New CLC exhibit features paintings by Chicago artist Esperanza Gama
A new exhibit of paintings called Esperanza Gama: A Series of Memories, will be on display at the College of Lake County's Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art from Aug. 14 to Sept. 28. An opening reception with refreshments and live music, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 7-9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 22 in the gallery.
The Chicago-based artist was born and educated in Guadalajara, Mexico. Her drawings, paintings and installations have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S. and Mexico. Gama's works often depict important, historical Mexican women. These "artistic biographies" allow Gama to explore the historical and the inner lives of her subjects.
"As an artist, biographies and autobiographies of important women throughout history always interested me," Gama writes. "I am especially fascinated by the atmosphere in which these women lived and played a role, for example, in the visual arts, Judith Leyster, Louise Vigée Le Brun, Angelica Kauffman, and of course, me being of Mexican descent, Frida Kahlo and Remedios Varo."
Gama's piece "Frida" was displayed in a special exhibition in 2007 honoring the 100th anniversary of Frida Kahlo's birth. In April 2006, Gama became the first Latina to exhibit at the Union League Club Gallery of Chicago. In 2008 her work was included in an exhibition called Catholicism in the City in the Chicago History Museum. Her work is also shown in and collected by the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago and was featured in "Signature Works," a special 25th Anniversary Exhibition in 2013.
Gama's work is published in important surveys of Latino and Chicano art, such as Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art, 2002, and Chicano Art for our Millennium, 2004, both published by Arizona State University. She has received several awards and grants, including the Sor Juana Achievement Award for Visual Arts (2003, Chicago, National Museum of Mexican Arts), Illinois Arts Council Partial Support Grants (2005, Chicago) and an International Artists Residency Program Grant (Guadalajara, Mexico, 2007). Gama has lived and worked in Chicago since 1994.
The Wright Gallery of Art's 2014-15 exhibit calendar includes the following shows. Opening receptions are held on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. on the opening date.
34th Annual Recent Works: A Juried Competition, Oct. 3 to Nov. 9, 2014
CLC Art Faculty Exhibition, Nov. 14 to Dec. 14, 2014
Members Exhibition, Jan. 16 to Feb. 22, 2015
Deanna Krueger: Shimmer, Feb. 27 to April 5, 2015
College of Lake County Student Art Competition, April 10 to May 16, 2015
20/20 Vision: Travels Along America's Accidental Highway: May 22 to June 26, 2015
The Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art on the Grayslake campus is a project of the College of Lake County Foundation and is located at 19351 W. Washington St. For further information, contact Bob Lossmann at (847) 543-2436 or at com419@clcillinois.edu. Or visit http://gallery.clcillinois.edu/. Gallery hours for this exhibit are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday. Hours vary during college breaks.