Flexspace
RAC Kids Exhibition | June 29 - July 26, 2025
Bring in one of your children’s masterpieces to have it included in a gallery exhibition!
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present the annual RAC Kids’ Show, featuring artwork created by RAC students and children of the Riverside Arts Center’s members and school. This exhibition will be on display in our FlexSpace while our Freeark Gallery + Sculpture Garden will exhibit art by RAC’s members, volunteers, clay studio members, staff, board, and adults enrolled in RAC’s classes or workshops from summer 2024-2025. View last year’s exhibition here.
Exhibition on view: June 29 – July 26, 2025
Opening Reception: Sunday, June 29, 2025, 3:00 – 6:00 PM
Artwork drop off dates:
Thursdays, June 12 and June 19: 1 – 5 PM
Fridays, June 13 and June 20: 1 – 5 PM
Saturdays, June 14 and June 21: 1 – 5 PM
Artwork pick up dates:
Thursday, July 31: 1 – 5 PM
Friday, August 1: 1 – 5 PM
Saturday, August 2: 1 – 5 PM
Note: Art must be dropped off and picked up on these dates. If you require other accommodations, please contact the Exhibitions Director well in advance.
Join or renew your membership and be a part of this showcase of amazing artists.
Renew your membership today
Guidelines:
Current members, volunteers, clay members, children of, and students enrolled in RAC’s classes or workshops from summer 2024 to 2025 are eligible.
Each artist is invited to submit one piece, no larger than 30" in width.
All hanging art must be framed and/or ready for hanging with wire or sawtooth hanger on back. There can be acceptions, please contact Joanne.
3-D work for inside the gallery, can be displayed on one of our pedestals or stand on the floor.
Please fill out the exhibition form and include it with your submission.
RAC reserves the right to reject any submission. Reasons could include but are not limited to excessive size, weight, or fragility (risk of damage to artwork on display).
Questions? Email Gallery Director, Joanne Aono: jaono@riversideartscenter.com
Adeline Katz | Cardinal in Nest, 2024, Watercolor on paper, 10 x 16 inches
Renee Robbins | September 14 - October 18, 2025
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present an exhibition of Renee Robbins’ paintings curated by Joanne Aono.
Anthony Vizzari | October 26 - December 6, 2025
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present an exhibition of Anthony Vizzari’s photographic collages curated by Joanne Aono.
RAC Limited Edition Prints in Partnership with Vertical Gallery | April 26 - June 7, 2025
Emmy Star Brown | Hygge, 2024, 12-color hand-pulled screenprint, Edition of 40, 24 x 30 inches
Exhibition Dates: April 26 - June 7, 2025
Reception: Sunday, May 18, 2025, 3:00 - 6:00 PM
Exhibition on view: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 PM
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present RAC Limited Edition Prints, in partnership with Vertical Gallery. Five hand-pulled multi-colored screenprints are available through a unique collaboration between four international artists, Vertical Gallery in Chicago, and the Riverside Arts Center (RAC). In addition, selections from the Riverside Arts Center’s 2022 and 2023 Limited Edition Print Portfolios are exhibited and available to add to your collection while raising funds for RAC's exhibitions programming
Vertical Gallery and the Riverside Arts Center (RAC) are excited to present the third annual print fundraiser, featuring exclusive, limited-edition screen prints by artists Emmy Star Brown, 2Choey, Sergio Farfan, and Phido. With only a limited number available, each high-quality print offers a unique piece of contemporary art. 25% of proceeds directly support RAC's programs, including exhibitions, workshops, and community outreach.
Vertical Gallery has covered production costs and will handle logistics like payment, packaging, and shipping, allowing RAC to focus on enriching the local arts community. Every purchase supports artists, helps sustain RAC, and brings creative experiences to a wider audience.
Prints will be available for pickup at Vertical Gallery or at the Riverside Arts Center. Shipping is $30 (up to 3 prints for one flat fee). If you prefer to pick up your order after being charged for shipping, email us for a refund, and we'll hold your print for pickup.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. How do I purchase a print, and what payment methods are accepted?
You can purchase prints directly through Vertical Gallery’s online platform. Payment methods include major credit cards, and additional options like PayPal may be available at checkout.
2. Can I choose to pick up my print instead of having it shipped, and how does the refund process for shipping charges work?
Yes, you can choose to pick up your print at Vertical Gallery in Chicago, or at the Riverside Arts Center. If you were charged for shipping but would prefer to pick up your print, simply email us, and we’ll refund the shipping fee and hold your print for pickup.
3. When and where can I pick up my print if I choose the local pickup option?
Prints will be available for pickup at Vertical Gallery in Chicago, or at the Riverside Arts Center. Please choose your preferred location when completing your purchase.
4. How does my purchase support the Riverside Art Center and its programs?
25% of the proceeds from each sale directly support the Riverside Arts Center’s diverse programming, including exhibitions, educational workshops, and community outreach initiatives. By purchasing a print, you’re helping bring art education and creative experiences to a wider audience while supporting the local arts community.
RAC's MISSION:
The Riverside Arts Center strives to be the epicenter for contemporary art in the near-west suburbs of Chicago. Through exhibitions, education, artist studios, and public events, the RAC is an advocate for the vital role the arts play in nurturing community and amplifying diverse experiences, ideas, and backgrounds.
Jay Wolke | Edge 4C, 2023, Inkjet Print on Canson Arches 310 gsm paper, 11 × 17 inches
RAC Limited Edition Prints from 2022-2023
Curated by Paul D’Amato, twenty-three artists who have exhibited at the Arts Center, were invited to respond conceptually and formally to the phrases The Shape of Things to Come and Past Perfect. The participants created a set of unique images, which were made into limited editions of 20 high quality ink jet prints. The images are printed on 11” x 17” Canson Arches 310 gsm paper and are signed, titled, and numbered.
The artists in The Shape of Things to Come include Claire Ashley,, Aimée Beaubien, Paola Cabal, Bob Faust, Matthew Girson, Azadeh Gholizadeh, Anna Kunz, Anne Harris, Kim Piotrowski, Luis Sahagun, and Jay Wolke.
The artists in Past Perfect include Joanne Aono, Kelli Connell and Natalie Krick, Paul D’Amato, Laura Husar Garcia, Alice Hargrave, Nancy Hejna, Riva Lehrer, Tony Phillips, Jennifer Taylor, Erin Washington, Michelle Wasson, and Oli Watt.
