July 2024 Newsletter

CSI Project Space and Gallery News

Midsummer Dreams
Exhibiting Artists: Maeve McGale, Jeremy P Wong, and Micki LeMieux

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 20, from 6-9 pm.
Exhibition Dates: July 20 – August 11, 2024
Gallery Hours: Friday 2-6 pm, Saturday 12-8 pm, Sunday 1-5 pm
CSI Project Space is located at 1912 N Damen Ave.

Midsummer Dreams
Midsummer is for dreaming. It’s a time for celebration, romance, and new possibilities. This time has served historically as inspiration for European conceptions of fantasy, epitomized through the Scandinavian festival of Midsummer and the Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In both examples, the forest sets a stage for magic and mischief.

Our tale takes a distinct Americana approach. Midsummer Dreams brings together three Chicago artists working in the Midwestern Surreal- a discourse that refers to integrating belief-oriented meaning mechanisms into secular systems. This is displayed through a midwestern sensibility, grounding whimsical imagery in familiar landscapes, rituals, and materials. In a forest of our own making, themes of bounty, desire, shelter, body, and landscape are explored and challenged in sculptural form. Fantasy becomes a powerful tool to reimagine and reflect our reality.

Exhibiting Artists:
Maeve McGale – The Landscape – Structural Installation
Jeremy P Wong – Figures and creatures
Micki LeMieux – In Between – Bronze collection

Visit www.chicagosculpture.org for more information.

CSI Collaborations

Ragdale Tree Project, "Diversity of Birds"

The Ragdale Tree Project, "Diversity of Birds," was quite a success for Chicago Sculpture International! For 3 weeks a team of CSI artists —Margot McMahon, Mia Capodilupo, Anthony Heinz May, Jyl Bonaguro, Nicole Beck, Julia Sulmasy, and Fredy Hauman Mallqui — with photographer Laurie Irwin transformed a 200-year-old elm tree that passed away from Dutch elm disease into a work of art. Learn about the Ragdale Foundation and watch a video of team members carving the tree sculpture with hand tools like chisels and mallets, and power tools like chainsaws and grinders.

This project was made possible with the generous support of Louisa and Nelson Levy.

Location:
Ragdale Foundation
1260 N Green Bay Road
Lake Forest, IL 60045
Directions

CSI Member Announcement

CSI Picnic at Chicago Botanic Gardens

On Sunday, August 11th, from 12-4pm Chicago Sculpture International will host its Annual General Membership Picnic at the beautiful Chicago Botanic Gardens in Glencoe. A complimentary lunch and entrance to the Chicago Botanic Gardens will be provided for current CSI members only. Members are welcome to bring desserts in addition to share.

We will meet in The Plant Science Center (seminar room) at 12 pm (see #8 in map below). We will also be provided access to the rooftop garden. Click here to view a larger map of the garden map (The Plant Science Center and Roof Garden is #36 on the map).

Chicago Botanic Garden has parking available at $10 per car. Different rates may apply for other types of vehicles.

Because space is limited for this event, we ask that you kindly RSVP to info@chicagosculpture.org by August 1st. Please note this is for CSI members only.

Please RSVP to info@chicagosculpture.org

We look forward to seeing you there!

Chicago Botanic Gardens
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
(Located along I-94 between Dundee and County Line Roads)

Land Acknowledgement

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

CURRENT CSI EXHIBITIONS

Image credit (left to right): Bruce Webber, Ted Sitting Crow Gardner, and Rachel Stork

Self-Portaits group exhibit

Chicago Sculpture International Project Space
Exhibition Dates: June 8 – July 12, 2024

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

Exhibiting Artists: John E. Bannon, Ted Sitting Crow Garner, Amanda Gentry, Set Gozo, Peter Gray, Philipp Groth, Carol Hammerman, Lillian Heredia, Catherine Jacobi, Stacee Kalmanovsky, Kasia Kay, Micki LeMieux, Bill Mitchell, Scott Mossman, Greta Olson, Dominic Sansone, Mary K. Seyfarth, Rachel Stork, Lisa Walcott, Nathan Ward, Bruce Webber, Yimei (Emair) Zhu.

Curated by Thomas Plum

Visit www.chicagosculpture.org for more information.

