Group and Solo Exhibitions
January 18 - February 21, 2008
Chicago, Illinois--
Woman Made Gallery announces the opening of
"The Commercial Woman," a group exhibition
juried by Colette Gaiter. Artwork by 20 women
artists from across the United States will be
featured in the show. In addition we are
happy to present solo shows by Colette Gaiter
and Jana C. Perez. Our Artisan Gallery opens with
"Speaking to My Ancestors," a group
exhibition curated by Mary Stoppert and
Carmen M. Perez.
Please join us at the artist reception on
January 18 from 6 to 9 p.m. at 685 N.
Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. Works will be on
display until February 21, 2008.
Regular Gallery hours are Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday from 12 to 7.p.m. and Saturday and
Sunday
from 12 to 4.p.m.
The Commercial Woman
How is the female body portrayed in
advertising? In
what ways is women's work made a part of and
separated from the commercial realm? Taking
the commercial aesthetic of advertising as a
starting point, The Commercial Woman explores a
diverse set of responses to the relationship
between women and commercialization.
Juxtaposing Antebellum Period dress with the
sleek image of an SUV, Adrienne Tarver's "Get
Out The Way No. 1" uses witty anachronism to
challenge the authority of advertising.
Tarver explains, "I infuse humor to shed a
little light on the cycles perpetuated in
American society. The glossy, bright colors
and pinup style figures draw inspiration from
the appeal of media, advertisements and
general imagery we see daily. I want my work
to reflect back on America like a fun-house
mirror; exaggerating, distorting, glamorizing
and documenting our stories."
Other works in the show include Joanne
Kaliontzis' digital collages of 1950s and '60s
print ads, and Julianne Sombat's knitted
drafting letters--which contrast traditional
"women's work" with the male-dominated
graphic design field.
Juror Colette Gaiter is an associate
professor of Visual Communications in the Art
Department at the University of Delaware and
a new media artist and graphic designer. Her
essay
on the work of Emory Douglas, artist for the
Black Panther Party, is published in a new
monograph, and she is working on an
interactive DVD about his work. Please read more
about her work below.
Woman Made Gallery invites you to experience
diverse and intuitive responses by women
artists to the theme of commercialization.
Admission to Woman Made Gallery is free and
open to the public
Opening reception: January 18 from 6 until 9
p.m. Works are up through February 21, 2008.
Image: "Get Out The Way No.
1" by Adrienne Tarver ; oil on wood panel, 12
x 16
inches
Read More Here
Colette Gaiter: "We Are All Poets," Cuba 2007
Colette Gaiter is a new media artist who has
worked with computers since 1982 and in
interactive multimedia since 1990. She has a
BFA in graphic design from Carnegie-Mellon
University in Pittsburgh and an MA from
Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. She has
exhibited her work internationally at the
International Symposium on Electronic Art
(ISEA) and SIGGRAPH, and in numerous galleries,
museums, and public institutions in the
United States. To support her multimedia
work, she has received many grants and awards.
"I made this series of photomontages after a
trip to Cuba in June of 2007 through Global
Exchange, which organizes legal educational
delegations from the U.S. I am not a
photographer. I use photography as documentation.
"By juxtaposing images, including vintage ones
I found after my trip, I illustrated some of
my thought process in making sense of what I
saw. In the months after my return, I spent
time reading, having many conversations,
and trying to understand what I could learn
from visiting a country that is virtually the
ideological polar opposite of my own.
The final prints show some of what I found
beautiful, ordinary, surprising, and
disturbing during my carefully guided ten
days on the tropical island that is
officially forbidden to American tourists."
Opening reception: January 18 from 6 until 9
p.m. Works are up through February 21, 2008.
Image: "We Are All Poets" by Colette Gaiter;
archival digital print, 23 x 23 inches
Read More Here
Jana C. Perez: Objectify
Gratify, electrify, mollify, satisfy. In
advertising, there is desired response
underlying every image. But what other hidden
meanings might an image have? Jana C. Perez's
diptychs push subtext to the surface in a
full force satire of images of women in
advertising. Constructing a literal
objectification, familiar images of women are
likened to everyday things. In "Mollify," an
ad for a bra is compared to a padlock and
chain. The result is a profound juxtaposition
that transforms the meaning of both images
and challenges the intentions of the
commercial ad.
Jana C. Perez holds an MA in Graphic Design
and an MFA in Photography and is currently
assistant professor of Graphic Design at
Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX, and
a freelance designer. Perez' work has been
featured in several exhibitions nationwide
including the 4th Photography Biennial, the
ReFresh Print Biennial I, University of
Wisconsin - Green Bay, and as a Portfolio
Winner at The Houston Center for Photography
Opening reception: January 18 from 6 until 9
p.m. Works are up through February 21, 2008.
Image: "Mollify" by Jana C. Perez; Epson
digital print, 14 x 24 inches
Read More Here:
Artisan Gallery: Speaking to My Ancestors
As artists, history speaks to us in some
manner every time we are creating a work. The
exhibit "Speaking to My Ancestors" explores
how artists use their specific family
histories in their art. This exploration
could be a craft or artisan process with
material, or a technique that has been passed
on through time or that has been rediscovered
and resurrected. It can take a narrative
form, with the artist in a dialogue about
her past.
Curated by Mary Stoppert and Carmen M. Perez,
represented artists include Adrienne Blum,
Susan Breeland, Helga Dangel, Toni Bennett
Easterson, Ruth Ann Howden, Pepper Johnson,
July L. Kahle, Denise Labadie, Dory Maier,
Diane Masi, B.J. Morgan and Judith M. Osmer.
Please join us for the Artists' Reception on
January 18 from 6 to 9 p.m. "Speaking to My
Ancestors" artworks will be on display
through March
27, 2008.
Image: "Grandma's Sewing Basket" by Diane
Masi; long leaf pine needle coiling, 3-1/4 x
10-1/2 inches
Read More Here:
About Woman Made Gallery
Woman Made Gallery is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit
organization founded in 1992. Its goal is to support
women in the arts by providing opportunities,
awareness, and advocacy. It specifically
accomplishes this through monthly thematic
exhibitions which raise public awareness and
recognition of women's cultural contributions.
Woman Made Gallery is supported in part by grants
from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; a CityArts
Program II grant from the City of Chicago, Department
of Cultural Affairs; the Chicago Community
Foundation; the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley
Foundation; the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation; the
Efroymson Fund, a CICF Fund; a major anonymous
donor and the generosity of its members and
contributors.
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Woman Made Gallery
Beate C. Minkovski
Executive Director
Phone:
312-738-0400
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