Artist Rose Camastro-Pritchett lands back in Evanston

Click on the white arrow in the orange circle to listen to the podcast from this blog or visit https://soundcloud.com/lisa-degliantoni

Rose Camastro-Pritchett is a visual and performance-art artist whose work is informed by her experiences living in Saudi Arabia, Europe, North Wales and China. After many decades, she has returned to Evanston where she grew up. (I am thrilled she has returned to Evanston!)

It’s my great pleasure to interview Rose; we are working together to bring several projects of her projects to Evanston. Part of Terrain Biennial Evanston, Rose’s Cocoons are installed at my live/work space, 1100 Florence Gallery, thru Nov. 11. The cocoons in the installation are the result of performances where individuals were wrapped and sewn into yards of sheer cloth, forming a cocoon; at the end of each performance, they were cut out. Rose reworked these cocoons – the remains of the passage- into fiber sculptures that hold their stories. 

We also discuss Rose’s “Comfort Women” project, coming to 1100 Florence in October 2020. ("Comfort Women" refers to the more than 2,000 women kidnapped by the Japanese military and housed at “comfort stations” (brothels) all over China after the Nanking Massacre in 1940.) The exhibit, first show, at Menlo College, CA, includes art made using pulp painting, hand stitching, and silk thread on handmade paper. “I used stitching because that’s considered women’s work. What I really worked hard on was the imaging. I wanted to illustrate the horror of the comfort women story in a way that the audience could engage with rather than be shocked.” Click here to read more about this exhibit.

Learn more about Rose’s body of work www.rosecamastropritchett.com and visit 1100florence.com to see images of the Cocoons on display thru Nov. 17, make an appointment to see the installation evanstonmade[at]gmail.com. 

Terrain Biennial Evanston is a temporary public art exhibition running in Evanston for six weeks, October 01-November 15, 2019. Click here to see a map of installations in Evanston.

***

The Lisa D Show podcast features interviews and conversations with creatives living and working in Evanston, IL. Recordings typically happen in the 1100 Florence Gallery. Learn more about host Lisa Degliantoni at thelisadshow.blogspot.com

Victoria Loeb Artist Talk at 1100 Florence Gallery

Click the white arrow in the orange circle above to listen to the interview.

We're hosting Friday morning artist talks at the gallery and providing a recording for anyone who cannot attend.

This record is of Victoria Loeb discussing her exhibit Phases on display at 1100 Florence Gallery through May 19, 2019. Photo of Victoria taken by Joerg Metzner at the opening reception of Phases.

Gallery hours; Wednesdays 5-8p, Fridays 5-8p and Sundays 12-5p. Learn more at 1100florence.com

The Lisa D Show podcast features interviews and conversations with creatives living and working in Evanston, IL. Recordings typically happen in the 1100 Florence Gallery. Learn more about host Lisa Degliantoni at thelisadshow.blogspot.com

***

1100 Florence Gallery exhibits artist Victoria Loeb this May. Join us for an opening reception May 4, 6-8p, as part of First Saturday Evanston Art Events.

Artist Talk: Friday, May 17, 10-11a

Gallery Hours; Sundays 12-5p, Wednesdays 5-8p, Fridays 5-8p OR by appointment, call 847-544-8205

Artist Statement for the show:

“Phases”

A distinct period or stage in a series of events, or a process of change or development. Exhibiting works made using acrylic, oil, charcoal, latex/enamel

Artist Bio: Victoria Loeb was born in 1980 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1992 she met Argentine Artist Alicia Maffei and began studying with her. In 1996 she became her Drawing Assistant and worked with her through 1999. During that time, she was accepted at the Fine Arts Institute Prilidiano Pueyrredon, where she studied until 2002.

She also studied under Argentine Artist Miguel Ángel Bengochea, and later attended the studio of contemporary Artist Eduardo Medici.

She moved to Chicago in 2003. After being represented by several galleries in the Chicago area, she moved her Studio to downtown Evanston and has worked on her Art since.

Kathy Halper Exhibit, What A Day It's Been

Click on the white arrow in the orange circle to listen to the interview from your browser, or visit https://soundcloud.com/lisa-degliantoni/kathy-halper

April 6, 5-8p, Kathy Halper’s solo exhibit "What a Day it's Been" oepns at 1100 Florence in Evanston. Halper will be showing work created over the past two years, as well as some embroidered pieces.

A series of six paintings explore the angst and absurdity of our political climate. Embracing Russia's recent influence in our lives, Halper used the culture's beautiful folk art for my inspiration in creating these narratives.

Other new works use discarded Amazon boxes as my primary material. Painting, gluing, printmaking and carving work together to create unique stories of my life.

The show runs thru April 22. There is an artist talk scheduled for Sunday, April 14 from 3-5 pm. Visit 1100florence.com

Artist Statement

What a Day It’s Been

Russia, If You're Listening

After the 2016 election I was frozen. For a year I could not find a direction to make art. When I finally gave myself permission to use my feelings of insanity and anxiety in my artmaking, these paintings poured out. Using Russian folk art as a visual guidepost and an inside joke, I set about capturing my angst. My goal is not to tell the viewer a story they already know, but to exorcise my personal discomfort, and hope that others may recognize their own feelings.

Amazon Tales

Discarded Amazon boxes are the starting point to tell personal narratives that are both ephemeral and tactile, ridiculous and poignant. Is it possible to make art from stories that are not born out of tragedy or remarkable fortune? As I seek out memories of a relatively uneventful life, I explore these questions with rule-free approach to materials and technique, a sense a absurdity and a growing stack of cardboard, looking for the magic in the everyday.

56

“Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect.”― Margaret Mitchell

In this series, I express my thoughts on aging by sitting with each image for months on end pondering my dreams and losses with each stitch. I watch them disappear from the top and fall to the ground. I watch them melt out of my life. And in doing so I gain some closure, some peace and the joy that comes from the process of creating the work.

See more works by Kathy Halper at kathyhalper.com