The production of these prints was made possible by the generous support of Document, Chicago’s preeminent digital print facility, and IT Supplies, who donated the paper on which they are printed.
100% of the sales of these prints raise funds to support exhibitions and programming at RAC. Each print is available for purchase for $100 each. Entire suites of The Shape of Things to Come and the Past Perfect portfolios are available for $1000.
Creativity Fest | Saturdays, April 12 and 19, 2025
Dates: Saturday April 12 and 19, 2025
Drop in Times from: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Town Hall Exhibition: May 12 - July 30, 2025
Artists Exhibition Reception: Sunday, May 18, 2025, 3:00 - 6:00 PM
Gather your family and friends to make art! Join us in creating a community art project to celebrate Riverside’s 150th Birthday! Finished pieces will be displayed together at RAC's Town Hall exhibition. Stop by RAC to create your art and connect with others in our community.
While this is an Open House format, we encourage you to sign up for a slot so you can guarantee your spot and so you may choose the approximate arrival time best for you and your family. Of course if it is best for you to walk-in, we will do our best to serve all who show up. We can’t wait to create with you!
All are welcome! $10 registration per artwork created.
Saturday April 12 and April 19 from 10AM – 2PM
In the FlexSpace – the Blue Door at 32-30 E. Quincy St in Riverside and also upstairs in our Main Studio (Orange Door).
Celebrate our beautiful town by the river!
Come and create your own section of a "Community River" on a canvas we provide. On Saturday April 12 and again on Saturday April 19, RAC artists will guide your creations and provide supplies, found objects and other collage materials (and feel free to bring your own as well). The artwork you create will be (if you choose) part of an exhibition the Riverside Arts Center will install at the Riverside Town Hall, celebrating the community and the 150th Anniversary of Riverside. This Community Exhibition will be on view at Town Hall from May 12-July 30th.
This project is for ages 5 - 105. Art is for everyone.
Then… SAVE THE DATE for an artists reception (that’s YOU!) for this “Community River” Exhibition on Sunday, May 18th from 3-6pm!
Sample art by RAC Teaching Artist Theresa Paris
We hope you will choose to create your river in any way that speaks to you with found objects or natural beauty we provide or that you wish to bring. Think of it as a collage that expresses who you are and what you wish for our community.
Led by our beloved Teaching Artists: Mr. Tee, Shawn Vincent, Theresa Paris, and Madelyn Roldan
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I need to register ahead of time?
Registering in advance guarantees you space at your preferred time, and helps us plan for how many people to expect. But we are happy to welcome you at the door if there is space! We've divided the day into one-hour sign-up slots starting at 10AM. When you register, let us know your preferred time, how many people are in your party, and how many canvases you'd like to work on. If you are unable to register in advance, no worries. Please walk in on the day of and we will do our best to get you and your group in!
What does it cost?
Minimum of $10 per each artwork your group makes to cover supplies. If you have a group of 3 and you want to collaborate on one canvas that will be $10 to cover supplies. If you each want to create you own artwork, and there are 3 of you in your group, that will be $10 per canvas or $30 total. You may also choose to make an additional donation which we welcome to help cover the salaries for our teaching artists. Riverside Arts Center is a not-for-profit organization. Thank you for your support!
What age is best for this project?
We welcome creative makers of all ages: kids 5+, pre-teens, and teenagers as well as adults and seniors of any age. This project is appropriate for a variety of experience levels. Pieces can be simple or more complex and detailed if you choose. Your group can work collaboratively on one canvas, or create individually on different canvases. We'll be there to guide you toward making a work of art you’ll be proud to display! Our teachers are excited to meet you and explore your ideas.
Did I hear these artworks can be displayed?
Art pieces created during Creativity Fest will be included (if you choose) in a community exhibit at Riverside Town Hall in celebration of Riverside’s 150th birthday. Stop by Town Hall to see them between May 12 and July 30th. After the exhibition closes you may stop by Riverside Arts Center to pick up your artwork to take home.
Why will this be exhibited at Town Hall ?
Riverside Town Hall exhibitions feature work by area artists, celebrating the exchange of support and generosity between the community of Riverside and the Riverside Arts Center. On view at 27 Riverside Road from May 12 through July 30th, 2025. Please join us for a celebration of the artists and art during a reception on Sunday, May 18th from 3 to 6 pm. Light refreshments will be served at the Riverside Arts Center, a short block around the corner from the Town Hall.
RAC's MISSION:
The Riverside Arts Center strives to be the epicenter for contemporary art in the near-west suburbs of Chicago. Through exhibitions, education, artist studios, and public events, the RAC is an advocate for the vital role the arts play in nurturing community and amplifying diverse experiences, ideas, and backgrounds.
Hiding in Plain Sight | March 7 - April 5, 2025
"Dissolution," 2024, oil on canvas, 48" x 36", by Katharine Oltrogge.
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present in the Flexspace Gallery: Hiding in Plain Sight, a group exhibition guest curated by RAC’s gallery Assistant, Madelyn Roldan. Hiding in Plain Sight, a group exhibition of Katharine Oltrogge, Oakley MCcormack, Summer Tribble, Tariq Tamir, Madelyn Roldan and Molly Nadir. Please join us on Friday, March 7th from 5:00 - 7:00 pm for an opening reception with the artists.On Saturday, March 22nd at 2pm, join Katharine Oltrogge, Oakley MCcormack, Summer Tribble, Tariq Tamir, Madelyn Roldan, Molly Nadir and the curator for an artist talk. All events are free and open to the public.
Opening Reception: Friday, March 7, 2025, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Exhibition Dates: March 7, 2025 – April 5, 2025
Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, March 29, 2025, 3:00 pm
Hiding in Plain Sight takes its inspiration from a verse of a love song, evoking the intention that love, much like art, often reveals itself in the smallest and most unexpected moments. In this exhibition, we explore the delicate, intricate relationship between the artist and their work. Each piece serves as a conversation, a serene exchange where both the creator and the creation are united, sometimes subtly, sometimes boldly, but always significantly. There’s an intimacy in art, an invitation to gaze deeper, to discover fragments of the artist's heart and soul hidden within the layers of color, texture, and form. Just like a love song that lingers long after the last note fades, these works invite the viewer to engage, to pause, and to find the charm and significance that exist in the space between the artist's intentions and the viewer’s interpretation. It’s in these moments of connection—when we see something of ourselves in the art, and something of the artist in us is when the true magic happens.
