Upcoming art exhibition looks to focus on re-telling daily life

Bailey Williams, Summer Assistant Editor

A new art exhibit featuring pieces from three different Chicago artists commenting on daily life will open August 10 at the Evanston Art Center.

The exhibit will feature work from Allison Svoboda, Cydney Lewis and Sandra Perlow, who have all met to look at the space together and discuss where and how they want their work displayed, Svoboda and Lewis said. The exhibit’s opening reception will take place August 10 from 1-4 p.m. at the Evanston Art Center, 2603 Sheridan Road and the exhibit will run through Septebmer 21.

Svoboda, who is exhibiting work at the center for the first time, said she admires the work of Lewis and Perlow and is excited to show with them.

“I’m just thrilled to be responding to Evanston Art Center,” Svoboda said. “I’ve taken classes there for 30 years now. … It’s been a big part of my life.”

The work she will include in the exhibit is largely about fractal geometry, currents and repeated forms, reflecting her love for nature and finding little objects with repeated forms while hiking, she said. Svoboda described one of the works as cut paper pieces that aim to reflect the currents of the lake, seeking to show the connection between the lake and the art center.

But of all the work she will include, Svoboda said the mandala is probably the one she is most proud of because it connects a meditative quality and fractal geometry. Because her work takes a long time to complete, Svoboda said creating her art provides a nice time to meditate, which ties into the mandala being a form of meditation, she said.

Lewis similarly spoke of using and reflecting nature in her creations. Working with commonly found materials like discarded plastic bags, Lewis aims to provide attendees with a connection between nature and possibility for the future.

“I hope that people will see my work and first of all smile and realize that the material all around us can be transformed,” Lewis said.

Lewis also said she has ties to Evanston, noting she has taken classes at the Evanston Art Center before and her father had an art school in the city when she was a child. She said this connection added further meaning to her showing at the Evanston Art Center.

“Evanston has a nice place in my heart,” she said.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @news_BaileyW