South Chicago land gallery presents two of a kind and other paired fine art

On April 23rd, the Pairs exhibit opened at Union Street Gallery in Chicago Heights, Illinois. This exhibit presents works by twenty-four of its Studio and Guild Artists, and runs from April 23 through May 15, 2010. A closing reception will be open to the public on Friday, May 14, from 6-9pm. The show, curated by the Studio Artists Collaborative, focuses on pairs of works by each artist that relate very closely to one another, through subject, style, size or color. The works are hung as partners, inviting comparison and study of the similarities and differences, transformations and growth that developed as the artists pursued an idea or concept over a period of time.

The artists present drawings, paintings, photographs, sculpture, and mixed media pieces in this lively and wide-ranging exploration of subjects and styles. The nature of the exhibition calls into question what makes two pieces of art “a Pair”? Participating artists include: Cousandra Armstrong, Margaret Brady, RexAnne Coad, Claudia Craemer, Suzanne Dreher, Pam Eberlin, Barbara Edwards, Dorita Fuller, Marlene Gallagher, Linda Lane Haynes, Eve Jensen, Erica Lessie, Jeffrey Marienthal, Elaine Martin, Diane McGarel, Joe McIlhany, Patty McWilliams, Renee Klyczek Nordstrom, Roger Paris, Ginny Raftery, Luis Sahagun, Jean Schuster, Mary Ann Trzyna and Marikay Peter Witlock.

Joe McIlhany, sculptures, L: For Sure; Rt: Fur Sure. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Working with glossy transparent materials such as plexiglass and glass, and found materials such as pebbles, McIlhany’s sculpture evokes the light and movement of a moving stream.

Claudia Craemer, oils, L: Restart 1; Rt: Restart 2. Photograph by J. Kronika.

With her vivid palette and dynamic compositions, Craemer’s large oil paintings draw the viewer into her evocative color scapes, where abstraction refers to the natural world. Recalling the color handling and florals of Georgia O’Keefe, Craemer takes the viewer on a journey beyond the everyday.

Claudia Craemer, oils, L/Rt: 2 panels, Some wings unfold like singing. Photograph by J. Kronika.

In this second work of Craemer’s, the signature abstraction and luminosity resonate with a musical reference. Studded with linear treatments like that of structural pleating, her “Wings” lift and fall.

Craemer is “interested in multi-part, multi-frame drawings and paintings, grid formats, repetitions and variations, and series of related works that … suggest transformations or the passage of time.” She uses these elements “to suggest states of mind – changes in attitude, making decisions, the loss of memory, gaps in thought process, opposite and simultaneous points of view… [the artist is] inspired by plant forms – blooms, bulbs, roots, leaves -as well as paper and cloth forms. [Her] works suggest organic layers … [that] develop -in a layered, organic way as well, through a process of both spontaneous mark-making and deliberate decisions, of both intuition and choice.”

Craemer has been a studio artist at Union Street Gallery since 2007. As a Member of theUnion Street Gallery Collaborative Arts Guild, she participates in coordinating shows with fellow studio artists and curating exhibits periodically. She states: “I feel very lucky to have a studio at Union Street and to be part of the wonderful group of artists and volunteers who support and inspire each other [while] keep[ing] the exhibits, classes and other events going…” Craemer “helped set up the concept and connected with the artists to get them involved in [the Pairs exhibit].” She is “serving as the curator for two upcoming shows Nina Weiss Not Far Off in June, and The Artist’s Marks in August.” Craemer explains that she “really enjoy[s] choosing a theme and artists for a show and guiding the evolution of it from initial idea to final presentation in the gallery.” These exhibits and the selection of curators from the studio artists are “a new direction for the gallery…[they are] hoping [to] do more and more curated shows in the future as well as continuing to present our juried and invitational exhibits.”

Claudia Craemer holds an MA in Painting from GovernorsState University, a BS in Education from Illinois State University, and has studied at the Schoolof the Art Institute of Chicago, Northern Illinois University, and Saint Xavier University. The artists works are included in the exhibit “Synergy”, along with other works by Union Street Studio Artists, at Christopher Art Gallery, in Chicago Heights, Illinois. Craemer is a teacher at Community High School District 218, in the subjects: AP and Honors Art Studio, Drawing and Painting, Advanced Drawing and Painting, Art Fundamentals.

Rex Anne Coad, oil on canvas, L: Micheal; Rt: Henry. Photograph by J. Kronika.

With her sensitive handling of the medium, oil paint, Coad’s portraits carry on the tradition of fine portraiture with the modern subject.

Rex Anne Coad, oil on canvas, L: Zinnias; Rt: Weigela. Photograph by J. Kronika.

