ARC GALLERY      Saturday, July 21, 2018, 7-10pm

1463 W. Chicago Avenue
Drinks, Hors D’oeuvres & Sweets, Art Raffle
Silent Art Auction, Music and More
TICKET INCLUDES 2 FREE DRINKS!  $35.00 a ticket

Click here to buy tickets: Summer Evening Gala

Sat.  Jan 27,  3-4pm

To conclude the exhibition “Titoism: Amid Nostalgia and Desire” by Zoran Shekerov, you are warmly invited on January 27th from 3-4 PM at ARC Gallery for a lecture given by the artist. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Departing from the work presented at the gallery, during the afternoon, Shekerov through his lecture will aim to open up the space proposed in the title of his exhibition. Bringing us closer to his process of working, his relation to the people he photographs and decisions made when photographing, the artist will concentrate on unveiling the feeling that we encounter which is located amid nostalgia and desire. Where this notion can be located within the narratives that we witness in the photographs and how important is the presence of their lived environment for one to experience the movement between nostalgia and desire.

Zoran Shekerov ( Skopje, 1992) practice focuses on long-term documentary research that explores the human situation in certain socio-political contexts, as well as issues of identity, in particular, re-examining terms such as patriotism and nostalgia by considering the connection between lived history and sentimentality. Mainly articulating his works through a documentary approach, experimenting with the opportunity of converting them to site-specific installations, Shekerov’s interest also lies in the research of the value of the photographic medium.

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About the exhibition

Unfolding ten narratives that occur at different geographical locations throughout Macedonia, “Titoism: Amid Nostalgia and Desire”, attests for a generation of people whose inclination towards Yugoslavia, can still be felt after twenty-six years of independence.

Capturing their habitual surroundings where enveloped by objects with which decorating their homes the people articulate the lingering feelings they still have towards Yugoslavia, Shekerov gradually opens up dialogue and invites us to think along with him, wondering if a keepsake can be more than just a reminder of a past. More precisely, if such objects can hold both sentimental longings and prospects.

Born in 1992, for Shekerov, Yugoslavia and the image of Josip Broz Tito is something he got acquainted with through his grandfather’s stories and photographs found in an old family album. Family albums allow one to become familiar with one’s past, and sometimes that of our own. In the exhibition, Shekerov uses his old family album conceived throughout the years by his grandfather, in a subtle manner as a way to connect with the people he photographs. The accumulated knowledge in Shekerov’s case is the support for an immediate connection between them.

Attesting for a lived past time, the photographs carry in them traces of nostalgia, while simultaneously reminding us that this gestures of giving space to objects and collecting portraits and symbols of Yugoslavia are also a way to hold onto and continue the values that they associate with their past. Capturing the particular way in which the objects are kept in their environment and how they are taken care for, Shekerov foregrounds that their meaning is more than just a sentimental value. Holding onto a map of a country that does not exist anymore, or declaring as Yugoslavian, is perhaps a way for them to say that a belief in shared values is still possible and conceivable necessary. Thus, in those moments, the documentary photographs, intimately showing people’s belongings gains a socio-political significance.

The willingness of the people we encounter in the photographs to open the doors of their homes is a sign that they do not want their story to end with them, but to continue through the visitors, evoking curiosity for a specific time. Not as a history but as a way of living.

This can also be read through the gesture of presenting a forget me not token. A small present, given to Shekerov during their conversation. A sign of a recognition between two people who regardless the age difference have interest towards the same subject…

Anastasija Pandilovska

In March 2018, ARC will present “Not Just Drawing: A Line With Intent”
Prospectus and application form

We are looking for a creative consideration of the use of a line.
What is intent? What is the underlying driving purpose or “thought-framework” for making a mark or image on a surface or in a space? Can “intent” include the intention of having no intent? How much does habit, convention or chance dictate our action and how much comes from an original and personal sense of expressed understanding? How much comes from the unconscious or irrational fabric of our experience? Are there other ways to make a line than with a #2 pencil?
This exhibition will be juried by F.David Reif, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Univ. Wyoming. BFA, Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, The Art Institute of Chicago, MFA, Sculpture, Yale University. All media considered.
The juror will choose 3 honorary awards including “Best of Show” that will be posted in the exhibit and listed on the ARC website.
Check out the prospectus and application form here.

“ARC Gallery Fundraiser at Jazz Showcase featuring Marlene Rosenberg & Friends” Wed.  Nov. 1,  7-9pm

February 2016, ARC will present an exhibition entitled, “Seeing RED”

INFORMATIONAL PROSPECTUS AND CALL FOR ENTRIES
****  submit online ***

Deadline for Submissions: Jan. 25, 2017 @ 11:59pm CST

“Seeing RED” will be an Open Walls Exhibition, giving artists the opportunity to exhibit their work at ARC without a juror.

ARC is asking artists to reflect on what “Seeing RED” might look like, what it might reference metaphorically, emotionally, politically, or literally. We’re seeking work that challenges the status quo or obvious, while asking the artists to have fun playing with this very broad title.

All mediums and materials are eligible if they conform to the size limitations. The art-work must be no more than 18 inches wide, (including a possible frame). Media-based installations will be accepted as long as the artist provides the viewing equipment, and the horizontal size of this equipment is no more than 18 inches.

click here to submit now online.

In mid-July 2016, ARC will present an exhibition entitled, “We the People….”

INFORMATIONAL PROSPECTUS AND CALL FOR ENTRIES
***Download the prospectus or  submit online ***

Deadline for Submissions: July 2, 2016 @ 11:59pm CST

As part of the important conversations swirling around this election year, ARC invites artists to join an exciting new open walls show in August 2016 entitled “We The People…”

With this exhibition we are looking for work that critically explores and dissects the current election season and the wider impact government has on our lives. We, in this country (U.S.), are all affected by those whom we elect, regardless of racial, sexual, gender, class, citizenship status. To grapple with issues and ultimately to vote is a responsibility and an honor; and it calls for discussion in which both visual and non-visual artists, can have much to offer.

“We The People…” is an open walls show. In a democracy, everyone’s voice matters.  So in this show, if you apply, you are automatically included in this exhibition.  There are just a few rules – to find out more, click here to download the prospectus, or click here to submit now, online.