CSI Newsletter Archive

Our monthly email newsletter gives you tips on all the art happenings at Chicago Sculpture International in Chicago and beyond. Learn about art openings, exhibitions, sculpture installations, workshops, open calls for art and more.  Join our email list to get the latest CSI News and Updates. If you are a member, click to submit your latest artist news to the CSI Newsletter.

Gene Skala Gene Skala

September 2022 Newsletter

 

Welcome to the September Newsletter

You will find:

  • Board Openings

  • News from the CSI Committees

  • 3D4D Gallery exhibit

  • Ongoing Member Exhibitions


President Position Opening! 

It's a great time to be a CSI member, and the perfect time to join the board. The CSI board is filled with exceptional volunteers, and the position of President is open.  I will be leaving in January, so we need a new leader.  During my term, I focused on growth and development.  So everything is in place for a new person to maintain the organization.  I will work with the new leader this fall, so CSI can continue smoothly. The position requires 2-5 hours per week and comes with many benefits. Look HERE for more information and to nominate yourself or another member.  

There is also the option to join as a Board Member at Large. Please take the time to fill out the form by Friday, September 9th, and recommend yourself or another for these positions.  It is fun and rewarding to be on the board!!

-Janet Austin


News from the Board

 

CSI received a DCASE Grant and was awarded $10,000 for 2023!

We got this grant because: 

  • We are a group of almost 200 sculptors, ages in the 20's - 90's and a 501 (c) (3) since 2014. We present artistic vision without censorship.

  • Our outdoor exhibitions placed sculptures in 40 Chicago parks, in 31 of 50 wards in areas all around Chicago, including the south and west sides.

  • Our indoor exhibitions reaches Chicago and beyond through art centers, galleries, and collegiate institutions.

  • Our calls for sculpture are open to anyone. Once accepted, artists are required to join CSI.

  • We have a strong and diverse board.

  • We have a functioning gallery in 3D4D, thanks to Ivy Gard and her support, Pia Cruzalegui and her team for the initial set-up, and John Upchurch for follow through in 2022 and organizing a caring gallery team.

  • We offer educational outreach through the Education programming and partnership with Lathrop homes. Three programs were offered this summer by Anthony Heinz May, Micki Le Mieux, and Kara James.

  • We support Eco-minded environmental sculpture through partnerships with the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Tree Project, and the new Big Marsh initiative.

  • We offer ADA accessible tours, thanks to Emily Moorhead Wallace.

  • Our Grant writing team, who worked for three years submitting applications, includes:

Christine Perri, research, writing, and proofreading
Emily Moorhead-Wallace, exceptional writer
John Upchurch, updated the budget to be clear and correct
Anthony Heinz May, writing and added educational programming outreach for 2022

Thank you to everyone that worked on this grant and to the volunteers that accomplished the items above and more within our budget!!


News from the Outdoor Exhibitions Committee







A shoutout to CSI member, Terry Karpowicz, for installing and deinstalling our outdoor sculptures. Shown here are shots from a recent deinstallation at Garfield Park of Ruth Migdal's Whirling Dervish sculpture. 



CSI received a DCASE Grant and was awarded $10,000 for 2023!

We got this grant because:

  • We are a group of almost 200 sculptors, ages in the 20's - 90's and a 501 (c) (3) since 2014. We present artistic vision without censorship.

  • Our outdoor exhibitions placed sculptures in 40 Chicago parks, in 31 of 50 wards in areas all around Chicago, including the south and west sides.

  • Our indoor exhibitions reaches Chicago and beyond through art centers, galleries, and collegiate institutions.

  • Our calls for sculpture are open to anyone. Once accepted, artists are required to join CSI.

  • We have a strong and diverse board.

  • We have a functioning gallery in 3D4D, thanks to Ivy Gard and her support, Pia Cruzalegui and her team for the initial set-up, and John Upchurch for follow through in 2022 and organizing a caring gallery team.

  • We offer educational outreach through the Education programming and partnership with Lathrop homes. Three programs were offered this summer by Anthony Heinz May, Micki Le Mieux, and Kara James.

  • We support Eco-minded environmental sculpture through partnerships with the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Tree Project, and the new Big Marsh initiative.

  • We offer ADA accessible tours, thanks to Emily Moorhead Wallace.

Our Grant writing team, who worked for three years submitting applications, includes:
Christine Perri, research, writing, and proofreading
Emily Moorhead-Wallace, exceptional writer
John Upchurch, updated the budget to be clear and correct
Anthony Heinz May, writing and added educational programming outreach for 2022

Thank you to everyone that worked on this grant and to the volunteers that accomplished the items above and more within our budget!!


News from the Outdoor Exhibitions Committee

Photo credit: Terry Karpowicz

A shoutout to CSI member, Terry Karpowicz, for installing and deinstalling our outdoor sculptures. Shown here are shots from a recent deinstallation at Garfield Park of Ruth Migdal's Whirling Dervish sculpture.


News from the Indoor Exhibitions Committee

SCULPTURE INVASION 2022
CSI Biennial 

Koehnline Art Museum

Sculpture Invasion 2022 / CSI Biennial at the Koehnline Museum of Art closes on Friday, September 30.  

For those who are in the show, this is a pick-up reminder. 

Pick up schedule is Saturday, October 1, 11 AM - 4 PM, and Monday, October 3, 10 AM - 6 PM. 


The Indoor Exhibition Committee will work with two board members, Darlys Ewoldt and Christine Forni as co-chairs for upcoming years.


News from the Education Committee

Summer Workshops

Micki LeMieux / Kara James / Anthony Heinz May

Thank you to the LATHROP HOMES Boys and Girls Club

Chicago Sculpture International has wrapped up Summer Educational Outreach Programming with three successful workshops all through the Boys and Girls Club of Lathrop Homes.  Thank you to: Micki LeMieux, Kara James, and Anthony Heinz May who helped facilitate outreach for CSI and engaged our youth in the growing possibilities of creativity as a universal connection without limitation! 


Fall Art Workshop

Kara Cobb Johnson
Wooden Ships

Based on a larger work entitled "Wooden Ships", by teaching artist Kara Cobb Johnson, this in-person or online workshop will introduce a sculptural assembly technique of painted planes. Students will be encouraged to use their own artistic aesthetic to embellish rough altered disc shapes and create new assembled forms viewable from all angles. Student artists will have fun discussing both fictional and real narratives that arise from these works with classmates. We hope this workshop will be hosted by Arts of Life, a group of creatives who are challenged by intellectual and developmental disability. Please find their collective space at: www.artsoflife.org


Stay tuned for more, and as always, any CSI member with an idea for a ~60 minute workshop they want to lead in-person or online will receive a $500 stipend for the generosity of their time.  Please help support the CSI mission to reach new and exciting heights.  If you have any ideas e-mail: CSI Education Outreach Committee

anthonyheinzmay@chicagosculpture.org


3D4D Gallery


Exhibit runs through September 30th, 2022

Upcoming Show:

Femininity, Memories & Allegories

Opening September 9, 6-8pm
Artist Talk September 10, 3-5pm

Curator Felix Suazo (Venezuela, Miami) brings together Nikki Renee Anderson (Chicago) and Lisu Vega (Venezuela, Miami) for a two-woman show presenting sculpture and installation artworks that dialogue on themes of gender and memory through form.

3D4D Gallery
1912 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL
(at the corner of Cortland and Damen, in the Bucktown neighborhood)

Gallery hours: Th - Sa, 1 to 6pm


Members News


Studio Sale

After a lifetime of creating, CSI member Bruce Niemi is closing his studio in Kenosha, Wisconsin. To all CSI artists interested in purchasing materials and tools from it, there are more than be listed! Depending on how quickly items move, the sale may be extended into late Fall.  For more details and information, please contact Suzi Niemi at (847) 372-1209.


CSI member Doug DeWitt will be included in Mid-Autumn Artists Salon, a one-night event on Saturday September 10th from 5-9pm.

Schweitzer Environmental Center
Schweitzer Woods Forest Preserve
16N690 Sleepy Hollow Rd,
Dundee Township, IL 60118


Where: Osaka Garden South Bridge Entrance behind the Museum of Science and Industry

When: September 24 & 25, 4 - 6pm

In Place: Drawing You Outside

CSI member Christine Forni, collaborates with choreographer Irene Hsiao on an audience-participatory experience combining drawing with music and dance on Jackson Park's Wooded Island. Charcoal, paper, and drawing boards will be provided.  More details on @DrawingYouOutside and @irenechsiao on Instagram.  This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and by an Individual Artists Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.  


Read about Janet Austin's sculpture Attached in the Evanston Round Table.  

Photos: Janet Austin, Attached


Image: Charles Yost, Windy City Windsock-Stealth Drone

Through the month of September, CSI member Charles Yost’s hometown of Morrison, Illinois will be exhibiting his outdoor sculpture Windy City Windsock-Stealth Drone along with 13 of his other sculptures. Morrison, Illinois is the county seat of Whiteside County, a two-hour drive West of Chicago. For more information and specific locations of the sculptures, please contact Charles via his CSI website Member Directory page.


Image: Lilach Schrag, Adam/Skin
Adam (left), ink and pastel on sewing patterns, artificial leaves, 41 x 100 in.
Skin (right), tissue and parchment paper, artificial plants, spray paint, varnish, metal ornament, Tyvek, staples, tree bark, 100 x 35 x 63 in. 

CSI member Lilach Schrag, along with Sherry Carver and Robert McCann will be in a three-person exhibit titled Layered Meanings at Evanston Art Center from August 27th through October 2nd. Though vastly different in their artistic expressions, Layered Meanings presents the viewer with complex explorations of personal and societal alienation, contradiction and conflict found in modern life. The works invite the viewer to look deeply and thoroughly to find metaphors, examine the stories told and find the meanings.

Evanston Art Center
1717 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201 
(847) 475-5300 

Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 am-6 pm; Saturday-Sunday, 9 am-4 pm


RAW is a weekend-long celebration of the Ravenswood local creative community. Explore historic architecture, artist studios, manufacturers, and see work from hundreds of local creators. The event, stretching from Lawrence south to Waveland along Ravenswood Ave, includes open studios and galleries, pop-up performances and activations, and an outdoor arts market featuring over 50 local artists.
 
Click here for more details.
Click here to RSVP via Facebook.


Looking for seasonal work? Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures is currently hiring seasonal drivers and ice carvers. Feel you're up to the task to carve a block? Come try it out? Pm/dm me if you or someone you know is perfect for our brand of fun. DRIVERS: Go interesting places, meet lovely people, set up "cool" items!

If interested, please contact CSI member Max Barajas at Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures at maxicedesigns@gmail.com.