The warm flowers of Coad’s matching studies, “Zinnias” and “Weigela” pop from her canvases. With layered color or cool shadow she backdrops these flowers, in cool dark and light translucent glass vases. Utilizing the pairing, the ground and background exchange hues in the two works, setting up a dynamic line of sight that is linked by the warm red of the petals.

RexAnne Coad’s work is about “how [she] see[s] the visual world and what [she] find[s] beautiful in it… based in a truthful observation of [her subjects] and [she] express[es] those observations in relation to and in harmony with the whole composition.” Past traditions give Coad “a starting point to explore color harmony, rhythms of values, relationships of edges”; manipulating those are the themes of [her] work regardless of the subject matter. Using oil colors both opaquely and transparently allows Coad to use natural light and work from life rather than from photographs. She is “influenced by both the American impressionists of the “Boston School” such as William Paxton and the French painters like William Bouguereau and Henri Fantin-Latour.”

Coad explores relationships in the portraits “Michael” and “Henry.” Themes of “maturity and youth, old and new, and father and son” are prominent. Through the works “Zinnias” and “Weigela,” a recent pair of still life paintings that are related in motif and color harmony, Coad “seek[s] to describe order, beauty and harmony using the basic vocabulary of nature.”

Rex Anne Coad was trained by Richard Lack in the Classical Realist tradition at Atelier Lack in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She later studied art history at the University of Minnesota. She is a member of the Guild at Union Street Gallery.

Roger D. Paris, acrylic on canvas, 2 panels; Native American Shawl Dancer. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Using dynamic composition, and a diptych format, Paris explores the movement and bright hues of his subject. Through his intuitive placement, the dancer appears larger than life, while her shawl carries all the winds of her movement.

Roger D. Paris, mixed media; Photography, manipulated digitally, printed on photo paper, L: Hot Neon & Cool Jazz; Rt: Live Jazz. Photograph by J. Kronika.

In these vividly hued works, Paris explores the contrast of realism and abstraction. Working in mixed media, he delves into the flavor of jazz, the electricity of neon. Taking a cue from the spaces of jazz performance, Paris’ digitally manipulated photograph wavers in the waters of memory, recalling places and tunes.

Roger states that [for this exhibit] “each artist was asked to do a [pair] that related to each other in some way. [His] idea was a little different…[involving] two panels that can be shown side by side and be conceived as a single image. The left hand panel is a realistic image of a Native American Shawl Dancer in a fairly realistic style. The second panel is a continuation of the ribbons on her shawl. If this panel were hung separately it would be an abstract image.” The second pair of works by Paris, “is photo based and was work created for a show called Something Jazzy,” which took place at Tall Grass Arts Association Gallery.

Pam Eberlin, found objects, L: Portrait of Madame Amelie Clairvaux; Rt: Portrait of Monsieur Otto Max d’Artois. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Eberlin’s sensitive framing of antique portrait photographs with found objects places them as both sculpture and memorials. Her selection of objects enhances a sense of intimacy and brings subtle clues to the personality of her found subjects.

Regarding the portraits, Eberlin says they “came from a pair of vintage photos from an estate sale garage. They were … large and [she] used only the faces, assum[ing] they were husband and wife … from Chicago [based on the] address on the back. [Pam Eberlin] gave them imaginary identities, based on what [she] saw in their faces and the objects that accompany[y] them [expand upon] those identities.”

The pair of figural manneqins explore the idea of fortune, and the identity of a woman of good fortune. Embellished with strips of paper and found objects, these works reference dada and surrealist exquisite corpse works and the more recent feminist takes on woman. A subtle sense of humor informs the selection of text in a necklace, and the dress made of found zippers and garter straps.

Eberlin explains that her “Fortune girls are part of a series of female figures that …mostly relate to Goddesses, Mythological and Domestic.” She uses the “fortunes [from] the cookies … in [her] work.” Her use of words “engages the viewer into looking closer and spending more time as they … read.” Eberlin “use[s] many sewing supplies in [her] work, … relat[ing the work] more to women as women traditionally sewed for their families and selves.” She also “frequently collage[s] pattern pieces onto [her] work and wrap[s] sold pieces in patterns.” Through her use of reclaimed “found objects and junk,” the artist finds she is” inspired by the objects and will arrange them until they work just right.”

In her Artist’s Statement, Eberlin describes her work as “funky, whimsical, fun, and sometimes serious or thoughtful…inspired by multitudes of collections of paper ephemera, glass, metal, and vintage found objects, and female figures & dolls.” The artist produces large and small works of art created for viewing or wearing [that] evolve in many directions as [she] works. Textures and surfaces are formed by repeatedly layering, construction, and manipulation. Incorporating text or words adds another dimension for the mind and eye.”

