November 2021 | The Art of Remembrance

The Art of Remembrance

October 30 - November 14, 2021

This community call for art exhibit honors those that have passed, in portraits and a community altar. This exhibition expands on the tradition of Dia de los Muertos, by including art historical and contemporary genres of portraiture and welcomes all cultural practices of remembrance.

Bring an "ofrenda" or offering for the community altar. This is something to entice the spirit of a loved one back for a visit. Your offering can be a photo, poem, note, flowers, sweet treat, miniature beverage or something that the special person loved or shared with you. Or, simply add their name to the ribbon wall.

Article: Day of The Dead Traditions Around The World

Article: The History of Momento Mori Art

2020 Exhibit

DYLAN TELLESEN, "Tania", mixed media on canvas, NFS. This portrait of Tania Heyman was commissioned in 2019 by her husband and two children; Nathan, Alexis and Nicholas. Not only does the portrait beautifully capture Tania, its creation was a therapeutic process for the family. All three family members, in separate sessions, worked to create the underpainting using colors, images and words that were meaningful to them and Tania. If you look closely, there are areas where the underpainting shows through. Working in this manner made this project that much more emotionally intense for the family and artist. Tania experienced a sudden onset of mental illness in 2012 and ended up taking her life at the age of 44.

DYLAN TELLESEN, "Sarah Kane", mixed media, $2,000. Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright who is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological—and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of extreme and violent stage action.

DYLAN TELLESEN, "Kurt Cobain", mixed media, $2,400. Best known as the guitarist, primary songwriter and frontman of the rock band Nirvana, Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona, Cobain's compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was often heralded as a spokesman of Generation X and is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in the history of alternative rock.

HEATHER BENNETT, "Steve", mixed media on board, $50.

ALBANY COYLE, "Erin", acrylic, NFS. The subject of my piece is my sister 'Erin', who passed on 11.11.19 in Paradise CA. 'Erin' was a light to all who knew her, gave unconditional love, fought adversity with such courage and strength, she was a beautiful example for everyone who faced struggle. She taught me to be myself, not hold back and strive to make every day matter, as it did for her. I have depicted her in "festival gear" as she loved music, dance, freedom, and know she would be proud of this piece, which was part of the healing process, still ongoing. I hope her smile lights up the room as it did in life.

REBECCA SHELLY, "Her fight is now ours!", colored pencil, spray fixitive and thread on fabric, $600.

REBECCA SHELLY, "Her fight is now ours!" (verso), colored pencil, spray fixitive and thread on fabric, $600.

LUCKY PRESTON, "Family Mask", bronze, NFS. This is a remembrance of my past generations. Hand sculpted in clay. The ceramic piece survived the Paradise fire of Nov. 2018.

MARK GAILEY, "Sal Casa", graphite on white paper, NFS. This, of course, is a portrait of Sal Casa, the local Chico art icon and mentor to many. I drew this portrait from life, as Sal posed for us at the end of one of his evening Chico Art Center figure drawing classes. Sal had great features to draw and I felt that I got a pretty good likeness of him in this portrait. Several of my other attempts to draw Sal over the years fell short, but this one seemed to work out.

MARK GAILEY, "Joe", graphite on paper, NFS. This is a portrait I did from life in 2009 of a long-time older Chico figure model named Joe. It was the best likeness I had done of Joe and the contrast of the drawing seemed to be sharp enough for display. A whole generation of our older Chico artists should instantly recognize Joe from his years of posing for figure drawing sessions. I imagine it's been a year or two since I heard that Joe had passed. Time passages, as they say.

JIM LAWRENCE, "The Raven", acrylic on canvas, $200. I had a friend in high school who people would describe as "dark" or just "weird". I went to a catholic school and he was the only person of color that attended that school. We called him "The Raven". He was really a very sensitive person and sadly did eventually die of an overdose. Life is not fair.

CHRISTIAN GARCIA, Beautiful Ascension spray paint, acrylic, paint pen. $550.

CHRISTIAN GARCIA "Un Mundo, Una Vida, Un Amor", spray paint, acrylic, watercolor, $365.

EMMANUEL GARCIA, "Death in the Mirror", pyrography, $60.

TEAL BUEHLER, "Dog", acrylic on canvas, $150.

TEAL BUEHLER, "Cat", acrylic on canvas, $150.

TEAL BUEHLER, "Hummingbird", acrylic on canvas, $130.

MADISON CANNAUGHTON, "Descanso en Paz", paint markers on cardstock, $50.

ROBERT ELESHA, "Rosé Muertos", ink, $10.

CYNTHIA SCHILDHAUER, "Remember", painted picture frame, $50.

CHRISTINE CONNERLY, "Light Will Come", mixed media, $85. In September while I was meditating, I had a vision of a figure standing in in a dark tunnel like space looking out on a rectangle of golden light. In many ways 2020 has been like a dark tunnel full of grieving for the loss of lives, natural places, homes, and civil discourse. Making art has given me a vision of light that will come again in the future.

ERIN WELLS, "Participantes del desfile del dia de los muertos ceramic on wood", $125. Many of us choose to celebrate our heritage and past family during this time of the year... My family is very northern European, but we do have our heros and they can be part of the ofrenda of our more Mediterranean Brothers and Sisters. I love to honor the dead with a bit of humor and a more relaxed vision of life beyond.

LYDIA CHAUVIN, "Simony's Lizard", ceramic, NFS. While this piece honors the extinct and endangered reptile species, it was inspired by Simony's lizard (Gallotia simonyi) which inhabits the Canary Islands and is listed as critically endangered. What remains of this species of lizard is confined to a mere handful of cliffs, though efforts are being made to reintroduce them to other suitable habitat.