-Madelyn Roldan, curator
Katharine Oltrogge is a Chicago based artist. Her oil paintings are conjured from the fantastical, the mythological and the sacred. Using symbolism drawn from nature and religious imagery, Oltrogge’s narrative paintings investigate personal experiences of transformation and identity through the vocabulary of the hidden and the spiritual. Allegorical figures and otherworldly landscapes rendered from imagination serve as an avenue for exploring the artist’s inner world. Jewel-toned brushstrokes and layered surfaces breathe psychological depth into each figure. By focusing on the experiences of queer women, the use of religious myth reclaims visual power structures that have existed throughout the history of Western painting. Oltrogge will receive a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Spring 2025. She has been featured in various group shows at galleries across Chicagoland, including Riverside Art Center, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery Wrightwood, and Bridgeport Art Center. She is currently an artist-in-residence at Northwestern University, through the Institute’s Art by Gender and Sexual Minorities program.
Website: https://katharine-oltrogge.weebly.com/
Instagram: @katharineoltrogge
Oakley Mccormack is an artist from Riverside, Illinois. They currently attend Elmhurst university as a fine arts student with a focus in ceramics. These are their first ceramic works to be displayed in a gallery. They wanted these pieces to represent their love and adoration for aquatic and shell like shapes in nature. They find that working with clay fills them with a sense of calm and allows them to release the anxiety that runs through them on a day to day basis. They hope that these pieces fill you with a sense of calm like they did for them.
Instagram: @felinepeachy
Madelyn Roldan is an artist from Brookfield, Illinois. Madelyn will receive her associates from Triton College this spring 2025. She plans to further her art degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a multiple media artist known for her ethereal and intricate works. Some of her works include motifs of conch shells. With a deep appreciation for the significance of pastels, light and emotion, she creates visually detailed and emotionally resonant pieces that invite viewers to explore the depths of their own imagination.
Website: https://madelynroldan.univer.se/
Instagram: @madelynril
Mr. Tee, also known as Tariq Tamir, is a Chicago based artist and educator who studied at Columbia College Chicago. Prior to joining RAC, he taught young adults ages 14-21 with Chicago’s Gallery 37 and the Boys and Girls Club. In addition to being poetically inclined, Tariq uses art as a medium for self-growth and empowerment which he transfers to his students. He has exhibited his painting, assemblage, and found object art in solo and group exhibitions in local venues. He has been featured in numerous videos for RBTV’s People in Perspective, the Riverside Arts Center, and the Oak Park Public Library.
Instagram: @esotariq2
Summer Tribble (b. 1999), also known as Heavenly Creature, is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice bridges the boundaries between life and death, nature and simulation, memory and decay. Using taxidermy and 3D digital rendering, Tribble interrogates the impermanence of the flesh, the cycles of decomposition and rebirth, and the ways in which trauma imprints itself onto both the organic and the artificial. Within her work, remnants of the past are resurrected in spectral forms—dissected, reconstructed, and immortalized in new realities. Tribble graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a BFA in 2021, and her works have been featured in AIR Studio & Gallery, New Art City, and more. She currently lives and works in Chicago.
Website: https://summertribble.com/work
Instagram: @heavenlycreature001
Molly Nadir is a Chicago based artist, Molly Nadir, uses a low resolution canvas and limited colors to bring the medium of digital art to its most basic form. Using perfect squares alluding to the shape only occurring in nature with the touch of a conscious mind, Molly is able to make intricate pieces within the genre of 'Visionary Art'. Their pieces, covering themes surrounding science and spirituality, are filled with references to quantum mechanics, Buddhism, astrophysics, Advaita Vedanta Hinduism, and Sacred Geometry.
Website: https://www.artstation.com/mollynadir
Instagram: @mollynadir
Sharon Hoogstraten | Dancing for our tribe | October 20 - November 30, 2024
Margaret and Tesia Zientek, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, 2014, Digital print on canvas, 60 x 47 inches
Exhibition Dates: October 20 – November 30, 2024
Opening Reception: Sunday, October 20, 2024, 3:00 - 6:00 PM
Join us afterwards for a private happy hour at the Quincy Street Distillery
Exhibition on view: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 PM
Artist Talk: Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 7:00 PM
Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road, Riverside, Illinois
Reservations required - please register here (free)
*The FlexSpace will be open Wednesday, November 6 from 5:50-6:46pm for a special viewing prior to the artist talk at the Riverside Public Library, located just around the corner.
Publication: Dancing for Our Tribe
Available at the gallery and online here
The Riverside Arts Center’s FlexSpace is pleased to present Sharon Hoogstraten’s photography exhibition, Dancing for Our Tribe. Please join us on Sunday, October 20th for an opening reception with a private cocktail hour afterwards at the Quincy Street Distillery. The artist will give a talk on the evening of Wednesday, November 6th at 7pm at the Riverside Public Library, just around the corner from the gallery. All events are free and open to the public. Reservations are required for the artist talk - register here.
The Potawatomi dancers’ movements work in tandem with their colorful regalia. Swaying fringe symbolizes prairie grasses. The jingle of 365 small metal cones represent blessings. Sharon Hoogstraten’s Hasselblad large format camera captures these traditions as they intertwine with present day life. Her life-sized photographs framed by cedar strips - one of the four sacred plants of the Potawatomi - show the details of the handmade ensembles. Moreover, these are portraits of individuals. The faces show expressions of passion and pride of a culture that will be preserved and continued through the tribal members dance and through Hoogstraten’s portfolio.
–Joanne Aono, curator
Robert Moody, Pokagon Band, 2015, Digital print on canvas, 60 x 47 inches
Artist Statement
In the heyday of the Anishinaabe Confederacy, the Potawatomis were spread across Canada, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Pressured by the westward expansion of the fledgling United States of America, they became the most treatied of any Indian tribes. Forced removals and multiple treaty era relocations resulted in cultural chaos and an enduring threat to their connections to the ancestors. Despite these hardships, they have managed to maintain (or restore) their rich heritage.
Beginning with Citizen Potawatomi Nation, my home reservation in Shawnee, Oklahoma, I called on all nine nations of the scattered Potawatomi tribe. I have produced photographic evidence and a permanent record of present-day Potawatomis wearing traditional regalia modified to reflect the influence and storytelling of contemporary life. While the old silver monochrome portraits that captured Native life at the turn of the last century are a priceless record of those times, they also contribute to the impression that most Great Lakes / Woodland Indian Tribes exist only as remnants of a dimly remembered past. These formal portraits, accompanied by personal statements, portray a fresh reality of today’s native descendants and their regalia; people who live in a world of assimilation, sewing machines, proud military service, and high resolution digital cameras.