While you're here...

Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, 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.


Read More
Gene Skala Gene Skala

August 2022

Welcome to the August Newsletter

You will find:

  • Annual General Membership Picnic

  • News from the CSI Committees

  • 3D4D Gallery exhibit

  • Ongoing Member Exhibitions


Annual General Membership Picnic


 

Come join all your CSI friends at Montrose Harbor, for the Annual General Membership Picnic on Sunday, August 14th, from 6 to 8 p.m. The picnic will be held at the tiered concrete breakers, south along W. Montrose Harbor Drive, with a panoramic view of the Chicago skyline.

CSI will provide the sandwiches and asks that you bring a side dish to share. Please bring your own beverages.


News from The Board


On behalf of our partnership with Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, CSI would like to extend an invitation to all our members to come out and enjoy the Ravenswood ArtWalk (RAW) Tour of Arts and Industry, September 10th and 11th from 11 am to 6 pm.

RAW is a weekend-long celebration of the Ravenswood local creative community. Explore historic architecture, artist studios, manufacturers, and see work from hundreds of local creators.
The event, stretching from Lawrence south to Waveland along Ravenswood Ave, includes open studios and galleries, pop-up performances and activations, and an outdoor arts market featuring over 50 local artists.
 
Click here for more details.
Click here to RSVP via Facebook.


News from the Indoor Exhibitions Committee

SCULPTURE INVASION 2022 / CSI Biennial
Koehnline Art Museum

Sculpture Invasion 2022 / CSI Biennial at the Oakton Community College’s Koehnline Museum of Art opened on July 14th.
Please share your exhibition images via email at yoonshinpark@chicagosculpture.org. The Indoor Exhibition Committee will archive them.

Transitioning to new leadership
The Indoor Exhibition Committee will work with two board members, Christine Forni and Darlys Ewoldt as new co-chairs for upcoming years.


News from the Education Committee


Art Classes for August

Micki LeMieux
Crêpe Paper Flowers
August 2, 2022

celebrate life through gradients of color, and when given they offer care and kindness; they hold emotional value. Flowers are reminders of the fragility of nature and can easily be crushed underfoot, or once picked can only last indoors as long as water in vases allow them. Paper flowers last much longer, teaching how to appreciate ephemerality found in all nature’s beauty.

This class will be taught in-person at the Lathrop Home Boys and Girls Club summer camp.


Kara James
Little Trees for Little Sculptors

This in-person session, will take place at the Lathrop homes summer camp where young minds will be learning about how trees communicate, while making little trees out of copper wire in the third workshop from CSI’s education committee outreach program. This is the final workshop of the summer and we hope to continue into the fall with more ideas!


If you have any ideas for an art class, e-mail CSI Education Outreach Committee at anthonyheinzmay@chicagosculpture.org


3D4D Gallery


By Degrees

Exhibit runs through August 19, 2022

3D4D Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition in honor of Ron Gard, former CSI Board Member and mentor to many sculptors as they moved from art degree programs into the world as working artists.  As you may know, Ron Gard, Ltd. was a set building shop hired by many of Chicago’s top film and advertising agencies. Ron’s widow, Ivy Gard has graciously donated their Bucktown storefront space to CSI as our gallery for many months now and the Gallery has transitioned as an open opportunity to all CSI members. 

By Degrees is an exhibit of sculpture, installation, and electronic media work by artists who are enrolled, or recently (2021 or later) graduated from a degree-seeking program.  Thirteen new student members will be featured in this exhibition: Brian Divis, Spencer Gale, Musa Ghaznavi, Sarah Goodermuth, Elisabeth Heying, Riley Lauren Lynch, Lisa Nelson Raabe, Jeremy Plotkin Wong, Olya Salimova, Andrew Sokol, Christian Stone, Katie Williams, Connor Young.
 
The show “By Degrees” was curated by the Gallery’s volunteer committee and jury.  CSI has granted these exhibitors honorary one-year memberships into our organization to grow our outreach.
 
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.
 
3D4D Gallery
1912 N. Damen
Chicago, IL
(At the corner of Cortland and Damen in the Bucktown neighborhood)
 
Hours: Thursday through Sunday, 1 to 6pm


Upcoming exhibit at 3D4D Gallery


Femininity, Memories & Allegories

Opening September 9th

Felix Suazo, Curator (Venezuela, Miami) brings together Nikki Renee Anderson (Chicago) and Lisu Vega (Venezuela, Miami) for a two-woman show presenting sculpture and installation artworks that dialogue on themes of gender and memory through form.


Members News


Congratulations to CSI members Emily Moorhead-Wallace and J Taylor Wallace on receiving a $44,750 grant from E(art)H Chicago (pronounced Earth Art Chicago) for their Pollinator Solar Column, a project consisting of three seven-foot steel and reclaimed wood structures at Sherman Park in Back of the Yards. This community-sourced public artwork will function as a habitat and resource for insects and animals. The community will help create nesting material and residents will design the carvings to be made into the steel at Sherman Library workshops. Residents will be encouraged to build pollinator habitats at home.

E(art)H Chicago (pronounced Earth Art Chicago), is a public arts project launching in June 2023 funded by The Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Foundation (the project’s originator and lead funder), along with Builders Initiative, The Joyce Foundation, the Chicago Frontline Funding Initiative and the Regeneration Fund. The project sets out to stimulate community engagement on climate change and environmental justice with public art. Using Chicago as their canvas, the selected artists are tasked with raising awareness of key environmental issues in communities across the city to nurture urgency and inspire action in neighborhoods. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle are honorary co-chairs of the initiative.

“We have a powerful lineup of projects,” said Uzma Noormohamed, Program Director, Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Foundation (ISEIF). “We set out to raise awareness, create dialogue and inspire action on climate change, natural resource use and environmental justice. The artists and organizations that we are funding have a history of doing just that. And the submissions we received centered on themes of healing, community, resiliency and hope. We believe this initiative will reverberate across the city for many years to come.”

image: Doug DeWitt, Edge Effects

CSI Member Doug DeWitt is having a solo exhibit titled Hedgerow at Noyes Cultural Arts Center in Evanston. The exhibit runs until September 5th, 2022.
 
Noyes Cultural Arts Center
927 Noyes St, Evanston, IL
(847) 866-5917
 
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10am - 6pm; Sunday 10am - 5pm


Image: R. Douglass Rice, Portrait of Friends in Isolation, Edward Coaxum

After a 45-year career as an internationally recognized composer of chamber, orchestral, and computer-generated music, CSI member Howard Sandroff turned his gifts to sculpting in welded steel in the early 2000s. This July and August, the Village Hall Art Gallery in Northfield, Illinois is hosting an exhibit of his sculptural work from July 1st through August 31st.

Opening reception: July 1st, 5 - 7pm, Village Hall Art Gallery

Village Hall Art Gallery
361 Happ Road
Northfields, IL

Gallery hours: M-F, 8am - 4:30pm
For more information: (847) 446-9200


Image: Yvette Kaiser-Smith, Phantom Distinction 10, 2021 Matte black acrylic sheet, felt, sashiko thread, carpet warp yarn, upholstery thread, Nu pastel, graphite, and grommets, 24 x 28.5 x 0.5 in.

A solo exhibit, Drifting inside Traditions by CSI member Yvette Kaiser Smith continues in the Atrium Gallery at Evanston Art Center until August 14th.
Evanston Art Center 1717 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201
Gallery hours: Mon - Fri: 9am-6pm; Sa-Su: 9am-4pm

Another exhibit that features work by Kaiser Smith along with another CSI member, Jill King is at the DuMA Craft Invitational until October 2, 2022 at the Dubuque Museum of Art in Dubuque, Iowa.

Falb Family Gallery, Dubuque Museum of Art, 701 Locust Street, Dubuque, Iowa
Museum hours: Wed – Sat, 10 am-4 pm, Sunday, 1 pm-4 pm (Closed Mon & Tues)
For more information: dbqart.org


Howard Sandroff, Boundary, 2022, Welded steel shards, copper

After a 45-year career as an internationally recognized composer of chamber, orchestral,
and computer-generated music, CSI member Howard Sandroff turned his gifts to
sculpting in welded steel in the early 2000s. This July and August, the Village Hall Art
Gallery in Northfield, Illinois is hosting an exhibit of his sculptural work from July 1st
through August 31st.

Opening reception: 5 - 7pm
Village Hall Art Gallery, 361 Happ Road, Northfields, IL

Gallery hours: M-F, 8am - 4:30pm
For more information: (847) 446-9200


CSI member Mirentxu Ganzarain has a solo exhibit of her work titled Humans, Spirits and Power. The exhibit is at University of Chicago’s Corvus Gallery located in the Gordon Parks Arts Hall. The exhibition runs until Aug. 19th.

Corvus Gallery
UIC Gordon Parks Arts Hall
5815 S Kimbark Ave
Chicago, IL 60637

Gallery hours: M-F, 8:30 am-4:30 pm
For more information: (773) 702-9450


Looking for seasonal work? Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures is currently hiring seasonal drivers and ice carvers. Feel you're up to the task to carve a block? Come try it out? Pm/dm me if you or someone you know is perfect for our brand of fun. DRIVERS: Go interesting places, meet lovely people, set up "cool" items!

If interested, please contact CSI member Max Barajas at Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures at maxicedesigns@gmail.com.


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, 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.


Read More
Gene Skala Gene Skala

July 2022

Welcome to the July Newsletter

You will find:

  • Sculpture Invasion / CSI Biennial

  • International Sculpture Center

  • Education Outreach Update

  • By Degrees Student Exhibit

  • Member News and Ongoing Exhibitions


CSI Biennial


Sculpture Invasion 2022
CSI Biennial
at Koehnline Museum of Art

It will be CSI’s fourth time sharing our members' work at the Koehnline Museum of Art at Oakton Community College, and it will serve as a CSI Biennial exhibition.
Sculptures and scale models will be on display in the Koehnline Art Museum, and an impressive group of outdoor sculptures will “invade” the Des Plaines campus. CSI seeks to expand public understanding and appreciation of Chicago sculpture, engage artists and art professionals in a dialogue to advance the art form.

