CHICAGO — Woman Made Gallery (WMG) is pleased to present “TOUCH, A Virtual Exhibition” with work by 180 artists from the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland and Switzerland.
Inspired by the current pandemic, this exhibition looks at something that many of us have had to completely do without: TOUCH. Most of the world is under order to shelter in place, practice social distancing, stay 6 feet away from each other. This is particularly punishing given that the tactile is such an integral part of the way we develop human relationships. In fact, our use of the word “touch” in English has long referred to how we stay connected–even from a distance.
In curating the 430 entries, Gina Lee Robbins looked for very specific personal responses to the theme. She began to see touch as its own complex language. Robbins selected works that convey the myriad ways we use touch to communicate with ourselves, others and the world around us, and how we respond emotionally to its presence or absence. Among these are representations of comfort, healing, tenderness, love, control, pain, fear, grief and loss.
In her photograph “I Panic” Maha Alasaker from Kuwait expresses her thoughts: “My heart is racing. I can’t catch my breath. I’m going to be sick. I try to focus, but the panic is hard to fight. I can’t think, the manic pace of my thoughts race across the landscape of my consciousness. Numbness creeps over my body as though my soul and body are out of harmony. I know the signs. It’s coming. Having anxiety and being in a defined space, doesn’t help… But we are all in it .. and I keep reminding myself of that.”
Exhibiting Artists: Bhagya Ajaikumar, Ngozi Akande, Maha Alasaker, Valerie Alsbrook, Angela Amias, Liala Amin, Nikki Renee Anderson, Ara-Lucia, Charuka Arora, Lisa Marie Barber, Anoush Bargamian, Jenny Belin, Julie Black, Marit Block, Kelly Boehmer, Shelly Bond, Tara Booth, Dimitra Bouritsa, K. Johnson Bowles, Sally Brown, Fran Bull, Alexandra Buxbaum, Rebecca Casement, Kristin Cass, Olivia Chapman, Nicole Chaput, Jenny Chernansky, Angela Chostner, Nancy Ciesiel, Rae Clatch, Bobbye Cochran, Andrea Cook, Carrie Cooper, Renee Couture, Deborah Crandell, Alicia Dawn Criswell, Yvette Cummings, Melanie Deal, Rachael Marie Demeo, Nicole Denton, PJ Desrochers, Kelly Devitt, Hyunhee Doh, Janice Elkins, Deborah Emerson, Ally Emrich, Alison Erazmus, Carol Estes, SP Estes, Sève Favre, Dea Fischer, Lauren Flaaen, Suzanne Forbes, Susan Fraerman, Sarah Freeland, Stacy Frett, Victoria Fuller, Kathleen Marie Garness, Gill Gatfield, Helen Geglio, Bettina Gellinek Turner, Sarah Genematas, Leah Golberstein, Lea Goldman, Donna Goode, Jeanette Green, Anna Brooke Greene, Karen Gubitz, Autumn Guntor, Millie Rose Guy, Jenny Halpern, Rebecca Hamlin Green, Muriel Hansen, Kelly Harrington, Katie Haseeb, Ali Headley, Alison Hixon, Kelsey Ann Horn, Marilyn Hrymak, Ellie Hueneke, Tonia Hughes, Malika Jackson, Sarah Kaiser-Amaral, Heather Ryan Kelley, Venise Keys, Steff Korsage, Barbara Krantz, Dorothy Simpson Krause, Stephanie Krellwitz, Juliane von Kunhardt, Kimi Kuniyoshi, Angela M. LaMonte, Capri Landi, Betty Jane Lau, Kim Laurel, Christine LaValley, Irena Lawruszko, Gwladys Le Roy, Laurie LeBreton, Fiona Lee, Sabrina Lee, Susan Lehman, Susan Lenz, Jennifer Lindemer, Casey Lowry, Elaine Luther, Hannah Jo Malaczynski, Roberta Malkin, Jennifer Mannebach, Claire Marcus, Zana Mariño, Betsy Marsch, Maureen May, Linda McCune, Bethan McFadden, Vatsala Menon, Lynn Merel, Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, Xanthe Miller, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Judy Nemer Sklar, Kai Nemra, Louise Noakes, Mary Jo Parker O’Hearn, Heather Olker, Greta Olson, Erin ONeill, Luisa Otero Prada, Katherine O’Truk, Hanna M. Owens, Patricia Panopoulos, Tonya Patrick, Theodora Pavlou, Wendy Peer, Lauren Peterson, Laurel Pierce, Diane Ponder, Rebecca Potts, Felicia Grant Preston, Ann Quinn, Cherry Rahn, Angela Rebrec, Milana Reedus, Mia Risberg, Kathy Blankley Roman, Caren Helene Rudman, MahlÕt S A N S O S A, Red Sagalow, Fran Sampson, Nelly Sanchez, Paula Schiller, Johanna Sarah Schlenk, Heather Sepanik, Carol Shikany, Alma Shoaf, Michele Silvetti-Schmitt, K Smith, Payton Spinosa, Patricia Stewart, Susanne Swanson-Bernard, Laurie Talbot Hall, Sumire Taniai, Cheryl Thomas, Marlene Trauth, Star Trauth, Nina Urlichs, Carol Van Alstine, Gwynneth VanLaven, Carolina Vélez Muñiz, Alyssa Vignone, Katie Vota, Natalie Walser, Julie Waltz-Stalker, Melissa Wang, Marybeth Ward, Sofia Wehrle, Jennifer Weigel, Lisa Wicka, Christina Williams, Rachael Zur.
Curator/Juror: Gina Lee Robbins is a visual and teaching artist who creates sculptural objects in clay, fiber and other tactile materials. Largely self-taught, she has been working with ceramics and found materials for over 30 years. Her work has been exhibited in solo, invitational and juried group shows and competitions throughout the United States, and her sculptures are part of private and corporate collections worldwide. https://www.ginaleerobbins.com/
Banner image: ‘Inward-Outward’ by Kelly Devitt
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Woman Made Gallery is supported in part by grants from The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The Illinois Arts Council Agency; a major anonymous donor; and the generosity of its members and contributors