The Potawatomi Nations have merged loss and optimism to reinforce their legacy for generations to come. The old arts of language, ribbonwork, beading, and quillwork are being learned from the elders with a renewed sense of urgency. Preserving Potawatomi culture, tribal members are translating traditional designs into their own artistic celebration of continuing existence—thus lighting the path forward for the next seven generations and beyond.
Sophia Suke, Prairie Band, 2016, Digital print on canvas, 60 x 47 inches
Sharon Hoogstraten is a Chicago photographer and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She holds an MFA from the University of Illinois, Chicago after receiving a BS from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her art has been shown in solo exhibitions at the State of Illinois Building, Chicago; University of Chicago, Rockefeller Chapel; Kalamazoo Arts Council; the Elmhurst History Museum; and in group exhibitions at the Illinois State Museum; National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution; and the American Indian Center, Chicago.
Hoogstraten’s art has received media coverage by the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and WTTW among others. She has given lectures and presentations across the country. Publications of her photography have received awards from the Eric Hoffer Foundation and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Museum acquisitioned the complete collection of Sharon Hoogstraten’s CPN portraits. Her photography is held in numerous private collections. Her book, Green City Market: A Song of Thanks was recognized by the Chicago Public Library Foundation at the Carl Sandburg Literary Awards event.
https://www.behance.net/HOOGSTRATEf665?locale=en_US
Holly Holmes | Companions | September 8 - October 12, 2024
Towers of Knowledge, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
Exhibition Dates: September 8 - October 12, 2024
Opening Reception: Sunday, September, 8, 2024, 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Join us afterwards for a private cocktail hour across the street at the Quincy Street Distillery
Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, October 5, 2024, 2:00 pm
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present Holly Holmes’ solo exhibition, Companions in the FlexSpace, curated by Gallery Director, Joanne Aono. Please join us on Sunday, September 8th from 3:00 - 6:00 pm for an opening reception with the artist. Join us afterwards for a private cocktail hour across the street at the Quincy Street Distillery. On Saturday, October 5th at 2pm, join Holly Holmes and the curator for an artist talk. All events are free and open to the public.
Holly Holmes utilizes painting and tufting to express her observations of physical spaces. Through these works, we become companions on her walks where she might sketch a view at a train station or from a porch, later combining them with her thoughts on current events and associated emotional reactions.
The paintings are rendered in flat, tight strokes with subtle patterns reminiscent of Phillip Guston, while the rug weavings bring to mind the abstract textiles of Anni Albers and Sophie Taeuber-Arp, bridging fine art with exceptional craft. As the eye wanders through Holmes’ vibrant blocks of color, it jumps from one angle to the next, only to be sprung about by a caressing curve. We flip between the edges and the shapes, conjuring up glimpses of familiar objects, then we step back and get lost once again. The titles give us clues and oftentimes affirmation of a perceived form in their simple poetry.
Like companion planting, where each organism provides a benefit to those adjacent, Holmes’ paintings and wall rugs nurture each other. Our experience is enhanced by the conversations between the artworks as we notice subtle nuances when comparing similar sections within separate pieces. The patterned speckles in her paintings evoke the texture of the yarns, while the hard edges of the paintbrush strokes contrast with the rough borders of the rug tufts. We notice a repeated shape or color from one piece to the next or across the room, giving a sense of cohesion throughout the exhibition.
– Joanne Aono
Over the past couple of years, I have been working with tension between abstraction and representation. The matter of facts, readings or translations of situations and elements of life resonate within me for many different reasons. In my work it is this resonance that I want to pass along to viewers. With my visual work and with the text of the titles I give rise to the friction of translation that the depiction of abstraction carries.
For me to create this current work it helps to travel outside my home. Home is wonderful and should be explored but there is an excitement and a bit of wonder that comes from leaving your known. I am always noticing details and visually studying the world around me, translating spaces, and experiences that were in and are in public view. I make this work from sketches in the studio and at times using memory and feelings to recreate the space as well.
There is an examining and reexamining process that occurs while making a work. This reexamining has also become a way of painting and color mixing when working with yarn. Recently I have been making my tufted and painted works in tandem as companions. That is both a painting and a tufted image expressing the same resonance or from the same subject situation. This enables me to make creative decisions more effectively. I am becoming a pointillist painter with yarn to create new colors or shades and to develop the tone of the pieces.
Paint is an immediate and fast medium, especially acrylic paint which I mostly work with. Changing a section of a painting or experimenting with color and pattern is relatively frictionless. Yarn on the other hand is a much more time consuming process. Experimenting with color requires careful blending of threads and meticulous consideration. By flipping back and forth between companions I am able to test out an idea in one place and realize it in the other.
For this exhibition I wanted to foreground this idea of companion pieces and see them together, adjacent to each other and encourage their conversations across the gallery. It is exciting for me to think about how their resonance echoes in the space and how the works operate in tandem across different modes of representation.
– Holly Holmes
Holly Holmes grew up in the Chicago area and currently resides in Oak Park. Holmes is a painter, sculptor, educator, planner and curator. She received a BFA in painting from Southern Illinois University and a MFA in sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She currently teaches at Columbia College Chicago. Holmes was on the board of Terrain Exhibitions, producing a residency program and the Terrain Biennial. She is a member of Videokaffe, an international art collective spanning locations in North America and Nordic countries.
Recently Holmes has shown her work at, Ohklohomo, Chicago; Sluice expo, Colchester, UK; Material, Chicago; The Design Museum, Chicago; Dominican University; River Forest, Il, Kunsthius Gallery; Crayke, UK; ArtTeleported, CICA; Queens, N.Y.; and Videokaffee at Art House, in Turku, Finland. Her art is held in public and private collections throughout the world.
Companions is Partially funded by a Part-time Faculty Development Grant from Columbia College Chicago
There is Wisdom in Waiting (2), 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 18 inches
RAC Kids Exhibition | July 7 - 27, 2024
Bring in one of your children’s masterpieces to have it included in a gallery exhibition!