Participating artists: Ange Altenhofen, Nikki Renee Anderson, Janet Austin, Nicole Beck, Sharon Bladholm, Joseph A. Burlini, Mia Capodilupo, Gwen Yen Chiu, Michele Corazzo, Daryls Ewoldt, Christine Forni, Steve Gaeth, Amanda Gentry, Shelley Gilchrist, Barbara Goldsmith, Carol Hammerman, Donna Hapac, Suzanne Horwitz, Indira Johnson, Karl Johnson, Terry Karpowicz, Keith Kaziak, Fred Klingelhofer, Laurie W. LeBreton, Boruch Lev, Margot McMahon, Bobbi Meier, Brian E. Monaghan, Scott Mossman, Katherine Nemanich, Christopher Newman, David Noguchi, Christine Perri, Jan Petry, Jean Jacques Porret, Gina Lee Robbins, Nancy Lu Rosenheim, Dominic Sansone, Samuel Schwindt, Yvette Kaiser Smith, Eric Steele, George Everet Thompson, Michele Thrane, John Upchurch, Patrick D. Wilson, Chris Wubbena, Shencheng Xu, Plamen Yordanov


Opening Reception: July 14, 2022, 5 to 8pm

Koehnline Museum of Art
Oakton Community College
1600 Golf Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60016
(847) 635-1600

Click here for map.

Please share your exhibition experience with us! If you get to take some pictures from your visit, please share the images with us to be archived via email at yoonshinpark@chicagosculpture.org


There’s no better time to renew your ISC membership. What’s in it for you?

  • DISPLAY YOUR WORK in front of KEY AUDIENCE – with ISC’s Online Portfolio.

  • Access to LATEST SCULPTURE-RELATED CALLS FOR ARTISTS – with ISC Opportunities.

  • FREE virtual artists discussions, lectures, portfolio reviews.

  • NETWORK with Sculpture community – thru ISC online member area.

  • Plus, 1 year SUBSCRIPTION to Sculpture magazine – keeping you INFORMED.

Plus, you get CSI chapter discount - 20% off Essential & Professional levels.
Sign In to your ISC member account to renew now.
Select Chicago Sculpture International under ISC Chapter for your discount

(Contact membership@sculpture.org for questions or assistance with logins/renewals)

Limited Time Offer: If your ISC membership has lapsed, take advantage of the lapsed member offer (50% off) to rejoin by using promo code ISCC. Offer expires July 15.
Join Now


CSI Education Outreach Update


Miniature Parks Art Class

with Lathrop Homes Boys and Girls Club and CSI Artist Anthony Heinz May

Summertime is a time of year typically reserved to celebrate nature, the outdoors and our parks, especially in Chicago. Chicago has more parks per capita than any other city in the United States. Using found natural materials alongside a few other additions of artistic media, this workshop will encourage participants to create models of their own parks. Twigs, construction paper-cut leaves, water-based clay, and a secret recipe of ingredients will be used to create miniature park replicas to celebrate importance of our natural worlds.

We look to implement more classes for Fall. Send your ideas to anthonyheinzmay@chicagosculpture.org 


3D4D Gallery


By Degrees

Opening Reception:
July 15th 5-8PM
 
The 3D4D Gallery will be hosting its next exhibition in honor of Ron Gard, former CSI Board Member and mentor to many sculptors as they moved from art degree programs into the world as working artists.  As you may know, Ron Gard, Ltd. was a set building shop hired by many of Chicago’s top film and advertising agencies. Ron’s widow, Ivy Gard has graciously donated their Bucktown storefront space to CSI as our gallery for many months now and the Gallery has transitioned as an open opportunity to all CSI members. 

By Degrees is an exhibit of sculpture, installation, and electronic media work by 13 artists who are enrolled, or recently (2021 or later) graduated from a degree-seeking program.
 
The show “By Degrees” was curated by the Gallery’s volunteer committee and jury.  CSI will be granting these exhibitors honorary one year memberships into our organization to grow our youthful outreach. Please come to YOUR gallery’s exhibition opening on July 15th, honoring Ron and welcome these young sculptors.
 
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.
 
3D4D Gallery
1912 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL
(At the corner of Cortland and Damen in the Bucktown neighborhood)
 
Hours: Wed through Sun, 1 to 6pm


Member News and Ongoing Exhibitions


Yvette Kaiser-Smith, Phantom Distinction 10, 2021 Matte black acrylic sheet, 4.7mm dark grey acrylic felt, 3mm off-white polyester felt, sashiko thread, 8/4 cotton carpet warp yarn, upholstery thread, Nu pastel, graphite, grommets, 24 x 28.5 x 0.5 in.

A solo exhibit, Drifting inside Traditions by CSI member Yvette Kaiser Smith will be in the Atrium Gallery at Evanston Art Center, July 16 – August 14, 2022

Opening Reception: Sunday, July 17, 1-4pm

Evanston Art Center
1717 Central Street
Evanston, IL 60201
Gallery hours: Mon - Fri: 9am-6pm; Sa-Su: 9am-4pm

In reaction to Covid lockdowns concurrent with widening divisions within our society, she began combining acrylic sheet scraps left over from previous projects with found paper gift bags, later with industrial felts, and incorporating embroidery stitches, using a variety of yarns and threads. In combining dissimilar materials and multiple material and technique languages, this work challenges perception of differences and asks viewers to consider whether we see diversity as a hard difference that leads to the notion of otherness, or as variation within a unified group, others as part of us.

* * *

Additionally, Kaiser Smith, along with another CSI member, Jill King will have their work included in the DuMA Craft Invitational, June 18 - October 2, 2022 at the Dubuque Museum of Art in Dubuque, Iowa.

The works in the exhibition demonstrate the transformative power of craft where disparate, ordinary materials in skilled hands go from inconsequential to useful, from unremarkable to revelatory. Visitors will find a mix of materials transformed into an array of objects—from dishware and orbs in ceramic to a cloak and bound forms in fabric.

Falb Family Gallery
Dubuque Museum of Art
701 Locust Street
Dubuque, Iowa

Museum hours: Wed – Sat, 10 am-4 pm, Sunday, 1 pm-4 pm (Closed Mon & Tues)
For more information: dbqart.org


Image: Howard Sandroff, Boundary, 2022, Welded steel shards, copper

After a 45-year career as an internationally recognized composer of chamber, orchestral, and computer-generated music, CSI member Howard Sandroff turned his gifts to sculpting in welded steel in the early 2000s. This July and August, the Village Hall Art Gallery in Northfield, Illinois is hosting an exhibit of his sculptural work from July 1st through August 31st.

Opening reception: July 1st, 5 - 7pm, Village Hall Art Gallery

Village Hall Art Gallery
361 Happ Road
Northfields, IL

Gallery hours: M-F, 8am - 4:30pm
For more information: (847) 446-9200


Image: R. Douglass Rice, Portrait of Friends in Isolation, Edward Coaxum

Congratulations to CSI Member R. Douglass Rice on being awarded Best of Show for his painting, Portrait of Friends in Isolation - Edward Coaxum (from Portraits of Friends in Isolation series and video) at Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 111th Annual Exhibition at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.

Click here to view more of Douglass’s sculptures, paintings, and other works.

Opening reception: Saturday, July 16th, 5 - 7pm
Exhibition dates: July 2nd to August 20th, 2022.


The work of five CSI members (Nicole Beck, Fred Klingelhofer, Boruch Lev, Ellen Lustig, and Scott Mossman) will be part of the small sculpture group exhibit Curators Gone Rogue at Addington Gallery (704 N. Wells, Chicago). The opening reception will be July 8th and the exhibit will run through September 3rd.

(link for Addington gallery: https://danaddington.com/addingtongallery/ )


Looking for seasonal work? Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures is currently hiring seasonal drivers and ice carvers. Feel you're up to the task to carve a block? Come try it out? Pm/dm me if you or someone you know is perfect for our brand of fun. DRIVERS: Go interesting places, meet lovely people, set up "cool" items!

If interested, please contact CSI member Max Barajas at Nadeau’s Ice Sculptures at maxicedesigns@gmail.com.


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, 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.


Read More
Gene Skala Gene Skala

June 2022

Welcome to the June Newsletter

You will find:

  • NEIU Studio and Gallery Tour

  • News from the CSI Committees

  • 3D4D Gallery exhibits and a Call for Submissions

  • Ongoing Member Exhibitions


Above: NEIU Art Gallery

 

CSI tour of Northeastern Illinois University's art studios and Fine Arts Gallery & General Membership Meeting

CSI Members are invited to tour NEIU's art studios and Fine Arts Gallery.
5500 North St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL

Saturday, June 4
12:00 - 2:00 PM

The art studios tour will begin around 12:30PM, with a 1:00PM meeting in the lecture room to discuss CSI business. We ask that those interested to RSVP and meet at 12:00PM in the Fine Arts Gallery. Refreshments will be served.

To RSVP, please send an email to info@chicagosculpture.org and provide your name, phone number, and number of guests (if applicable).

Information regarding travel directions and parking can be found here.


News from the Board

Hello Members,

If you have questions about your membership or upcoming submissions, please contact our Managing Director, Gene Skala at: info@chicagosculpture.org

He can help with problems with getting into your account, questions regarding your dues, and issues with upcoming RFP's, etc. Also, he can find the right board member to help you in other areas. Gene has been with us for 10 months and has done a fantastic job. Thank you, Gene!


News from the Indoor Exhibitions Committee

 

SCULPTURE INVASION 2022 / CSI Biennial
Koehnline Art Museum

There will be 48 CSI members participating in the upcoming SCULPTURE INVASION 2022 / CSI Biennial at the Koehnline Museum of Art at Oakton Community College.

Here are the important dates:
Drop off pieces: Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Opening reception: Thursday, July 14th, 5-8pm
Last day of show: Friday, September 30, 2022
Pick up: Monday, October 3, 2022


News from the Outdoor Exhibitions Committee


RFP: Public Art Projects in Big Marsh Park

Chicago Sculpture International (CSI), in collaboration with the Chicago Park District, is seeking experienced artists and artist teams to create original, site-specific, public sculptures for Big Marsh, a 280-acre park on the Southeast Side.  

Big Marsh had been the site of a waste and slag dumping ground from surrounding industrial operations since the late 1800s.  In the early 2000s, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District teamed up to restore this area to a healthy habitat and eco-recreation park. 

This is an opportunity to create an artwork that will emerge from the park; the majority of the materials used will be found in the park. There are available natural materials such as rocks, stones, standing dead trees, logs and certain plants—for example, the plentiful phragmites.  And although Big Marsh has undergone an extensive renovation in this century, one can still find remnants of its industrial past, such as shipping containers, tires, bricks, cobblestones, cement fragments and slag; these materials can be used for the artwork as well.  Durable sculpture materials such as stone, metal and wood that artists need but cannot be found in the park can be brought in to create the artwork.

Artists will be asked to commit to two talks about their completed projects at the Ford Calumet Environmental Center in Big Marsh Park.

Stipend:  $10,000-$30,000
Timeline:  Submissions due on Friday, June 3, 2022, at 11:59 pm CST.  Projects must be finished by November 30, 2022.