Pam Eberlin, collage, found objects,Good Fortune Girl, detail. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Pam Eberlin has a studio at Union Street Gallery. She attended Southern Illinois University, to earn a Bachelor of Arts, in 1979 and previously attended Triton Community College, to earn an Associate of Arts, in 1977. She teaches art, to grades one through eight at St. Agnes Catholic School, in Chicago Heights, Illinois and is a substitute teacher for classes including art, for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, at Flossmoor School District 161, in Chicago Heights, Illinois. She is represented on the Union Street Website and also shows her work at Tall Grass Arts Association in Park Forest and at two sites of the Illinois Artisans galleries, in Dickson and Southern Illinois. She will be the Artist of the Month at Art4Soul in Homewood, Illinois during May of 2010.

Margaret Brady, poetry, L: Praying Mantis; Rt: A Plea. Photograph by J. Kronika.

With her poetry, Brady simultaneously pokes fun at and seriously critiques Dogmas and American rigidity, homing in on the traditional blindness to political faux pas.

Margaret Brady, poetry,L: On the Hospice Unit; Rt: A Good Day to Die. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Exploring the idea of escapes, fantastical and physical, these works delve into the psyche. Brady works with the delicacy of language to vividly evoke the moment, the subject’s psychological state, and the circumstances.

Cousandra Armstrong, photography, L: Just Before; Rt: Just After. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Armstrong creates a weighted breath with her pair of photographs. The scene, lit with cold winter light in “Just Before” takes on the heat and glow of fire in “Just After.” Suggesting natural and man-made disasters, the burning heat of the sun as it rises and touches stone, and the fragility of the moment, these works provoke curiosity.

Marikay Peter Witlock, soft pastel, L: Autumn Garden Series No. 4; Rt: Autumn Garden Series No. 3. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Witlock’s painterly handling of soft pastels gives us the softness of her garden while the crackle of autumn leaves is nearly audible. These sanctuary spaces resonate with the warm light and solitude of a quiet and fragrant garden.

Marikay Peter Witlock, soft pastel,L: Moonrise Series No. 26; Rt: Moonrise Series No. 27. Photograph by J. Kronika.

The dynamic sense of light bending in the atmosphere is captured by this set of night time scenes by Witlock. With her beautiful range of pastel hues and the glow of light on clouds, trees and land, she invites us to share in her excursion to the hills and forests of her landscape.

Witlock employs several methods in developing her graphite and painted works . She explains that she “occasionally start[s] the work on site and finish[es] it from memory back in the studio, [or she] will bring [her] camera along as [she…] visit[s] an area. The photos … become references for future paintings. The 3rd method [Witlock employs] is to simply create pencil sketches on site, then use that sketch for reference material back in the studio. This [latter] method is perhaps the best, employing the on site pencil sketch to create composition along with notes on color, atmosphere and mood. Taking these drawings to the studio, [she] then create[s] the pastel painting from …sketches and …memory and intuition…” Marikay Peter Witlock states: “For me the act of drawing is a dance, a meditation, and a re-creation of time and place. The dance is the physical act of drawing, the pencil pressing on the paper, the cotton fibers responding to my touch. It is the feel of the graphite stick between my fingers and the paper under my hand…. My mind’s eye travels around my subject, creating negative space, drawing the air between objects, figures, grasses or trees. The drawing dance is a pleasurable experience, an evolution of empty paper into light, space and object. Meditation arrives as graphite builds on paper. The meditation continues as I reclaim the experience of time and place for the subject of each drawing. … The focus opens my life to deeper experience. The drawings allow me the pleasure of reviewing life’s moments and finding greater beauty in the re-creation of time and place.”

The artworks represented in the Pairs exhibit, like “all of [Witlock’s] work, represent areas that are very familiar to her… for which [she has] developed some sort of emotional tie. The two Autumn Garden pieces represent her own back yard, while the two Moonrise pieces [come from visits to] two favorite hiking trails in the Chicago Southland. To create images of fleeting moments like sunset, moonrise or fog I work solely from memories of landforms, grasses and trees, atmosphere, light and skies. In the studio I work at a drawing table and move to the easel. When working on site, I may sit in the meadow with artwork on my lap, or I may stand at the edge of a trail. Wherever I work, I move into my drawing I step back, I reengage. As my artwork develops, I search for the spirit of place on my page.”

