The second floor of the Evanston Art Center buzzed with excitement for the opening receptions of four new exhibitions Sunday afternoon.
From inkjet prints to narrative photographs, the four shows offered a wide range of media and works for viewers.
‘Remnants’
When they first step onto the second floor, the viewer is greeted by 14 inkjet prints in the show “Remnants” by Stephen Guenther.
During the pandemic, Guenther found himself anxious to create and began looking through boxes of vintage color postcards that he and his family had gathered over the years with a viewfinder.
Guenther said he noticed pieces of a postcard that, when enlarged, had lithographic dot print patterns.
“It sounds like it would be easy, but finding the right frame, blowing it up — and these are old postcards, so a lot of times in Photoshop, I would be taking scratches out, removing dirt,” Guenther said. “It’s time-consuming.”
A photographer of over 50 years, Guenther usually sticks to traditional scenes or landscape photography. For this show, he said he was excited to create work that had an abstract, almost pop art style to it.
When stepping back to view the prints, you can see familiar images like cranes, clouds and stars. But upon closer inspection, the prints dissolve into colors and dotted patterns.
‘The Wanderers’
Just past “Remnants” is photographer Christopher Schneberger’s show, “The Wanderers.”
“The Wanderers” has nine archival digital pigment prints on panel, or high-resolution, long-lasting photographs.
The series is semi-narrative, as it portrays four subjects roaming the Midwestern frontier. Schneberger said he was inspired by wandering in the woods and camping during his childhood, a nostalgic memory that resurged a few years ago.
“It started in the pandemic when I felt rather lost,” Schneberger said. “I was interested in making a narrative series that dealt with the idea of becoming lost or even getting lost as a deliberate act.”
Despite their narrative aspect, the images were all conceived on their own. Schneberger said there are some photographs that feel like beginnings, middles or ends, but he wanted the viewer to conceive their own sequences and stories of the characters’ journeys.
“I hope everybody decides to get lost and enjoy being lost at times and embrace it,” Schneberger said.
‘Color Exploration Narratives’
To the left of the staircase are 21 vibrant paintings by students of Nina Weiss, an artist who teaches local Monday evening painting studio classes at EAC.
Weiss instructs around six students ranging from high school students to 80-year-olds in the Monday class, she said. They have full freedom over the mediums and styles of painting they can pursue, but she pushes them to experiment with color.
“I’m very proud,” Weiss said. “I think it’s pretty amazing. I have high standards, and that’s what you see (in this exhibition).”
Diane Zabich has been in Weiss’ class for the past decade or so. Before taking the class, she was a trained architect who enjoyed working with watercolors. Now, she’s experienced with oils and said she’ll never look back.
Zabich has three pieces in the exhibition, including two smaller winter landscape pieces.
“I love being outside, so I love doing landscapes, and often they’re winter scenes,” Zabich said. “It’s good to push the colors to get the feeling that I want in the landscape without exactly representing what was there.”
‘My Extravagant Wardrobe’
Nestled in the corner of the upper floor by EAC’s printmaking studio is “My Extravagant Wardrobe,” which includes six lively screenprints.
Each work contains a brightly patterned coat print by Anne Bernard-Pattis (Weinberg ’85).
The idea came to fruition when Bernard-Pattis saw an expensive, but elaborate coat at a resale shop and decided to draw it as another form of ownership.
“I tailored the coat to my wish with colors, prints, words, more prints. I customized each piece of clothing in the show, to be my own and all about me,” Bernard-Pattis said in her artist statement on the exhibition.
“Remnants” and “The Wanderers” will be on display until Oct. 26 at the EAC. “Color Exploration Narratives” will be up until Nov. 2, and “My Extravagant Wardrobe” will stay until Nov. 23. All can be found on the second floor of the EAC.
Email: c.kirwan@daily northwestern.com
Related Stories:
— Evanston Art Center’s ‘Women in Nature’ explores femininity, nature
— Evanston Art Center hosts ‘2025 Later Impressions,’ showcasing artists over 50