Click here for more information about Big Marsh, the call, and image galleries of the Big Marsh area as well as possible sites and materials for sculptures.


News from the Education Committee


Virtual Art Classes for Summer (dates TBD)

We look to implement more classes for Fall.  Send your ideas to anthonyheinzmay@chicagosculpture.org 

Example of a miniature park, by Anthony Heinz May

Anthony Heinz May
Miniature Parks

Summertime is a time of year typically reserved to celebrate nature, the outdoors and our parks, especially in Chicago.  Chicago has more parks per capita than any other city in the United States.  Using found natural materials alongside a few other additions of artistic media, this workshop will encourage participants to create models of their own parks.  Twigs, construction paper-cut leaves, water-based clay, and a secret recipe of ingredients will be used to create miniature park replicas to celebrate importance of our natural worlds.  


Micki LeMieux
Crepe Paper Flowers

Reconstruct nature through beauty of expression using delicate paper compositions. Flowers celebrate life through gradients of color. When given, they offer care and kindness; they hold emotional value. Flowers are reminders of the fragility of nature. They can be easily crushed and once picked, can only last indoors as long as water in vases will allow them. Paper flowers last much longer. They can't be found on e-Bay/Amazon because you made them yourself.


Kara O. James
Copper Wire Trees

Bend, twist and snip user-friendly gauges of copper wire to create small tree sculptures that can be decorated with beads as leaves. Trees breathe in what we breathe out (CO2) and breathe out what we breathe in (O2). Perhaps the most underrated educational lifeforms on Earth, we can learn so much from trees if we only listened to them more. Copper gives unparalleled conductance in so many of the things we use, allowing for human communication like roots of trees that hold conversations with one another. This symbolism presents and reinforces both old and new ways to look at life. Trees for Peace.


Thanks to everyone who participated in the recent Mindscapes exhibition whether as an exhibiting artist or an audience member.

A special shout out to all our gallery sitters (presented in order of “appearance”): Patrick Wilson, Tomas Co, Victoria FullerBoruch LevNicole BeckAmanda GentryPeter N. GrayFred KlingelhoferEllen Lustig, Philip Spangler, Nancy VanKaneganGene Skala, Barbara Goldsmith, Micki LeMieux, Howard Sandroff, Suzanne Horwitz, Caroline Jacobson, John Upchurch, Berthold Boone, Suzanna Pratt and Chris Wubbena.

And, of course, a dozen gold stars for Micki Lemieux who coordinated the show (with support from Gene Skala and John Upchurch).


Upcoming Exhibition: Scale

Show runs from June 3rd through July 9th.
Opening Reception: Friday, June 3, 5 -8 PM

Opening Reception: Friday, June 3rd. 5-8 PM
3D4D Gallery presents an exhibition that plays with  the concept of scale, where tiny things are made huge, or life-sized objects and installations are reimagined in miniature. These 24 artists use perspective and scale to draw attention to and affect the ways people perceive and respond to their work.

The show will include miniature works, micro galleries, maquettes, and oversized 2D and 3D artworks and installations. 
 
The exhibiting artists are: Sharon Bladholm, Berthold Boone, Tomas Co, Michele CorazzoChristine ForniVictoria Fuller, Set Gozo, Celia GreinerCarol HammermanIrene HoppenbergFred KlingelhoferGary KulakLaurie LeBretonMicki LeMieuxMargot McmahonBobbi MeierScott Mossman, Thomas Plum, Howard Sandroff, Samuel SchwindtPaul Gerard SomersNancy VanKaneganMarjorie WoodruffChris Wubbena and Plamen Yordanov.


Let's Talk About Scale

A workshop with Steve Mueller from Vector Custom Fabricating, sharing successful ways of working with fabricators for Public Art Projects at 3D4D. 

Date:  June 16, Thursday
Time: 6-7 PM
Where 3D4D Gallery, 1912 N. Damen Ave, Chicago


 

Call for Art: By Degrees

(student/recent graduate exhibition)
July-August Exhibition at 3D4D

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, or recently (2021 or later) graduated from a degree-seeking program to submit works of sculpture, installation and media work to be featured in the juried group exhibition By Degrees, which will run July 15 - August 19, 2022 at 3D4D Gallery in Chicago. If you are a degree seeking CSI member, you are eligible to apply. If you know a degree-seeking artist who is not yet a CSI member, forward this call to them.

Artists can submit up to 3 works for consideration. Other media work can be shared via URLs to a hosting site. Accepted artwork must be able to fit into a normal single door storefront. Costs for shipping work to and from the gallery are the responsibility of the artist. There is no fee for entry, but accepted artists will be required to gallery sit for at least two 3-hour shifts during the run of the exhibition. This call is not limited to students and graduates of Chicago-area institutions. Accepted artists who are not CSI members will be granted a one year non-transferrable student membership to CSI. 

To apply to By Degrees, please complete this form. Deadline for submission is June 19th at midnight Central time. Notification of works accepted will be sent on or before June 30th. Artists are responsible for delivery of work to 3D4D Gallery. In person delivery will be accepted July 10th and all shipped works must be received by July 9th.


Member News

Ongoing Exhibitions

Yoonshin Park: Finding Space

Northeastern Illinois University
Fine Arts Center Gallery
May 31 - June 17
Artist Talk: Noon, Wednesday, June 8


Howard Sandroff and "The Obsessive Image"

Sunday, June 19th
3 pm

Northfield Library presents "The Obsessive Image" a lecture by sculptor and musician Howard Sandroff about the unique relationship between musical compositions and sculptural objects.

Northfield Library presents “The Obsessive Image”, a lecture by sculptor and musician Howard Sandroff about the unique relationship between musical compositions and sculptural objects, an enlightening discussion about multisensory experiences and how the same aesthetic concerns can be applied to sound and steel

Northfield Library
1785 Orchard Lane
Register online or by phone
(847) 446-5990


Sculptures by CSI members recently installed at Marquette Park, IN


While you're here...

Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, 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.


 
Read More
Gene Skala Gene Skala

May 2022

Welcome to the May 2022 CSI Newsletter

In this issue you will find:

  • CSI Tour of Northeastern Illinois University tour of art studios and Fine Arts Gallery

  • CSI Biennial “Sculpture Invasion 2022” at Koehnline Art Museum updates

  • Calls for Big Marsh Park project, Scale exhibit at 3D4D gallery, Wicker Park Arts Fest,
    and the 2022 Fuzhou International Urban Sculpture Design Competition

  • “Mindscapes” exhibit at 3D4D gallery

  • Educational Outreach request for volunteers

  • Members news and announcements

  • While You’re Here…


 

Picture above: NEIU’s Fine Arts Gallery

 

CSI tour of NEIU art studios and Fine Arts Gallery & General Membership Meeting

CSI tour of Northeastern Illinois University's art studios and Fine Arts Gallery & General Membership Meeting

CSI Members are invited to a tour of Northeastern Illinois University’s art studios and Fine Arts Gallery at 5500 North St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL

Saturday, June 4
12:00 - 2:00 PM

The art studios tour will begin around 12:30PM, with a 1:00PM meeting in the lecture room to discuss CSI business. We ask that those interested to RSVP and meet at 12:00PM in the Fine Arts Gallery. Refreshments will be served.

To RSVP, please click here or send an email to info@chicagosculpture.org and provide your name, phone number, and number of guests.

Information regarding travel directions and parking can be found here.


News from the Indoor Exhibitions Committee


SCULPTURE INVASION 2022 / CSI Biennial
Koehnline Art Museum

Thank you for submitting your work to the SCULPTURE INVASION 2022 / CSI Biennial at the Koehnline Art Museum. It will be CSI’s fourth time sharing our members' work at the Koehnline Museum of Art at Oakton Community College, and it will serve as a CSI Biennial exhibition.

An email notification will be sent out to artists next week.

Here are the important dates:
Drop off pieces: Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Start of show: Thursday, July 14, 2022
Last day of show: Friday, September 30, 2022
Pick up: Monday, October 3, 2022


News from the Outdoor Exhibitions Committee


Pictured above: Possible locations for new sculptures at Big Marsh.

RFP: Public Art Projects in Big Marsh Park

Chicago Sculpture International (CSI), in collaboration with the Chicago Park District, is seeking experienced artists and artist teams to create original, site-specific, public sculptures for Big Marsh, a 280-acre park on the Southeast Side.

Big Marsh had been the site of a waste and slag dumping ground from surrounding industrial operations since the late 1800s. In the early 2000s, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District teamed up to restore this area to a healthy habitat and eco-recreation park.

This is an opportunity to create an artwork that will emerge from the park; the majority of the materials used will be found in the park. There are available natural materials such as rocks, stones, standing dead trees, logs and certain plants—for example, the plentiful phragmites. And although Big Marsh has undergone an extensive renovation in this century, one can still find remnants of its industrial past, such as shipping containers, tires, bricks, cobblestones, cement fragments and slag; these materials can be used for the artwork as well. Durable sculpture materials such as stone, metal and wood that artists need but cannot be found in the park can be brought in to create the artwork.

Artists will be asked to commit to two talks about their completed projects at the Ford Calumet Environmental Center in Big Marsh Park.

Stipend: $10,000-$30,000
Timeline: Submissions due on Friday, June 3, 2022, at 11:59 pm CST. Projects must be finished by November 30, 2022.

Click here for more information about Big Marsh, the call, and image galleries of the Big Marsh area as well as possible sites and materials for sculptures.


News from the Education Committee


Request For Volunteers

Pictured above: Images from “Have Your Art and Eat It Too”, collaboration with Casa Central and 3D4D by CSI, summer 2021.

Dear CSI Members,

In follow up to the new page listing on the CSI Website, we are implementing a new creative outreach educational program to build a stronger presence in the community for CSI and the 3D4D Gallery space.

We are looking for artists with creative projects to be completed in roughly 60-90 minutes through virtual artist workshops. All supplies needed for project(s) will be given out to communities in individual boxes paid for by CSI grant funds. We would rather have simple materials and supplies to maintain a feasible budget, so those CSI members interested should keep simplicity in mind. All we need are interested members, with ideas and an accompanying supply list with concepts for the workshop/activity.

Groups including the Lathrop Homes (low income/mixed income), Boys and Girls Home, Wicker Park Senior Housing CHA Property, and A Special Place for Veterans have all showed interest in participating. If you are interested in specific audiences please outline that in response.

Artist stipends will be provided, so any CSI member interested in participating and helping 3D4D/CSI to obtain more exposure, as well promote advancing marginalized communities using art as a way for people to become more connected, should reach out with their ideas to Anthony Heinz May.

