There, Now it Will Last Forever is an exhibition of works by some of Chicago's most motivated and environmentally-minded artists. The exhibition includes drawings, paintings, collage, objects and installations.

Join us as we delve into human nature in relation to the natural environment; our inherent connection as animals dependent on the earth for survival and the disconnection created by technology, self & society.

Participating Artists: Steven Eichhorn, James Harry Ewert Jr, Ron Ewert, Mike Fortress, Jenny Kendler, Michael Ruggirello, Ben Speckmann, Davey Sommers, Scott Thomas, Ina Weise and INDO.

Opening Party
June 25, 2010 : 7pm–12am

Show Run
June 25 - July 9, 2010 : Mon thru Fri: 1–6pm

The Family Room
1821 W Hubbard St #202 : Chicago, IL

The Family Room is free & open to the public.

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Early Thaw of the Northwest Passage, an installation by collaborators Jenny Kendler and Linsey Burritt, explores the space between historical and contemporary conceptions of the Arctic — a place which remains both a romanticized and unknown realm of wonder and terror, while simultaneously representing the objective reality of Climate Change. The Northwest Passage becomes a conceptual vehicle throughout the work, echoed by other passages: a passage for the movement of breath, passages to view the unknown, the act of passage as a way to new understanding.

Upon entering the gallery, the viewer finds themselves outside an ice cave constructed of meticulously folded origami forms. Secret portals allow one to to peer into the cave's dream-like interiors, through the snow-frosted exterior gallery window or hand-crafted golden telescopes.

These hidden worlds suggest a visceral bodily understanding of nature, born of surrender into this territory of otherness. This form of 'peripheral' observance nurtures an alternate method for the exploration of our relationship to this sublime otherness, where melting no longer connotes an act of loss, but becomes a generative act, blending disparate elements into a new whole.

The gallery walls will host prints by The Endangered Species Print Project, including works by founders Molly Schafer & Jenny Kendler and many other artists For each print, the number created mirrors the population of the animal/plant depicted, with 100% of print sales supporting that species's future survival.


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Check out the newest issue of the fantastic Annalemma Magazine to see four commissioned works of mine, as well as many other goodies, including some great short fiction. You can order #6 or check out their other issues here.


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I have a piece in an upcoming group show by curators Andy Cushman and Leah Dixon. They run this amazing project called Grey Market that creates pop-up galleries in non-traditional spaces. Their first exhibition had 400 visitors, and took place in an abandoned counterfeit designer handbag store near Penn Station. Fabulous, right?

Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Heart will feature 15 artists dealing with the ambiguity and pitfalls in being an urban artist, and the notions of being "green". This exhibition temporarily inhabits a dance studio in the Lower East Side, and will open with what should be a really really good New Year's Eve Party. If you're in the area, do be sure to attend!


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I was interviewed about my work for the lovely and well-designed ParasolMag. This issue is full of beautiful work by many creative people, and I'm honored to be a part of it. ParsolMag is an online publication by Yasmine Surovec, creator of the popular A Print A Day blog. You can see the ParasolMag site here or download the issue directly here.


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Cohabit, a solo show of my new drawing work, opens Oct. 22nd at the COOP in Chicago's West Loop.

Coincidentally, opening the same night, I also have three pieces in a group show on environmental issues and climate change, titled Art for Sustainability, at North Eastern University in Boston, MA.


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Fellow artist Molly Schafer and I have been working for some time on a collaboration called The Endangered Species Print Project. We're finally ready to go public, so please go check it out!

The Endangered Species Print Project offers limited edition prints of critically endangered species.

The number of prints available corresponds with the remaining animal or plant populations. For example, only 30 Amur Leopards remain in the wild, so for this edition, only 30 prints will ever be made.

All proceeds from ESPP are donated to conservation organizations. A different organization, whose mission is to the ensure the survival of the specie depicted, is chosen for each print.

We are actively looking for ways to promote the project, so please contact us at espp@EndangeredSpeciesPrintProject.com if you're interested in lending a paw...

We have already received major interest from the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity.

The Sierra Club will posted about ESPP on their blog and will be publishing an article on the project in SIERRA Magazine. We'll also possibly work with them on a print to support their conservation efforts.

CforBD has also tapped Molly and I to work with them on a very special (and perhaps I should say, unusual) TBA project. More on that later. Very exciting!


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I was interviewed for Bear Deluxe Magazine's recent contemporary art issue about my work and my art blog Wunderkammer.

The Bear Deluxe is a national, independent environmental magazine publishing significant works of reporting, creative nonfiction, literature, visual art and design. Based in the Pacific Northwest, The Bear Deluxe reaches across cultural and political divides to engage readers on vital issues effecting the environment.


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A collaborative drawing titled "Lemurs Fighting Deforestation" that I created with Molly Schafer was chosen to be a part of Exit Art's show "It's Not Easy." The drawing depicts a lemur army, armed to the teeth and ready to battle for the forests they call their home.


