The [Elmhurst Artists' Guild](https://www.elmhurstartistsguild.org/) presents their Spring Member show with Featured Artist, Beth Chien from March 30th to April 27th. The EAG gallery is event is free and open to the public.

Participating Artists: Joe Abboreno, Judie Anderson, Bernard Bahr, Peter Bialecki, Kera Bjerga, Tania Blanco, Dorothy Bury Shaw, Paul Callahan, Benjamin Calvert III, Beth Chien, Paul Demers, Judy Druschitz, John Duffy, Jane Erlandson, Jeanne Garrett, Maribel Hambric, David Hammer, Fletcher Hayes, Nancy Hlavacek, Gail Karet, Monica Kupisch, Joan Ladendorf, Kim Laurel, Katie Luo, Lynn Mackenzie, Kristina Monkel, Fred Moss, Jennifer Myers, Susan Nester, Ann Pasteur, Sharon Peters, Gary Schirmer, Jennifer Starchvill, Ted Strandt, Karen Sugay, Anna Toberman, Debra Vaccaro, Marlene Vitek, Ana Vitek, Maryann Wattelle, Bruce Webber, Rosalie White

Above image by  Beth Chien.

[Learn more](https://www.elmhurstartistsguild.org/)

Elmhurst Artists' Guild Spring Members' Show

__Sustenance & Land: Five Artists Consider Our Relationship with the Earth__ is a group exhibition exploring human connection to the land and the many ways the earth sustains us. Participating artists Barbara Ciurej + Lindsay Lochman, Chunbo Zhang, Lydia Cheshewalla, Claire Pentecost, and Tomiko Jones work in a variety of methodologies addressing human relationships to the land, exploring a broad spectrum of themes including nutrition, cultural relationship to food, scientific investigation, spirit, history, and the future. Humor and creativity are woven throughout, guiding viewers through a rich tapestry of ideas about how we interact with the earth.

Curated by Liz Chilsen.

Image: Installation view of the exhibition *Sustenance & Land: Five Artists Consider Our Relationship with the Earth, 2025. Photography by Siegfred Mueller. 

Sustenance & Land: Five Artists Consider Our Relationship with the Earth

__*Landscape Photographs by Joe Jachna and Michael Tropea*__, a two-person exhibition in Mies van der Rohe’s [McCormick House](https://elmhurstartmuseum.org/architecture), presents remarkable black and white photographs by the Chicago photographers. Images by Joe Jachna (b,1935) redefine the landscape in abstract compositions often incorporating light and reflection, which impart a mysterious otherworldly sense. Michael Tropea (b. 1950) focuses on industrial and pastoral views and transforms everyday settings into intricate visual narratives using a Kodak Panorama #1 camera manufactured at the turn of the 20th Century. The twenty-three photographs featured in the exhibition are selected from a gift to the Museum’s permanent collection by the David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation.

Curated by Liz Chilsen.

Image credit:  Michael Tropea, *Railroad Yard, Chicago*. From Landscape Portfolio, 1979-1981. 

Landscape Photographs by Joe Jachna and Michael Tropea

"We Are Our Volunteers" is the current exhibit from the [Elmhurst Artists' Guild](https://www.elmhurstartistsguild.org/), which runs through March 28th. EAG Members who have volunteered in the last year entered their artwork which was voted on by the patrons of the opening reception with a People's Choice Ballot. 

Artists include:  Joe Abboreno, Paul Callahan, Benjamin Calvert, Katy Costello, John Duffy, Cherylyn Gnadt, David Hammer, Fletcher Hayes, Alan Johnson, Louie Jones, Joan Ladendorf, Kim Laurel, Lynn Mackenzie, John Nester, Janet Roller-Schmidt, Gary Schirmer, Terri Shimkus, Jennifer Starchvill, Ted Strandt, Karen Sugay, Debra Vaccaro, Ana Vitek, Marlene Vitek, Maryann Wattelle & Jeanne Yargicoglu

[Learn more](https://www.elmhurstartistsguild.org/)

We Are Our Volunteers

The Elmhurst Artists' Guild current exhibit, Joyful Notions, runs from Jan. 25th
to Feb. 21st. Guest judge Marie Gnesda will present the awards at the Opening Reception on Jan. 31st. 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Refreshments and appetizers will be served. Free and open to the public.

Image: Jeanne Yargicoglu, *Some Lines Are Blurred*, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 25 x 40 inches

Elmhurst Artists' Guild Members' Show: Joyful Notions

Exhibition: December 1st to January 5th, 2025

Opening Reception: Friday, December 6th, 7-9 pm   

Featured Artist: Jennifer Starchvill

Jennifer Starchvill is a former graphic designer, admirer of typography & crisp, clean lines, deeply inspired by our ancestral creators of petroglyphs found globally on cave walls and canyon floors. A child of the 70’s she is also quite drawn to the hip, cool, modern aesthetics of the mid 20th century & has been deeply influenced by her childhood television favorites: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Sesame Street & The Electric Company. 