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present the annual RAC Kids’ Show, featuring artwork created by RAC students and children of the Riverside Arts Center’s members and school. This exhibition will be on display in our FlexSpace while our Freeark Gallery + Sculpture Garden will exhibit art by RAC’s members, volunteers, clay studio members, staff, board, and adults enrolled in RAC’s classes or workshops from summer 2023-2024. View last year’s exhibition here.
Exhibition on view: July 7 – 27, 2024
Opening Reception: Sunday, July 7, 2024, 3:00 – 6:00 PM
Join or renew your membership and be a part of this showcase of amazing artists.
Renew your membership today
Artwork drop off dates:
Thursday, June 27: 1 – 5 PM
Friday, June 28: 1 – 5 PM
Saturday, June 29: 1 – 5 PM
Artwork pick up dates:
Thursday, August 1: 1 – 5 PM
Friday, August 2: 1 – 5 PM
Saturday, August 3: 1 – 5 PM
Guidelines:
Current members, volunteers, clay members, children of, and students enrolled in RAC’s classes or workshops from summer 2023-2024 are eligible.
Each artist is invited to submit one piece, no larger than 30" in width.
All hanging art must be framed and/or ready for hanging with wire or sawtooth hanger on back.
3-D work for inside the gallery, can be displayed on one of our pedestals or stand on the floor.
Please fill out the exhibition form and include it with your submission.
RAC reserves the right to reject any submission. Reasons could include but are not limited to excessive size, weight, or fragility (risk of damage to artwork on display).
Questions? Email Gallery Director, Joanne Aono: jaono@riversideartscenter.com
RAC Limited Edition Prints | May 24 - June 22, 2024
Exhibition Dates: May 24 – June 22, 2024
Opening: Friday, May 24, 2024, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Selections from the Riverside Arts Center’s 2022 and 2023 Limited Edition Print Portfolios will be on exhibit in the FlexSpace. Curated by Paul D’Amato, twenty-three artists who have exhibited at the Arts Center, were invited to respond conceptually and formally to the phrases The Shape of Things to Come and Past Perfect.
The artists created a set of unique images, which were made into limited editions of 20 high quality ink jet prints.The images are printed on 11” x 17” Canson Arches 310 gsm paper and are signed, titled and numbered by the artists. The sales of these prints raise funds to support exhibitions and programming at RAC, .
The artists in The Shape of Things to Come include Claire Ashley, Aimée Beaubien, Paola Cabal, Bob Faust, Matthew Girson, Azadeh Gholizadeh, Anna Kunz, Anne Harris, Kim Piotrowski, Luis Sahagun, and Jay Wolke.
The artists in Past Perfect include Joanne Aono, Kelli Connell and Natalie Krick, Paul D’Amato, Laura Husar Garcia, Alice Hargrave, Nancy Hejna, Riva Lehrer, Tony Phillips, Jennifer Taylor, Erin Washington, Michelle Wasson, and Oli Watt,
The production of these prints was made possible by the generous support of Document, Chicago’s preeminent digital print facility, and IT Supplies, who donated the paper on which they are printed.
Each print is available for purchase for $100 each. Entire suites of The Shape of Things to Come and the Past Perfect portfolios are available for $1000.
Mary Porterfield | That Which Remains | April 7 - May 11, 2024
Exhibition Dates: April 7 – May 11, 2024
Opening Reception: Sunday, April 7, 2024, 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Join us afterwards for a private happy hour across the street at the Quincy Street Distillery.
Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 pm
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present That Which Remains, a solo exhibition by Mary Porterfield in the FlexSpace. The exhibition will consist of drawings, an installation, and a community participatory art wall addressing the challenges of caregiving.
Support that Remains, 2023-2024, Spray painted and painted walkers and crutches, size variable,
My drawings reflect my mother’s struggle to care for my father who had Parkinsonism and was homebound. The life-sized images, which are cut out and attached to the wall, represent the mounting difficulties my parents faced, made worse by the pandemic. I overlap translucent layers to signify my father’s gradual evanescence, using the vastness of the wall to represent my mother’s perseverance, hardship and love. Since my father’s passing, the assistive devices remain as witnesses to the weight my mother bore, both physically and metaphorically. The layering of film symbolizes the passage of time as my mother recalls what was, yet acknowledges the impermanence of what is. In sharing my parent’s story, I hope to elevate those who have had such an impact on our past, while making visible those caregivers who make the present possible.
– Mary Porterfield
Mary Porterfield has exhibited her paintings, drawings, and installations nationally and internationally at venues including the Lim Lip Museum in South Korea, the Phoenix Art Museum, the San Diego Art Institute, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Kohler Arts Center, the Figge Art Museum, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, and the Rockford Art Museum. Solo shows include Hofheimer Gallery (Chicago, Il), Packer-Schopf Gallery (Chicago, Il), Concordia University (River Forest, Il), the University of Illinois (Urbana, Il), and the West Valley Art Museum (Surprise, AZ). Honors include three Illinois Artist Council Grants, a City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Grant (DCASE), a Puffin Foundation Grant, and three Chicago Community Arts Assistance Program Grants. Porterfield teaches at Northeastern Illinois University and received an MFA from Arizona State University.
https://maryporterfield.com/home.html
A Window Long Since Removed, 2023, Oil on semitransparent Dura-Lar film, 40 x 60 inches
The Tides Within, 2023-2024, Oil on semi-transparent Dura-Lar film, 82 x 216 inches,
FlexSpace Artist in Residence | Vida SACIC | February 25 - March 27, 2024
Vida Sačić. Home, Body, Land, Letterpress Prints, 40" x 58" each, edition of 2-4 each
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to welcome Vida Sačić as Artist in Residence for the month of March, 2024.
Residency Dates: February 26 - March 27, 2024
Open Studio Hours: Wednesday afternoons, 2:00 – 3;30 pm
Public Program: Q&A with Vida Sačić and Martha Chiplis: Saturday, March 16, 2024, 2:00 pm
Vida Sačić is a Chicago-based artist who works with moveable type to create editioned prints that explore labour and identity in the context of immigration.
Join us for a public program Saturday March 16 at 2:00 pm
The Riverside Arts Center will host a Q&A with Vida Sačić and Martha Chiplis Saturday, March 16, 2024, 2:00 pm in the FlexSpace.
Join Vida and Martha for an afternoon of conversation on movable type and the role of letterpress printing in community-building and collaborative practices. The conversation will feature young artists Hannah Grajciar, Luis Anzo, and Lesly Alonso, who are assisting in constructing the work during Vida's residency.
