Entry due date: October 27, 2010

“The American Dream: a Juxtaposition” seeks to define our current interpretation of “The American Dream” while acknowledging what this dream exposes our minds, bodies, and environment to. This exhibition is open to all media that address the hopes, promises, and prosperity of “The American Dream” as well as the inconsistencies and consequences of “The American Dream”.

Exhibition Dates: January 21 – February 24, 2011
Juror: Catherine Blackwell Peña
Online Entries: Submit jpgs of up to three of your works on our website.

Meet Three Online Registry Artists

 The Woman Made Gallery On-Line Artists’ Registry was established as a service to women artists and to promote art by women.  

 I. LINDA FILLHARDT

“My mixed media works comprise of etchings mounted on wood panel with encaustic. Layered within these works are the representation of desert vegetation and the patchwork patterns of simple shapes – squares, wide strips and lines – that call to mind the traditional weavings inspired by the deserts of North America. Desert Crossings was inspired by my many travels—my many desert crossings– throughout the southwest.

Artwork by Linda Fillhardt

I work as a contemporary mixed media artist. I am interested in printmaking, painting, and encaustic and work in a combination of the mediums. This current work is a collage of a variety of works on paper, which may include monoprints, monotypes, and solar plate etchings. These are then mounted on wood panel and encaustic is then added which adds a smooth dull transparent surface to the work.

Desert Crossings is inspired by my many trips into the desert landscape. Over the last 15 years I have, on a yearly basis, traveled in the deserts of the southwest. I now live outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. These landscapes and the plants that live in the desert haunt me. Their means of survival in the harsh environment fascinate me. Parts of these images are ending up in my work. I am very interested in the panoramic vistas, the plants that survive there and the water and lack of water that is there.”

II. CATHERINE WIESENER

Artwork by Catherine Wiesener

“I choose to use porcelain in most of my work because it is a unique material that can reference everything from historical ceramics and dinnerware to teeth and sanitary ware. These unusual associations are definitely important to my thought process and concepts because they are all essentially linked together. I draw inspiration for my work from multiple sources such as the idealized portrayal of animals in the media, nature guides, and tales of animal heroism as well as gastronomic re-interpretations of these animals.

I am interested in how our culture preserves and displays animals as well as how we reconcile eating our furry friends and the resulting objects. I am fascinated by the ornate and what it can reveal or conceal about our complex relationships with the things we do, need, eat, or desire. And last but not least, humor, sometimes, dark, finds its way into my work as a result of mixing these ideas and having fun in the studio.”

III. ELZBIETA (ELKA) KAZMIERCZAK

“I have been making linoleum prints and artist’s books of visual typography for over two decades. The time it takes to carve meticulous figurative designs or carefully chisel visual typography is my personal time for self-reflection, meditation, and empowerment. Thematically, my works explore the oppression and marginalization of women. I use the feminine body as a signifier of patriarchy, its abuses and the struggle against it. I use compositional and figurative dramatizations to express emotional states and explore issues of displacement, loss, transformation, and individuation in women’s lives. The air of woman’s existence in many of those works is warped by the dramatic gestures and the screams shrouded by silence of a printed image.

Artwork by Elzbieta Kazmierczak

I combine printmaking with fiber art to bridge fine arts and the tradition of women’s work. I use stitching as a drawing method to communicate emotional states and identities.

Stylistically, I am fascinated by images that do not quickly disclose themselves and capture attention for the time required to interpret them. Interplay of positive and negative shapes I find pregnant with peculiar beauty that leads me to create images that echo German expressionism and cave painting.”

Introducing our Fall 2010 Interns

Kelsey Curkeet

We are thankful to all of the interns who make many important contributions to Woman Made Gallery. Internships at WMG are unpaid, but we encourage students to contact their universities about receiving credit. Potential interns do not have to be affiliated with a university. Typically, an intern works at least one day a week for a 10- to 15-week period.

Interns assist staff members with publicity, installation of art, artist relations, editing of the website, grant research, and many other activities. They help with a variety of tasks that increase the daily productivity of Woman Made.

Kristen dela Serna

Interns come from different universities and organizations, including the School of the Art Institute, Loyola University, DePaul University, Northwestern University, Columbia College, and organizations like the Urban Life Center, located in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Interns’ areas of interests are diverse and have included studies in visual art, painting, art history, sociology, and gender studies.

This Fall we are most fortunate to have the help of Kelsey Curkeet, Kristen dela Serna, Elena Katsulis, and Katrin Welke.

Kelsey Curkeet is completing her degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at Woman Made Gallery. She will be receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree in photography. She is interested in evoking qualities of painting and drawing with her photographs while experimenting with the properties of fluids. Kelsey hopes to learn more about the professional art world before continuing her education.

Elena Katsulis

Kristen dela Serna is a Fine Arts student at DePaul University. As a native Chicagoan, she grew up greatly influenced by the culture and diversity of the city, and continues to find inspiration in art, music, literature, and film. She currently curates shows in an alternative gallery space on the North Side of Chicago, and is excited to work with Woman Made Gallery to further promote the platform for women in the arts.

Elena Katsulis joined WMG with a background in photography, women’s studies, and performance art. She is interested in exploring the relationship between contemporary art theories and modern to contemporary feminism. This is her first experience working in a gallery and she is looking forward to learning how these relationships may unfold within a gallery space. Elena is currently working on collaborative performance pieces, as well as finding a suitable graduate program to further her studies.

Katrin Welke

Katrin Welke graduated from the Freie Universitaet Berlin with a Magistra Atrium in Art History. She focused on 18^th and 19^th Century Art, especially portraiture with female subjects. In February of 2010 she moved from Berlin, Germany to Chicago. Katrin has always had an interest in developing a more in-depth perspective of Contemporary Art. For her, an internship at Woman Made Gallery is a great opportunity to gain more knowledge and experience.

- Ruby Thorkelson, Gallery Assistant

Wine Tasting Party and Fundraiser at WMG – October 22, 2010

 Celebrate the Year of  Mexico in Chicago with Great Art, Music, Wine and Food!

 CHICAGO — You have never tasted fine Mexican Wine? Didn’t know that this is the Year of Mexico in Chicago? Haven’t seen “After Adelita“, a group exhibition with art by Mexican American women artists?

Image by Karin Kuzniar

Participate in Woman Made Gallery’s Wine Tasting Party and Fundraiser on October 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. to satisfy your curiosity!!

There will be Tastings of Fine Mexican Wines brought to Chicago for the first time by Paula Sankarsingh from Era of Elegance, paired with delicious Appetizers created by amazing Andrea Herrera from Amazing Edibles.

We’ll have a small Silent Auction with select artworks, and offerings to a variety of services, including dance lessons, restaurants, theaters, and concerts. You can view the art by Mexican American women, while enjoying live music by talented Hugo Trevino.

Tickets: $60 – contact 312-738-0400 /gallery@womanmade.org or visit WMG’s website: www.womanmade.org to purchase tickets online.