DuMa Biennial Exhibition Installation and Artists' Party! Dubuque Museum of Art

Congratulations to the staff at Dubuque Museum of Art, and thank you for a beautiful installation of works in the DuMa Biennial.

My work, Beelzebub Charm, thoughtfully installed and holding its own space in this beautiful exhibition at the Dubuque Museum of Art., DuMa Biennial.

Beelzebub Charm with work by my friend and fellow Chicago artist, Kathy Weaver in background. DuMa Biennial, Dubuque Museum of Art

Beelzebub Charm with “Gloaming” a work by fellow Chicago artist Louise Papageorge behind. DuMa Biennial, Dubuque Museum of Art

Thank you New City Shoutout re: DuMa Biennial, Dubuqe Museum of Art!

Thank you for the shout out New City! Happy to be a part of this group of artists showing in the Dubuque Museum’s DuMa Biennial

Artist Profile Forest Park Review: A Professional Artist with a Sense of Social Responsibility

Thank you Tom Holmes and the Forest Park Review for this sensitive profile.

Read the full article here: A Professional Artist with a Sense of Social Responsibility, Forest Park Review

Download a PDF: Forest Park Review Artist Profile

DuMa Biennial at Dubuque Museum of Art. Juror's selection annouced

Honored to have my “Beelzebub Charm” selected by Juror Pamela Caserta Hugdahl, Executive Director of the Rochester Art Center for the DuMa Biennial at Dubuque Museum of Art.

The Dubuque Museum of Art (DuMA), founded in 1874 and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 2004, is Iowa’s oldest cultural institution. Named a national affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution in 2016, DuMA’s mission is to create engaging art experiences that excite, inspire, and connect our community. The Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm and Sunday from 1pm to 4pm. More information can be found at dbqart.org.

Beelzebub Charm. Porcelain vessel Smoke Fired on Hach Hill. 3” diameter, 2” High

DUBUQUE, Iowa, June 12, 2023–The tenth edition of the DuMA Biennial opens to the public Saturday, June 17, 2023. 65 artists from across Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin explore how the enormous changes in our culture, politics, environment, and social structures emerge in the art created today. The exhibition features contemporary painting, sculpture, furniture, photography, fiber arts and more. Nearly 200 established and emerging artists submitted over 500 works to a competitive open call. This year’s juror, Pamela Caserta Hugdahl, Executive Director of the Rochester Art Center, selected the work and relied upon her 23 years of museum experience— including more than 13 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis—to make her selection.

“The inspiring submissions demonstrated an incredible range of media,” said Hugdahl. “Yet common themes emerged including the interconnectedness of life, our changing environment, the meaning of essential work, exploration of form, and what it means to ‘grow up’ now.” “We are proud of this tradition,” said Stacy Gage Peterson, DuMA’s Curatorial Director. “Every two years, we pause to take the pulse of the art of the moment. I am grateful that Pamela selected artists we have known for a long time as well as artists whose work has never before been seen in Dubuque. Each artist should be commended for the strength of their work and I’m excited for guests to experience the exhibition’s power.”

Open Furrows | solo exhibition at ADDS DONNA in Chicago

Open Furrows | new works by Liz Chilsen

ADDS DONNA
3252 West North Avenue Chicago

April 14th - May  26th, 2023
Opening Reception: Friday, April 14th, 6-9 PM
Artist Talk: Saturday, May 13th, 2:00 PM

Closing Reception: Friday, May 26th 6-9 PM

Gallery Hours: Friday 1:00 - 6:00 PM

Open Furrows - Driftless

The fecundity of an open furrow, the thin slice of earth that forms, and the potential for new growth.

For this exhibition I set out to create an experience of elements that form and inform my work: fire, air, family, soil, water, love, forgiveness, gratitude. Much of what is presented is work I’m in the midst of making; the flurry of engagement with multiplicities, and a feeling of working on the verge is part of it.

The drawings are recent; meditations on the sculptures, which are also quite recent. I set a regular/frequent, not-quite-yet-daily, practice of study, experiencing the three dimensions anew. The rubbings record my physical interaction with 300 year-old logs that form the house on my mother’s ancestral farm in Wisconsin. The sculptures are smoke-fired in small batches, fueled by materials gleaned from my collections - old newspapers, notes, and messages, seeds and branches. I conduct the firings in places meaningful to me and my family.

My ideas are honed in duality and multiplicity, and a deep interest in history and place has long been a part of my artistic practice.