Martha Chiplis is a Berwyn-based artist and co-author of “For the Love of Letterpress,” published by Bloomsbury. She teaches letterpress printing at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.
Bio:
Vida Sačić is a Croatian and American multidisciplinary artist and educator. Her work explores immigration, gender, and labor primarily through print media. She has been a resident artist at The Penland School of Craft in North Carolina and The Center for Book and Paper Arts in Chicago. In her work,
Vida emphasizes community and collaboration. She has worked on long-term collaborative projects with TipoRenesansa Letterpress Studio in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum in Wisconsin. Her prints and installations have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across the United States and Europe, including at the DeVos Art Museum in Michigan and The Center for Book Arts in New York City.
Vida is currently preparing for a solo exhibition in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Locally, her large-scale work will be featured in an upcoming exhibition of printing by and for immigrant communities at the Newberry Library in Chicago, opening in December 2024.
Vida’s studio practice is informed and complemented by her work as an educator and tenured professor at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.
Project description:
As an artist in residence at the FlexSpace at Riverside Arts Center, I will develop a new project inspired by correspondence within immigrant families. Primarily working in print media, I plan to create in-process assemblages of prints on paper, textiles, and fiber that incorporate other media. I will be assisted by young artists from immigrant backgrounds whose families are multi-lingual. The works will feature hand-written and printed notes, drawings, images, and stories gathered during the residence.
The RAC community is invited to take part in the construction.
I will be working in the FlexSpace on Wednesday afternoons during the month of March, with events planned during the week of March 11.
Vida Sačić. Is My, Letterpress Print, 40" x 58", edition of 4
For more images of Vida’s work, please visit her website at www.vidasacic.net
Past Perfect: Celebrating 30 Years with 30 Artists | November 5, 2023 - January 6, 2024
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present Past Perfect: Celebrating 30 Years with 30 Artists, a group exhibition commemorating our thirtieth anniversary. This exhibition will be on view in RAC’s Freeark Gallery, FlexSpace, and Sculpture Garden from November 5, 2023 through January 6, 2024. Click this link for images from this exhibition.
Opening Reception: Sunday, November 5, 2023, 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Please join us afterwards for a private happy hour with handcrafted artisanal spirits across the street at the Quincy Street Distillery.
Exhibition Dates: November 5, 2023 – January 6, 2024
Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Artist Panel Discussions: Saturdays at 2pm
December 2nd: Artists Tom Burtonwood, Andreas Fischer, Riva Lehrer, Tim Lowly, Yoonshin Park, Kim Piotrowski, and Colleen Plumb, with curators Anne Harris, Laura Husar Garcia, and Joanne Aono
December 9th: Artists Larry Bookbinder and Matthew Girson, Jason Lazarus (via zoom) and Ali Feser, Camille Silverman, and Erin Washington, with curators Laura Husar Garcia, and Joanne Aono
January 6th Closing Reception and Artist Panel Talk: Artists Whitney Bradshaw, Bob Faust, Nancy Hejna, Heather Hug, Indira Freitas Johnson, Anna Kunz, and Jennifer Taylor, with curators Anne Harris and Joanne Aono
Established in 1993, the Riverside Arts Center has evolved into a respected destination led by its world-class exhibition programming. In recognition of the hundreds of artists whose art has similarly grown through the years, thirty extraordinary artists were selected from RAC’s solo and two-person exhibitions.
Representing a diverse range of artistic mediums, the exhibition includes a wood sculpture by one of the Riverside Arts Center’s founders, Ruth Freeark; a colorful multimedia installation by Aimée Beaubien; and a figurative oil painting by Janice Nowinski. Photography and video are explored by Whitney Bradshaw and Colleen Plumb, while painting is represented by respected artists such as Kim Piotrowski, Anna Kunz, Candida Alvarez, and Andreas Fischer. In addition, we honor Sabina Ott and Deborah Boardman posthumously through their art.
The exhibition will open with a reception for the artists on Sunday, November 5th from 3-6pm. Coinciding with the exhibition, several of the exhibiting artists will participate in panel discussions led by the exhibition’s curators, Anne Harris, Laura Husar Garcia, and Joanne Aono, on select Saturday afternoons.
Outside the Box: Modern and Contemporary Houses in Riverside | September 10 - October 21, 2023
Catalogue Cover by Dan Streeting
Photo by Will Quam
The Riverside Arts Center presents Outside the Box: Modern and Contemporary Houses in Riverside. This FlexSpace exhibition is guest co-curated by Kim Freeark (Riverside homeowner) and Michelangelo Sabatino (Riverside homeowner, architectural historian and preservationist). Through their extensive research and with the participation of Riverside residents, they have enlisted the talents of photographer Will Quam to document modern and contemporary houses in Riverside built from the 1930s to the present. The exhibition highlights histories of the houses and their owners, along with personal stories from the residents. Included in the exhibition are a set of 3-D printed models of a selection of the houses created by architect Andrew Obendorf (Riverside homeowner). A walking tour led by 3rd generation Riversider Bianca Buckzo will be offered featuring some of the homes, and the catalogue designed by Board member Dan Streeting contains the photographs and stories of these homes and their owners.
Exhibition Dates: September 10 – October 21, 2023
Opening Reception: Sunday, September 10, 2023, 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Join us afterwards for a private happy hour across the street at the Quincy Street Distillery.
Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Walking Tour: POSTPONED. New date TBD
Publication: Outside the Box: Modern and Contemporary Houses in Riverside will be aailable for purchase at the opening reception and afterwards.
Panel Discussion: Living in a Modern or Contemporary House in Riverside
Wednesday, October 18, 2023. 7:00 - 9:00 pm at the Riverside Public Library.
An informal conversation highlighting contemporary and modern houses in Riverside with co-curators Kim Freeark and Michelangelo Sabatino, photographer Will Quam, Riverside Homeowners and others participating in "Outside The Box", a photography exhibition at the Riverside Arts Center's FlexSpace September 10th - October 21, 2023. In collaboration with the Frederick Law Olmsted Society of Riverside (FLOS).
Guest Co-Curated by Kim Freeark and Michelangelo Sabatino with Photographs by Will Quam
Our Riverside is known for many things: Olmsted’s General Plan, a beautiful Water Tower, stately Victorians, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Tomek House, Coonley Estate, and Playhouse. But what about so many other houses: the contemporary ones, the modern and mid-century ones, the quirky ones, the interesting renovations and re-purposing? The houses whose owners and designers decided to do something different, something ‘outside the box’?