- The Education Committee


3D4D Gallery


 
 

Mindscapes

The Mindscapes exhibition continues through Sunday, May 29th at Chicago Sculpture International’s 3D4D gallery in the Bucktown neighborhood. The exhibit runs until Sunday, May 29th.

The concept of differences between the interior and the exterior saturates many aspects of life. From the microscopic to the vastness of space, the notion of inside verses outside has shaped our view and understanding of the world. We create the illusion of separation by viewing the body and mind in contrast to the outside world, but we are all part of our living planet. How entwined are the elements we are composed of and the world we live in? The artwork in this exhibit explores these ideas: imaginary or real, and ranging from the personal to the scientific point of view.

The exhibit features artists: Ange Altenhofen, Nicole Beck, Tomas Co, Amanda Gentry, Barbara Goldsmith, Peter N. Gray, Suzanne Horwitz, Victoria Fuller, Caroline Jacobson, Fred Klingelhofer, Micki LeMieux (3D4D Artist-In-Residence), Boruch Lev, Ellen Lustig, Suzanne Pratt, Howard Sandroff, Philip Spangler, Nancy VanKanegan, Patrick D. Wilson, and Chris Wubbena. This exhibition is curated by Micki LeMieux.

Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 1-6pm
Location: 1912 N. Damen Ave, Chicago

Click here to visit our online shop to purchase works from this exhibit!


Call for Submissions: Scale Exhibit

DEADLINE EXTENDED!

The relationship between artwork and audience is often informed by a sense of scale. Concepts of size, perspective and space can all be employed to create or enhance presence of a piece: Small, intimate pieces draw one in; maquettes suggest a size beyond their proportions; art can create unexpected spatial relationships or shifts of perspective in the audience’s mind. The show aspires to examine and juxtapose these various approaches to scale.

Chicago Sculpture International’s 3D4D Gallery is seeking submissions of work that examine or employ the idea of scale. The show will include 2D and 3D work; maquettes; miniatures; jewelry; and wall, pedestal or freestanding works.

To further investigate the idea of proportion and space, some of the pieces may be displayed in “micro-galleries” with a 1:12 scale.

No submission fee. Must be a current member of CSI.

Submit work here.

Submission Deadline: Sunday, May 8th. Midnight
Artwork due by: May 27, 2022
Show opening: Friday, June 3, 2022
Show end date: July 24, 2022


Member News


Ongoing Exhibitions

Christine Forni, Fragments (detail)

Daryls Ewoldt, Broken Steps and Fragile, Ladders, bronze, copper, and patina

Crystal Ball, May 14, 2022


CSI member Christine Forni is exhibiting in a group show, Circuition, with artists: Abraham Cone, Hai-Wen Lin, Katie Vota and Jake Fagundo at Mu Gallery, located at 1542 W. Chicago Ave, opening reception is May 6, 6-10pm at 6pm, 5/6 - 5/28.

CHRISTINE FORNI'S 'FRAGMENTS'
"In my new paintings I capture light though glass, porcelain, minerals and paint-skins. I’ve pulled from a hybrid of my past memories and skills using my archive of small porcelain sculptures made during residencies at The Comparative Anatomy Gallery in Paris and École du Breuil d’Horticulture.There I studied the naturalists’ collections of plant fossils and animal bones. While examining the relics of distant eras, I was struck by the realization that all life has souls, intertwined together, carrying a memory of the past forward. All we have to do is look closely enough to experience it."

CSI member Darlys Ewoldt’s sculpture Broken Steps and Fragile Ladders (bronze, copper, and patina) was juried into the Smithsonian Craft Show at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. The exhibit ran from April 20-24, 2022. Congratulations, Darlys!

CSI member Samuel Schwindt will be part of the return of the The Crystal Ball, a night of live music, food, and art installations at Chicago Art Department on Saturday, May 14, 2022. The opening reception is from from 7-11pm. Click here for tickets.


Other Events and Opportunities

The following are not CSI sponsored projects, but may be of interest to our members.


RFP: Wicker Park Fest ARTS Area 2022

Proposal Deadline: Thursday, May 5th until 5:00PM

A special deadline extension was granted for CSI members until this Thursday, May 5th until 5:00PM. The deadline is firm. The festival will take place the weekend of July 22nd through July 24th.

Please address your submission directly to Jordan Miller at jordan@wickerparkbucktown.org You may also email him at this email with any questions or concerns.


THE FEST:
Wicker Park Fest is one of the largest and longest running annual neighborhood street festivals in Chicago on the near northwest side. Wicker Park Fest is organized by the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce and includes over 50 bands split between multiple stages, the best food and drinks from around Chicago, and features hundreds of local vendors, stores, and artists. Wicker Park Fest is free with a $10 suggested donation. Milwaukee Ave. will be closed to car traffic from approximately North Ave. to Paulina St. to accommodate this event and pedestrians may enter to access local establishments or their homes at any time regardless of donation to the event.

WPF ARTS AREA:
Every year during the festival a special section (or sections) of Milwaukee Ave. is designated for high quality works of art and/or art installations. This Arts Area is intended to enhance the Wicker Park Fest experience for attendees and showcase the rich and vibrant arts scene in the local Wicker Park Bucktown community. All funding for and curation of the WPF Arts Area is provided by WPB SSA #33, the Special Service Area for Wicker Park Bucktown, which includes the entire stretch of Milwaukee Ave. used for Wicker Park Fest.

Look here for more information on the qualifying artwork, funding details, proposal suggestions, and submission details.


 

The 2022 Fuzhou International Urban Sculpture Design Competition

The city of Fuzhou, in China, is hosting an international outdoor sculpture design competition.
Submission due May 15

  • Awards for 37 short-listed works: $12,616 per nomination

  • Awards for 2-3 finalists: $23,655 per work

All short-listed works and invited works will be published in the 2022 Fuzhou International Urban Sculpture Design Competition Collection.
More details and application forms at the 2022 Fuzhou International Urban Sculpture Design Competition.


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies, et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, 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. CSI member Shelley Gilchrist sgilchristart@gmail.com has volunteered to help you if you need it, so feel free to contact her.


Read More
Lauren Serra Henderson Lauren Serra Henderson

April 2022

Welcome to the April 2022 Newsletter

You will find:

  • General Membership Meeting and Facility Tour

  • News from the CSI Committees

  • 3D4D Gallery exhibit and a Call for Submissions

  • Ongoing Member Exhibitions

  • Member Opportunities


[pictured, above] Stargazing with Contrails, 2021 by Terrence Karpowicz.

CSI General Membership Meeting &
Tour of Vector Custom Fabricating

CSI Members are invited to tour Vector Custom Fabricating
2128 W. Fulton St., Chicago, IL, 60612

Saturday April 16th
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Vector Custom Fabricating, founded in 1978, is a supporter of Chicago Sculpture International and has created many excellent works of public art and continues to work with our members. This is an excellent opportunity to see the complex process of making large sculpture and public art works.
We will end with a brief General Membership Meeting.

Visit our website to RSVP.


News from the Indoor Exhibitions Committee

RFP: “SCULPTURE INVASION 2022” AT KOEHNLINE ART MUSEUM

July 14 – September 30, 2022

It will be CSI’s fourth time sharing our members' work at the Koehnline Museum of Art at Oakton Community College, and it will serve as a CSI Biennial exhibition.

Members of Chicago Sculpture International (CSI) return for the fourth time to one of the area’s largest juried exhibitions. Sculptures and scale models will be on display in the Koehnline Art Museum, and an impressive group of outdoor sculptures will “invade” the Des Plaines campus. CSI seeks to expand public understanding and appreciation of Chicago sculpture, engage artists and art professionals in a dialogue to advance the art form.

The submission link for the Sculpture Invasion 2022 at the Koehnline Museum of Art is now open!
Please click here to upload your submission materials.

Notes:

  1. Artists may only submit one piece for consideration. You cannot submit one indoor and one outdoor.

  2. Accepted works will be on display for the duration of the show, including any outdoor pieces.

  3. A $300 honorarium will be given to an artist accepted for an outdoor sculpture to help with installation costs.

Important dates:

  • Deadline to submit proposals: April 25

  • Drop off pieces: July 4

  • Start of show: July 14

  • Last day of show: September 30

  • Pick up: October 3

Thank you,
Indoor Exhibition Committee


News from the Outdoor Exhibitions Committee

Pictured, above: From Orion by Damon Hamm, Marquette Park, 2021

RFP: SCULPTURE IN THE PARKS 2022-2024

Chicago Sculpture International, in collaboration with the Chicago Park District, is seeking proposals from artists for the 2022-2024 Sculpture in the Parks Exhibition.

Works must be large scale and suitable for outdoors. They will be placed near cultural centers (fieldhouses) within the parks, as determined by CPD. They will be installed on hardscape or softscape (grass), so artists must be prepared for either type of installation. There are no concrete pads for sculptures. Sculptures will be on view for two years, from October 2022 to October 2024 (exact dates to be determined). Each sculpture will receive a $3000 stipend.

Application Deadline: Friday, April 22, 2022, 11:59 PM CST
Click here to download the application
For questions about the RFP or application, please contact:info@chicagosculpture.org


News from the Education Committee

Pictured above: Images from “Have Your Art and Eat It Too”, collaboration with Casa Central and 3D4D by CSI, summer 2021.

REQUEST FOR VOLUNTEERS

Dear CSI Members,

In follow up to the new page listing on the CSI Website, we are implementing a new creative outreach educational program to build a stronger presence in the community for CSI and the 3D4D Gallery space.

We are looking for artists with creative projects to be completed in roughly 60-90 minutes through virtual artist workshops. All supplies needed for project(s) will be given out to communities in individual boxes paid for by CSI grant funds. We would rather have simple materials and supplies to maintain a feasible budget, so those CSI members interested should keep simplicity in mind. All we need are interested members, with ideas and an accompanying supply list with concepts for the workshop/activity.

Groups including the Lathrop Homes (low income/mixed income), Boys and Girls Home, Wicker Park Senior Housing CHA Property, and A Special Place for Veterans have all showed interest in participating. If you are interested in specific audiences please outline that in response.

Artist stipends will be provided, so any CSI member interested in participating and helping 3D4D/CSI to obtain more exposure, as well promote advancing marginalized communities using art as a way for people to become more connected, should reach out with their ideas to Anthony Heinz May.


There is no better time to renew your ISC membership and update your ISC Sculptors Portfolio. There are currently over 240 opportunities listed for Sculptors. DON'T DELAY!

Your ISC membership provides you with:

Plus, you get a chapter discount - 20% off Essential & Professional levels.

