A new two-month free exhibit at Chesterton Art Center celebrates rituals, customs and cultural heritage through the mediums of fresco painting and photography.
“Of Giants and Warriors” highlights local artists Diane Grams and Timothy D. Lace now through Oct. 30 with an opening artist reception from 4-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 at the galleries located at 115th South 4th St. in Chesterton.
“This is a beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition of about 40 pieces,” said Chesterton Art Center Executive Director Hannah Hammond-Hagman, who is in her third year in that capacity.
“Our exhibits and special events are a way for us to build access to the artists and artwork for our guests as we continue to program with exhibits in more meaningful ways.”
According to Hammond-Hagman, “Of Giants and Warriors” introduces patrons to “tales of memory, metaphor, ancient artistic processes, resilience, joy and passion.” She said Grams’ fresco paintings offer “a feminist gaze into modern gender socialization and the masculine history of fresco-making.”
The show includes Lace’s large-scale photographs of Mardi Gras Indians in brightly colored suits of feathers and beads placing focus on the rituals of the the backstreets of New Orleans to celebrate connections between African and Native American traditions.
She said both artists “push contemporary boundaries” to offer explorations into worlds of modern narrative imagery with roots in ancient history.
“The title of the exhibition was conceived by the artists and offers connection between them and their work on exhibit in each gallery space,” Hammond-Hagman said.
“Grams’ feminist revisioning of the ancient fresco technique, with her depiction of celebratory and joyful figures dancing through landscapes and underwater scenes, implies a resilient progress by standing on the shoulders of giants while Lace’s images celebrate a connection of cultures in the portraits of Mardi Gras Indians who parade each year in amazingly detailed and brightly colored handmade suits depicting their familial tribes.”
Grams is an award-winning artist and writer who embraces fresco painting as her medium of choice and heralds the history of the art form dating back to the painted walls in Pompeiian villas and Renaissance-era palaces and churches. Fresco painting is the ancient painting technique where paint pigments are laid onto fresh plaster, and after drying, the painting becomes part of the wall.
Lace said his lifelong fascination with photography began as a young boy with his “Tru-Vue and box of film strips.” His photography has been featured in The Chicago Reader and Art in America, and his work as a technician in the commercial photo industry in Chicago led him to produce work for agencies and museums.
There will be a free artist-led gallery noon tour and discussion with both Grams and Lace on Saturday, Sept. 28 and Grams will give a free fresco painting demonstration at noon on Saturday, Oct. 19. To reserve a tour or demo opportunities, email gallery@chestertonart.org or call 219-926-4711 or visit www.chestertonart.org.
“This exhibit ‘Of Giants and Warriors’ is emblematic of the mission of Chesterton Art Center to offer relevant and challenging exhibitions that create access to the artists’ creative processes and connections through interpretive curating and programs, including our scheduled artist talk and demonstrations,” Hammond-Hagman said.
“These works fuse ancient techniques with contemporary practice while investigating identity, place, and belonging, presenting beautiful and thought-provoking individual bodies of work for the artists to offer insights into their collaborative studio practices and shared lives.”
Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
