The Riverside Arts Center’s FlexSpace is pleased to present You Don’t Have to Love Me, a solo exhibition of sculpture, drawing, and installation by Rita Grendze, curated by Joanne Aono. Please join us on Sunday, August 30, 2026 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm for the exhibition’s opening reception followed by a private cocktail hour across the street at the Quincy Street Distillery. An artists talk will be held on Saturday, September 12th at 2:00 pm. The exhibition is on view Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 1pm to 5pm through October 31, 2026.

Opening Reception: Sunday, August 30, 2026, 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Join us after for a private cocktail hour at the Quincy Street Distillery

Artist Talk: Saturday, September 12, 2026, 2:00 pm

Exhibition Dates: August 30 – October 31, 2026

Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 1:00 – 5:00 pm

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Rita Grendze’s colorful, layered abstract sculptures, drawings, and installations are constructed from various forms of overstock fabric, paper, clay, wood, and repurposed materials. She experiments with numerous mediums in order to understand their capabilities and limitations, often working in series to examine multiple processes. Grendze’s art evokes the tactility of Eva Hesse’s sculpture, the color sensitivity of Sheila Hicks’ fiber art, the material exploration of Tara Donovan’s installations, and the inward focus of Agnes Martin’s paintings.

Grendze says she is “grateful for my studio, for a safe, warm place to channel my anxiety and frustrations into the labor of art making.” On the surface, her artworks may seem void of heavy theory or conceptual thought. However, one can sense emotion and intense feelings; sadness in the dark variations of black ink, a deep sigh in a wash of purple watercolor, agitation in repetitive markings, hope in tender stitches across the surface, or joy in in a burst of vivid yellow fabric. Thoughts of Ukraine, immigrant rights, the loss of her beloved mother, along with the pleasures of family life, quiet time with coffee, and observations of nature are transferred into her art.

As a daughter of Latvian immigrants, Grendze grew up in a large bilingual family where culture and tradition shaped her identity. After receiving an MFA in fiber art, a Fullbright scholarship to Latvia enabled the artist to immerse herself in ethnic weaving and embroidery, leading to her study of colors and symbols on Latvian ceremonial garments.

This exhibition features a wall of recent pieces from the Daily Drawings series. Initiated as a warmup to her studio practice, they are produced in an intuitive manner. Influences of the drawings’ stitches, cutouts, pop-ups, and colors extend to her sculptural and installation work, as with the Synapses series. Beginning inside the gallery, the tubes and cords stretch to the outside, creating a three-dimensional drawing of color and line embracing the building’s front facade.

Play is evident in the Amaryllis series of small interactive sculptures. Viewers are invited to spin the topsy-turvy pieces on their round wooden bases and engage with the colorful layers of fabric topped off by whimsical clay protrusions. The recent sculpture series Roots consists of large, twisting biomorphic forms made from upcycled t-shirts, an example of Grendze’s mastery of materials and color. The bright hues create lines of movement reminiscent of Latvian folk dance.

The artist titled her exhibition at the Riverside Arts Center You Don’t Have to Love Me, a declaration that she makes her art despite all of the art world’s setbacks artists endure. Georgia O’Keefe once commented, “I don’t see why we ever think of what others think of what we do – no matter who they are. Isn’t it enough just to express yourself?” We are fortunate that Rita Grendze’s resilience and creative drive allow us the opportunity to love her art.

—Joanne Aono, curator

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Rita Grendze is a Chicago-area artist and educator, born in Canada to Latvian immigrants. Her sculptures, installations, and drawings explore healing, memory, cultural identity, and collective experience, integrating textile processes, participatory engagement, and site-responsive installations. Her art has been shown in solo and group exhibitions at the University of Illinois (Springfield, IL), Lubeznik Center for the Arts (Michigan City, IN), The Plan (Chicago, IL), National Library of Latvia (Riga, Latvia), and the Wormfarm Institute (Reedsburg, WI), among others. Grendze’s work is held in public and private collections including The National Museum of Applied Arts, in Riga, Latvia and the Schingoethe Center at Aurora University, Aurora, IL. After receiving a BFA in fiber from the Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA in fiber from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, she studied folk costume in Latvia on a Fullbright scholarship. She has taught at Waubonsee Community College, Chicago Arts Partnership in Education, the Maryland Institute College of Art, and has served in arts administration for the Geneva Center for the Arts and Water Street Studios. Grendze lives and works in Geneva, Illinois.
www.ritagrendze.com
@ritagrendze

Joanne Aono (b. Chicago, IL) is a visual artist, arts facilitator, and holistic farmer. Her research-based drawings and installations address identity, immigration, and the environment. She draws inspiration from personal histories, observations of nature, and agrarian life. Her solo exhibitions include Boundary, Chicago, IL; Lee Dulgar Gallery, South Holland, IN; and the Geneva Center for the Arts, Geneva, IL. She has been included in two-person and group exhibitions at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, New Haven, CT; the Illinois State Museums, Chicago, Springfield, and Lockport, IL; and O’Connor Art Gallery at Dominican University, River Forest, IL; among others. Aono has received several Illinois Arts Council grants, Chicago DCASE grants, and an Artist Run Chicago HPAC grant. Her art has been reviewed in publications such as Hyperallergic, Chicago Reader, and Chicago Magazine, and was featured in an Arts Midwest film. Her art is held in public and private collections. Aono directs the alternative art project, Cultivator – Chicago Art Exhibitions & Farm Art Projects and serves on the Riverside Arts Center’s exhibition committee. She maintains a studio at Bray Grove Farm in north central Illinois.
www.joanneaono.com
@joanneaono

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Tags: FlexSpace, Joanne Aono, Rita Grendze, Riverside, Riverside Arts Center, You Don't Have to Love Me