The Art and the Urban Garden Exhibit

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the beautiful weather than by having a garden inside of Lillstreet. The Art and the Urban Garden exhibit is utterly breathtaking and if you haven’t seen it you must come in! It’s been less than a week since the exhibit opened and already so many of my favorite pieces have been sold. The bright lime green walls bring so much light and contrast to the pieces on display.

The picture below has my favorite pieces in the exhibit. most of them have sold but they are such interesting flower pots. I wish I could have them all.

Carbon: Life, Decay and Beyond

Lillstreet Gallery Director Jess Mott Wickstrom is serving as a guest juror for a new exhibition at Water Street Studios in Batavia, IL, titled “Carbon: Life, Decay and Beyond.” The show runs April 12 – June 29; submission deadline is March 17, 2013. Submitting artists do not have to be a studio resident of Water Street Studios. All forms of media may be considered.

For more information or to apply, visit the WSS website.

Water Street Studios is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization devoted to expanding art in Batavia and the surrounding communities. By converting an historic limestone building in downtown Batavia they have created an amazing 16,000 sq ft arts center featuring 28 artist studios, three classrooms and two premier galleries for showcasing fine art. Created by a group of artists, the property owners, city officials, and community members; the center focuses on extending the arts community in the tri-cities and beyond.

Harmony at Graphic Noise

Having been at Lillstreet for about two months, I’ve seen a lot of changes, met a lot of people and observed a wide-range of creative interactions. Since my last entry, our student-member show has been installed and taken down, Lillstreet’s staff has gone to and from Michigan, bringing back some excellent furniture made by former Chicagoan Floyd Gompf and I had the chance to co-interview three Lillstreet artists for an upcoming project. Furthermore, with its latest show, Lillstreet made a vibrant addition to its gallery: “Graphic Noise”.

As an exemplary introduction to the Chicago Printer’s Guild, “Graphic Noise” showcases the work of local gig poster artists, exhibiting prints initially used to promote concerts at venues such as The Metro, Schuba’s and The Hideout. With posters of Chicago favorites, Wilco and Andrew Bird shown next to Swedish indie rockers, Peter Bjorn & John, German electronic legends, Kraftwerk and Seattle sludge outfit, Melvins, “Graphic Noise” takes on a sense of international flair, celebrating specific moments in Chicago’s live music scene, while representing a broad base of world-renowned acts.

With the Chicago printers putting forth a wide spectrum of styles, blending image and text in different ways and crafting individualized visuals for their respective musical artists, “Graphic Noise” becomes equally about the Aphex Twin, Dinosaur Jr. and Codeine as it does about Sonnenzimmer, Fugscreens Studio and Crosshair. Celebrating the musical, the visual and Chicago, “Graphic Noise” makes Lillstreet Gallery a harmonious venue.

“Configured Spaces” opens Friday!

Join us on Friday, July 13^th for the opening of our group show “Configured Spaces”. This exhibition showcases Lillstreet’s current Artists in Residence, who are the second group of artists to work at Lillstreet under our formalized program. While their works range in artistic process and perspective, this compellation of work as a whole serves to broaden our mindset of our relation to the world around us.

The Language of Line: Sam Chung, Josh DeWeese, Heather Mae Erickson, and Neha Vedpathak

Opening Reception: Friday, June 8, 6-8pm

Utilizing the lines of their two and three dimensional works as a means of exploration, artists Heather Mae Erickson, Josh DeWesse, Sam Chung, and Neha Vedpathak push the potentials for minimalist painting and ceramics through various techniques and materials. With sleek curves and engaging shapes, Erickson’s ceramic work reexamines the dining ritual that occurs between people and pottery. Similarly, DeWesse also explores this intimate relationship between mankind and ceramics but chooses to experiment with high temperatures and glazes to investigate this connection. Chung, meanwhile, elegantly integrates historical and cultural references in striking shapes and colors to create what he refers to as a new language of ceramics.

Vedpathak’s mixed media paintings, keeping the concepts of subtlety and organic forms in mind, allow the viewer a different perspective on embracing form, line, and space. Her mixed media works draw the viewer in with their subtle textures, muted colors, and gentle strokes and slowly capture the space and attention of those around them. The manipulations of shape, material, and size of the exhibition’s works reflects each artist’s pursuit to discover the possibilities of ceramic and painterly forms and their connection to the cultures and spaces they inhabit.

Nostalgia, kitsch, and fairy tales come alive in new exhibition

Come witness the whimsical and fantastical new show And then…, which features artists Pattie Chalmers, Gerit Grimm, and Maggy Rozycki Hiltner. Their figurative ceramic and textiles works pull from childhood memories and knowledge of American culture to create modern fairy tales with a bitingly ironic twist. The show will run until May 18th so make sure to stop by and enjoy all the fun and fantasy of Lillstreet’s latest exhibition!