February Artist News

published: Jan. 31, 2024

LUIS ROMERO (2010 3Arts Awardee)

Now through February 24, Luis presents new works in a solo exhibition entitled All is Illusion, But Nothing Lies at Compound Yellow in Oak Park. “Luis Romero constructs assemblages made primarily of paper, cardboard, and canvas. He uses the repetition of pattern and the layering of materials to create visual space rich in ambiguity, where the relation of the mark to the surface is unsettled, and marks seem independent of the support. His works show the evidence of manual contact and are often made of perishable materials; but they look for a kind of incorporeality, a place where marks are both present and absent; existing and illusory.” 

 

HALENA KAYS (2012 3Arts Awardee)

From February 1  through March 10, Halena directs the Chicago premiere of MOTHERS at The Gift Theatre. MOTHERS “examines the primal heartache of raising children in a disintegrating world” as the play follows three moms, a stay-at-home dad, and a nanny at a Mommy-Baby Meetup.

 

WHITNEY MORRISON (2021 Make a Wave Artist)

On February 1 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Whitney performs in Beyond the Aria: Whitney Morrison, Meredith Arwady, Laureano Quant. The intimate event explores what opera singers sing on their night off. 

 

CHERYL LYNN BRUCE (2010 3Arts Awardee)

On stage February 2 –25 at Court Theatre, Cheryl is among the cast for a production of Sophocles’ timely masterwork, Antigone. “As Antigone mourns her brothers who have murdered each other in a civil war, she must decide if she will sacrifice her life to balance the scales of justice. Her victorious brother is posthumously exalted; her treasonous brother is left unburied by order of King Creon, Antigone’s uncle and adversary. Antigone deliberately defies the king’s edict and buries her traitorous brother, igniting a devastating chain of events and thrusting urgent questions of justice to the fore.”

 

NORMAN TEAGUE (2019 3Arts/Denise & Gary Gardner Awardee)

On February 3, Norman participates in a panel discussion about his solo exhibition, A Love Supreme, on view at the Elmhurst Art Museum through April 28. Inspired by the legendary jazz musician, John Coltrane, Norman presents his own work at the museum and assisted in curating work by other Chicago-based BIPOC designers in an adjoining installation. “Teague uses Coltrane’s album A Love Supreme as a personal, cultural, and spiritual touchstone to consider design influences from his life-long home in Chicago, exploring how the power of bold improvisational jazz and unapologetic Black aesthetics have expanded the minds and inspired creative communities of color.” Moderated by Ayana Contreras, the February 3 panel will feature Norman and other designers in conversation.

 

CHARÍN ÁLVAREZ (2021 Make a Wave Artist), LAURA ALCALÁ BAKER (2021 Make a Wave Artist), and EDDIE TORRIES (2010 3Arts Awardee)

From February 7 through March 2, Charín and Eddie are among the cast members in the world premiere of A Home What Howls (Or the House What Was Ravine), directed by Laura for the Steppenwolf Young Adults series. Written by Matthew Paul Olmos, the play is a “modern myth drawn from the real-life struggles of displaced communities around the globe [that follows] Soledad Vargas, who is fighting for her family’s right to live on their land. When hope starts to dwindle, how far will she go, and what will she be forced to leave behind?”

 

MAI SUGIMOTO (2021 Make a Wave Artist)

On February 9, Mai celebrates her third album, Sunlight Filtering Through Leaves, with a live concert at Constellation. The improvised album, to be released on February 2, “looks to the moments in our lives when we can engross ourselves in the simple but profound beauty of something like light filtering through tree leaves—and commemorates the privilege of making music with others.” 

 

SAM THOUSAND (2019 3Arts/Southwest Airlines Awardee)

On February 10, Sam collaborates with Chef Erika Durham to present Bronzeville Nola, a “Fat Tuesday experience celebrating the spirit of Bronzeville through engaging art forms, culture, and cuisine.” The event takes place at Mt. Pisgah Ballroom (4622 S. King Drive) and features performances by the Windy City Ramblers, Stacy Letrice’s Dance Jukeboxx, Angel Bat Dawid, Praise Mother dance group (Aaliyah Christina), and more. 

 

ALBERTO AGUILAR (2011 3Arts Awardee), JUAN ANGEL CHAVEZ (2008 3Arts/Northern Trust Awardee), and EDRA SOTO (2023 Next Level Awardee)

Opening February 14 (and on view through March 31), Alberto curates Picture Thingy, a group exhibition at the Chicago Athletic Association. Juan and Edra are among a dozen artists featured in the show. The exhibition is described as: “Things made by artists that exist between object and image, arranged in a glass case. A cabinet of curiosities filled with artworks that call to be touched but can only be looked at through a veil of glass.”

 

TARA MALLEN (2017 3Arts/ William Franklin Grisham Awardee)

From February 23 through April 6 at the Rivendell Theatre, Tara directs WIPEOUT. “Three retired best friends. One hotrod surf instructor. The currents of the Pacific Ocean. What could possibly go wrong? Set on surfboards, WIPEOUT is a poignant comedy about friendship, grief, and the unpredictable rides of life.”