Artists and staff at Chicago Heights-based Union Street Gallery often hear from first time visitors, “Wow, I didn’t know you were here. You’re a hidden gem.”
As it has done since its founding in 1995, Union Street Gallery continues to shine a light on the arts in the south suburbs and serve as a resource for artists, notes Julian Graham, gallery director.
Its Spring Invitational Exhibition, which runs through Saturday, features 44 works of art from 30 artists, from the Chicago metropolitan area. The exhibition includes paintings, photography, ceramics, collages and mixed media. The variety is what makes the show strong, Graham said.
“There wasn’t a specific group we were targeting,” he said. “We were targeting anybody who was willing to be involved. Making it easy and accessible was the goal.”
Digital photographer Daveed Holmes, who specializes in photographing dancers and performers, has a photo titled “Triumphant Reemergence.” It was shot at sunrise and features costumed veteran dancer Sirene de Paradis. The photo is meant to convey the message that no matter where you are in your career, whether young or 20 to 30 years in, you can still reemerge to do something new, said Holmes.
Theresa Hammons said her mixed media, brightly colored abstract art creation titled “Cooped Up and Chaotic” was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hammons teaches visual art at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights and became a member of the gallery’s board about six months ago, she said. She used water color markers and oil pastels to create her piece, which features multiple images including a woman coming out of a tulip near colorful renderings of leaves.
“I was reflecting on mental health and the impact COVID has had on our lives, especially our social lives,” she said of her creation, which is also meant to be playful. “Nature has kept me grounded in all the chaos.”
She said her work has been featured in Washington State and Michigan, when she resided there.
Union Street Gallery is the first to feature Holmes work. He said the gallery is an asset to artists in the south suburbs.
“When you think about art, you really don’t think about Chicago Heights,” he said. “But there are a lot of artists here. The great thing about this gallery is it’s in the heart of the Southland. It’s a great way to showcase our work.”
The gallery seeks to benefit artists and the community, said Graham.
“We’re trying to champion the arts in a place that desperately needs it,” he said. “Arts accessibility is really important. The arts should be accessible to the everyday person. Artist participation should also be very accessible.”
While there are other art galleries in the south suburbs, Union Street Gallery, housed in a three-story historic landmark building at 1527 Otto Blvd., is unique, Graham said.
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“We have artist studios on every floor,” he noted. “We have two floors of exhibiting space, which is unusual for the south suburbs. We have ongoing classes for different subjects. There’s the opportunity for people to create their own events here. You can join our guild.”
The guild is a group of artists that meet monthly.
“They talk about what they are working on, different opportunities for artists local and otherwise, and it’s kind of like a monthly way of keeping up with a smaller community of people who are looking to build their network,” Graham said.
The gallery offers free tours for schools, colleges and nonprofit groups. It also offers tours for other groups from whom it requests donations.
The gallery leases the building from the city of Chicago Heights and is funded by grants, donations and the leasing out of its 15 artist studios.
Landscape pastel artist Marikay Peter Witlock, who has studio space, has been with Union Street since its founding. She said the gallery is a true gem.
“This is an underserved community and has been for decades,” she said. “For Chicago Heights to have a professional gallery and studios for professional artists is just about unheard of. Nobody expects it. We have been able to bring in school groups, public and parochial, to come in and see the exhibits.”
Many of the kids can’t get to the Art Institute of Chicago, she stressed. But In Chicago Heights, they have the opportunity to see art work not just from the community, but from the region, surrounding states and sometimes national shows, she said.
“Little kids, high school kids, community colleges, it’s great for them to have a resource like this right in their backyard,” she said.
Witlock shares studio space with pastelists Jean Lewis and Mary Ann Trzyna. Tryzna said artists are able to learn from other artists at Union Street.
Lewis, a Glenwood resident and pastel artist, taught art for 30 years at schools in the south suburbs, elementary through high school, she said. She has participated as an artist at the Park Forest Art Fair for nine years and has taken sessions in pastel art from Witlock.
Lewis said growing up she loved to draw, and in the fourth grade, a drawing she did of a deer caught the eye of her teacher.
“She showed it to the class and went on and on about it, and she told me to go next door to show the other fourth grade teacher and class and they went on and on.”
That 15 minutes of fame helped fuel her passion. Lewis, who holds a bachelor’s degree in art education from Northeastern Illinois University, is focused on painting portraits and drawings of children from Kenya and Mali.
She said through a relationship she has with The Zakat Foundation of America and Matanya’s Hope, that do humanitarian work in the countries, she has been able to view photos of the children and families they’ve worked with. Those photos inspired her to create portrait and figurative paintings, she said.
“I just love the human figure, especially faces,” she said.
The gallery is open from noon to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
For more information, go to unionstreetgallery.org.
Francine Knowles is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.