January 2025 Newsletter

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News from CSI Project Space

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Photo credit: Australia by Darius K

Call for Entries: Shadows

at CSI Project Space

Deadline: Friday, Feb. 7, 2025
Drop off artwork: Feb. 22 - 23, from 1-5 pm
Opening: Saturday, March 1, from 6-9 pm
Exhibition Dates: March 1 - April 25, 2025

Shadows are more than just the absence of light—they are symbols of the hidden, the fleeting, and the ambiguous. Across psychology, literature, art, and philosophy, shadows have long served as metaphors for the complexities of human experience. They invite us to explore what lies beneath the surface, confront the unseen, and embrace the mystery of what we cannot fully grasp.

Carl Jung’s concept of the “shadow self” speaks to the parts of ourselves we often deny or suppress—the fears, flaws, and truths that challenge our ideal self-image. Yet, in engaging with this shadow, we embark on a journey of self-discovery, finding strength in vulnerability and balance in the dualities of our existence.

Shadows shift, stretch, and dissolve, echoing the impermanence of our world. They remind us to savor the fleeting beauty of the moment, to find wonder in the transient, and to reflect on life’s fragile brilliance.

Learn more about requirements submit your entry HERE

Photo credit: Australia by Darius K

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Little but Bold! CSI Member Benefit Art Auction

Thanks to all bidders and winners, attendees, volunteers, and our sponsors for supporting CSI and making the evening a terrific success! So far we sold 21 sculptures and raised over $6,500 dollars. There's still some great pieces that need homes for the holidays. All proceeds support the CSI exhibition and outreach programs and CSI members! 

An online silent auction of available works will continue through January 26th.
Bid online or in person at the Project Space gallery (1912 N. Damen, Chicago, IL) on available artworks.

Bid often and bid high!

Click here to view photos from the Live Auction

Huge Thanks to our CSI member Volunteers. You made it happen! Spencer Gale - Comedian and Auctioneer, Caroline Jacobson and Musa Ghaznavi - Mixology Specialists, Cherry Tung and Thomas Plum - Food Art Design and Darlys Ewoldt - Packaging Expert along with the talented CSI members Micki LeMieux - Gallery Director, Gene Skala, Managing Director, and Anthony Heinz May, Grants Chair.

Special Thanks to our amazing Sponsors Cast Wines, Letherbee Gin and Nando Peri-Peri for providing fine wine, excellent cocktails and delicious foods!

Little, but BOLD! is in celebration of all things un-monumental. 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. The Little, but BOLD! CSI Member Art Auction exhibit runs until Sunday, January 26, 2025.

Artwork by: Pinar Aral, Janet Austin, John Bannon, Lynn Basa, Jyl Bonaguro, Wallace Bowling, David Curry, Darlys Ewoldt, Lynn Floriano, Mirentxu Ganzarain, Ted Sitting Crow Garner, Set Gozo, Carol Hammerman, Lillian Heredia, Terry Karpowicz, Kasia Kay, Kelly Lawler, Micki LeMieux, Marianne Lovink, Yicen Liu, Ellen Lustig, Deana Bada Maloney, Anthony Heinz May, Michelle Meyer, Jordan Mozer, Frederick B. Napoli, Thomas Plum, Paul Russell, Howard Sandroff, Marvin Shafer, David Skora, Gunnar Theel, Cheuk Yan Cherry Tung, Roberta Ulrich-de Oliveira, Nancy VanKanegan, Patrick D. Wilson, Charles Yost, Shencheng Xu, and Haijun Zhang

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News from Indoor Exhibitions

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Call for Entries:
Chicago Sculpture International 2025 Biennale

"Materiality in Sculpture: A Dialogue Between Substance and Form"

Important Dates:
Submission Deadline: Sunday, August 3rd, 2025,11:59pm
Notification Date: Monday, August 25, 2025
Exhibition: September 27th, 2025 through November 9th, 2025
Opening Reception: Sunday, September 28th, 2025

This exhibition explores the interplay of materials in the realm of sculpture, showcasing works that challenge, celebrate, and redefine our understanding of material substance. To connect your own work to this theme, consider how your choice of medium and subject matter can simultaneously reflect the physical and conceptual aspects. Formats include freestanding, wall hung, interactive, installation & video. Open interpretations of the exhibit theme are welcomed.

