Selva Aparicio's "Remains, 2013/2023" - Discarded lettuce, steel, oil board, and UV plexi. (Courtesy of the artist)
Selva Aparicio's "A Stitch in Time, 2023" - Discarded stuffed animals from children’s graves, wood, and dandelions seeds. (Courtesy of the artist)
Selva Aparicio's "Childhood Memories, 2017/2023–24" - Artist’s mother rug carved into oak floor. (Courtesy of the artist)
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein's "Untitled (No. 946), 1962." (Courtesy of DePaul Art Museum)
June Wayne's "Dawn Wind, 1975." (Courtesy of DePaul Art Museum)
Mr. Imagination's "Paintbrush Portrait, 1992." (Courtesy of DePaul Art Museum)
CHICAGO — Two new exhibitions at DePaul Art Museum will challenge the established norms of art and join a transformative journey exploring memory, intimacy and the transitory nature of existence. “In Memory Of” by artist Selva Aparicio addresses themes of domestic violence, while works from self-taught and outsider artists Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Mr. Imagination, Marva Lee Pitchford-Jolly, June Wayne, Derek Webster and Joseph Yoakum compose “The Image Pool.”
“The upcoming exhibitions at DePaul Art Museum bring to the fore those artists and conversations that are too often kept behind closed doors and not given enough attention, not seen as ‘mainstream’ enough,” says Laura-Caroline de Lara, director of DePaul Art Museum. “While very different in execution, these exhibitions point out the fact that none of us live in a void. We are all effected by issues of representation, of being (un)seen and understood. Our goal is to reframe how we experience our relationships with one another — how does what I do or experience effect you and vice versa? This is how empathy is formed and how space is made for other people.”
Both exhibitions open March 14 and will be on display through August 4.
In Memory Of
In her first solo exhibition, Chicago-based artist Selva Aparicio brings domestic violence into the open with
“In Memory Of.” Spanning the first floor of the museum, Aparicio will shape each gallery into a domestic setting. Through site-specific installations and sculptures utilizing items from nature, Aparicio invites viewers to contemplate the beauty found in the ephemeral.
“’In Memory Of’ is an emotional exploration of domestic life, shedding light on the complexities of memory, death, intimacy and mourning,” says DePaul Art Museum Curator Ionit Behar, who curated the exhibition. “By exploring the blurred boundaries of public and private in the context of domestic violence, the exhibition provides a poignant perspective by inviting our audiences to reflect on the complexities of domestic life through the eyes of children and women,” Behar adds.
Raised on the outskirts of Barcelona, Spain, Aparicio grew up exploring the ruins of Catalonia, once cherished by the Catalan bourgeoisie, which deeply influenced her artistic journey. Now a Chicago resident, Aparicio is a global influencer. Her exhibition will challenge conventional perceptions and invite visitors to contemplate the beauty found in life's ephemeral moments.
“I am interested in working in that space of death and decomposition,” Aparicio says. “Extend that moment, and work with those materials that contain memories, to reflect on them and what they contain. The bottom line is to find that moment between what they want and what I want. It is a kind of collaboration because they are living materials.”
Events planned with the exhibition include a talk with internationally acclaimed author Christina Rivera Garza, a poetry workshop in partnership with the Poetry Foundation, and the first collaboration between DePaul’s School of Music, The Theatre School and DePaul Art Museum for a series of performances based on Aparicio’s artworks.
The Image Pool
“The Image Pool” spotlights six unconventional artists whose unique paths defy art historical categorization. The exhibition includes works from DePaul Art Museum’s permanent collection. Included in the exhibition are works from artists typically described as folk, self-taught, outsider or intuitive. Intentionally problematizing the insider/outsider distinction, the curator frames these works as exemplary of what it means to be a contemporary artist rather than an exception.
“Though the world of contemporary art is a multi-billion-dollar industry that is often difficult to access for the non-initiated, it’s easy to forget that one of the defining features of art from the past few centuries is a gradual transformation and expansion of what counts as art,” says David Maruzzella, the collection and exhibition manager at DePaul Art Museum and curator of the exhibition. “The artists featured in ‘The Image Pool’ beautifully exemplify this democratic tendency — everybody, in principle, is an artist, all materials are available, and aesthetic inspiration can be taken from anywhere and everywhere.”
These six artists, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Mr. Imagination, Marva Lee Pitchford-Jolly, June Wayne, Derek Webster, and Joseph Yoakum, all pull their work from personal and imagined histories while defying institutional norms for artists. From prolific yet overlooked works to late-blooming artistic careers that have left a lasting impact, witness a celebration of resilience and innovation in the face of traditional artistic labels.
DePaul Art Museum is located at 935 W. Fullerton Ave. and is open from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. Additional information is
online or by calling 773-325-7506.
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Sources:
Ionit Behar
David Maruzzella
Media Contacts:
Russell Dorn
NaBeela Washington