Chicago, Illinois- Woman Made Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the group show, "Drawing on Experience" and solo exhibitions by Nancy Charak and Nancy Rosen. The Artisan Gallery exhibits fine craft works in "The Secret," a group exhibition curated by Mary Stoppert and Carmen M. Perez.

In conjunction with the group and solo exhibitions, Woman Made Gallery is hosting a poetry reading on July 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. Co-hosted by Nina Corwin and Kathleen Kirk, experienced poets will read selections from their work.

Please join us at the artist reception on Friday, June 27 from 6 to 9 p.m. at 685 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. Works will be on display until July 24, 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.

This exhibition was juried by Nancy Charak, who is simultaneously exhibiting works in her solo show, "Drawing on Experience." Charak is a native Chicagoan who studied photography and design at the University of Illinois at Chicago and acquired an MFA in painting and drawing at Northern Illinois University. Charak's work can be seen at The Nines Gallery in Holland, Michigan. She is an affiliate member of the ARC Gallery of Chicago, Illinois, one of the oldest women's art cooperatives in the country.

Artists include Marjorie Albano, Sandra Beck, Sharon Bourke, Cecelia Brown, Ellen Deutsch, Kathryn Gauthier, Shelley Gilchrist, Sue Goldsmith, Iris Goldstein, Elaine Green, Kristi Hargrove, Janet Heilbronn, Bokyung Jun, Amanda Kamen, Elzbieta (Elka) Kazmierczak, Jeanette Martone, Cheri Reif Naselli, Kristine O'Reilly, Helen Oh, Felicity Papp, Mary Phelan, Shannon Robinson, Kathryn Rodrigues, Wendy Ross, Judith Roth, Julie Rozman, Melanie Scott-Dockery, Carol Shikany, Doni Silver Simons, Laurie Sucher, Anne Taft, Cheryl Toles, Wendy Tuxill, Allison Wade, Marjorie Williams-Smith, and Sallie Wolf..

Opening reception: Friday, June 27, from 6 until 9 p.m. Works are up through July 24, 2008.

Images: (top) "Shell Series #6" - ink, gouache on paper, 32 x 22 inches, by Anne Taft.

(left) "Melissa" - charcoal on paper, 27.5 x 19.7 inches, by Felicity Papp.

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Charak's studio is located in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Her work is in several corporate and private collections throughout the Midwest, including Cleveland, the Chicago area and the Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast of Saugatuck, Michigan.

Opening reception: Friday, June 27, from 6 until 9 p.m. Works are up through July 24, 2008.

Image: "Untitled 0802, 2008" - oil wash, pencil, oil crayon, prismacolor on 140# Fabriano Artistico, 44 x 55 inches, by Nancy Charak

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Select exhibitions include solo shows at the Elmhurst Art Museum, Millikin University, Texas Women's University and at The Levy Center. Rosen is the recipient of the Margaret Klimek Phillips Fellowship in 2003.

"I am a painter. For me this does not require much thinking, it is like breathing. What you see in these paintings is your own reflection, like a mirror. To me they are quite simple, instinctive and essential."

Opening reception: Friday, June 27, from 6 until 9 p.m. Works are up through July 24, 2008.

Image: "Settled In" - mixed media, 30 x 22 inches, by Nancy Rosen

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"There is nothing as titillating as a secret, because by its very nature a secret should not be revealed, which makes us want to know it even more. Artists were asked to submit work/s that somehow, someway embody or incorporate a secret. This secret should be able to be accessed or discovered by viewer interaction or exploration. It can take form in a physical or conceptual manner."

Participating artists include Sue Canizares, Toni Bennett Easterson, Janet Felton, Bonnie Keats, Jeanine van der Loo, Sherry Mattern, Maria Navarra- Pino, Julie Rozman, Sunny Shultz, and Janet L. Whitehead

Opening reception: Friday, June 27, from 6 until 9 p.m. Works are on display through August 28, 2008.

Image: "Reliquary III (Detail)" - white stoneware, sgraffito technique, 11 x 6.5 inches, by Sue Canizares

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Experienced poets will read their work on Sunday, July 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Woman Made Gallery, 685 N . Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, in conjunction with the Drawing on Experience group exhibit showing at the Gallery.

Featured poets Ellen Wade Beals, Mary Kathleen Hawley, Allison Joseph, Lauren Levato, Patricia McMillen, Kristy Odelius, and Judith Valente will read their work, along with poet hosts Nina Corwin and Kathleen Kirk. The poets, who come from all over Illinois, draw from a wide range experience in their poems, some of which will also relate to "The Secret" exhibit at Woman Made's Artisan Gallery.

For more information about this and other poetry readings, the art exhibits, and the gallery itself, call (312) 738-0400, visit the gallery's website at www.womanmade.org, and/or email the gallery at gallery@womanmade.org.

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 Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development, a donor-advised fund of 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.