About the Juror

Debra Favre is an artist who has exhibited in the Washington, DC and the Chicago areas. She is the past Chair of the Board of the Evanston Art Center and has been a juror on the Evanston Art Center’s Exhibitions Committee for the last 14 years. She studied Fine Arts at McDaniel College in Maryland and at the Corcoran School of Art and Design in Washington, DC.

If selected for the exhibition, artists must be a current CSI member or sign-up for membership: www.chicagosculpture.org/become-a-member

Exhibition Location:
Evanston Art Center
1717 Central St.
Evanston, IL 60201

Learn more about requirements submit your entry HERE

Questions? Contact info@chicagosculptors.com

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 Member News

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Xfinity Chicago Streetrace NASCAR trophies

by Nicole Beck

Nicole Beck partnered with Vector Custom Fabricating for the laser cut steel uppers, Lloyd Mandelbaum at his Chicago Crucible for the cast aluminum bases, and Superior Awards for the logo plates in Berwyn. They produced 5 full-size replicas of the Xfinity Chicago Streetrace NASCAR trophies for the 2024 winning team of Kaulig Racing and their driver Shane van Gisbergen. The trophy design was cgi-generated with Beck's design collaborator, Libertyville hometown neighbor Rob Magiera which was then translated into CAD drawings by Nathan Overley at Vector.  Beck did the assembly and hand painting with One Shot enamels to match the Chicago flag colors.  The design is based on an abstraction of the Buckingham Fountain as the base replicates the unique shape of the fountain surround and upright spirals represent the tallest water sprays in the world.  As you may know, the CSR NASCAR racetrack is loops around the Buckingham Fountain through LSD, Columbus, Michigan Ave and Jackson Streets.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9GcoGAsFL4/

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ctp5HKsv13M

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs-AsjZMSp4/

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Over, Around and Through

Ceramics by Nancy VanKanegan and paintings by Jeffrey Sanderson

Sanderson and VanKanegan share an abiding interest in scale, shape, form and movement in developing and defining their works. Impulse and reaction while making guides their methods of improvisational intuitive creation, confronting and arranging the tension between the quixotic and the logical.

Opening reception Friday January 17 , 5-9 p.m.

Exhibition runs through Friday , February 28

ALMA Art and Interiors
3636 S. Iron Street
Chicago, IL 60609
(224) 522-4525

Hours:
Mon - Fri by appt only
Sunday open 12-5
Third Fridays 5-9 p.m.

https://www.instagram.com/vankanegan/
https://www.instagram.com/jeffreysanderson/

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

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Clay Fans Club Fundraiser

Fellow CSI member Set Gozo is in need of a Kiln for a small studio at Bridgeport Art Center. Every bit of assistance will help. Go fund me link at https://gofund.me/73c0fae9

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Submit your News

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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.

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CSI projects are partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

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Chicago Sculpture International acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency for CSI programming including exhibitions and funding for Project Space Gallery.

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CSI is a proud recipient of the Driehaus Foundation Arts and Culture Grant to help support funding and programming.

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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.

Photos: (left) Ron Gard’s sculpture The Struggle Against Death (lef; (right) Ron in 2014 working in Lincoln Park on one of three tree sculptures, Dying to Survive Nos. #3, #6 & #9.

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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

Visit the American Indian Center’s website.

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This is the newsletter for Chicago Sculpture International.

Our mailing address is: Chicago Sculpture International 3141 North Hoyne Ave Unit 4 Chicago, Il 60618 USA

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Cover photo:
Patrick D. Wilson
"Cloud Form", 2024
Bronze
8 x 8 x 6 in.

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