2018 State of the Art Photography Invitational

Monday, November 12, 2018–Saturday, February 2, 2019

  • Curated by Christopher Schneberger
  • Reception: Thursday, November 15, 5:30–7:30 pm
    Curatorial talk at 6:30 pm
    Music by Cobra Lounge Trio
  • Additional Gallery lectures:
    Exhibiting photographer Jon Horvath, Tuesday, February 5, at 1:15 pm
    Jason Reblando, Tuesday, November 27 at 6:15pm (more)
  • Gallery Closed: November 21 (5 pm)–25; December 10–January 13; and January 21

Accomplished photographers from across the country will offer unique perceptions and interpretations of specific places, in a group exhibition.  "Locale," curated by Chicago photographer and educator Christopher Schneberger is part of Giertz Gallery's annual "State of the Art" national art invitationals.

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.


Jason ReblandoJason Reblando, Girl on Rollerskates

Artist statement:
Lathrop Homes is an examination of race, space, and nature amidst the unending and uneven development of cities. Through these photographs, I explore the complexities between the utopian aspirations of urban planners and the social realities of public housing. These photographs are from the Julia C. Lathrop Homes, built by the Public Works Administration, on the North Side of Chicago. It is one of the first public housing complexes built in Chicago and designed in the spirit of the English “Garden City” movement. My images reconsider the residents, landscape, and notion of public housing that has otherwise been marginalized.

Biography:
Jason Reblando received his MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago, and a BA in Sociology from Boston College. He is the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the Philippines, an Artist Fellowship Award from the Illinois Arts Council, and a Community Arts Assistance Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. His work has been published in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, Camera Austria, Slate, Bloomberg Businessweek, Marketplace, Real Simple, Places Journal, Chicago Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Reader. His photographs are collected in the Library of Congress, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Midwest Photographers Project of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He teaches photography at Illinois Wesleyan University.