Community Altar

CAROLYN MCLEOD, "Face in the Wall", photograph, $150.

LYNN JACOBS, "Sacred", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, $325. When we began our lives as adults, we forged strong friendships. We went “back to the earth, figuring out how to live as our great grandparents did. Over the years we moved to different places, raised children and chose different versions of our lives. Still, our friendships lived on beneath all the changes, despite only rarely ever seeing one another. Now, close to 50 years later, we really only see each other at Celebrations of Life, as one after another life comes to an end here. After a painful recent loss I took stock of all who have gone and I realized that now I am the person losing their youthful companions. I’m becoming the elderly one who has fewer and fewer friends left. When you are young you don’t imagine this will ever be you, but if you are fortunate, it will be. This canvas is a tribute to my friends and family members who have gone ahead to prepare the way. I never imagined how much I miss you.

CAROLYN MCLEOD, "Mini Skull", acrylic and pen & ink, $100.

LEILANI SILVERMAN, "Dia De Los Muertos", charcoal, sharpie, watercolor, $25.

ERIN WELLS, "Distant Cousin, Erik the Red", ceramic and copper wire, $400. Many of us choose to celebrate our heritage and past family during this time of the year... My family is very northern European, but we do have our heros and they can be part of the ofrenda of our more Mediterranean Brothers and Sisters. I love to honor the dead with a bit of humor and a more relaxed vision of life beyond.

JADE PRESTON, "Confusion", pastel on scratchboard, $25.

LISA FREEMAN-WOOD, "Remembering Tina", collage, NFS. My sister Tina was a storyteller, a writer. She wrote magazines and newspaper articles, essays, and books. She came from a large family and raised 2 sons. Some of her happiest times were when she was in Alaska. Tina was drawn there because our grandmother lived there all our lives. Although Grandma Val lived so far away, she sent chatty letters, magazines, photos, a box of feathers, and artwork, some paintings she did as well as work by local Native Americans. Grandma Val was a writer too, having worked at her dad’s newspaper as a photo-journalist and continuing years of journals chronicling life in Alaska. Tina went to Eagle, Alaska, a tiny village on the Yukon River on the border of Canada to take down the oral history of the Native Americans that lived there so their stories wouldn’t be lost. She lived there for several years, learning and adapting to the living in the wild. She moved to Anchorage, with her sons near, she continued to write extensively about Alaska and the indigenous people. The Storyknife is used during storytime to draw pictures. Having read Grandma Val’s Alaska journals Tina wrote an essay titled The Good Stuff. Here is the final section, “ Life did not have to be a thrill a minute, I realized. In her celebration of the simple, the everyday, the beautiful, Val had shown me the real good stuff; by showing me how she lived her life, my grandmother had shown me how to live my own life. Pay attention, I learned, to small things around you; be thankful; immerse yourself in your surroundings; accept that some days will glide by like water, and other days will fight back like an unwieldy chunk of wood that resists being fed to the fire; don’t limit yourself to sticking to what you already know; keep striving; look forward to old age, for it brings satisfactions of its own. And above all keep your eyes open and your pen ready.” Tina took her own life when her mental pain became too much to bear. She was loved. She is remembered.

MICHAEL STERLING, "Richard Silvera", collage, NFS.

EMMANUEL GARCIA, "Time of Death", mixed medium, $300.

SALLY CARTER, "Remembering Marilu", acrylic collage, $100. I recently learned of the passing of my old coming of age friend. I could find no obituary so produced this work as a memorial. She loved the natural world so I felt that was fitting adornment.

OPEN CALL for ART

This is an open call for art (no juror). Exhibit artwork honoring the dead. All media, styles and subject matter welcome (family, friend, animal, public figure, etc) by artists of all ages. Invite friends to add a photo or offering to the community altar. For questions contact the Gallery Director at ckelly@chicoartcenter.com

Drop Off Artwork: Saturday, Oct. 31, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm & Sunday, Nov. 1, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Art Entry Fee: $10 Students/$25 CAC Members/$35 Non-members for up to 3 artworks
*Our volunteers will be on site to accept entries on the drop-off dates only. No early drop-offs.
Pick-Up Dates: Friday, Dec. 18, 12:00- 4:00 pm, Saturday- Sunday, Dec. 19-20, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Requirements & Terms for Entry:

A completed entry form.
Attach your name (and title if submitting multiple works) to the front. We use this tag to match your artwork with the wall label once it is hung. Do not attach this entry form to the artwork.
Title or price changes after the time of the drop-off are not allowed. All info for wall label is taken from this form.
Framing and hanging hardware is not required if artwork can be hung from stretcher bar.
A donation of 30% to CAC is suggested on all sales in this exhibit.
Artworks may not be removed prior to the close of the exhibition, nor will sold artworks be released early.
Works submitted must be completely dry.
Work determined by the director to be too fragile for safe handling and/or display will not be accepted.
Works not picked up after 60 days will be considered abandoned and may become property of CAC.

Artist’s Waiver
By entering this exhibit, you agree to the following:

The Chico Art Center (CAC) shall not be liable to any participating artist or to any third party for losses, damages, consequential damages, or any injury that may result from participation in the exhibition. The artist agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold the CAC and the City of Chico harmless against any and all claims, demands, damages, fees, costs, and action of any kind asserted by or on behalf of any third party(ies) arising from the artist’s participation in the exhibition. Permission is released to the CAC to use images of entered artists and their artworks solely for purposes of documentation, education, and future publicity. Permission to sell displayed Artwork: I give Chico Art Center permission to sell my artwork displayed in the gallery. I understand payments will be made payable to me and I will be responsible for reporting the sale of my artwork. No tax will be collected.

FILL OUT YOUR ENTRY FORM HERE