Work by Oak Street Art printmaker Luca Cruzat is featured in two new exhibits beginning in August 2020.

First is a group show at the Sager Braudis Gallery, 1025 E. Walnut St. in Columbia , MO. Cruzat is joined by Erica Iman, Casey Klein, Benjamin Parks, and Joel Sager for this exhibit sponsored by an anonymous donor. Artist statements and images are available at https://sagerbraudisgallery.com/2020-august-exhibit. The online reception is August 7, and the gallery is open by appointment (email [email protected] or phone 573.442.4831). See the exhibit through August 29. See below for a few of the pieces Cruzat has on display.

Second, Luca is part of the Fiber Arts Exhibit at the Ella Elizabeth Hise Museum of Regional Art at Southeastern Illinois College, running from August 18 through November 21, 2020. As noted in this Harrisburg Daily Register story, "Artists from across the region brought in quilts, vessels, tapestries and other fine art created with natural or synthetic fibers and other components to be put on display in the museum." Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the first Sunday of the month from 1 to 4 p.m., or by appointment. For more information contact 618-252-5400 ext. 2599, email [email protected] or visit www.sic.edu/hisemuseum. Masks are required in the museum.

Congratulations, Luca! For more about Cruzat and her work, see her Oak Street Art page here or her website here.

Work by Oak Street Art printmaker Luca Cruzat has been selected for inclusion in the Four Rivers Print Biennial exhibition, running February 5 through March 27, 2020. Luca's piece Antipodal: I Am South and North (pictured below) was selected by juror Mark Pascale from among 229 pieces submitted by 87 artists. This was truly a national competition with entries coming from across the United States.

All are welcome at the First Friday reception for the exhibit on Friday, February 7, 2020, at 5 p.m. at Carbondale Community Arts' Artspace 304  at 304 W. Walnut St. in Carbondale, Illinois. A closing reception will be held Saturday, March 21, 2020, from 3 to 6 p.m. From 3:30 to 4:30, Pascale will give a lecture, with juror awards announced afterward. RSVP for the closing reception here.  The gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday from 12 to 5 p.m.

From the opening reception invitation: "The juror for the 2020 Four Rivers Print Biennial is Mark Pascale. Pascale is a lithographer who has been active in the Chicago art world for nearly forty years, as a curator, researcher, and professor. Pascale is the Janet and Craig Duchossois Curator of Prints and Drawings at The Art Institute of Chicago, and concurrently Senior Lecturer in Printmaking, at School of the Art Institute."

For more about Cruzat and her work, see her Oak Street Art profile and lucacruzat.com.

Oak Street Art metalsmith Sue Gindlesparger will exhibit her piece, Don't Invade My Garden, Don't Steal My Soul, as part of the Women's Voices: The Need to Create exhibit at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale University Museum.

Below, see an image of Sue's work, along with her statement about the piece in the show, which highlights the work of 23 women artists working in a variety of mediums. Sue made the new piece specifically for this exhibit.

Running from February 3 through March 21, 2020, the exhibit is open to the public during regular museum hours (see poster below). Everyone is welcome for an opening reception on Friday, February 7, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. 

Statement from artist:

​“Don’t invade my garden, don’t steal my soul” evokes the feeling of vulnerability and strength. A woman looks out from the window of her soul, and raises a fist in her garden. This breastplate/necklace is a protection piece fashioned in a quilt pattern.

This artwork is about rape and abuse, pain and self-healing. Abuse is a cancer in our society. The pain that occurs because of it, traps a person’s soul. The breastplate is a personal defense and a cry for decency. No one has the right to assault another person’s body or mind.

I created this piece out of brass to simulate gold. Gold is a precious material, just like your soul. I cut the design in each piece, and joined the pieces together with jump rings to resemble chainmail, which is a type of armour.

Work by Oak Street Art member/ceramic artist Darby Ortolano will be on display in the Time and Place exhibit at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. The two-person exhibit also features paintings by Jan Kappes. 

The exhibit begins January 12, 2020 in the Regenhardt Gallery at Cedarhurst, with an opening reception Saturday, January 11, at 6:30 p.m. Just before the reception, the two artists will be giving a gallery talk at 6:00 p.m. [Post-script from Oak Street Art: The gallery talk was wonderful. Below is a shot from visitors mingling at the reception afterward.]

According to Darby, her imagery comes from her memories and experiences with nature in the different places she has lived: The tropics of Trinidad, the lush woods of New York State, the beaches of Florida, the tree lined streets of New York City, and the beautiful hills of southern Illinois. Darby says the resulting sculptures are a mixture of these associations along with her intuitive process of working with clay.

For a preview of some of Darby's new work for the exhibit, see photos below and also the online gallery here.