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Some of my new work will be included in the Garden of Delights show which will be part of the Yeosu Art Festival in Korea this August and September. The show focuses on human beings' disconnect from nature, and is curated by Raul Zamudio, former curatorial director of White Box in NYC and curator of over 50 international exhibitions.

You can see more information on the show here or by emailing yeosufestival@gmail.com


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I'm going to be part of a three person show with my friend Maurene Cooper and fellow artist Alisha Wessler at Claremorris Gallery in Ireland --- just outside of Dublin. The show was curated by the excellent Emma Balacz, who has written an essay for the catalog, excerpted below:

These artists apply a rigor to their process that produces pieces that are seductive in their beauty, exhilarating in their strong technical foundation, and compel us to further, deeper consideration of the subject or idea proposed. The title ‘Protagonist’ refers
to each artist’s choice to place herself in the centre of her work. As heroines in their own projects, vehicles to explore their chosen territories, the artists call to us and invite us into their worlds.

Jenny Kendler explores the relation of the human and natural kingdoms. Peaceful Kingdom is a powerful statement of utopia. Her drawings explore the connections between nature and humans and ask us, through devices of seduction and confrontation, to consider the responsibilities of humans towards nature and our inextricable links to the natural world.

These young artists are at an exciting moment in their careers. Each artist is rapidly advancing, developing a strong following in her community. They are creating prolifically, showing actively, and their works are quickly entering private collections throughout the US. This is the first time their works have been presented outside of the US. It is a privilege and an honor to introduce the artists and their unique visions to an Irish audience.

If you're going to be nearby Dublin, Protagonist runs from May 24th to June 14th 2008.

Claremorris Gallery
Mount Street, Claremorris
Co. Mayo, Ireland
claremorrisgallery.com.
info@claremorrisgallery.com.
phone: +353 94 93 72886

Gallery hours are Tues-Sat 11am - 6pm.


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You can check out the story and my section here.


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You can read a great review of Henbane here: NewCity Review by Kelly McClure. The show was also featured in the Chicago Reader and reviewed as 5 stars by Time Out Chicago.

Henbane is a group show I am in with 4 good friends. The full title is Henbane : Dialectics of the Feminine Sublime and it's at the Medicine Park Gallery, a new artspace here in Chicago. The other artists are Meg Leary, Molly Schafer, Amber Hawk Swanson and Stacia Yeapanis.

Henbane runs from March 21st to April 21st 2008 with an Opening Reception March 21, 7pm to 11pm and a video screening at 8pm. (The opening was much much fun! We had a huge turnout despite the freak snowstorm.)

Below is an excerpt from a short essay Molly & I wrote for the show:

Unlike the traditional sublime, the feminine sublime does not domesticate the object that might be a source of threat. Instead, it accepts the relationship of both pleasure and pain, or life and death, and the potential dispersal of the self. – Joanna Zylinska

Henbane opens with the full Crow Moon on March 21st and will include a gallery exhibition and video screening. The cast of characters featured in Henbane includes Hillary Clinton, Female Centaurs, Xena Warrior Princess, Feral Girls and a Real Doll special ordered in the artist’s image. The interdisciplinary exhibition includes photographs, drawings, videos, appropriation-works and wee sculptures that often refuse to make hierarchies or distinctions between classes of knowledge, medias or genres.

The artists of Henbane are also part of a critique group that supports and assists the members in the creation of their own individual (and sometimes collaborative) projects, while maintaining a critical core centered on feminism, identity, fantasy, political activism, environmentalism, and culture studies. Henbane seeks to draw on this gestalt, focusing the central energy of the group towards the innate conflicts and resolutions located within and between gender and sex.

Like these dialectics, the feminine sublime is inherently hybrid, dispelling gender-specific ideas associated with the traditional sublime. The theory of the feminine sublime proposes a way to view the external world that welcomes the dissolution of fixed identity as a means to extend our respect and understanding outwards --- from a self-core unafraid to fluidify it’s boundaries.

Medicine Park
2659 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
medparkchicago.com.
myspace.com/medparkchicago.
medicineparkchicago@gmail.com.
773.255.5582

Gallery hours are Sundays 12pm-6pm and by appointment.


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I am going to be part of a group show called Grounded at the Ellen Curlee Gallery in St. Louis. The show will also feature work from the extremely talented Maslen + Mehra, John Pfahl, and Brian Ulrich. Grounded opens on March 15th. Please contact the gallery for more information.

You can read an essay that I wrote on the work on Maslen + Mehra on my blog Wunderkammer, here: environmentalartblog.com

Below is an excerpt from the press release:

Grounded: Photography and Our Contemporary Environment is an exhibition bringing together international photography and video art focusing on the complex and dynamic interrelationship between humans and the earth while addressing the environmental troubles currently confronting us.