- Kim Freeark
Steel House
Kim Freeark is a retired IT consultant. She moved to Riverside in 2016, when she purchased her parent's home. Kim enjoys gardening, reading, and opining about architecture. She currently serves as Treasurer of two non-profit organizations: the Frederick Law Olmsted Society of Riverside (FLOS) and the Yucatan Environmental Foundation (YEF).
Michelangelo Sabatino is a publicly engaged architectural historian, curator, and preservationist. He is Professor at IIT’s College of Architecture where he directs the PhD program and is the inaugural John Vinci Distinguished Research Fellow. He serves on the Board of Directors of Docomomo US. Sabatino and his partner Serge Ambrose recently restored their late 1930s modern home in Riverside. Their forthcoming book is entitled Modern, Again. The Benda House & Garden in Chicagoland (2024)
Will Quam is an architecture photographer, architecture writer, and researcher and the heart behind Brick of Chicago. He loves bricks. He leads tours about bricks and architecture! You can learn more here. You can check out some of his media appearances, here.
Project team
Andrew Obendorf is an architect and urbanist who has lived in Riverside with his family since 2021. His work has spanned large-scale mixed-use, cultural, residential, retail, healthcare and government buildings throughout the world. His recent local work includes 800 West Fulton in Fulton Market and the urban plan for the 78, a new mixed-use neighborhood in the South Loop. Oberndorf’s approach is rooted in interdisciplinary design and collaboration, with a focus on place, history and climate. His work includes some of the highest performing and sustainable projects in their respective context, and have received a wide array of awards and publication.
Dan Streeting is the founder of Streeting Design, a graphic design studio that focuses on print publications, editorial illustration, and research projects. Dan is also the Art Director of Chicago’s Newcity magazine and a member of the Riverside Arts Center’s board of directors. In previous careers, Dan ran a storefront gallery in Berwyn with his wife Jessica, taught experimental typography and publication design, and played in a synth band in early-2000s Michigan. He holds an MFA in 2D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA from Northern Michigan University.
https://www.streetingdesign.com/
Bianca Buckzo grew up in Riverside, IL, where she was instilled with a deep respect for architecture and its presence in the environment. Her passion for architecture has led to her volunteer work as an interpreter at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park, educating people from all over the world about the founder of the Prairie School of Architecture. She is a member of the Frederick Law Olmsted Society of Riverside (FLOS) and leads walking tours of Riverside. Buczko is a student at Illinois Institute of Technology studying in the School of Architecture.
Geoffrey Baer is a Chicago-based television personality, actor writer and producer, based at WTTW, Chicago’s PBS television station. His PBS program 10 Towns that Changed America (2016) and WTTW program Chicago’s Western Suburbs: From Prairie Soil to Prairie Style (2008) demonstrate his ongoing interest in what lies beyond Chicago’s famous skyline.
Liz Chilsen is an artist and Executive Director of the Riverside Arts Center (RAC). Her photographic study “Lessons of Place”, is part of a long-term study of place dynamics, immigration, and family, centered in rural and small town places. It is funded in part by Illinois Humanities and the Illinois Arts Council. Major commissions include “Landmarks Illinois, 25 years of Endangered Places in Illinois”, and “Loeb Fellows Park Place Charette” in Birmingham. Chilsen holds an MFA in Photography from Columbia College and a Bachelor of Science in Art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Project related news
Riverside home up for National Register consideration, by Bob Uphuges, RB Landmark, June 13, 2023
Benda House would be village’s first ‘modern’ design
A Riverside couple has applied to U.S. Park Service to have their home added to the National Register of Historic Places, and after receiving unanimous support from the Riverside Preservation Commission in May the application will be considered for recommendation by the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council later this month.
If ultimately recommended for placement on the National Register, the Benda House at 211 Southcote Road, now owned by Michelangelo Sabatino and Serge Ambrose, would be the just fourth Riverside structure so designated.
“For me it was a slam dunk,” said Charles Pipal, chairman of the Riverside Preservation Commission, whose members voted unanimously on May 25 to support the National Register application to the state advisory council. “The application was impeccably researched.” More
Thank you to our exhibition partners!
The Riverside Arts Center gratefully acknowledges Kim Freeark and the Freeark family for their support always, and especially Kim's support of this exhibition.
Catalog and publication design
RAC Kids Exhibition | July 9 - 29, 2023
Bring in one of your children’s masterpieces to have it included in a gallery exhibition!
The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present the annual RAC Kids’ Show, featuring artwork created by RAC students and children of the Riverside Arts Center’s members and school. This exhibition will be on display in our FlexSpace while our Freeark Gallery + Sculpture Garden will exhibit art by RAC’s members, volunteers, clay studio members, staff, board, and adults enrolled in RAC’s classes or workshops from summer 2022-2023.
Exhibition on view: July 9 – 29, 2023
Opening Reception: Sunday, July 9, 2023, 3:00 – 6:00 PM
Join or renew your membership and be a part of this showcase of amazing artists.
Renew your membership today
Artwork drop off dates:
Thursday, June 29: 1 – 5 PM
Friday, June 30: 1 – 5 PM
Saturday, July 1: 1 – 5 PM
Thursday, July 6: 1 – 5 PM
Download the Drop Off Form here.
Artwork pick up dates:
Thursday, August 3: 1 – 5 PM
Friday, August 4: 1 – 5 PM
Saturday, August 5: 1 – 5 PM
Guidelines:
Current members, volunteers, clay members, children of, and students enrolled in RAC’s classes or workshops from summer 2022-2023 are eligible.
Each artist is invited to submit one piece, no larger than 30" in width.
All hanging art must be framed and/or ready for hanging with wire or sawtooth hanger on back.
3-D work for inside the gallery, can be displayed on one of our pedestals or stand on the floor.
Please fill out the exhibition form and include it with your submission.
RAC reserves the right to reject any submission. Reasons could include but are not limited to excessive size, weight, or fragility (risk of damage to artwork on display).
Questions? Email Gallery Director, Joanne Aono: jaono@riversideartscenter.com
Jesse Howard | Reflection Of A Community As It Is | May 18 - June 24, 2023
The Soul of Urban Life, Charcoal and acrylic paint on paper, 37 x 29 inches
Exhibition Dates: May 18 – June 24, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 20, 2023, 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Gallery hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, June 17, 2023, 2:00 pm
The Riverside Arts Center’s FlexSpace is pleased to present Reflection Of A Community As It Is, an exhibition featuring large-scale drawings by Jesse Howard.
