Nancy Wisti Grayson: Almost Sacred
@ Carlson Tower Gallery at North Park University
5134 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60625
Opening Tuesday, September 1st, from 4:30PM - 6PM
On view through Friday, September 25th
Carlson Tower Gallery presents:
Almost Sacred
Nancy Wisti Grayson
On view: August 26 – September 25, 2026
Reception: Tuesday, September 1, 4:30-6pm (talk at 5)
For several years, Nancy Wisti Grayson has been in residence at Arte Studio Ginestrelle in Assisi, Italy, visiting churches and art historical sites to borrow details from paintings, frescoes, and sculptures. Though photographs are taken, they are rarely consulted while making the work—the pieces become impressions of memory, conglomerations of observation and personal history rather than direct representations.
Made from recycled polystyrene, grout, wood, paper, markers, and thread, the works on paper layer drawn, painted, or printed imagery within translucent vellum, making images feel remembered rather than depicted. Stitching extends the drawn line, evoking history, ritual, and repetition, while the styrofoam and wood pieces echo architectural or fresco fragments without becoming precious objects.
Many source images originated as objects of worship. Removed from that context, they become less about religion than about the enduring power of images—a devotion to looking, rather than belief.
Image: After Livia, acrylic, embroidery thread, graphite, vellum, 2026
wistigrayson.com / @wistigrayson
Official Website
More events on this date
Tags: Albany Park, Chicago, Nancy Wisti Grayson, North Park University
« previous event