Her work is being highlighted under the banner of EVERCONNECTED this December at the Elmhurst Artists' Guild's feature wall during this year's Winter Members' Show. This show within a show celebrates how a simple act of connecting one shape to another forms unique icons (glyphs) that tell brief, fun stories or invite insightful commentary on modern ideas with themes from nature and family to technology and maybe even politics. 

Image:  Jennifer Starchvill, *Mandala on Purple*, 24"x 24", acrylic painting on canvas, 2024.

Elmhurst Artists' Guild Winter Members' Show

The Elmhurst Artists' Guild celebrates their Fall Members' Show with a theme of Day of the Dead.   

Forty-eight Guild members are participating in the show.  Several of the exhibition artists received awards:

Best of Theme: Ted Strahdt, *Sleep*

Awards of Excellence:    
Ken Reif, *Perpetually Surprised Barn*   
Donna Castellanos, *Give a Dog a Bone*   
John Duffy, *The Good, The Bad, &amp; The Dead*

Honorable Mention:   
Fletcher Hayes, *Hopefully I’m Evolving*   
Deb Vaccaro, *Queen Catrina*   
Diana Gondek, *Maria*__

Artwork this page: Deb Vaccaro, *Queen Catrina*


Elmhurst Artists' Guild Fall Members Show

*CROSSINGS* traverses the Museum’s campus and features several dynamic vehicle sculptures by Bernard Williams in Wilder Park, Hostetler Gallery and large paintings in the McCormick House. Through the artworks on view, the artist addresses the concept of mobility as both the physical movement forward and the human aspiration to rise to better circumstances.

The Chicago-based artist has been making public murals and sculptures for over thirty years. Bold thick lines and generalized, flat shapes common in graphic illustration define his unique and playful sculptural style. Williams often researches and highlights little known or forgotten narratives in history to make his sculptures, paintings and murals, which offer new perspectives on the engineering innovations of the past and how they impact contemporary culture. The works are also a tribute to Black achievement in transportation and agriculture throughout American history. Pilot Bessie Coleman, NASCAR driver Wendell Scott, and the recent Black Farmers’ Settlement are some of the histories being honored in this exhibition. For Elmhurst, Williams also recognizes the lifetime achievements of the local NASCAR winner, Fred Lorenzen (1934-2024). 

*CROSSINGS* runs concurrently with the exhibition [*Legacies: New Views of the Elmhurst Art Collection*](https://elmhurstartmuseum.org/exhibitions/Legacies:%20Selections%20from%20the%20Elmhurst%20Art%20Museum's%20Permanent%20Collection), which features Williams’ small sculptures from the collection of Cleve Carney, along with dozens of other artists in the Museum’s collection. 

Curated by Allison Peters Quinn.

The exhibition CROSSINGS by Bernard Williams is generously supported by:
![lsblogohorizontal-hires dc04d0ef-0c53-42f2-bfc7-fde8ae623ed0 (3)](//images.ctfassets.net/df2y673eghyz/2QaoGQv0Q39Rosh4kDP5xZ/7a0910db157f3415343d45a680cd4e05/lsblogohorizontal-hires_dc04d0ef-0c53-42f2-bfc7-fde8ae623ed0__4_.png)![smallest small Explore elmhurst](//images.ctfassets.net/df2y673eghyz/9jshm4201AsHDwDKeZ7M0/8aab333a1262091f39286f05614634ca/exploreelmhurst_smallest_2.png)

![Sculpture Sponsors](//images.ctfassets.net/df2y673eghyz/31scrIsrqahRQDC7GDWrqn/68dcfaa07822cd16c3a38833c968bfd3/sculpture_sponsors.jpg)
Image: Bernard Williams, Route 27, painted plywood, aluminum, 6 x 6 x 20 feet. Photography by Michelle W.C. Anderson

CROSSINGS by Bernard Williams

Over time, the Museum has acquired a unique assortment of paintings, prints, sculptures and drawings with a concentration of late 20th Century American Art and Mid-Century Design. The exhibition delves into the connections between the artworks and the people who once owned them to present __*Legacies*__. Much of EAM’s collection is the result of personal relationships between artist, artwork, collector, and Museum. This exhibition draws these relationships into focus, inviting visitors to understand the artwork not just as an isolated piece, but as part of a larger, ongoing narrative that includes culture, history, and personal legacy.