Sign In to your ISC member account to renew now.

(Contact membership@sculpture.org for questions or assistance with logins/renewals)

Limited Time Offer: If your ISC membership has lapsed, take advantage of the lapsed member offer (50% off) to rejoin by emailing membership@sculpture.org today.


This Month at 3D4D Gallery:

Group Exhibit:
MINDSCAPES

Opening reception: Friday April 22nd, 5 - 8 PM

Please join us for the opening of Mindscapes at Chicago Sculpture International’s gallery in the Bucktown neighborhood. There will be light refreshments, live guitar music, and a wide variety of both sculptures and two-dimensional artworks on display. The exhibit runs until Sunday, May 29th.

The concept of differences between the interior and the exterior saturates many aspects of life. From the microscopic to the vastness of space, the notion of inside verses outside has shaped our view and understanding of the world. We create the illusion of separation by viewing the body and mind in contrast to the outside world, but we are all part of our living planet. How entwined are the elements we are composed of and the world we live in? The artwork in this exhibit explores these ideas: imaginary or real, and ranging from the personal to the scientific point of view.

This exhibition is curated by Micki LeMieux.

Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 1-6pm
Location: 1912 N. Damen Ave, Chicago


Call for Submissions: SCALE

Chicago Sculpture International's 3D4D Gallery seeks work that examines the idea of scale. Whether you've taken something tiny and made it huge, or the other way around. Artists use perspective and scale to draw attention, to change the feeling, to make people see. What do you want people to see?

This show will include 2D, 3D, along with small works and maquettes.

Some miniature artwork (no larger than 4" in any dimension) will be displayed in micro galleries, 12" x 12" white boxes with three walls. These are miniature scale 1:12, meaning 1 inch = 1 foot.

No submission fee. Must be a current member of CSI.

Submit work here.

Submission Deadline: April 29, 2022, midnight
Artwork due by: May 27, 2022
Show opening: Friday, June 3, 2022
Show end date: July 24, 2022


Member News


Above: John Upchurch, Assume, 2020, Ebonized walnut, mahogany, felt, 23-1/4 x 4 x 3 in.,

56 Milwaukee Show

Several of our members will be exhibiting at Oliva Gallery for the 56 Milwaukee show this month. CSI members Margie Criner, Yvette Kaiser-Smith, Scott Mossman, John T Upchurch (pictured above), and Nancy VanKanegan will be showing alongside more than a dozen other artists.

Opening: Friday, March 11th 5–10pm
Runs through: April 16th

Oliva Gallery
3816 W Armitage Ave, Chicago
(847) 922-5736

Hours: Friday 5–8PM, Saturday 12–4PM
Closed Sunday through Thursday

 

Rebellious Fibers

Bobbi Meier and Yvette Kaiser-Smith's two-person show, Rebellious Fibers, continues at OS Gallery through April 16th.


Events & Opportunities


The following is not a CSI sponsored project, but may be of interest to our members.

THE 2022 FUZHOU INTERNATIONAL URBAN SCULPTURE DESIGN COMPETITION

The city of Fuzhou, in China, is hosting an international outdoor sculpture design competition.

  • Awards for 37 short-listed works: $12,616 per nomination

  • Awards for 2-3 finalists: $23,655 per work

All short-listed works and invited works will be published in the 2022 Fuzhou International Urban Sculpture Design Competition Collection.
More details and application forms at the 2022 Fuzhou International Urban Sculpture Design Competition.


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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.

Read More
Lauren Serra Henderson Lauren Serra Henderson

March 2022

Welcome to the March 2022 Newsletter

You will find:

  • News from the CSI Board

  • 3D4D Gallery exhibit

  • RFP Reminder

  • Member News


Photo: An aerial view of Marquette Park, Indiana

LAST CALL!
Request for Proposals: Marquette Park, Indiana

RFP DEADLINE: MARCH 4

Chicago Sculpture International is seeking proposals from artists for a sculpture to be installed for two years in Marquette Park, Gary, Indiana, a municipal park surrounded by Indiana Dunes National Park.  The artist stipend is $3000.  

The sculpture must be large scale and suitable for outdoors.  It can be installed on grass or a concrete pad.  Installation is the end of April 2022.  The submission deadline is Friday, March 4, 2022.  

Click here to access the application.


News from the CSI Board


Welcome new board members Anthony Heinz May, Stephanie Sailer and Shencheng Xu!

Thanks to Taylor Wallace for being the excellent VP for the past three years. John Upchurch and Anthony Heinz May have replaced him as VPs.

Thanks to the 3D4D team: Pia Cruzalegui, Bryan Northup, Emily Moorhead-Wallace and Gwen Yen Chiu for a formidable job getting the space up and running in 2021.

Here are the volunteers on the CSI board for 2022:

Board Members-At-Large

And our staff:

  • Gene Skala- Managing Director and Interim 3D4D Gallery Director.

This year’s CSI motto is: “Shaping a stronger sculpture community.”

We are expanding our outdoor exhibitions to include Marquette Park in Indiana, and Big Marsh is in the works for 2022. There are two indoor exhibitions planned as you'll read below and others in the works for 2023, thanks to an impressive group of volunteers on the Indoor Exhibitions Committee.

RFPs for both outdoor and indoor exhibitions will be posted on our website and our monthly newsletter, so keep your eyes open for them–and make sure your CSI membership is current when applying for the exhibitions!


Indoor Exhibitions

The Indoor Exhibition Committee has been working hard to bring exhibition opportunities to CSI members.
This year we have two exhibition opportunities lined up.

Exhibition title: Sculpture Invasion 2022/CSI Biennial
Location: Koehnline Museum of Art at Oakton Community College.
Date: July 14 – September 30, 2022

This repeating exhibition will serve as CSI's Biennial this year.
Once the submission portal is set up in early March, we will send out the link to apply.
The deadline for submissions will be in early April.

Exhibition title: TBA
Location: Beverly Art Center
Date: Nov-Dec.

The Indoor Exhibition Committee will need more volunteers before and during the exhibition. If you are interested in working with the committee, please contact, Yoonshin Park, the Indoor Exhibition Committee Chair, at yoonshin.p@gmail.com.

Indoor Exhibition Committee


Education Committee

CSI has a new Education Committee. It’s members are:

Education Outreach

CSI is developing a community outreach program that facilitates greater connection between artists and the greater Chicago area. We will post an upcoming open call for CSI members interested in teaching a sixty to ninety-minute art workshop activity in the upcoming summer months. A stipend will be available for participation/facilitation of an art workshop, more to follow soon.


This Month at 3D4D Gallery:

Humanity + Modernity + Nature = Confusion

In March, CSI is hosting a solo exhibition from CSI member Diane Feldpausch Tang. For Humanity + Modernity + Nature = Confusion, artist Diane Feldpausch Tang explores the decline of empathy toward others, the built environment, and the natural environment. The exhibit considers our relationship with these three pillars of our lived experience: humanity, modernity, and nature.

100% OF ARTWORK PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO CHICAGO HOMELESS SHELTERS

March 12th - 27th, 2022

Opening reception: Saturday, March 12th, 4-8pm
Closing reception: Sunday, March 27th, 1-4pm

3D4D Gallery
1912 N. Damen Ave (at Cortland and Damen, in the Bucktown neighborhood)

Gallery Hours:
Fri & Sat 1 - 6
Thurs & Sun. 1 - 4


3D4D Volunteer Shoutouts

Thank you to CSI president Janet Austin and CSI member Micki LeMieux for rolling up their sleeves to help paint walls and refresh the 3D4D gallery space; Christine Perri for technical assistance; Doug Stapleton for donating an abundance of refreshments for the Unseen opening reception; Frank Connet for installation assistance and gallery sitting; 3D4D Artist-In-Residence Michelle Stone for gallery sitting, and special thanks to Rebecca Wolfram for installation, lighting assistance, and extra gallery sitting.

Exhibitions Update

3D4D by CSI is planning upcoming shows for this spring and summer thanks to a new team of volunteers. A big thank you to Elaine Luther, Kara James, Micki LeMieux, Diane Ponder, Darlys Ewoldt, Nancy VanKanegan, Nicole Beck and Carol Hammerman for offering to be a part of this team! Discussions are ongoing, but we should have more to report soon. Should you be interested in participating in this project, contact John Upchurch (sculpturch@gmail.com) or Gene Skala (info@chicagosculpture.org)


Member News


Above: John Upchurch, Assume, 2020, Ebonized walnut, mahogany, felt, 23-1/4 x 4 x 3 in.,

56 MILWAUKEE SHOW

Several of our members will be exhibiting at Oliva Gallery for the 56 Milwaukee show this month. CSI members Margie Criner, Yvette Kaiser-Smith, Scott Mossman, John T Upchurch (pictured above), and Nancy VanKanegan will be showing alongside more than a dozen other artists.

Opening: Friday, March 11th 5–10pm
Runs through: April 16th

Oliva Gallery
3816 W Armitage Ave, Chicago
(847) 922-5736

Hours: Friday 5–8PM, Saturday 12–4PM
Closed Sunday through Thursday

 

Above: Carol Hammerman, left to right: Trophy #12, Walnut, oak, bronze, brass, painted steel, 16.5 x 4 x 4 in; Trophy #13, Walnut, bronze, painted brass, poplar, 19 x 5 x 5 in; Trophy #14, Walnut, bronze, painted brass, poplar, 17 x 7 x 5 in.

BEVERLY ARTS CENTER 45TH ANNUAL ART COMPETITION

CSI member Carol Hammerman will be participating in Beverly Arts Center’s 45th Annual Arts Competition

Exhibit runs from March 4 –April 16th, 2022
Opening Reception & Awards Ceremony: Friday, March 4th 6-8 PM

Beverly Arts Center
2407 W 111th Street
Chicago, IL 60655

For more info: frontdeskstaff@beverlyartcenter.org
(773) 445-3838


Upcoming Events


International Sculpture Day

International Sculpture Day returns on Saturday, April 30th.

Per the ISC website, "International Sculpture Day (ISDay) is a worldwide celebration event to further the International Sculpture Center’s (ISC) mission of advancing the creation and understanding of sculpture and its unique, vital contribution to society. ISDay occurs on the last Saturday of April every year. Anyone or any organization with an appreciation and commitment to the field of sculpture is invited to participate.”

This is as good a time as any to remind you to renew your ISC membership and let you know that you can get a discount by being a member of CSI!

Click here to renew your ISC membership.


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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.