CSI x ALMA

2024 Chicago Sculpture International Juried Exhibition at ALMA Art and Interiors

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

CSI CALL FOR ENTRIES

By Degrees III (2024): Last Call for Submissions

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

Often an artist’s most groundbreaking work comes from being immersed in a culture of study and intellectual pursuit. Chicago, home to some of the most globally revered academic arts institutions, could be considered a sort of proving ground for tomorrow’s most promising contemporary emerging artists.

Chicago Sculpture International (CSI) is calling for artists who are enrolled in, or recently (2023 or later) graduated from a degree-seeking program to submit works of sculpture, installation, and media work to be featured in the third annual juried group exhibition By Degrees, scheduled for September 14 - October 4, 2024, at CSI Project Space in Chicago.

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

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

Member News

Congratulations to Member Cheuk Yan Cherry Tung

Cherry Tung is from Hong Kong, China. She graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a painter, sculptor, and much more. CSI and Project Space sponsored Cherry Tung for a 0-1 Visa to stay in this country. It is for excellence in art. The (UCAIS) - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved Cheuk Yan Cherry Tung for a Visa. Valid from 6/3/24 – 6/2/27. Cheers!

Sculpture Walk Peoria 2024

CSI member - Micki LeMieux and her ‘kid’ installed her sculpture ‘Evolve and Grow’ in downtown Peoria from June 2024 – June 2026.

Peoria Illinois has a 2-year rotating outdoor sculpture loan program

Images: Set Gozo, Water Offering and Dawn Liddicoat, Bountiful

Later Impressions 2024 by CAVA

Congratulations to Set Gozo and Dawn Liddicoatt!!
Chicago Sculpture International Members for Receiving Awards

June 2–July 12, 2024
Artists' Reception:
Saturday, June 15, 6:00–8:00 p.m.

Elmhurst Artists' Guild Gallery Hours
Wednesday–Thursday 12:00 noon–5:00 p.m.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday 1:00–5:00 p.m.

JURORS:
John Nester, Adjunct Instructor, Elmhurst University
Marci Ruben, Curator, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago

Awards:

Best of Show
Voytek Glinkowski, We Will Dance

Awards of Excellence
Susan Stances, Transparency
Pam Seatter, Ascension
Dawn Liddicoatt, Bountiful

Honorable Mentions
Set Gozo, Water Offering
Lynn Mckenzie, The Three Miro’s Shelter from the Cold
Robert Anderson, Everyone in Their Place

Image: Kara Cobb Johnson, *Third Wave*, 2024, Drywall shims, ink, aluminum rivets, ceiling struts, Dimensions variable.

where a knot begins / and ends

CSI member Kara Cobb Johnson will A soft opening for the group exhibition, “where a knot begins / and ends”, curated by Jeff Robinson.

“Where a knot begins and ends considers the ways artists engage our complicated relationship to time, history, and archives. The phrase also conveys the challenges faced by the exhibiting artists who represent the 2024 cohort of New Edition, a two-part class developed by the Art Center for artists to learn and make work in a medium that is new to their practice.”

The exhibition is curated by the Program Facilitator, Jeff Robinson.

Exhibition Dates: July 13 – October 6, 2024
July 27, 2024, 1-4pm at Hyde Park Art Center

Hyde Park Art Center, Kantor Family Foundation Gallery
5020 South Cornell Avenue, Chicago, IL 60615

The exhibit features a suite of modular works in an installation using materials, colors, and ephemera unique to the gallery.

Exhibiting artists: Alexandra Antoine, Dawn Brennan, Kittisak (Wa) Chontong, Mary Farmilant, Tanya Gill, Malika Jackson, Kara Cobb Johnson, Caitlin Ryan, Molly Roth Scranton, and Teresita Carson Valdez

Images: Gene Skala, (Left) *Never Trust A Spell*, 2024, Oil on panel, 16 x 12 in.; (Right) *Simple Machine,* 2024, Oil on panel, 12 x 16 in.

Poetry of Place: Landscape & Sacred Space

CSI member Gene Skala will be exhibiting three paintings in conjunction with the group exhibit: Poetry of Place: Landscape & Sacred Space at Oak Park Art League.

