Mays Mayhew
Reflect, reflect. A pattern of illustrating self-reflection is evident in my work. The more I create, the more I focus on the act of introspection. The paintings bring to life the conversation we have with trusted allies or ourselves. I use figurative doubles and symmetry to show the exchange. My newest works are drawn in simple clean compositions on paper with graphite. Artistically, I’m inspired by the need to find reason. We tend to search for meaning in what we do, say and act. However, too often we fail to stop and think. ‘Thinking’, the lesser redheaded stepchild of ‘doing,’ does not get as much attention as it should, (probably because ‘doing’ is more immediate and tangible). It’s my hope that my work will help us to ask ourselves ‘why’. Honest introspection will get us there. We search for happiness everywhere but ‘here’. ‘Here’ is us.

Born and raised on a farm in Wisconsin, Mayhew currently resides in Chicagoland. She studied studio arts at UW-Madison, WI (BFA), Rhode Island School of Design, and Florence, Italy. She has had numerous solo exhibitions over the last twenty years. Most notably, REFLECT, REFLECT, at the Chicago Art Loop Alliance and at Pulse Contemporary Art Fair during Art Basel, Miami.

Jeffrey Sevener
Jeffrey draws inspiration for his current work from his educational background in English, philosophy, and art. His work typically reflects all three of these diverse fields in one way or another. Titles are often derived from unique selections of language; his work with the Intersect Artist Collective in particular uses language based titles as thematic inspiration. Language also becomes involved in the work materially in the form of modified book paper. Much of the derivative paper sources even act as an allusion of some sort. The philosophy background feeds Jeffrey’s work in a totally different way; much of the recent work is narrative in nature and portrays a character interacting within an environment, an environment that is usually symbolic of an existential struggle.

Most of this collection for Morpho Gallery is aimed at depicting narrative moments in time, characters frozen in the resolution of an existential battle.

Jeffrey Sevener received his undergraduate degree at Northern Illinois University, studied abroad and Oxford University, and finally received his master’s degree at the National-Louis University. In addition to his work in art, he is also a high school English teacher at a northern Illinois public high school.

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Tags: Chicago, Inside the Mirror, Jeffrey Sevener, Lincoln Square, Mays Mayhew, Morpho Gallery