Small installations presented across the galleries will feature a colorful array of artworks from the EAM collection while addressing the nature of collecting. How do collectors choose the works they put in their collection? Visitors can gain insight into what might have drawn certain collectors to types of works or specific artists.

*Legacies* will bring new focus to the collected works from __the Broido Family, Greg Cameron, Cleve Carney, Stephen and Lola French, Eleanor King Hookham, and Casmir Sliwa__, among others. The corresponding public program aims to address collecting practices in various disciplines and access to private collections, while inspiring agency for people to build collections. A unifying message present throughout the exhibition is: It takes a village to make an art museum collection.


Legacies: Selections from the Elmhurst Art Museum's Permanent Collection

*Shakkei: Work by Mayumi Lake and Bob Faust* presents the first major museum exhibition for these two Chicago-based artists whose colorful kaleidoscopic artworks create an immersive optical experience. Featured in separate galleries, recent large-scale work by each artist will transform the space. Lake’s imagery is based on the symbolic floral motifs found in antique Japanese kimonos. Faust’s wallpapers and prints incorporate digital photographs he gathers for each project sourced from the natural surroundings of the location where he is showing the work. Lake and Faust will also collaborate on new work for this exhibition, introduced in the center gallery, combining their love of organic patterning and spatial design. 

The exhibition is curated by Liz Chilsen, Manager of Exhibitions & Collections at EAM,  and prompts conversations around cultural heritage, language, design, and pattern, addressing both the relatable patterns of everyday life and deeply embedded cultural and social histories. 

The Japanese principle of Shakkei (“borrowed scenery”), is a design philosophy that integrates natural landscapes with architectural elements, incorporating existing natural features into architectural designs. The artists interpret the eastern concept broadly as a metaphor for empathy and adaptability, and for the ability to hold multiple viewpoints of “inside” and “outside” simultaneously. Each brings their own perspective to the concept, reflecting their unique experiences and history. 

About the artists:

Working in the space between art and design, __Bob Faust__ (b. Illinois, 1967) crafts artwork with typography at its core and viscerality on its surface. Faust has over 30 years of experience as the principle and creative director of the eponymously named cultural branding studio, Faust. He makes his work with purpose first—to inform, empower and/or instigate in the service and celebration of human difference. Text, patterns, and the ideas of surprise and discovery emerge as throughlines throughout his conceptual art practice that defies categorization and genre. 

Faust has been recognized nationally and internationally for his inimitable creativity through many prestigious honors including a University of Illinois, College of Fine & Applied Arts, 2022 Distinguished Legacy Award and City of Chicago, 2022 Mayor’s Medal of Honor. Exhibitions have included Mass MoCA BY The Numb3r5 (Mass MoCA), For And Nor But Or Yet So (Poetry Foundation), WA/ONDER (167 Green), with all, and still... (The Peninsula Chicago), Rapt on the Mile (The Magnificent Mile Association), Ways and Means (Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and The Chicago Transit Authority), About Face: Stonewall, Revolt and New Queer Art (Wrightwood 659), Great Ideas of Humanity: Out of the Container (Chicago Design Museum), guilty / Innocent (MASS MoCA); Unfolded: Made with Paper (Chicago Design Museum), Betweens (Riverside Arts Center), and CHGO DSGN (Chicago Cultural Center). He has also received recognition from The New York Times, Fast Company, the Chicago Tribune, Newcity, NBC 5 News, the Chicago Sun-Times, CBS Evening News, and T: The New York Times Style Magazine.

In addition to his own work, Faust is also the professional and personal partner of artist Nick Cave. Together they founded the non-for-profit Facility: a multi-use creative space in Chicago that seeks to build community and change the world through art and design. 

__Mayumi Lake__ (b.Osaka, 1966) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores the ideas of time, memory, and floating between the real and imaginary. With a foundation in photography, she integrates digital images of nature and Japanese textiles into her collages, sculpture, sound, moving images, and installation to expand the narrative of the work and form conceptual layers. 

Lake’s artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including Miyako Yoshinaga Gallery, Asia Society, Art in General, and Artists Space in New York; Chicago Artists Coalition and Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago; Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City; Fotografie Forum International in Frankfurt; Cornelius Pleser Galerie in Munich; Galleria PaciArte in Brescia; FOTOAMERICA in Santiago; Witzenhausen Gallery in Amsterdam; and the Setouchi Triennale in Takamatsu. She has published two monographs, Poo-Chi and Ex Post Facto, with Nazraeli Press. Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Art Institute of Chicago, Asia Society, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)/City of Chicago, the McCormick Place Art Collection/Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), Video Art World, the Joy of Giving Something Foundation, and Facebook. Lake received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 


Exhibitions