Woman Made Gallery (WMG) is proud to present Girlfriends, a group exhibition with work by 41 artists. Juried by Mary Stoppert and Carmen M. Perez-Stoppert, this exhibition explores the “girlfriend” theme in whatever manner is chosen by the artists. Simultaneously, WMG is hosting “18”, an Exhibition for Our Times by Chicago artist, Mary King. The opening reception will be held on Saturday, May 25, from 4 to 7 p.m. at 1332 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60607.

Jurors’ Statement: As girls, teens, and then women, we hope to have experienced at least one significant female girlfriend if not several over the years. These could be or have been with a family member, sister, mother, cousin, classmates, neighbors, roommates, or colleagues at work. There are obvious generational differences for women over time as cinema, television, the internet and social media each gives us access to more relevant stories about ourselves. The recurrent themes, irrespective of the era in most of our individual narratives are, love, loyalty, confidant, protector, co-conspirator, and of course, drama.

Sharing life’s adventures, the good, bad and ugly are made more tolerable and survivable with a “bestie” with whom to share them. The “drama” sometimes ensues if or when the narratives of life intervene. Complicating some friendships: secrets, jealousy, betrayal are also recurrent themes in our beloved stories about girlfriends. It makes no difference if or when one’s sexual preferences or gender curiosity is added to the mix. The following article is a helpful read as a look at history: https://www.businessinsider.com/iconic-female-friends-throughout-history-2019-3

Exhibiting Artists: Sunny Alonzo, Bekah Baker, Liz Barick Fall, Amy Beattie, Anne Bernard-Pattis, Laicee Blackwell, Susan Byrnes (in collaboration with Claudette Stern, and D’Jean Jawrunner), Marie Cameron, Jeanne Ciravolo, Kelley Clink (and Amanda Mulcahy), Annika Connor, Parmalee Paula Cover, Stacey Creem, Jasmine Elizabeth, Liliana Figueroa-Larios, Katie Fountain, Anne Farley Gaines, Gabriella Gentile, Ghia Haddad, Chloe Harthan, Laura Hawbaker, Natalie Jackson, Olivia Jobbe, Ruth A. Keitz, Beth Lakamp, Susan Leith, Hannah Lyons, Laura O’Connor, Tracy Ostmann-Haschke, POCHIS, Bell Luna Powers, Ann C. Quinn, Geneviever Ramos, Sarah Rocheleau, Pranavi Rohit, Cynthia Staples, Rachel Trusty, Colleen Walsh, Muchen Wang, Nora Wiley-Schwartz

About the Jurors: Mary Stoppert & Carmen M. Perez Stoppert

Carmen M. Perez-Stoppert is an artist and has served as an Adult Educator for Chicago City Colleges. She received her BA in Art from Northeastern Illinois University and has exhibited her jewelry, sculpture, and drawings in galleries, art and craft fairs, and expositions in the U.S. and Canada. https://carmenmperez.com/home.html

After earning her MFA in Sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Mary Stoppert was a Professor of Art at Northeastern Illinois University for 30 years, chairing the art department for two years and serving as gallery director for fifteen years. Stoppert’s exhibition history includes The New Museum of Contemporary Art, in New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The Museum of Contemporary Art, in Chicago. https://marystoppert.com/home.html

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Tags: Amy Beattie, Anne Bernard-Pattis, Anne Farley Gaines, Annika Connor, Bekah Baker, Bell Luna Powers, Beth Lakamp, Carmen M. Perez-Stoppert, Chicago, Chloe Harthan, Claudette Stern, Colleen Walsh, Cynthia Staples, D’Jean Jawrunner, Gabriella Gentile, Ghia Haddad, Girlfriends, Hannah Lyons, Jasmine Elizabeth, Jeanne Ciravolo, Katie Fountain, Kelley Clink, Laicee Blackwell, Laura Hawbaker, Laura O'Connor, Liliana Figueroa-Larios, Liz Barick Fall, Lower West Side, Marie Cameron, Mary King, Mary Stoppert, Muchen Wang, Natalie Jackson, Nora Wiley-Schwartz, Olivia Jobbe, Parmalee Paula Cover, POCHIS, Pranavi Rohit, Rachel Trusty, Ruth A. Keitz, Sarah Rocheleau, Stacey Creem, Sunny Alonzo, Susan Byrnes, Susan Leith, Tracy Ostmann Haschke, Woman Made Gallery