On view: August 31 - September 29, 2024
Opening Reception Sunday, September 8th, 1-4 pm; Artist Talk at 2 pm RSVP
Sarah Smelser has been an artist in residence at Vermont Studio Center; Franz Masereel Center, Artica Bilbao, Kala Art Institute, Jentel Artist Residency, Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Anchor Graphics, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Remarque, Contemporary Print Media Research Center, and Tamarind Institute. She exhibits her monotypes in solo, invitational, and juried exhibitions, and at art fairs including Art Frankfurt, Estampa Madrid, Affordable Art Fair New York, Art Miami, EDITION Chicago, Boston Print Fair, Baltimore Contemporary Print Fair, EXPO, and Editions/Artists’ Book Fair. Smelser received her BA from University of California at Santa Cruz, and her MA and MFA from the University of Iowa. She is a professor in the Wonsook Kim School of Art at Illinois State University in Normal, IL.
Defying the laws of logic, reason, gravity... such was the solitary time in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I started making these works to explore and express the unwieldy, off-kilter sense of reality that our world faced and that I could observe from obsessively watching headline news. This work is not about the pandemic; it is the output from one person’s coping process.
Like so many during that time, I engaged with the absurdity of remote employment. I also steadfastly beat a path between my house and studio. The concentration and flow that these images require helped to provide a focus and gave me something to control. Amidst overwhelming confusion and horror, I could make and break rules within the confines of a makeshift mental space.
Since 2020, I have returned to this body of work as a place to experiment without responsibility and play with image-making that combines the aesthetics of drawing and collage yet is made via print techniques. My intensions have dovetailed with other interests, such as distinct approaches to place, landscape, and cityscape. Repetition, balance, unitization, and chunking exist in the company of solid, heavy, emphatic gestures. Certainty and uncertainty coexist, as do planning and happenstance.
GALLERY HOURS & VISITOR INFORMATION
This exhibition will be held in the Second Floor Atruim Gallery of the Evanston Art Center (EAC). Masks are optional but strongly recommended for students, visitors and staff.
Gallery Hours
Monday–Thursday: 9am–6pm
Friday: 9am–5pm
Saturday–Sunday: 9am–4pm
HOW TO PURCHASE ARTWORK
Artwork sale proceeds benefit both the artist and the Evanston Art Center. If you are interested in purchasing artwork on display, please contact Emma Rose Gudewicz, Director of Development and Exhibition Manager, at [email protected] or (847) 475-5300 x 102.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Artwork Pictured (L to R): Sarah Smelser; Defying the Laws XI, XIX, XVII (details)