Read More
Lauren Serra Henderson Lauren Serra Henderson

February 2022

Welcome to the February 2022 Newsletter

You will find:

  • Request for Proposal

  • 3D4D Gallery exhibit

  • A welcome to a new corporate partner

  • Member News


Photo: An aerial view of Marquette Park, Indiana

Request for Proposals: Marquette Park, Indiana

RFP DEADLINE: MARCH 4

Chicago Sculpture International is seeking proposals from artists for a sculpture to be installed for two years in Marquette Park, Gary, Indiana, a municipal park surrounded by Indiana Dunes National Park.  The artist stipend is $3000.  

The sculpture must be large scale and suitable for outdoors.  It can be installed on grass or a concrete pad.  Installation is the end of April 2022.  The submission deadline is Friday, March 4, 2022.  

Click here to access the application.


This Month at 3D4D Gallery:

Unseen: Collages, Paintings, Works on Paper, and Sculpture

For the month of February, CSI is hosting Unseen: Collages, Paintings, Works on Paper, and Sculpture, an exhibition of works by Frank ConnetGene SkalaDoug StapletonRebecca Wolfram, and Michelle Stone in Chicago Sculpture International’s exhibiting space, 3D4D by CSI at 1912 N. Damen Ave. 

February 2nd through 28th, 2022
Opening reception:
Friday, February 4, 2022 from 5 to 8pm

Gallery hours: Wednesday through Sundays 1 to 6 pm.

Love from 3D4D
A Big Thank You to Micki LeMieux for her time and support gallery sitting at 3D4D. We couldn't manage without you!
Click here to Micki’s website.


Welcome Vector Custom Fabricating, our new Corporate Partner!

Vector has worked with many of CSI’s members creating outstanding public art.

We are planning a field trip to visit their facility in April. Look for details in an upcoming newsletter.

Vector has miscellaneous metals that it scraps.  Members of CSI are welcome to inspect these materials and have them for free depending on the type of metal selected and the quantity.  Worst case scenario Vector might have to charge scrap value. 

Contact Seth (773) 603-8140 or Seth@vectorfabricating.com before stopping by. 

Free consultation on techniques, materials and vendor resources are offered by Steve.  Steve@vectorfabricating.com   (312) 505-5161.     

Vector Custom Fabricating, Inc., a Chicago fabricator of public art, is looking for part-time assistance with marketing.   For more information please contact Steve at Steve@vectorfabricating.com.

Click here to visit the Vector Custom Fabricating website.


Member News


SI members Bobbi Meier and Yvette Kaiser Smith are in a two-person exhibit titled Rebellious Fibers at OS Projects in Racine, Wisconsin. The exhibit runs from February 12 through April 16, 2022.

Click here to visit Bobbi Meier's website.
Click here to visit Yvette Kaiser Smith's website.

Left: Yvette Kaiser Smith, Collective 27 (pi: 871…296), 2021, 4.7mm acrylic felt, transparent and opaque 1/8” acrylic sheets, 8/4 cotton carpet warp yarn, and PVC pipe.
Right: Bobbie Meier, Sentinel (turquoise/pink/orange/violet), 2021. Fiberfill, pantyhose, spandex, wood thrifted table base, enamel paint, deconstructed plush toys, and elastic.]


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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.

Read More
Lauren Serra Henderson Lauren Serra Henderson

January 2022

Welcome to the January Newsletter

  • A New Year's Message from CSI President

  • An exhibition at 3D4D Gallery

  • Member News


A New Year’s Message from CSI President Janet Austin

Happy New Year!

2021 was a successful year (despite the obstacles)!

We launched a new art space, 3D4D by CSI, which highlighted works from 40 CSI members. We exhibited 35 works by CSI artists in outdoor parks in and around Chicago.We have 34 trees with the Chicago Tree Project in place.We are 250 members and welcomed 35 new members. We are 18 active volunteers. We provided membership scholarships for 4 emerging artists.
Thank you to all those who participated!

Looking forward to 2022, there are exhibition and other opportunities to watch for including the upcoming CSI Biennial in 2022 and this year's Chicago Tree Project RFP. Stay tuned and keep an eye on the CSI Calendar.

-Janet Austin, CSI President


Above: The Earplane by Kara James

This Month at 3D4D Gallery:

THE JANUARY SHOW

Above: The Earplane by Kara James

The January Show is an exhibition of a collection of narrative works and maquettes in stone, metal, wood, and neon by CSI members including:

John Adduci

John Bannon

Ted Sitting Crow Garner

Kara James

Terry Karpowicz

Mike Young

Dates:  January 8th - 29th, 2022
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 8th, 5-7
3D4D Gallery | 1912 N. Damen | Hours: Wed - Sun 1 to 6 pm


Photo: One of the possible dead trees to work on for the Nashville Tree Foundation.

Nashville Tree Project Extended Deadline

The city of Nashville, Tennessee, is starting its own tree sculpture program based on the Chicago Tree Project.

Nashville Tree Foundation (NTF), in collaboration with Metro Parks and Metro Arts, is seeking experienced artists and artist teams to give ash trees in Nashville parks a new life. Ash trees comprise approximately 10% of Nashville’s total tree canopy and are under threat from the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle. The sculpture project will help raise awareness to the pending loss of these trees.”

Click here to see Nashville's NewsChannel 5 coverage about the project

Application deadline: January 15, 2021, 11:59pm CST
CLICK HERE TO APPLY.


Member News


IN/VISIBLE: A NEW EXHIBIT OF WORKS BY YOONSHIN PARK

JANUARY 8th – FEBRUARY 26nd, 2022

CSI member and Indoor Exhibitions Committee Co-chair Yoonshin Park's exhibition In/Visible will be at the Beverly Arts Center. The opening reception is being rescheduled due to COVID concerns and is currently TBA.

Beverly Arts Center
2407 W 111th St, Chicago, IL 60655
Hours: Mon-Th 2 to 7pm; Fri 12-5pm; Sa 9 to 5pm; Closed Sundays


THE SHAPE OF THINGS

CSI members Yvette Kaiser Smith and Scott Mossman have work in the exhibit The Shape of Things at Mu Gallery.

Mu Gallery
1541 W. Chicago Avenue
Hours: Mon-Wed, by appointment only; Th-Sa, 11-6pm; Su: 10-2pm

The exhibit runs through January 14th


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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.

Read More
Lauren Serra Henderson Lauren Serra Henderson

December 2021

Welcome to the December 2021 Newsletter

  • You will find:

    • CSI Winter Gathering

    • A Big Thanks to All Our Volunteers

    • 3D4D Gallery Events

    • Creating Connection Conversation Series

    • Member News and Opportunities


Happy December, CSI Members!

This holiday we are planning a toast and gathering to celebrate 3D4D by CSI. All members and a guest are welcome to come and enjoy the holiday season.

Date: Sunday, December 19
Time: 3 - 5 p.m.
Location: 6 Degrees, 1935 N. Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Cash Bar

R.S.V.P. by December 5 to 3D4DbyCSI@gmail.com

Thank you to all the volunteers who made 2021 a very successful year for CSI!



Above: 12x12x12 Exhibition

This Month at 3D4D Gallery:

THE JANUARY SHOW

3D4D by CSI closes out 2021 in a BIG way with 12x12x12 Exhibition, a showcase of small scale sculptural works, each under a cubic foot. The exhibit has been extended through Sunday December 19.

For in-person viewing, Gallery Hours are Wednesdays - Sundays 1-6pm

Exhibiting Artists: Micki LeMieuxChristine Perri • Jan Petry • Elaine LutherChris WubbenaYvette Kaiser SmithGary KulakBryan NorthupMichele Silvetti-Schmitt • Charles Yost • John T. UpchurchEric H SteeleDarlys EwoldtCarol Hammerman • Diane Ponder • Gina Lee RobbinsLynn FlorianoBarbara CooperNikki Renee Anderson • Ange Altenhofen • Michelle Stone • Mirentxu Ganzarain • Victoria FullerSamuel SchwindtZach Balousek

Purchase works online 24/7 through the 3D4D online gallery here.


3D4D Conversations

Please, join us for two events associated with 12x12x12 Exhibition at 3D4D Gallery
Our final “3D4D Conversations” of 2021 with the artists in the 12x12x12 exhibit will be held on Friday Dec 10, 5 - 6pm.

2021 End of Year Toast at 6 degrees
Sunday Dec 19, 3-5pm
1935 N Damen Ave, www.6degreesbucktown.com

Closing Reception
Sunday December 19, 6 - 9pm!

Please Note - The gallery will host private exhibitions January - March 2021


CREATING CONNECTION CONVERSATION SERIES

  • How well do you know your fellow CSI members' work?

  • Have you checked out fellow member profiles in the directory?

If you haven't, we strongly encourage you to do so!

CSI Indoor Exhibitions Committee launches a collection of conversations between CSI members. This series will feature artist-to-artist talks recorded on Zoom, a unique and timely format, and integrated into the Member Directory. It will provide an opportunity to make personal connections with your fellow artists, network, and promote you and your art in a supportive, virtual environment.

Please check out the website for more information and to check out the conversation between Yoonshin Park and Bryan Northup!


Member News


Vibrant Mechanisms: Kinetic and Sound Art.

Bridgeport Art Center’s Fourth Floor Gallery (1200 35th St., Chicago) will be exhibiting two sculptures by CSI member Howard Sandroff in VIbrant Mechanisms: Kinetic and Sound Art. 

The show also features work by CSI members Zach Balousek and Carol Hammerman

The exhibit runs from November 19th, 2021 through January 7th, 2022.

The opening reception is November 19th from 7 to 10pm.



Sonnenschein and Albright Galleries

CSI member Doug DeWitt has an upcoming exhibit at Sonnenschein and Albright Galleries at Durand Art Institute, Lake Forest College.

January 20th through February 16th, 2022
Opening reception: Thursday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m. 700 E Deerpath Rd, Lake Forest, IL 60045

Gallery hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 2 to 5 p.m. and weekends from 1 to 5 p.m.

dougdewittart.com


Being Bipolar in a Polarized World and The Thin Line

Highland Park Art Center ( 1957 Sheridan Rd. Highland Park) is also exhibiting another sculpture by Howard Sandroff along with sculptures by two other CSI members, Victoria Fuller and Doug DeWitt for the Being Bipolar in a Polarized World and The Thin LIne exhibit.


The exhibit runs from November 19th through December 30th, 2021.
The opening reception is December 3rd from 5:30-7:30pm


Scott Mossman

Yvette Kaiser Smith

CSI members Yvette Kaiser Smith and Scott Mossman are in an exhibit called Shape of Things at Mu Gallery. The exhibit runs from December 3rd through January 14th.

Mu Gallery
1541 W.Chicago Ave. , Chicago

Mossman will also be in a exhibit Triple Threat: Painting, Sculpture, and Works on Paper at Harper College, November 8 - December 9, 2021
Click here more details.