"Amuleto" co-curated by Edra Soto, Allison Peters Quinn, Alberto Aguilar & Madeline Aguilar

Thrilled to participate in this unique multi-site exhibition showing at three locations.

AMULETO
April 22 – August 13, 2023

Opening Receptions:
Hyde Park Art Center: April 22, 1 – 4 pm
The Franklin: April 23, 12 – 2 pm
Mayfield: April 23, 2 – 6 pm

Amuleto is a collaboration between the independent art spaces The Franklin, Mayfield, and Hyde Park Art Center to present artwork by artists that address the ideas of the amulet/amuleto: portable objects that are attributed to magical, emotional, or sentimental value. Civilizations have believed in the energy of amulets going all the way back to ancient times. These talismans are often worn to aid or protect their wearer or given a spiritual significance that varies from person to person and is symbolically compared to armor. How do contemporary artists incorporate the alchemy of artifacts in their work?

This exhibition concept originated from the artists Edra Soto, Madeleine Aguilar, and Alberto Aguilar in relation to their own art practices and how they consider found, personal objects to be infused with power from memories generated from the object’s history of use or existence. The exhibition will take place in three companion shows spread throughout the three venues in the spring/summer of 2023 and run simultaneously at the Art Center with the solo exhibition Destination/El Destino: A decade of Graft by Edra Soto.

Featured Artists

Nelly Agassi, Selva Aparicio Aparicio, Jess Bass, Cecilia Beaven, Whitney Bradshaw, Maria Burundarena, Liz Chilsen, Alex Chitty, Michelle Chun, Jessee Rose Crane, Sofía Fernández Díaz, Jim Duignan, Juan Baños Fonseca, Lin Foust, Krista Franklin, Dianna Frid, Diana Gabriel, Noel Garcia, Erin Hayden, Lesley Jackson, kg, Janhavi Khemka, Nazafarin Lotfi, Saranoa Mark, Devin T Mays, Joseph Josué Mora, Margarita Moreno, Jonas Mikosch Mueller-Ahlheim, Sarah Nishura, Melissa Oresky, Kenny De La Peña, John Preus, Ndivhuho Rasengani, Monica Rezman, Jeff Robinson, Bun Stout, Lan Tuazon, Frank Vega, Natalia Villanueva, Kushala Vora, Erin Washington, Oli Watt, Rhonda Wheatley, Dennissa Young, and Rodrigo Lara Zendejas.

Time Talisman & Beelzebub Charm | for Amuleto

Time Talisman & Beelzebub Charm | for Amuleto

Artist Statement

These works are touchpoints in history from my family and place.

The drawing records my response to a wood chip that released itself from the wall of a log home situated on a piece of land in Wisconsin that was once part of my great great
grandfather’s farm. By my estimate, the wood chip is at least 300 years old. It inserted itself into my presence at what felt like an opportune time and so I incorporated it into my daily drawing practice

The rubbing records another engagement with that same log wall and is made using charcoal created during one of my smoke firings on the property. The image formed by the rubbing seems to reference the strata and layers in the land surrounding the home; land which holds fossils formed in the seas that covered it millions of years ago, rocks left untouched by subsequent glaciers.

In smokefirings I perform on these lands, I collaborate with fire which records its traces on clay, including on the small “Beelzebub charm” – named in reclamation of a nickname my father had for me. “Beelzebub” is a name for the Devil while “Charm” draws on the positivity of fires’ healing and cleansing powers. The process references the impact of fire in my own and my family’s history as well as the force of nature’s elements which we only control to some degree.

This place has a complex history, and that of my family is only one of the stories that could be told. These works attempt to engage with this multiplicity.

Time Talisman Diptych:

Part 1: drawing of a chip of wood from the wall of my great great grandfather’s log farm house that fell off as I passed by.
Graphite on previously printed art paper
Approx 6.75” x 5”

Part 2: Charcoal rubbing of the log wall at the farm using charcoal created during one ofmy smoke firings on the property on found paper.
Smoke-fired Charcoal on found paper
20” x 16”

Beelzebub Charm

Porcelain vessel Smoke Fired on Hach Hill
3” diameter x 2” high

Beelzebub Charm at The Franklin Outdoor. Chicago

MoCP Publication Features "Cars at Christmas" from View From my Family Home

A pleasant surprise to see this image from “View From My Family Home” highlighted in the Museum of Contemporary Photography annual report for 2022.

