U.S. Artists to Connect with "Locale" in Photography Exhibition

2018 State of the Art Photography Invitational: "Locale" opens Nov. 12

Accomplished photographers from across the country will offer unique perceptions and interpretations of specific places, in a group exhibition opening Monday, Nov. 12 at Giertz Gallery at Parkland College.
 
"Locale," curated by Chicago photographer and educator Christopher Schneberger, will run through Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019. The exhibit is part of Giertz Gallery's annual "State of the Art" national art invitationals.
 
In conjunction with the exhibit, an opening reception honoring the photographers is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will feature a curatorial talk by Schneberger at 6:30 p.m. Two additional gallery lectures by the exhibiting artists will be held in conjunction with the exhibition: 

• Jason Reblando, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 6:15 p.m.

• Jon Horvath, Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 1:15 p.m.

 An adjunct professor of photography at Columbia College and the College of DuPage, Schneberger has shown internationally including recent exhibitions in the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, Dorsky Projects in New York, Geocarto International in Hong Kong, the 3D Center for Art and Photography in Portland, and Printworks Gallery in Chicago, where he is represented.
 
He explained that localities in which an artist resides inevitably make an impact on his or her art. Working within the realm of documentary and art photography, each artist in this Giertz Gallery exhibit reveals his or her viewpoint on a specific place in which something complex or mundane, carefree, consigned, or fraught has occurred, may have occurred, or has the potential to occur.
 
"The spirit of a place resides in the buildings, the streets, and certainly its people—both present and past," Schneberger said. "Often, a place has a feel, a taste, a frequency which can be tuned in. To visit a place, to reside within it, to explore it, and absorb its spirit, allows the artist to reflect and respond. The artists in this exhibition have all spent time in specific places, or types of places, and responded to what they experienced. They tuned in to the frequency, and the resonance of that wave echoes through their art."
 
Exhibit participants comprise a mix of studio artists and faculty at several U.S. educational institutions, including Christine Carr, assistant professor of art and visual culture at Iowa State University; Antone Dolezal, a photographer based in Tulsa, Okla.; Jon Horvath, interim associate professor in the New Studio Practice program at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design; Dave Jordano, a professional fine art photographer based in Chicago; Jason Reblando, photographer/videographer and photography instructor at Illinois Wesleyan University; Lara Shipley, assistant professor of photography at Michigan State University; and Samantha VanDeman, assistant professor of photography at McNeese State University, Lake Charles, La. 
 
Schneberger has received two Illinois Arts Council individual artist grants. He is a founding member of Perspective Gallery, a non-profit gallery of photography in Evanston, Ill., where he also serves on the Board of Directors. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Florida and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University.
 
Giertz Gallery Director Lisa Costello said the photography exhibition will offer art students an opportunity to learn more about the options available to them as photographers and will provide an educational experience for community members interested in photography. Most importantly, the exhibit will allow audiences of all types the chance to explore diverse viewpoints on our complex and multilayered world.
 
Giertz Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. The gallery will be closed from 5 p.m. Nov. 21 through Nov. 25 for Thanksgiving break; Dec. 10 through Jan. 13 for winter break; and Jan. 21 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
 
To find the gallery when classes are in session, we suggest using the M6 parking lot on the north corner of the campus. Enter through any door and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point of the first floor, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area.
 
Programs at the gallery are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Parkland College is a section 504/ADA-compliant institution; for accommodation, call 217/351-2505.
 
For more information on the invitational, please call the gallery office at 217/351-2485 or visit the gallery web page.

 
[Image: Antone Dolezal and Lara Shipley, Waiting for the Light, archival pigment print, 30" x 30", 2013]