October 6 – November 8, 2025
- Reception: Thursday, October 9, 2025, 5:30–7 pm, Gallery Talk by Amanda Smith at 6:15 pm
- Artist Lectures: Amanda Smith, Thursday, October 9, at 1:15 pm in the William Staerkel Planetarium
Participating artists: Hannah Buchanan (Rockville, IN), Pattie Chalmers (Carbondale, IL), Travis Head (Blacksburg, VA), Beth Shadur (Highland Park, IL), and Amanda Smith (Bloomington, IN).
“The Great Outdoors” includes ceramics, printmaking, mixed media, watercolors, and oil paintings. This exhibition features five artists examining the relationship between humans and the natural world, with an emphasis on the outdoor environment as a space for enjoyment, recreation, and study, in contrast to more developed areas.
The artists capture the essence of wilderness and sites at the periphery of human development, highlighting places where individuals engage with nature, such as parks, campgrounds, and rural landscapes. Their works depict activities including camping, fishing, travel, and even leisure in one’s own backyard. Through these representations, the artists invite viewers to consider the cultural history of these landscapes, promoting a deeper understanding of our interactions with the environment.
Amanda Smith holds an MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Smith creates works that investigate human interpretations and experiences within landscapes. She has exhibited and lectured extensively, both nationally and internationally, at notable venues such as the SPRING/BREAK Art Show in New York, the Rochester Art Center in Minnesota, and the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City. This also includes Box 13 Art Space in Houston, the International Quilt Museum, and Biblioteca Viva Egana in Santiago, Chile. Currently, she serves as a Senior Lecturer in Painting at Indiana University.
Image: Amanda Smith, Unless we close our eyes, we can’t see where we used to be anywhere (detail), oil on canvas, 64 x 48 inches, 2024
Questions?
Contact Giertz Gallery at Parkland College Office by email at giertzgallery@parkland.edu or call 217/351-2485. Contact 40 North: Champaign County Arts Council by email at kwhite@40north.org or call 217/351-9841.
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Admission is free. Donations welcome!
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Giertz Gallery acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. All events in the accessible gallery are free and open to the public. Parkland College is a Section 504/ADA-compliant institution. For accommodation, call 217/353-2338 or email accessibilityservices@parkland.edu.