Darby is a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, is a former faculty member at John A. Logan College, is a member of the Shawnee Hills Pottery Trail,  and has a studio in the Logan Historic Arts Neighborhood of Murphysboro, Illinois.

​Happy holidays from Oak Street Art! 2019 has been a big year for us. In addition to holding our annual Oak Street Art Fair (with 30+ artists, 7 live musical acts, and children's art projects) in April, we also held two First Friday Art Walk open houses in September and October. Then in November was our Holiday Art Sale with our own members and a few friends. 

We also continued our work in the community by creating art lessons and working with second-grade children at the Gen. John A. Logan Attendance Center. Beyond that, we coordinated children's art projects for Father's Day gift making at the Murphysboro Youth and Recreation Center and a winter holiday ornament-making project as part of the Murphysboro Hometown Christmas celebration.

In a happy surprise, Oak Street Art was given a WSIU “Good Neighbor” award for June 2019! According to WSIU, this award “recognizes those who make a positive impact in the community.” We are grateful for second-grade teacher Tabitha Harris for nominating us.

Another big deal was officially moving our headquarters to the old Jones House (401 S. 16th St., Murphysboro, Illinois) in the Logan Historic Arts Neighborhood, thanks to generous space-sharing by the Gen. John A. Logan Museum and director Michael Jones. People-wise, we said goodbye to a few old member/friends moving on to other projects (thank you, Shirley Krienert and Rachel Malcolm Ensor) and welcomed a new one (welcome, Stephanie Dillard). 

Below is a photo of our December holiday get-together with the six current members. FRONT row, left to right: Darby Ortolano (ceramics), Sue Gindlesparger (metals, jewelry), Luca Cruzat (printmaking), Cathy Schmidt (leather), Stephanie Dillard (stained glass). BACK row, all alone: Ann R. Fischer (photography).

Thanks so much to everyone who came out for the 2019 Holiday Art Sale by Oak Street Art and Friends. 

We had a fantastic time in the Logan Historic Arts Neighborhood of Murphysboro, Illinois, and loved meeting so many nice people last weekend (November 16-17, 2019). What a great turnout! Please see artist list, photos, and Murphysboro Times story below.

Special thanks to Michael Jones and the General John A. Logan Museum for use of the building and for so much great support throughout the year!

A photograph by Oak Street Art member Ann R. Fischer has been accepted for the Detox exhibit at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art in New Harmony, Indiana.

Detox includes both visual and literary art "based around the aspects of conservation of natural resources, climate change, recycling, and carbon footprints," according to the call for entries. Ann's piece Cicada Wing Mandala (below) highlights the beauty and symbolism of cicadas, a group of species whose behavior is changing in response to climate change.

The exhibit will be up from December 7, 2019, through January 25, 2020. Everyone is welcome for the opening reception on Saturday, December 7, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. (Facebook event RSVP here.) Opening day is a great time to be in town, as it coincides with the popular Christmas in New Harmony events, including a fine art fair at The Rapp-Owen Granary. 

For more about the gallery, see them on Instagram, Facebook, or the web.​

Two pieces by Oak Street Art member Luca Cruzat (printmaking) are included in the "Art of Our Region: 1930s to 2019" invitational exhibit at the Hise Art Museum in Harrisburg, Illinois. This Grand Opening exhibition runs from August 23 through December 4.  

Pictured below is the artist with her framed pieces: On the far left is "Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Salamanders" (collagraph, screenprint, Ed 1/1 or Unique), and second from left is "Portrayal of a Woman" (collagraph, colored pencil).

The new Ella Elizabeth Hise Art Museum of Regional Art is located at 3575 College Road in Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg. Please stop by to visit the museum Tuesday through Friday and the first Sunday of each month between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Thanks to everyone who came out for Murphysboro’s (first of 2019) First Friday Art Walk / Open Studios & Museum night! In the new Oak Street Art headquarters (photo below), we had a steady stream of visitors all evening. We love our great southern Illinois community and are proud to be a part of the Logan Historic Arts Neighborhood.

Visitors came just to look, talk, make new friends, enjoy munchies, and even to buy some local art by our members (jewelry from Sue Gindlesparger, ceramics from Darby Ortolano, weaving/textiles from Shirley Krienert, leather from Cathy Schmidt, and photography from Ann R. Fischer).

See map below for additional sites of September's First Friday, including the individual studios of Oak Street Art members Luca Cruzat and Rachel Malcolm Ensor, as well as the General John A. Logan Museum, Pat's Prairie Garden, and GeekBetty Vintage and More. 

Onward to next month! Hope to see you for the second First Friday on Friday, October 4, from 5 to 8 p.m.