Making a Swarm

With Evanston Made kicking off June 3, I am thrilled to be part of the official Evanston Art Center Exhibit as well as a special show featuring critters near to my heart. SideTracked Studio will be hosting Swarm, a small works exhibition.

Jason McPhillips, “Negentropy,”
Oil and Gold Leaf on Panel, 10″x10″

The word can be defined in different ways – from an act of aggression/protection to simply a group of animals – and the Coynes thought it high time to mount their own swarm via artists interpreting the theme.

Lauren showed me her concept art, which aligned with my vision of creating a butterfly mobile, and I am excited to be included in this show with such highly talented artists.

Works on exhibit will be: Lauren Levato Coyne, Rory Coyne, Jason McPhillips, Erin Gergen Halls, Anthony Cramer, Gail Potocki, John Walker, Erich J. Moffatt, Victoria Fuller, Renee McGinnis, Maike van Wijk, and Stephanie Inagaki.

This exhibit will be a wonderful spectacle of highly crafted works that are mostly no larger than twelve inches, and an installation made of smaller components by the artists to make one collaborative piece, or swarm.

The opening reception is Saturday, June 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. with beverages provided by New Holland Brewing Co. The exhibition continues through July 2, 2016.

I had fun creating different critters, dressing them (aka making up my own species), and arranging them in various ways.

There is no telling how Lauren and Rory will install them when they combine my pieces with the other artists’ submissions.

Sidetracked Studio is the storefront studio of artists Lauren Levato Coyne and Rory Coyne founded with collector and advisor Michele Mahon Jahelka. Throughout the year Sidetracked Studio, located at 707 Chicago Avenue, also presents gallery exhibitions of visiting artists, workshops, and lectures. For information visit sidetrackedstudio.com or find them on social media.

Sidetracked Studio is located near the purple line Main Street station, as well as the Main Street Metra station. Metered parking is available on Chicago Avenue, and you can find residential parking a few blocks closer to the lake. The gallery is wheelchair accessible.