The theme of the exhibition was developed in partnership with the St. Louis Earth Day organization, as a result of their expressed interest in adding a collaborative and artistic component directly involving the community. The photographers represented in Grounded are among a growing movement of global artists who are critically addressing environmental issues such as climate change, extinction and conservation.

These artists believe that art can play a critical role in providing creative insight into these challenges. Grounded proposes art as a way of creating a better understanding of our relationship with our environment as well as a way to explore the renewed role of contemporary art as a leading force in the global debate about the future of our planet.

Ellen Curlee Gallery
1308A Washington Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63103
ellencurleegallery.com.
dana@ellencurleegallery.com.
314.241.1299


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I have a solo show entitled Wunderkammer up this winter at Kasia Kay Art Projects. The show runs from November 30th to December 29th, 2007.

The opening was on Friday the 30th and went really well, with big crowds all night and many nice comments on the work.

Below is an excerpt from the press release:

In Wunderkammer, Kendler re-imagines the Naturalist of the past through the lens of modern ecology and environmentalism. If the Naturalist of the 18th and 19th centuries sought to lay personal claim to the natural world and contain it in a specimen cabinet or book of prints, Kendler presents her room of intimate drawings and sculpture as a definitive counterpoint to the view of nature as something to be possessed. Her delicate work suggests instead that it is we who are possessed by nature.

Also, check out this Wikipedia article for some more info on the fascinating topic of wunderkammern or "cabinets of curiosities".

Kasia Kay Art Projects
1044 W. Fulton Market St
Chicago, IL 60607
kasiakayartprojects.com.
info@kasiakayartprojects.com.
312.492.8828


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I have three of my sculptural terrariums in this show curated by Rob Bondgren.

unNatural presents the work of four artists who construct or depict artificial environments that question our estrangement from nature, our ability and willingness to re-engage with it, and other notions of authenticity, romanticism, longing, and desire. My talented friend Maureen Cooper is also one of the artists in the show.

unNatural will be up from from November 16th to December 4th, 2007. The gallery hosts an opening on November 16th from 6-10pm.

estudiotres
5205 North Clark St
Chicago, Illinois 60640
estudiotres.com/gallery/.
gallery@estudiotres.com.
773.271.0533


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Drowning World, a solo show of new works by Jenny Kendler, runs from May 11th to June 9th.

This show received some nice press. "As I became invisible..." was printed in the Chicago Reader's featured galleries section. The show was also reviewed by Usama Alshaibi from Vocalo.org, a radio station and webcast that is an experimental offshoot of Chicago's NPR station. Flavorpill featured the show in their most recent issue 141, "Animalistic Flavor." How appropriate...


Below is an excerpt from the press release:

Jenny Kendler's intricately drawn works on paper re-enchant taxonomy, the method by which living things are categorized and separated, stepping across the symbolic divide between homo sapiens and the rest of the natural world. Rendered in meticulous pencil and iridescent ink, Kendler's delicate human forms stream tiny fish and blood-soaked newborn birds. Tidepools rupture the skin and carnivorous pitcher plants erupt in ecstatic bursts. This intimate bodily connection to the natural world is a glimpse into the forgotten kingdom of our animal selves.

Please email me for a copy of the full press release or additional details.

NOVA Gallery
840 W. Washington Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60607


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I have a pair of photo works in this group show in St. Louis, MO.
The show will also include works by some friends of mine: Adam Ekberg, Esteban Schimpf, Mayumi Lake, Lindsay Page, David Parker, and Lilly McElroy.

My brother is attending medical school at Wash. U St. Louis, so this is the perfect excuse for me to visit. I'll be at the opening if anyone is in town, and would like to come by.

Free Rein/Full Play - New Chicago Photographers
Opening: Friday Feb, 16th 2007
February 16 - March 31, 2007

Ellen Curlee Gallery
1308A Washington Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63103


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My work will be included in a show curated by the lovely and talented Shawnee Barton entitled "Spun from the Web." The show gathers together artists who use web-searched texts and images in their work. It opens in Chicago on the 20th of October, 2006.

Gallery 2
847 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60607
312.563.5162


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I will be showing work at the Contemporary Artists Center in North Adams, Massachusetts (nearby the MASS MOCA) as part of the exhibit "Back to Nature" curated by Hezzie Phillips. The show opens May 28th, 2006.

The Contemporary Artists Center
189 Beaver St.
North Adams MA 01247
thecac.org
info@thecac.org
413.663.9555


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Golden Girls: Fantasies, Utopias, and Alter-Egos opens at Gallery 2 on May 5th 2006, and runs through May 19th. The Opening Reception is free to the public and is from 5pm-8pm on the 5th. Email me for more information and/or a press pack and catalog.

Gallery 2
847 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60607
312.563.5162