Visitors to the Ground Level Arts Lab at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership are invited to step into From Here to There, an exhibition featuring works by four contemporary Chicago artists—Linda Robinson Gordon, Ellen Holtzblatt, Lilach Schrag, and Michelle Stone—who explore the relationship between the physical and the spiritual. The multimedia exhibition is curated by Lilach Schrag.

“From Here to There brings together artists who have formed a community of practice, finding inspiration and pushing each other to innovate,” said Dr. Keren E. Fraiman, Spertus Institute’s Dean and Chief Academic Officer. “Highlighting the continual community we seek to create with the Ground Level Arts Lab, two of the artists are alums of previous Spertus programs and two are new to us. Together they explore ideas including the timeless aspects of human experience and connection, making this exhibition a perfect start to Spertus Institute’s yearlong engagement with the theme of community.”

Evoking the Jewish concept of Lech Lecha, a Hebrew phrase that translates as “go forth,” the artists experiment and take risks, stretching the boundaries of their artistic practices toward a place of personal authenticity.

From Here to There is free and open to the public Sundays 10 am – 5 pm, Mondays–Wednesdays 9 am– 5 pm, Thursdays 9 am– 6 pm, and Fridays 9 am–3 pm at 610 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago. Spertus Institute is closed Saturdays and Jewish and national holidays.

Exhibition-Related Programs | These programs are free.

Opening Reception
Monday, September 23 from 5:30 to 8 pm
Visitors are invited to meet the artists and celebrate the opening of the exhibition with them. Reservations recommended at spertus.edu by September 13.

Artist Talk: The Journey
Sunday, October 27, 12:30 pm
The artists will discuss the processes that go into the creation of their work.
Reservations appreciated at spertus.edu.

Artist Talk: Stories That Move Us
Thursday, January 9, 6:30 pm
The artists will discuss how their life experiences, memories, and ideas inform their work.
Reservations appreciated at spertus.edu.

About the Artists

Linda Robinson Gordon lives and works in the Chicago area. She graduated with a BFA from Washington University and an MFA from the University of Minnesota. Limiting herself to the simplest of materials (Japanese hand-made papers, ink, crayon, string, copper wire, mud), her drawings and sculptures explore a meditative approach to natural forces. Her work, which can be found in private collections throughout the United States, was most recently shown at the Evanston Art Center. She is an active participant in Dialogue Chicago, an interdisciplinary critique/seminar for working visual artists.

Ellen Holtzblatt, a Chicago-based artist, views her recent landscape paintings as allegories for psyche and emotion. For them, she seeks landscapes that seem beyond the control of humans, exploring connections between the physical and the spiritual. Holtzblatt exhibits her work across the United States and internationally. She has shown at venues including the Jerusalem Biennale, the Museum of Biblical Art in New York, and Inselgalerie in Berlin, with recent local solo shows at Josef Glimer Gallery and the Chicago Cultural Center. Holtzblatt’s work is held in public and private collections, and she has been awarded artist residencies in the U.S. and Iceland. Her projects have been funded by grants from the Illinois Arts Council and City of Chicago Community Arts Assistance. Holtzblatt earned degrees in visual art and art therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Lilach Schrag is an Israeli-born, Chicago-based artist. From large-scale drawings and paintings to metal sculptures and short videos, she utilizes a wide range of traditional and industrial art methods and materials to study themes related to transformative existence. She graduated from Hamidrasha Art School in Israel and holds a Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies from Spertus Institute. Her work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, The Jerusalem Post, and Yediot Aharonot. Schrag has exhibited in solo and group shows in Israel and the U.S. at venues including the Bridgeport and Beverly Art Centers and 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago, and the Janco Dada Museum, Tova Osman Gallery, and the Jerusalem Biennale in Israel.

Michelle Stone is a veteran Chicago artist, best known for her constructed, impasto, painted, acrylic sculptures. Stone builds hybrid shapes hovering between figure and abstraction. Forms of various sizes crawl on walls and floors, at times developing into elaborate installations and menageries. In addition to sculpture, Stone creates portraits, paintings, and drawings that explore relationships, evolving along a wide spectrum of the human condition. Stone is affiliated with Ceres Gallery, NYC, and Dialogue Chicago and has a studio with Cornelia Artists Chicago.

Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership offers dynamic learning opportunities rooted in Jewish wisdom and culture and open to all. Graduate programs and workshops train future leaders and engage individuals in exploration of Jewish life. Public programs—including films, exhibitions, speakers, seminars, workshops, and concerts—take place at the Institute’s Michigan Avenue facility, in the Chicago suburbs, and online.

Exhibitions at Spertus Institute are made possible through the generous support of the Harry and Sadie Lasky and Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundations.

Spertus Institute is a partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community.

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