“View From My Family Home” is featured in the Midwest photographers project at MoCP. Four additional images from the series are on view at Aurora University’s, Schingoethe, Center in their current exhibition “There’s No Place Like Home”, curated by Director Natasha Ritsma.

The exhibit at Schingoethe is up until April 28th. It’s well worth the trip to see this smart exhibition which gathers a host of artists considering various aspects and approaches around the concept of home.

My deep and heartfelt thanks to everyone at MoCP for your support of my work, always. And to Natasha Ritsma and the Schingoethe Center for this exhibition.

“View From My Family Home” looks at landscapes around the homes of four generations of my family, taking a personal view of a major change in America’s culture: the shift from a rural to an urban population.

In my parents’ generation, 75% of Americans lived on farms, while of my own generation, less than 2% do. My own family is a cross-section of this statistic and the project is rooted in a personal view of this intersection of nature and culture.

“View From My Family Home” looks at these landscapes as evidence of a way of life. It considers how we choose to live, the values of place we have inherited, the range of possibilities, and the choices available to us. I am interested in how we either struggle against or accept these limitations. This work contemplates both the interior and the exterior landscape, and our responsibility of place both public and private.

"No Place Like Home" a broad-minded exhibition at Aurora University's Schingoethe Center curated by Natasha Ritsma

I’m honored to have photographs from my “View From My Family Home” series included in this exhibition “No Place Like Home” curated by Natasha Ritsma at Aurora University’s Schingoethe Center. It is a many-faceted exhibition giving an expansive consideration of the idea of home with over 30 artists participating.

Patt’s Manhattan Kitchen & Mom’s View from the series View From My Family Home at Aurora University Schingoethe Center

Kris’ barnyard & Manhattan view from the series View From My Family Home at Aurora University Schingoethe Center

Sequences, Iterations and Permutations (SIP) at the Hyde Park Art Center

Sequences, Iterations and Permutations (SIP) Curated by Jasper Goodrich

Sequences, Iterations, and Permutations (SIP) started as an online class in May of 2020 at the Hyde Park Art Center. Instead of art-making that leads to one thing, artists in this class make collections of artworks that tell stories, depict emotions, or communicate ideas. Presenting artworks in a variety of mediums from photography, collage, printmaking, and drawing, to video, dance, sculpture, and poetry, this exhibition celebrates the community of over 60 artists who have participated in the course and is curated by Jasper Goodrich who designed and teaches the class.

Often artists work in groups of images or series. SIP explores how working iteratively (building upon previous forms, where information is lost and gained through making) helps artists’ creative process, pushing their imaginations to get to the next idea that is meaningful in their practice / life. Because artists in the exhibition are dealing with multiple images, time is involved and participants  are influenced by durational art forms such as video, fashion, dance, and music. Even when viewing one image, the viewer experiences a duration of time. SIP is rooted in image making, but many artists embrace mediums such as video art. In SIP, art making is like writing or music and artists explore rhythm, speed, interludes, beginnings, middles, and endings.

Featured Artists

Alina N. Negomireanu, Allison Svoboda, Amy Flor, Ariadna Ginez, Camille Silverman, Carol Lett, Catherine Eng, Cicada, Cindy L. Lys, Chris Koziol, Cydney M. Lewis, Dave Rollins, Deborah Loeb Bohren, Elizabeth Wojcik, Erica Friesen, Ethan Barrett, Galen Odell-Smedley, Hannah Bassewitz, Jack Spector-Bishop, Jackie Ropski, Jan Brugger, Janet Friesen,  Janet Wilson, Joe Standart, Jordan Stewart-Curet, Joseph Josué Mora, Julia Paloma, Justin Nalley, Karen Hirsch, Kathleen Maher, Kathryn Trumbull Fimreite, Kimberly Bailey, Kristin Abhalter Smith, Kristin Anahit Cass, Larry Wolf, Laurie LeBreton, Liz Chilsen, Mara Baker, Neala Berkowski, Noelle Africh, Olivia Rosato, Ranjana Patnaik, Rita Koehler, Robert Zant, Ry Douglas, Sarah E. Lauzen, Victoria Sockwell, Vida Sacic, and Yitian (Tina) Tang

Me talking with Jackie Ropski in the midst of Jasper Goodrich’s amazing installation of the SIP exhibition at Hyde Park Art Center. Some of my work can be seen in the foreground alongside Noelle Africh’s wonderful painting.

And below, some views of the “punctuated placement” (Jasper’s term) of my canary/pod forms within this massive install, and views from the reception with my brother Paul and Christine Printz.