“A place is what you make it, when you stop to look and absorb the scene you create a place, what you see is a landscape and as artists, we take the next step and create and record the feeling in art, and by doing so make sacred space. Landscapes, interiors, architectural scenery and still life works, reveal both artist’s interpretation of, and intimacy with – place. This is an open-call exhibition for art that evokes the sacred space of creation and creativity in new ways, escape landscape, real and imagined magical spaces.”

Exhibition Dates: Jul 5, 2024 – Aug 2, 2024

Oak Park Art League
720 W. Chicago Ave.
Oak Park IL.

Walking Sculpture Tour

CSI member Stephanie Sailer installed her sculpture, Willow Dust, in downtown Mankato, MN. The annual sculpture show is exhibiting 32 outdoor sculptures until April 2025.

The following are not CSI sponsored projects
But may be of interest to our members

Fortuned TRIALS: A Visual Art Exhibition

CSI Project Space and Gallery

Featuring Zsófia Ötvös large-scale multimedia graphite drawings and Lidoska Guietti with oil paintings inspired by their homeland Hungary and Italy respectively.

Guest artists:
Melissa Kolbusz with WIRED jewelry
Tonette Navarro with crochet sculpture

Dates: Exhibition runs from Aug 16- Sept 6, 2024

Opening Reception- Saturday, Aug 16th : 4-9 pm
Hungarian day- Tuesday, Aug 20th : 5-9 pm
Labor day pARTy, Sept 30th : 4am-9 pm
Closing reception- Friday, Sept 5th 4-9 pm

Fortuned Trials is following up on the recent exhibition Parts Apart, an exhibition that has been in the making for several years. Zsófia’s large-scale drawings are between 4 feet and 9 feet tall, and her medium is hard pencils ranging from HB to 5H, to be exact in her drawing. The needle-sharp points leave precise fine lines helping to prevent any accidental yet workable strokes. Instead, every line must be intentional and purposeful. The drawn figures are set in a painted abstracted environment.

Three-month residency for international artists at Westwerk, Hamburg, Germany

Announcement of residencies for 2025 and 2026

Closing Date for applications is August 28, 2024.

The Hamburg Ministry for Culture and Media is inviting applications for 8 three-month residencies in 2025 and 2026 in the Westwerk artists' centre in Hamburg.

The residency is a residential and work grant that requires the artist to live and work at Westwerk and facilitates both work on an artistic project and networking with the Hamburg cultural scene.

Westwerk is centrally located in inner-city Hamburg, in a relatively large complex of buildings on Fleetinsel that houses further studios, galleries and a small theatre.

Learn more about Westwerk HERE.
Further information about the residency and application details.
Online Application

Art Items for Sale

from ChrisTina Murphy

Portable gantry crane stands about 11’ tall, 8’ across. All the connections are drilled and marked to insert the bolts. This crane can lift about 900 lbs, possible more. All framing, bolts and chain hoist are included. Can fit in a standard size SUV, the longest boards are 8’ long. I had a 1999 Blazer, then a 2007 Murano. It all fit inside easily. All you'll need for assembly is a couple of wrenches. Assembly with two average people takes about 20-30 minutes. Asking price is for the actual cost of materials.
Asking $225.00
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A 40” tall, 20”x20” top, Tastefully Painted Fiberglass pedestal. Used to display a bronze sculpture. Great condition and sturdy.
Asking $150.00
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146 lbs of brand new Le Beau Touché fine art oil based modeling clay by Chavant, CM-50 on their website. Chavant is professional quality sculpting clay. There are cheaper clays out there, but they really ARE cheaper. It’ll show in your finished piece. You will get the smoothness and detail of a good quality clay. The Le Beau is the softest, lower weight clay, perfect for smaller pieces and fine detail. It costs $7.50lb PLUS 10% tax and $1.00 per lb shipping. 100lbs of used clay can also be included if you buy all the new clay.

Asking $6.00 a pound, cash and carry
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Some sculpting / pottery tools for sale. Email ChrisTina for details: rockartstudio@yahoo.com

Submit Your News

Have any news to share?

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

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

CSI Project Space and Gallery News

CSI Collaborations

Ragdale Tree Project, "Diversity of Birds"