Through a deep connection to the earth and repeated visits to her
favorite landscapes, Witlock traces her own experience and creates
works that reveal both her reverence for place and her engagement in
process. Marikay Peter Witlock earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree
in painting and drawing from Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois,
followed by graduate studies in studio arts and art history at the
Universities of Georgia, (in Athens, Georgia) and Maryland,
(in College Park, Maryland). The Chicago native also completed
post-graduate studies in studio arts, at the University of Maryland,
(in College Park, Maryland). Marikay Peter Witlock is represented
by Cowley Fine Arts, in St. Joseph, Michigan; The Illinois Artisans’
Shop, in Chicago, Illinois; and Union Street Gallery, in Chicago Heights,
Illinois, and a member of the Chicago Artists Coalition, in Chicago, IL.
Witlock is a teacher of pastel painting and drawing at Union Street Gallery.
She accepts private students in both pastel painting and graphite drawing
at her Chicago Heights studio, which is open to the public by appointment.

Suzanne Dreher, acrylic, T: Door to…; B: Blue Door. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Dreher’s paired doors contrast each other in soft glowing yellow stone and warm red wood with calm blue glass and paint. The deft handling of the paint gives us the coarse textures of stone and wood, the bold petals of accenting florals, and the cool reflection of glass. The subject is inviting and through her use of subtle titles, Dreher allows the viewer to imagine the many places these doors may lead.

Suzanne Dreher explains that “the pencil drawing came first and is based on a dress [she] remembers from [her] childhood [that she] really loved...” She developed the painting that summer as part of a series of works involving strawberries. In preparation, Dreher “sliced [strawberries] and looked at them under sunlight… [To the artist] the cross-sections looked like terrain. [She] decided to do a second Strawberry Dress using the surface of the berry and the folds of the dress.”

Regarding her working process and her art, Dreher says: “Portrayals of a journey through time and memory have evolved in my work. Many images mark passages or transition points conveyed in earth formations, flowing winds or ever-changing liquids. I have an affinity for these elements.”

Through the use of compositional elements and heightened color contrasts, Suzanne Dreher carries the “viewer [on visual] travel[s] over the canvas, through passages of color and suggestions of light. Color transcends time and reality…Suggestions of light make water gleam, wind evident and the earth pulsate. As metaphor, [the artist’s] paintings are life and the impressions left as evidence of our passage.” Dreher received her Master of Arts with a concentration in painting, from Governors State University, University Park, Illinois in 1993. Prior to that, the artist earned her Bachelor of Arts, with a concentration in ceramics, from Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1969.

Linda Lane Haynes, pencil, Strawberry Dress. Photograph by J. Kronika.

The delicate folds of this pair of works, one in pencil and one in oil, carry the light of reflection. Through Haynes softly rendered drawing, we see the lightweight fabric as if the folds of gentle hills, softly marked with the spare pattern of strawberries. In Haynes oil painting of the subject, light and the strawberry surface become abstracted from the source to capture vivid warm and cool hues. With reference to glass or water, the fabric ripples with luminosity.

Linda Lane Haynes, oil on canvas, Strawberry Dress II. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Jean Schuster, oil on canvas, L: Mums in Gold Vase; Rt: Mums in Pink Vase. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Schuster’s classic still lifes of mums balance the cool and the warm spectrums of color.

Jean Schuster, oil on canvas, T: Farm Scene with Cow Portrait; B: Farm Scene (Lime Oak Frame). Photograph by J. Kronika.

Playing with the farm scene, Schuster gets whimsical and folksy. The diamond hung canvas bearing her “…Cow Portrait” depicts the dairy bovine on a backdrop of the successful farm. With her playful line and the inviting light of a clear sky, “Farm Scene” explores the contours of the land.

Renee Klyczek Nordstrom, wire, canvas, found objects, et al. Sacré Coeur I. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Using found objects in a structure of wire and canvas, Nordstrom gives us a confection in industrial materials in Sacré Coeur I. The containment is loose as a gently given gift and her sculpture has a light hold on the “sacred heart” of the title. The second version is darker and more open with its strips of blood red fabric, the complicated lacing of wire, and the golden interior to its black exterior, this Heart bleeds and is bound in place.

Renee Klyczek Nordstrom explained that “the Sacre Coeur series started from a single drawing of a torso torn open, a hand gripping twisted pink insides... [she] worked through many versions of the hand at the “heart” [until] eventually the death grip became a hand of blessing, a healing.” Inspired by a visit to Sacré Coeur (Sacred Heart) Chapel in Paris, Nordstrom says the “sacred heart … [is] about spirituality [and] the sacredness of the center of love” This series is also influenced by the Four Quartets of T.S. Eliot.

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning…
We shall not cease from exploration

At the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Nordstrom says “the original series evolved over time into [three] sculptures of torsos, [ten acrylic works] on Arches paper, and a myriad of mixed media pieces.”

