November 2025
News | Exhibitions | Opportunities
Current Exhibitions
Sculpture & Film
at CSI Project Space
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 18, 6-9PM
Exhibit Dates: October 18 - November 14, 2025
About the Exhibit:
Filmmaking has long been described as sculptural—shaping sets, arranging spatial movement, and constructing rhythm through editing. Sculpture & Film highlights this intersection, presenting works that incorporate film imagery, stills, objects, or materials; explore projection or video installation; or arise from collaborative projects examining cinematic and sculptural space.
The exhibition celebrates film as both medium and inspiration within sculpture, ranging from traditional to experimental approaches. Sculpture & Film will be on view concurrently with the 61st edition of the Chicago International Film Festival.
Exhibiting Artists:
Roland Biermann, Kara Cobb-Johnson, Gertah, Yvette Kaiser-Smith, Kasia Kay, Beatriz Ledesma, Connie Noyes, Kelly Pelka, Thomas Plum, RETECH, and Chris Wubbena.
Curated by Chris Wubbena.
Location:
CSI Project Space, 1912 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, IL (at the corner of Damen and Cortland)
Gallery Hours (Fall and Winter): Fri. 2-6 pm*; Sat. 12–4 pm; Sun. 1-5 pm or by appointment
*Open until 8pm on the first Friday of every month
Inquiries: projectspace@chicagosculpture.org
Call for Entries
Call for Art: Little, but Bold - 2025
at CSI Project Space Gallery
1912 N Damen Ave., Chicago, IL.
Deadline: Friday, November 21, 2025
Exhibit Dates: December 13, 2025 – January 30, 2026
Chicago Sculpture International (CSI) announces an open call for the Holiday Members Exhibit of small works at our member gallery space in Bucktown.
Little, but BOLD! is in celebration of all things unmonumental. Often flying under the radar, small things have the special ability to bridge private and public spaces. Within the sculpture field, there has been a projected narrative that bigger is better. We are here to assert that small things can hold the same importance as the largest monument.
Guidelines:
Applicants must be current CSI members.
If you are not a current member, click here to Become A MemberContact Info: Name, address, phone, email, website
Title, medium, size, price (with 30% donation added) or NFS
Submit one image only
All submissions must be smaller than 12 in. x 12 in.
2D and 3D work accepted - Wall-mounted sculptures or sculptural work encouraged
The artist is responsible for all shipping costs related to the delivery and return of the sculpture. A pre-paid return shipping label must be included inside the package in a clearly visible location for the installers.
Please note: We are requesting exhibiting artists to cover 1 or 2 gallery sitting shifts during the duration of this show.
Learn more about requirements and submit your entry here,
Chicago Sculpture News
Long-time Chicago sculptor Jerry Peart passed away October 12, 2025
Peart was born in 1948 and raised in Winslow AZ, and received a BFA from Arizona State University and a MFA from University of Illinois-Carbondale before moving to Chicago where he became assistant to Steven Urry.
After Urry's move to New York, he took over the studio above the Biograph Theatre and continued exploration of welded aluminum sculpture in Urry's footsteps. In the mid-1970s, Jerry started making large scale outdoor work after moving to an old police station studio including a commission for his hometown in honor of the nearby Meteor Crater, as well as continuing to produce smaller works. This led to a pair of acclaimed shows at the Walter Kelly Gallery also in the mid-1970s, and later representation by the Richard Gray Gallery among others.
Other commission opportunities enabled his partnership with S. Thomas Scarff and Paul Slepak (all now deceased) in the still functioning Sedgwick Studio in late 1976, and continued production of larger works through ongoing decades.
Major public works of his in the Chicago area include Falling Meteor at the Manilow Sculpture Park- Governors State University, Riverview at the 19th District Police Station, 2452 W. Belmont, and Blue Geisha at the 3 Presidents Plaza complex south of I-90 and east of River Road in Harwood Heights.
Member News
Ellen Lustig Solo Show
Exhibition dates: November 22, 2025 - January 25th, 2026
The exhibition showcases Lustig's multifaceted creative force spanning from childhood to the present day. The showcase includes drawing, painting, sculpture, and more. Highlights include her Surreal Tree Paintings, oil works revealing anthropomorphic qualities in nature; Abstract Illusion Paintings, spontaneous landscapes evoking music and motion; and Zofscape, a multimedia installation combining LED light sculptures, animated video, and original music composition.
A graduate of California College of the Arts in Oakland, Lustig has built a remarkable
career as a caricature artist, ceramic sculptor, mural painter, and puppet maker. Her work reflects the influence of Bay Area underground comics culture and the Chicago Imagist movement, blending whimsy with deeper commentary on contemporary life. Her signature Pop Surrealism style transforms ordinary subjects into dreamlike scenarios that are simultaneously playful and profound.
Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art
2320 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago, Il. 60622
12pm-4pm
Julie Mars’ ‘OASIS’ Exhibition at the Prairie Center for the Arts
The Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts presents Oasis, a solo exhibition by artist Julie Mars, on view November 2–29, 2025.
A public reception will be held on Friday, November 7, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Oasis features luminous stained glass and bead mosaics on convex mirrors, inspired by the natural forces that sustain life on Earth. Mars’ works evoke the Overview Effect—the awe-inspiring perspective of seeing our planet from space.
“Each piece has a unique viewpoint, as if floating above the Earth,” Mars says. “I hope this perspective highlights the beauty and fragility of our life-giving world.”
A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Mars is an artist, curator, and former arts administrator known for her environmentally conscious practice, which incorporates salvaged and repurposed glass.
For more information, visit jamfinearts.com or prairiecenter.org.
November 2 through November 29, 2025
November 7, 2025, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts
201 Schaumburg Court
Schaumburg, IL 60193
Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 4:00pm
and on select evenings and weekends
Call 847-895-3600 for more information.
The following are not CSI-sponsored projects but may be of interest to our members:
Call for Entries: Perryville Sculpture Trail
Submission Deadline: December 5, 2025
The City of Perryville, Missouri, invites artists to submit work for the 2026 Perryville Sculpture Trail, opening in May 2026. Sculptures will be installed along Miget Park’s new walking and biking trail as well as in Perryville’s historic downtown square, offering high visibility in vibrant community settings. Guest juror Tom Stancliffe, a nationally recognized sculptor with decades of experience in public art, will select five works for this year’s exhibition.
Selected sculptures must be original, durable, freestanding, and safe for public interaction. Works must withstand outdoor conditions, be maintenance-free for one year, and be able to anchor securely to concrete pads. Each chosen artist will receive a $1,500 honorarium to cover transportation, installation, and de-installation expenses. Sculptures will remain on display from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027, and may be sold during the exhibition, with removal allowed only after closing. The City of Perryville will provide general liability insurance, though artists are responsible for their own transport and additional coverage.
Entries must include an application form, images of submitted work (or renderings for proposals), artist statement, biography, and resume. Up to four entries may be submitted, and proposals must include renderings plus images of past work. The submission deadline is December 5, 2025, with notifications sent by December 22. Questions and completed entries should be emailed to Trish Erzfeld at trish@perryvillemo.com
Click here to download the full prospectus and apply.
Submit Your News
Have any news to share?
Shows, awards, residencies etc? Submit here and we'll include them in an upcoming newsletter.
While you're at it, your profile and images on CSI’s website are important. When CSI applies for grants and upcoming shows, images are solely chosen from those you have uploaded to our website. Please take a minute to look over what you have posted and make sure you are presenting the best work. Member Shelley Gilchrist sgilchristart@gmail.com has volunteered to help you if you need it, so feel free to contact her.
CSI projects are partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.
Chicago Sculpture International acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency for CSI programming including exhibitions and funding for Project Space Gallery.
CSI is a proud recipient of the Driehaus Foundation Arts and Culture Grant to help support funding and programming.
Chicago Sculpture International acknowledges support from the National Endowment for the Arts
Above: (right) Ron Gard’s sculpture The Struggle Against Death; (right) Ron in 2014 working in Lincoln Park on one of three tree sculptures, Dying to Survive Nos. #3, #6 & #9.
In Memory of Ron Gard
Chicago Sculpture International acknowledges Ivy Gard, who in 2020 graciously donated ongoing exhibition space (CSI Project Space) to CSI and its members in memory of Ron Gard and his achievements in sculpture and dedicated service for several years as treasurer of the organization.
Ron’s exquisite and exacting craftsmanship, along with his vast knowledge of materials and methods, is widely regarded and revered by CSI and his circle of peers.
Land Acknowledgement
The City of Chicago, and its surrounding areas, have always been and always will be, home to numerous Native American communities. As a team dedicated to the uplifting of Indigenous People's sovereignty everywhere, we recognize that each program and exhibition associated with this project is taking place on the traditional homelands of the Council of Three Fires - the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa - as well as the Menominee, Miami, and Ho-Chunk Nations. Further, we acknowledge that Chicago is home to one of the largest urban Native American communities in the US. We therefore invite each of our non-Indigenous colleagues to learn more about the forced removal of many of the communities listed above from the state of Illinois and to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into their line of work. To provide immediate assistance to Native American Communities in Chicago, you can send donations to the city's American Indian Center here
Cover image:
Rovelli Ansible by RETECH, Mixed Media, 22 x 10 x 13 in. Mixed Media
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