Margaret Crowley: Birthday
@ Epipihany Center for the Arts/Sacristy Gallery
201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607
Opening Friday, September 19th, from 6PM - 9PM
On view through Saturday, November 22nd
My 1.5-year-old son says only a handful of words- wow, momma, daddy, ball, truck, fraise, ciao. The week I committed to this exhibition at Epiphany, he added a new word: birthday.
Birthday is about how scary it is to begin. The first scream, first smile, first word, first step, first fall. The moment my son was born, I was certain I was dying. In the days and months that followed it still wasn’t clear as we existed in a new web of pain, euphoria, and wonder. It helps to have something to hug, something to hold you up, somewhere to rest.
A birthday is a celebration, a renewal, but also a reckoning. Sometimes counting up feels like counting down, and the beginning is also an ending. The work in this show is holding on and letting go. The subject matter appears familiar, a stuffed animal, a lifejacket, paintings of pillowcases. Materials in the show include silk, human hair, and hair salon foils. Having grown up in a hair salon, these objects and images anchor me to my own childhood, my own history of birthdays, and the experience of the passing of time. The week Birthday opens, my son will turn 2.
RSVP for the opening reception on Friday, September 19th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the link below:
The Opening Reception of Margaret Crowley’s exhibit, Birthday
Official Website
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Tags: Birthday, Chicago, Epiphany Center for the Arts, Margaret Crowley, near west side
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