Renee Klyczek Nordstrom, wire, canvas, found objects, et al. Sacré Coeur II. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Nordstrom focuses on paintings and works on paper. “Most of her work includes referential images from … personal experience and appropriated images from mass media. Readings on spiritual practices and meditation inform [her] work as do art and artists throughout history including: Georgia O'Keefe, Kathe Kollwitz, Frida Kahlo, and Francesca Goya.
Throughout [Nordstrom’s] adult life [her] work has centered on investigating themes of healing and wholeness. [The artist finds] making art [to be] engaging, both visually and intellectually, as well as curative.”

Renee Klyczek Nordstrom is a studio artist at Union Street Gallery. She participated in the 2010 “Synergy” Group Exhibition, at Christopher Art Gallery, Prairie State College, in Chicago Heights, Illinois. She earned her Associates Degree, from Prairie State College, in Chicago Heights Illinois in 1975, and will complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Columbia College in 2011.

Eve Jensen (Auction piece), Meditation in Flight, pastel. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Jensen’s delicate handling of pastels crafts this photo realist tumble of feathers and butterfly wings. The warm hues and the subject create a sense of found treasures.

Eve Jensen (Auction piece), Meditation in Flight, pastel, detail. Photograph by J. Kronika.

With her title, Jensen opens the composition to contemplation of the creatures who once used these wings in flight. This work is on auction until the raffle at 8:45pm May 14th, 2010, during the closing reception for this exhibit. Proceeds from the auction of this work will benefit the not for profit Union Street Gallery.

Eve Jensen, graphite, Knife, Fork, Spoon. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Eve Jensen, graphite, Wrap. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Jensen displays her masterful hand in this pair of graphite drawings. The fabric, objects and play of light and shadow emerge in three dimensions in this trompe d’oeil. The viewer may be tempted to grasp a spool of thread resting on the fabric in “Wrap,” or to extricate the knife from the folds in “Knife, Fork, Spoon.”

Eve Jensen is a member of theUnion Street Gallery and Studio Complex support team, and a Moraine Valley Community College Instructor.

Jeffrey C. Marienthal, archival pigment prints, L: Guan Yin Icon No. 1, 2010, 1/10; Rt: Compassion Cloud, 2010, 1/10. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Using digital photography and collaging multiple images, Marienthal evokes a spiritual moment in the eastern tradition. His subtle blending of the images is masterful and evocative.

Jeffrey C. Marienthal, archival pigment prints, L: The Last Time I Saw Frank, 2010, 1/10; Rt: Birds in Box, 2010, 1/10. Photograph by J. Kronika.

These two photographs explore a sense of loss and the cycle of life. Utilizing multiple images and digital manipulation, Marienthal brings out the details of two points of view in each image.

Jeffrey C. Marienthal, archival pigment print, Birds in Box, 2010, 1/10 detail. Photograph by J. Kronika.

With “Bird in the Box” the viewer is confronted with the terminus of nature, where the darkness of the box reveals a bird which has perished.

Jeffrey C. Marienthal, archival pigment print, The Last Time I Saw Frank, 2010, detail. Photograph by J. Kronika.

In “The Last Time I Saw Frank” a girl rides away from a cemetery. Reflected in the rear view mirror is a diminutive figure with hands clasped around a small object, sharply rendered receding into the distance, as she stands and watches the car depart.

Ginny Rafftery, acrylic, L: Circles & Lines Pt I; Rt: Circles & Lines Pt II. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Rafftery uses dynamic and charged colors, crafting these two abstract works of geometric forms verging on organicism.

Ginny Rafftery, acrylic, L: I see the water; Rt: Waterfall. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Rafftery’s second pair, a work in flat and relief painting, explores the color and ripples of water in two incarnations. The fluttery organic shapes speak of movement while the contrast of cool and warm tones sets up an interaction of influences. The temperature and mood of these works is striking and imbues the abstract works with references to landscape and figure study.

Barbara Edwards, acrylic, L: Triumphant Spirits #13; Rt: Triumphant Spirits #14. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Edwards rich warm tones and the wealth of surface textures in this pairing invite the viewer to deep study. The underlying golds of these works are revealed in a tracery of circles and rings, textural scumblings and densely worked layers.

Barbara Edwards, acrylic, L: Triumphant Spirits #13, detail. Photograph by J. Kronika.

The overlying reds pop and sear, catching the light and diving into the deeper aubergines.

Mary Ann Trzyna, pastel, L: March, Snow Melt: Rt: April, Bird song, Frog song, Water song. Photograph by J. Kronika.

The crisply defined hillside and young woods of Trzyna’s pastels invite exploration. With her descriptive titles, she evokes the moment of creating with its attendant natural music.

