Second Fridays returns to Water Street Studios Aug. 13

Water Street Studios, 160 S. Water St. in Batavia, invites the community to "Second Fridays at the Studio" from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 13.

This show features the work of three Chicago area artists Steven Carrelli, Nicholas Sistler and Dominic Sansone. Various styles and mediums will be on display, from painting to sculpture. This exhibition explores unique compositions of color, critiques on modern society through installation work, and imagery of historical art in a variety of artistic styles.

The Dempsey Family Gallery will feature "Time and Its Opposite" by Steven Carrelli, a Chicago-based visual artist and writer. In his work, he employs a variety of strategies to examine the uncertain nature of perception and to explore representation as a means of interpreting our relationships to place, time, labor, and history. He works primarily in painting and drawing and often combines direct perceptual experience and art historical imagery, and his works reference a variety of painting traditions that include trompe-l'oeil, still life, and figuration, as well as abstraction and seriality.

"SWITCHBACK" will feature the work of Nicholas Sistler in the KC Magazine Gallery. Sistler's art is about visual and perceptual games, and sometimes about space and spatial distortion. A balancing of subject matter, composition, color, technique, and scale - often in the same piece - is at the core of his work. For the artist, the creative process is one of purposeful play. The miniature size of each completed work encourages close inspection, creating an intimate and personal viewing experience. What appears tiny on the expanse of a wall inevitably enlarges our notions of space and perspective.

In the Chicago Capital Gallery, "Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave" by Dominic Sansone will be on display. The Chicago native has exhibited his sculpture and installation work in solo and group exhibitions across the country. His current body of artwork is a critical response to the current geopolitical landscape, created by the disproportionate role of the military industrial complex in our society. Ultimately the goal is not to answer the questions or propose solutions for the viewer, but hopefully to cause them to consider, with more than a cursory glance, the reality we build for ourselves through the choices we make as individuals and how those choices impact our civilization.

Masks are required for this event. Cash bar will be available.

These exhibits will continue until Sept. 5. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. The 12th Anniversary Show opens Sept. 10 and continues through Oct. 3.

For information, visit waterstreetstudios.org/exhibits or www.facebook.com/waterststudios/.