You cannot escape from Jesse Howard’s drawings. The over-sized figures with bold strokes of charcoal outlining exaggerated features and the vibrant washes of acrylic color grab your attention. Who are these people? What is their story? They are all part of Jesse Howard’s community, from the homeless to the church elders, the disenfranchised to the selfie-taking millennials, and the demonstrators to the friends in conversation.
Growing up on the west side of Chicago, the budding artist watched his uncles draw on the kitchen table as he observed how the characters of his neighborhood could come to life on paper. His faces of men, whether they are down on their luck or confident of stature, are drawn with equal respect. The image is absent of a background or setting, allowing the individual to maintain center stage. Inner City Blues is one such portrait of a street person, his dreadlocks wild and his red-lipped mouth agape, with his penetrating blue eyes referencing back to slavery and the master’s assault.
Raised by African American women, Jesse Howard recognized how these strong females were the cornerstones of Black culture, teaching and maintaining the rules, traditions, and opportunities across the generations. The women in the artist’s Crowns series portray the proud female elders of the church, dressed in their Sunday finest topped by lavish headwear. The triptych Moment in Time depicts a woman and man on either side of a young male figure wearing a gas mask as if he’s ready for a protest, his hands rendered as massive nervous protrusions in the foreground. The woman stands with hands on hips, the folds of her belly exposed from her tied-up t-shirt. Her dyed red hair lends to her defiant gaze as the man, a barber, his hair in long braids, folds his arms as his concerned eyes focus on the youth.
Like the late artist Charles White, Jesse Howard depicts his community as “images of dignity” and celebrates who they are. These aren’t Hollywood models but real people shown in real life situations. Howard walks the streets of Chicago and interacts with his subjects, requesting to take photographs of those who touch him visually and emotionally. The young, old, indigent, and well-off are all subjects for Howard’s emotionally charged visualizations of the Black community and the roles they play in the here and now. Continual news about racism, violence, and inequality against Black people are fuel for his drawings, pushing his fevered strokes and washes of charcoal to shout out against the injustices.
- Joanne Aono, curator
Listen Here, 2021, Charcoal and acrylic paint on paper, 38 x 42 inches
In the past several years I have embodied a particular moment in time, sourced from media imagery of outrage and protest. I am impacted by the portrayal of African American through the media. My observations coupled with my studies within my community drive me to create distinctive images.
When one looks at the faces that I depict, they often appear to be looking directly at you. In doing so it directs my audience to acknowledge their presence. One must keep in mind the African American community is not as monolithic as one might think, but an array of different voices as well as viewpoints.
- Jesse Howard
Jesse Howard is a local artist whose large-scale drawings reflect his experiences as an African American in Chicago. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Ball State University. Solo exhibitions include Bert Green Fine Art Gallery (Chicago), South Side Community Art Center (Chicago), University Club of Chicago, and Harold Washington College (Chicago). Group exhibitions include the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, DuSable Museum (Chicago), Logan Museum (Beloit, WI), and Hofheimer Gallery (Chicago).
Howard’s art is included in the permanent collections of the DePaul University Art Museum, Beloit College, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Rutgers University, along with numerous private collections. He has received several awards and grants including a 2022 3Arts nominee, Grand Prize at the Purdue University National Drawing Exhibition, First Place at 58th Annual Beloit & Vicinity Exhibition, and the Ragdale Foundation Residency Scholastic Award. His art has been reviewed in the Village Free Press, Scapi Magazine, and Wednesday Journal. The artist has been featured in the award winning Color of Art documentary along with videos for WYCC PBS, City Vanguard, and the Alphawood Foundation.
Regin Igloria | One Ends Another Begins | March 11 - May 6, 2023
Untitled, 2023, Ink on paper, 11 x 14 inches
Opening Reception: Sunday, March 26, 3:00 - 6:00 PM
Afterwards, join us for a private happy hour across the street at the Quincy Street Distillery.
Exhibition Dates: March 11 - May 6, 2023
On View: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Bookbinding Workshops: Regin will be teaching two bookbinding workshops.
Friday, April 28th, 12:30-4:30 During Central Elementary “Half Day/RAC Day”
Saturday, April 29th, 1:00-3:00 PM Ages 13+ Saturday Workshop sign up here
Curated by Joanne Aono
The Riverside Arts Center’s FlexSpace is pleased to present One Ends Another Begins, an exhibition featuring drawings qnd artists' books by Regin Igloria. His ongoing exploration of movement and travel is expressed in a series of narratives, one-liners, and characters. The works depict wanderers and walkers, a glimpse into their origin stories, and momentary encounters with the landscape.
Regin Igloria is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Chicago. His drawings, artists’ books, sculptures, and performances portray the human condition as it relates to the natural environment and inhabited spaces. Igloria has exhibited locally and internationally, notably at the Chicago Cultural Center, the DePaul Art Museum, 6018 North (Chicago), Weinberg Newton Gallery (Chicago), Zg Gallery (Chicago), and EXPO Chicago. His art has been reviewed in Bad At Sports, The Chicago Tribune, and Time Out Chicago. He received a 3Arts Individual Artist Award as well as local, national, and international grants, and was awarded residencies with Camargo Foundation Residency, Cassis, France, ACRE Residency, and Wormfarm Residency (Wisconsin). He received his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Igloria has served as a lecturer, panelist, and curator for a multitude of institutions including Ragdale, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and Marwen. With several years of arts administration and teaching experience, he founded North Branch Projects, an organization that builds connections through the book arts. He works with various communities to create crossover between disparate populations and cultures, aiming to broaden the roles of both artists and non-artists.
Untitled, 2023, Ink on paper, 11 x 14 inches
Creativity Fest | Saturdays in February
Creativity Fest Workshops: Featuring themes of love and care and Black History Month
ALL ARE WELCOME! Fun for all ages.
Join us for Creativity Fest; an Open House Family Day Format. Every Saturday in February from 10 AM to 2PM. Creative projects and Family activities. Projects for kids ages 5+ *options available for younger kids too!
Stay the whole time, or as long as you like!
Suggested minimum donation $10/person each day
Watch our website for more creativity fest activities and adults-only evening workshops