For many years, Mary Ann Trzyna let her art “take a back seat to [her] family and [her] work”. Prior to 2008, Trzyna began painting in oils again. “Reminded of how much making art meant to [her], [Trzyna] began to devote time to it”. “Concentrating on relearning skills and the basics,[she] began with still life drawings and paintings of objects [she] could arrange in [her] studio.”

Mary Ann Trzyna explains: “still life work eventually evolved into oil paintings and pastel drawings of fruits and vegetables set against interesting fabrics. I am fascinated by the shapes and colors available in the produce department and the addition of patterned fabric added not just a challenge (the original intent), but a way of seeing that has expanded as I notice pattern & rhythm in landscape paintings. I starting doing more landscapes and I draw en plein air when I can, but landscapes and garden paintings are also sometimes based on my photos and sketches. Almost all of my finished work used to be in oil paints, but I find myself working mostly with pastels now. I am delighted by the intense, rich color and I am finding my art changing as I learn more about the medium.”

Mary Ann Trzyna lives in Frankfort Square where she runs a graphic design business. Trzyna graduated from the University of Illinois, Chicago (back when they called it "Circle") with a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts, and only recently began showing her studio work. Trzyna is a Gallery Artist at the Tall Grass Arts Association, in Park Forest Illinois. She is an Artist's Guild Member at Union Street Gallery, in Chicago Heights Illinois

Marlene Gallagher, color photography, L: Paris I; Rt: Paris II. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Gallagher’s two photographs of Paris look like the daily business of a bakery and a school on first glance. The artist has cleverly framed these photos of murals to eliminate the sense of the actual street and pedestrians. With a touch of digital filtering, the photos read as views to another time.

Marlene Gallagher, color photography, L: Russian Sunset I; Rt: Russian Sunset II. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Capturing the deep glow of the setting sun in Russia, Gallagher reveals a landscape of richly folded clouds, long horizons and receding warmth. Her color photography is painterly in this pairing, capturing the strokes of the sun on the atmosphere.

Working in traditional film photography, Marlene Gallagher is intrigued by “the 3D look on a flat surface.” The works depicted in Paris I & II “are life-size painted murals on the side of buildings in Paris.”

Erica Lessie, mixed media, artist with works, L: Faux Earrings, Real Purse; Rt: Faux Purse, Real Earrings. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Lessie is a teacher at three local schools and a musician as well as a mixed media artist. The newest studio artist at Union Street Gallery, Lessie works with a variety of materials.

Erica Lessie, mixed media, Faux Earrings, Real Purse, detail. Photograph by J. Kronika.

In these works she plays with the idea of false and real, depiction and reality. She experimented with fabric and laminated paper in these two works. Using reproductions of teaching poster elements on fabric and paper, she created the earrings.

Erica Lessie, mixed media, Faux Purse, Real Earrings. Photograph by J. Kronika.

In the faux purse, a framed fabric with a purse handle, she has hung real earrings crafted from words, images and brightly colored shapes. In the real purse, she has embellished the exterior with faux earrings made using printed fabric. These works have intimate details which draw the viewer in and encourage the imagination with the tiny images and bold playful colors.

Luis Sahagun , acrylic on canvas, L: America’s New Chicano; Rt: America’s Favorite Campbell’s Soup. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Sahagun’s elegant paintings reference the style of silk screen and playfully interpret ethnic and multicultural immersion in the melting pot that is America.

Elaine Martin, acrylic on Amate paper; acrylic and collage
L: The Sea; Rt: Mermaid. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Martin’s playful images, stylistically outré and marked with bold patterns and bright colors, have a childlike appeal. Her collage elements create a dynamic push and pull of deep and near space within the compositions.

Diane McGarel, mixed media, L: Passion, R: Anguish. Photograph by J. Kronika.

McGanel’s richly textured and dynamically patterned panels evoke an emotive response. With the rich purples and the buried collage elements of “Passion” she depicts the layers of this emotion. In Anguish, a barely discernable figure emerges from the lower two thirds of the panel, lifting a foot to the viewer. The more subtle palette and the hints of chartruse give a sense of the sick at heart “Anguish” of the title.

McGarel asserts that “art is an expression of the self, intended to communicate the artist’s emotions, development, and thought processes to the viewer… ever changing, metaphorical to life’s continuous changes. If life is perceived as being in constant flux, the expression of art should also be in constant motion.”

Regarding McGarel’s Process: each of [her] digital works [begin with] drawing, painting, or tossing dye onto canvas. [She] then scan[s] the image [into her] computer, altering it with a variety of computer programs. [Her] mixed-media works evolve [from] the digital image, [as she] change[s and] restructure[s] it on …canvas …using acrylic paints, torn or ripped paper or canvas, metal, and various other objects… [The influence of] abstract art is revealed in the preponderance of grids and fragmentation viewed in [McGarel’s] artwork.” McGarel’s “personal mode of expression … symbolizes the circle of life: birth, death and rebirth… offering infinite possibilities without limitations.”

