life tragically to an aggressive cancer. Nicole worked with the school’s principal, art teacher, family members, school community and grounds keeper to create a work appropriate to the site, her family history and limited budget. Specifically, they wanted a figurative component that resembled Charlotte who loved the color purple/lilac, often sported Chuck Taylor high tops and displayed the deaf friendship sign (because her younger brother was deaf.) The school is collaborating by their students creating cement mosaic stepping stones around the site.

Liminal Space

The art of Bethany Cordero & Deborah Newmark
Opening: Friday, May 10, 2024 5-9pm
Show runs through June 8, 2024
Workshop: May 18, 1-4pm

Olivia Gallery, 3816 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago, IL
www.olivagallery.com

Cordero explores issues of identity, memory, and the impermanence of self. As we are left with vestiges of thoughts-memories of a life that no longer exists. We are in a perpetual state of transition from one state of consciousness to the next. By grafting, binding, and welding these materials together, she uses the remnants to create sculptural assemblages that serve as a symbolic bridge between her selfhood of today into the liminal space of tomorrow. Each iteration is equally referential and abstract, and serve as containers for space, composition and the inherent congruency and contradictions between her past and the present.

Newmark is curious about where things touch, where one thought ends and another begins, what is left unsaid. She acknowledges that singular moment in time, one that will never exist again. Using a mix of media, a layering of materials and gesture, she finds beauty in surprising relationships, often improvised or accidental.

Asian American Heritage Month Celebration

Set Gozo’s sculpture pieces currently in Evanston Art Center as part of Sinag artist group exhibition. Sinag is a not-for-profit group representing Filipino-Asian-American artists in the US.

Set will be travelling to North Dakota to participate in a panel discussion and sculpture demonstration at the Asian-American Cultural Expo hosted by the North Dakota Asian-American Artists Cultural Initiative (NDAAACI). Some of her pieces will be on exhibit and for auction. Part of the proceeds will be donated to NDAAACI to support their initiatives to promote Asian-American artists.

Kara Cobb Johnson in System and Dialectics of Art

Member Kara Cobb Johnson will be in the spring group show, "System and Dialectics of Art" at Madron Gallery

The exhibit runs through June 14th

Exhibiting Artists: Andrew Arkell, Zach Balousek, Michael Banning, Shel Howard Beugen, Jess Beyler, Margie Criner, Matthew Cortez, Kara Cobb Johnson, Matt Kuhlman, Ruben Lima, MISU, Alison Mosher, Kristen Phipps, Joseph Royer, and Bruce Thorn

Featuring live music with the Steve Knight Trio, cocktails, and passed d'oeuvres.
Free parking available at Madron. 
Madron Gallery
1000 W North Ave
Third Floor, Chicago, IL 60642, USA

Image: Artwork by Kara Cobb Johnson  

The following are not CSI-sponsored calls but may be of interest to our members.

Art-In-Architecture RFQ for Purchase of Artworks

The Art-in-Architecture Program of the Capital Development Board is pleased to announce a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to Illinois professional artists for the purchase of permanent original art for the College of Lake County (CLC), Lakeshore Campus in Waukegan, Illinois.

Type of media for this project is open and includes two-dimensional media such as painting, drawing, photography, textiles, collage, mixed-media, and small-scale three-dimensional pieces suitable for hanging.

The submission instructions for this RFQ are for purchase and not commission. Artists from the Waukegan area are especially encouraged to apply. Final Deadline: Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 4:30PM. Applying before deadline is encouraged.

Download RFQ here

   Art in the Park, Rock Falls, Illinois
Call for Entries

Deadline: Wednesday, June 1, 2024

With the continued success of our previous six years Art in the Park Sculpture Walk, Rock Falls Tourism is making preparations for our 7th year of bringing in amazing sculptures to our RB&W District. We are now accepting submissions for sculpture art to be on display at the RB&W District along the Rock River. This open space park is used by many organizations putting on events and draws people from surrounding communities and states, which will ensure a high amount of visibility for your art throughout the year. The RB&W District is also security monitored, 24 hours a day. The Art in the Park Sculpture Walk is also featured on the Otocast application for smartphones which provides an additional layer of exposure. Artists will be asked to record an audio component for this application, should their sculpture be chosen.

The Rock Falls Tourism Department has opened up the selection process to artists within the rest of the

state, as well as surrounding states. The sculptures will be installed at the RB&W District, on August 23, 2024. Artists will be given a $1,250 stipend and will be able to make their sculpture available for purchase.

For more information: HERE
For questions, contact Melinda Jones.

For more information: https://dankhaus.com

Submit Your News

Have any news to share?

Shows, awards, residencies etc? Submit here and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.

While you're at it, your profile and images on CSI’s website are important. When CSI applies for grants and upcoming shows, images are solely chosen from those you have uploaded to our website. Please take a minute to look over what you have posted and make sure you are presenting the best work. Member Shelley Gilchrist sgilchristart@gmail.com has volunteered to help you if you need it, so feel free to contact her.

CSI projects are partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

CSI Project Space and Gallery News

Marianne Lovink
New Work/Chicago