Aram Han Sifuentes, Erin Hayden, and Jonah King

Satellite exhibition: Erin Hayden: August 8–October 21 
Milner Library, Illinois State University 
Workshop: The Big Project with Jonah King: September 13, 1–2pm 
Artist reception: Sifuentes, Hayden, King: September 13, 5–7pm 
Artist talk: Aram Han Sifuentes: September 14, 12–1pm 
Conversation with Jonah King and Zach Buckley: September 16, 12–1pm 
Stroller tour: September 26, 9–9:30am 
Conversation with Erin Hayden and Melissa Johnson: September 30, 12–1pm 
Performance by Erin Hayden: September 30, 4:30–5pm 

University Galleries is pleased to announce three new solo exhibitions.

Erin Hayden: Flower-o’-the Moon
August 9—October 21, 2019

Flower-o’-the-Moon premieres six new paintings and a video by Illinois State University alumna Erin Hayden. Influenced by fairytales and storytelling, the works address the artist’s Irish ancestry, Celtic goddesses, girlhood, and the symbolism of water. Equally versed in the creation of digital and analog images, the Chicago-based artist exploits the possibilities of online searches and photo editing software for her (often) multi-layered digital collages. She then prints them onto fabric and applies a range of painted surfaces, including shiny globs of acrylic and airy clouds of spray paint. The resulting works include surprising juxtapositions that embrace cuteness and absurdity while also prompting deeper consideration of how we access information and meaning.

Flower-o’-the-Moon is organized by University Galleries’ Director and Chief Curator Kendra Paitz. The exhibition and programming are supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. Field trip support is provided by a grant from the Town of Normal Harmon Arts Grant Program.

Jonah King: All My Friends Are In The Cloud
August 12—October 13, 2019

All My Friends Are In The Cloud presents a video-sculpture and new interactive installation by New York-based Irish artist and filmmaker Jonah King. In the artist’s words, the work “celebrates the resilience of human tenderness within the sleepless mechanisms of digital technology.” The project examines the contradictions of connection in an age when human intimacy is often at odds with our “always-on” digital realities. The show centers on an ever-expanding digital archive viewed via a pillar of monitors. Images of people embracing gently spin and scroll upward like video clips in a social media feed. As the images ascend, they unfurl into a whirl of digital fragments. By the time each embrace reaches the top of the screen, its image has disintegrated completely.

All My Friends Are In The Cloud is organized by University Galleries’ Graduate Assistant and Arts Technology M.S. Candidate Zach Buckley and is sponsored in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Alice and Fannie Fell Trust. This exhibition is also made possible through a close collaboration with the Program in Arts Technology in the College of Fine Arts. 

Aram Han Sifuentes: We Are Never Never Other
August 15—October 10, 2019

We Are Never Never Other brings together three of Aram Han Sifuentes’ projects for the first time: Protest Banner Lending Library, U.S. Citizenship Test Sampler, and A Mend. Rooted in her experiences as an immigrant from South Korea, the artist developed her community-based textile projects to confront social justice issues including racial equity, economic disparities, and political disenfranchisement. She writes, “Much of my communal work revolves around sharing skills as a point of connection. We share sewing techniques to create multiethnic and intergenerational sewing circles, which become a place for empowerment, subversion, and protest.”

We Are Never Never Other is organized by University Galleries’ Director and Chief Curator Kendra Paitz. The exhibition, programming, and publication are supported by grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Harold K. Sage Foundation and the Illinois State University Foundation Fund.