McGarel is “ highly influenced by brothers Doug and Mike Starn…[who] introduce[d]… the notion that photography like paint should have a tactile component. [To produce this McGarel incorporate[s] texture in [her] works by surrounding the torn digital prints with paints, sand and other materials. [McGarel also] admire[s] Chuck Close and Henri Mattise [for] fac[ing their]… human frailty [and] not let[ting] their handicaps cripple them. [These two artists] creatively endured [and strove] to overcome adversity, and in the process enhanced their art works.”

Diane McGarel holds a Master of Arts in Communication & Training, and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History, from Governors State University, University Park Illinois. She earned her Associates of Arts Degree at Prairie State University, in Chicago Heights, Illinois.

Patty McWilliams, oil on canvas, L: The Officient; Rt: Madam Artist. Photograph by J. Kronika.

McWilliams giant portraits display a sensitive and masterful handling of oil paint and the portrait. Through her subtle suggestion of a smile in the face of the busily reading “Officient” and the deliberate curl of the hair in “Madam Artist” she shows her versatility and disciplined study of the subjects. With awareness of color’s ability to lend contrast, temperature and emotive value, McWilliams uses her negative spaces to warm, cool or calm her subject spaces.

"We are only limited by our imaginings," states Patty Mac (McWilliams). Mc Williams “expressive realist style, and the bright colors [she uses] communicate the powerful vibration, joy, beauty, and distinct pulsating spirit in each of these faces.”
Patty McWilliams works from “candid snapshots, in order to communicate an honest view of the individual. The photos allow [her] to document the truth and grace of aging. The imperfections, the reality of each person -which [she] feel[s] are to be celebrated- these are what makes the individual amazing and unique... communicating just how comfortable these extraordinary individuals appear to be in their own skin [is what McWilliams] works to recreate … in [her] art.” She says that “each painting takes anywhere from 40 to 60 hours to create.” McWillimas “believe[s] there is no other subject in art more intriguing than that of human faces. I find them all encompassing of an individual’s state of being. [The artist] create[s] larger than life paintings depicting the expressive, unique physical appearance [of her selected faces], [and] the canvas size forces a close up perspective… simply to express what [she] see[s and] feel[s] about the person, all gathered from the subject’s unique face.”

This artist is exhibiting her work at the River Street Gallery in Chicago in the Chicago Art Open. A 2009 Graduate of the Governors State University Masters in Art program, McWilliams exhibited her 2008-2009 series of faces, consisting of 16 large canvas paintings of expressive portraiture, for her thesis exhibition.Patty studied Psychology and Fine Art during her Undergraduate studies, concentrating in figure sculpture. “In concert with her interest in the health, spirit, and the human experience, Patty completed an apprenticeship program in Shamanic studies in 2007, along with her continued practice in Hatha and Kundalini Yoga since 2001. Patty offers group instruction and workshops in areas such as Shamanic Studies, Prayer Beading, Intuitive Painting, and Chakra Workshops. Patty also engages in mural work throughout the surrounding communities.

As a studio artist member of Union Street Gallery, Patty offers group workshops as well as continuing her private and semi-private teaching venues. She is a gallery artist member of the Tall Grass Arts Association, in Park Forest, Illinois and a Committee Member of the Gretchen Charlton Gallery, in Kankakee Illinois.

Dorita Fuller, hand dyed silk; hand dyed silk and cotton lace, L: Red Cocoon; Rt: Red Tunic. Photograph by J. Kronika.

With her airy silks and dynamically dyed cotton lace, Fuller’s two fabric works invite the viewer to envision wearing these dynamic wraps. With “Red Tunic,” the artist envelops the mannequin in a sparsely patterned, strip dyed silk with connecting lace doilies. The tunic format allows for the contrast of skin or layering. With “Red Cocoon” the artist’s silk reverberates with the idea of butterfly flight and the harmonies of it’s warm and cool tones feel rich and invite touch.

Dorita Fuller, hand dyed silk, Red Cocoon, detail. Photograph by J. Kronika.

Dorita Fuller presents her sculptural “Red” works for the Pairs exhibit, “providing a colorful, mid-size assemblage style installation [of] … functional apparel. [Describing her process, Fuller explains, “both pieces are made of silk scarves, assembled into draped garment configurations. Each part is hand stitched to the others for softness [and] tactile quality …Works such as these are first hand dyed with Procion MX series dyes (Commercially made chemical dyes for natural fibers)…other surface design methods are subsequently applied. Shibori (Japanese), a resist process, forms the basis of the techniques… Selective over-dyeing creates blended tones and contrasting color placement…After assessing the [dyes, the artist] appl[ies] color and pattern using some of the following materials: stencils and oil based Paintstick, brushed or sponged on fabric paints, direct block printing, katazome, a rice paste stencil resist method and fabric paint, and permanent marker.”