Outdoor Works


Column, Plamen Yordanov

Respite, Kara James

Two sculptures recently completed by CSI members for the Chicago Tree Project.

On the left, Column, by Plamen Yordanov at Loyola Beach Park. On the right, Respite by Kara James at Columbus Park.

 

Work from two CSI members for the Sculpture in the Parks program.

On the left, Damon Hamm, FROM_ORION at Marquette Park. On the right, Robbie Barber, Stroll in the Park at Lincoln Park.


Other Events & Opportunities

The following are not CSI sponsored projects, but may be of interest to our members.


NASHVILLE TREE PROJECT - REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The city of Nashville, Tennessee, is starting its own tree sculpture program based on the Chicago Tree Project.

”Nashville Tree Foundation (NTF), in collaboration with Metro Parks and Metro Arts, is seeking experienced artists and artist teams to give ash trees in Nashville parks a new life. Ash trees comprise approximately 10% of Nashville’s total tree canopy and are under threat from the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle. The sculpture project will help raise awareness to the pending loss of these trees.”

Application deadline: December 31, 2021, 11:59pm CST
CLICK HERE TO APPLY

 

THE 2022 CHICAGO SCULPTURE EXHIBIT (CSE) APPLICATION IS OPEN!

SUBMIT YOUR WORK BY DECEMBER 7!

Every year, CSE showcases the art of 50+ sculptors in over 15 Chicago neighborhoods. Professional sculptors are invited to submit proposals for consideration. Artists must be experienced with the design, construction and installation of outdoor sculpture and must have a documented track-record of this experience.

An overview of CSE can be viewed here and the official 2022 Call for Artists can be viewed here! The deadline for submission is Tuesday, December 7, 2021!

Questions? Contact info@chicagosculptureexhibit.org

CLICK HERE TO APPLY ONLINE


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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.

Read More
Lauren Serra Henderson Lauren Serra Henderson

November 2021

Welcome to the November 2021 Newsletter

You will find:
• Current and Upcoming 3D4D Gallery Events
• Creating Connection Conversation Series
• Chicago Tree Project News
• Member News, Welcomes and a Scientist's Call for Volunteers



This Month at 3D4D Gallery:

SECOND LIFE: ALL WOMEN EXHIBITION

October 8 -November 5

Laurie LeBretonJill KingBobbi Meier and Deirdre Colgan Jones  

Closing Reception Friday November 5, 4-6 PM
including 3D4D CONVERSATIONS with the artists from 5-6 PM

 

3D4D MEMBER ARTIST EXHIBITION:

12x12x12 Small Works

NOV 19 - DEC 19, 2021
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY NOV 19, 6-8PM

 

Upcoming 3D4D Workshops

“Your artwork has been accepted...now what?”

Tuesday, November 16th, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Preparing artwork to exhibit with Andi Crist

Nature Inside Out 

Friday, November 12th, 5:30pm
Workshop hosted with artist Gunjan Kumar

 

CREATING CONNECTION CONVERSATION SERIES

  • How well do you know your fellow CSI members' work?

  • Have you checked out fellow member profiles in the directory?

If you haven't, we strongly encourage you to do so!

CSI Indoor Exhibitions Committee launches a collection of conversations between CSI members. This series will feature artist-to-artist talks recorded on Zoom, a unique and timely format, and integrated into the Member Directory. It will provide an opportunity to make personal connections with your fellow artists, network, and promote you and your art in a supportive, virtual environment.

Please check out the website for more information and to check out the conversation between Yoonshin Park and Bryan Northup!


Member News


American Roulette

CSI member Dominic Sansone is having his work included in the traveling group exhibit, “AMERICAN ROULETTE” which was recently exhibited in Chicago and now heading to Las Vegas. The exhibit presents provocative artwork influenced by gun culture and violence.

“AMERICAN ROULETTE” runs from November 6th, 2021 through January 8th, 2022, with an opening reception on Saturday, November 6th, 6-9pm.


Vibrant Mechanisms: Kinetic and Sound Art.

Bridgeport Art Center’s Fourth Floor Gallery (1200 35th St., Chicago) will be exhibiting two sculptures by CSI member Howard Sandroff in VIbrant Mechanisms: Kinetic and Sound Art. 

The show also features work by CSI members Zach Balousek and Carol Hammerman

The exhibit runs from November 19th, 2021 through January 7th, 2022.

The opening reception is November 19th from 7 to 10pm.



Being Bipolar in a Polarized World and The Thin Line

Highland Park Art Center ( 1957 Sheridan Rd. Highland Park) is also exhibiting another sculpture by Howard Sandroff along with sculptures by two other CSI members, Victoria Fuller and Doug DeWitt for the Being Bipolar in a Polarized World and The Thin LIne exhibit.


The exhibit runs from November 19th through December 30th, 2021.
The opening reception is December 3rd from 5:30-7:30pm


Outdoor Works


The Newest Addition to the Chicago Tree Project!: Nestful, 2021, a collaboration between CSI's president, Janet Austin, and 3D4D's Programming Coordinator, Emily Moorhead-Wallace.

190 reclaimed and repurposed wood birdhouses in a 100-year-old oak tree in Chicago's Lincoln Park. The birdhouse sculpture supports increased biodiversity, reflecting the city’s varied residents. The artists hope Nestful will provide shelter over the winter of 2021 and they look for family nesting next spring and for many springs to come.

Click to hear to learn more about the project.

Photo: Emily Moorhead-Wallace (left) and Jane Austin (right) standing next to their tree sculpture, Nestful.


Welcome New Members!


Black Tent Transit, Patrick Wilson

Samuel Schwindt and Patrick Wilson have joined the CSI ranks this month. A warm welcome to you both!


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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.

Read More
Lauren Serra Henderson Lauren Serra Henderson

October 2021

Welcome to the October 2021 Newsletter

You will find:

  • 3D4D Gallery News

  • Crab Tree Farm and Ronan Park Recaps

  • Indoor Exhibition Committee: Call for Volunteers!

  • Creating Connection Conversation Series

  • Member News, Welcomes & Opportunities



This Month at 3D4D Gallery:

SECOND LIFE: ALL WOMEN EXHIBITION

October 8 -November 5
Laurie LeBreton, Jill King, Bobbi Meier and Deirdre Colgan Jones
Opens Friday October 8, 6-9 PM.
More details will be announced on @3d4dbycsi social media soon!
3D4D CONVERSATIONS Nov 5, 5-6pm, at the closing of All Women exhibition

 

Permutations of Working Together closed on Friday Sept 24. Thank you Victoria Fuller and Sam Schwindt for your time and thoughtfulness creating a very compelling exhibition. See images and documentation here.

 

Upcoming 3D4D Workshops

“Your artwork has been accepted...now what?”

Tuesday, November 16th, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Preparing artwork to exhibit with Andi Crist

Nature Inside Out 

Friday, November 12th, 5:30pm
Workshop hosted with artist Gunjan Kumar

 

3D4D / Project Art Partnership

3D4D is pleased to announce a partnership with New York City based art education nonprofit, ProjectArt.

Combining their missions, this partnership empowers youth, emerging artists, and communities through an after-school, virtual art education series led by Chicago artists.

Verónica Casado Hernández and Oluwaseyi Samuel Adeleke have been awarded this year’s Art Education and Social Impact Residency. 3D4D is collaborating on curatorial studio visits with both Chicago resident artists, artist instructors and students' artwork exhibited in the gallery, and workshop curriculum.

The partnership provides a broader reach for both organizations' remote art education initiatives.

 

K.I.T. TERRAIN BIENNIAL 2021

As part of The Terrain Biennial, 3D4D Gallery will be hosting artist Justin Nally in the The Stairway Residency space

October 2 - November 15


Photo: Todd Willing with his sculptures Orbit (left) and Metro (right)

Ronan Park Sculpture Garden

The ribbon-cutting for the Ronan Park Sculpture Garden, featuring six sculptures by CSI members, took place on September 18. Dora Natella, Michael Alfano, Janet Austin, Shencheng Xu, Indira Johnson, and Todd Willing (pictured above with his pieces) unveiled their work.
There were speakers from the North River Commission (sponsors of the exhibit), the Chicago Park District, the River Park Advisory Council (RPAC) and the Cambodian Association of Illinois. Alderwoman of the 33rd Ward, Rossana Rodriquez-Sanchez, and CSI board member Chris Perri spoke as well.


Crab Tree Farm Visit

The CSI members' visit to Crab Tree Farm last month included a tour of their new exhibition, "Marking Time," as well as an awesome steam-bending demo by Mike Jarvi (pictured above). If you'd like to check out his work process, an interesting video can be found here.


Above: CSI'S 2020 Exhibition at Governor’s State University

Who wants to join the Indoor Exhibition committee?

The Indoor Exhibition Committee works together to plan, propose, and execute a series of indoor exhibitions for CSI members. The enthusiastic involvement of volunteer committee members helps create opportunities for other CSI members.

All ideas and thoughts that you can bring to the committee are welcome.

If you are interested in actively developing plans for CSI member exhibits, please email Indoor Exhibition Committee chair, Yoonshin Park @yoonshin.p@gmail.com.

Looking forward to working with you!


CREATING CONNECTION CONVERSATION SERIES

  • How well do you know your fellow CSI members' work?

  • Have you checked out fellow member profiles in the directory?

If you haven't, we strongly encourage you to do so!

CSI Indoor Exhibitions Committee launches a collection of conversations between CSI members. This series will feature artist-to-artist talks recorded on Zoom, a unique and timely format, and integrated into the Member Directory. It will provide an opportunity to make personal connections with your fellow artists, network, and promote you and your art in a supportive, virtual environment.

Please check out the website for more information and to check out the conversation between Yoonshin Park and Bryan Northup!


Member News


Faces & Froms: André Petty & Scott Mossman

Scott Mossman has one current and one upcoming exhibition of his work: Faces and Forms: André Petty & Scott Mossman is currently on display at the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria. The show runs through October 15th.

Next month, his show Triple Threat: Painting, Sculpture and Works on Paper opens at William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, IL. The exhibition will run from November 8 through December 9, 2021.


Other Events & Opportunities

The following are not CSI sponsored projects, but may be of interest to our members.



Welcome New Members!


Left: Joseph Burlini
Right: Caroline Jacobson

Joseph Burlini and Caroline Jacobson have joined the CSI ranks this month. A warm welcome to you both!


While you're here...


Have any news to share? Shows, awards, residencies et al.? Send the particulars along to info@chicagosculpture.org, and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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.

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