Jan 20th 2026

Maria Sisul: The Posture of a Place

@ McHenry County College | Epping Gallery

8900 U.S. Highway 14, Crystal Lake, IL 60012

On view through Friday, February 13th

McHenry County College is excited to present Maria Sisul’s solo exhibition, “The Posture of a Place.”

January 20 – February 13, 2026
McHenry County College | Epping Gallery
8900 U.S. Highway 14, Crystal Lake, IL 60012

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ARTIST STATEMENT

I paint naturally occurring scenes from my life to bring clarity and vividness to the moments we quickly pass, depicting the inspiration within our dedication, attention, small desires, and acts of service. Intentionally cropped and balanced compositions, along with precise forms and lighting, reflect the subject’s internal landscape. The environment acts as a witness and voice for figures that face away from the viewer.

A new hope, weary dedication, the ruffling discomfort of goodbye, willing commitments, simple pleasure—feelings present in the moment a reference was taken—are distilled into distance, placement, and gesture. In domestic, private, or public spaces, the relationship between figure and setting may shift: how much are we absorbed by a place that is not our own, and how much of our identity is revealed through the context of our surroundings versus pure self-expression?

My work explores this personal need to understand the value of our physical environments: why open horizons have comforted me, and how body language can speak more accurately than words. The Posture of a Place follows this dance between figure and environment. I invite viewers to observe the places that hold their spirit and the power of being entangled with the moment around them.

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BIO

Maria Sisul (b. 1998, Wisconsin) is a painter based in Beach Park, Illinois. Working primarily with acrylic on wood panel. Raised between the values of a Midwestern farming family and a Croatian immigrant father, her work is rooted in an early awareness of labor, place, and the quiet rituals that structure daily life. Her process reflects the restraint and spatial logic of her design training with measured drawings and a careful consideration of how people, objects, and spaces relate to one another. She holds a BFA in Industrial Design from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and her painting practice has developed through mentorship, continuing education, and self-directed study. Her inspiration recalls a childhood spent on her grandparents’ farm, observing how people tend to their environments and are shaped by them in return. For more details about Sisul, visit www.mariasisul.com and her Instagram @mariasisul.

IMAGE CREDIT: Maria Sisul, “Backyard Clothesline,” 2025, Acrylic on panel

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