Red Cocoon and Red Tunic are inspired by Fuller’s conviction that: “one can only find so many walls for paintings but one can wear art and cheer or amuse the world they meet each day and infuse some self expression into what their appearance says... The Baha’i writings describe Beauty as an attribute of God. Expressing beauty is surely a source of encouragement in a world that too often too tired and downhearted.”

Dorita Fuller, hand dyed silk and cotton lace, Red Tunic, detail.
Photograph by J. Kronika.

Fuller studies “the relationship between engagement in visual art processes and spiritual refreshment.” She believes that “the true nature of man is spiritual[; that man] lives mortally experiencing the physical world as a catalyst to his development as a spiritual being… As someone engages their creative capacity for any goal, this is the joy and mystery [of involvement], regardless of the medium or venue, [be it] arts, science, [or] business, etc.

Fuller’s “personal path of artistic development has included studies in the following 2-dimesional media: drawing, painting, assemblage, interior installations, graphic design, photography, colored pencil, image and text integration. [Her] textile processes include hand weaving, with a preference for multi-shaft patterned wool blanket production, various surface design methods including block printing, disperse dye printing, other image focused printmaking, stencil, appliqué, embroidery, cutwork. [Fuller’s] sculptural works include: Apparel construction, design and redesign (“altered couture”), terra cotta figure sculpture, field crop labyrinth installation, mixed media gallery installation, and polymer clay small works primarily jewelry.” Dorita fuller is a working artist affiliated with the Union Street Gallery as a studio member, who shares “in the collective volunteer operation of the organization and continue[s] to develop [her] arts services to the community.”
Fuller facilitate[s] workshops which invite participants to make their own developmental discoveries of the being within …generally describe[d] as “fun” and “relaxing.” Her Workshops and teaching include: textile dying, polymer clay, book circles (e. g. the art of possibility), weaving, tapping into the spiritual power of the arts, and Praying in Color (utilizing a book by Sybil MacBeth).

The Union Street Gallery will host the Pairs exhibit until May 15th, with a closing reception on May 14th. Be sure to get your tickets for the raffle of Eve Jensen’s Meditation in Flight by 8:45pm May 14th, 2010, as the raffle will conclude during the closing reception that evening. The Union Street Gallery is located at 1527 Otto Boulevard, Chicago Heights, Illinois, 60411. Gallery Hours are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from Noon to four pm.

Upcoming exhibits include: the Homewood Flossmoor High school exhibit which will only be open for the Reception on Friday, May 21st, 2010, 6-9pm; an exhibit of John Spomar’s Photography and Nina Weiss’ landscape paintings in Not Far Off in June, and The Artist’s Marks in August. John Spomar is a Chicago area native and an active photographer.

Nina Weiss’ landscape paintings will be on display in Not Far Off. The exhibit of twenty-five paintings will open on Friday, June 11 and run through July 31, 2010. An opening reception for NINA WEISS Not Far Off, curated by Claudia Craemer, will be held at Union Street Gallery Friday, June 11 from 6 – 9 pm. Nina Weiss will be present to greet visitors and share some insights into her paintings. The public is invited to meet the artist and to view and discuss her work with her. A second reception will be held on Friday, July 9.

Nina Weiss is a nationally recognized artist who has been painting and drawing the landscape for over 25 years. She holds a BFA from the Tyler School of Art and K-12 Art Education Certification from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Further study includes Graduate Study at University of Wisconsin, pre-college study at Rhode Island School of Design, and the Art Student league of New York. She is an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, (where she is also an advisor in the Drawing Certification program), Columbia College Chicago, and the Evanston Art Center. In addition to teaching workshops throughout the Midwest, Nina travels to Europe every summer to conduct her European Landscape Workshops.

For more information about the Union Street Gallery: www.unionstreetgallery.org

For more information about the artists: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/artist.htm

Or directly for more information about individual Studio Artists at Union Street Gallery:

Claudia Craemer: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/ClaudiaCraemer.htm

Pam Eberlin: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/PamEberlin.htm

Dorita Fuller:http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/DoritaFuller.htm

Marlene Gallagher: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/MarleneGallagher.htm

Linda Lane Haynes: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/LindaHaynes.htm

Eve Jensen: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/EveJensen.htm

Patty McWilliams: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/PattyMcWilliams.htm

Renee Klyczek Nordstrom: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/ReneeKlyczekNordstrom.htm

Ginny Raftery: http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/GinnyRaftery.htm