Currently in the Project Onward Gallery:
I Paint my Dream
Vincent Van Gogh once said, “I dream my paintings, then I paint my dream.” Artists have used visions from their dreams for centuries. William Blake and Dali would use their dreams to create imagery of alternate realities where amalgamate creatures would emerge on the paper or canvas.
Project Onward artists welcome you to their dreams of different realities, mystic visions, creatures, species, and lands of exaggerated proportions that can feel backward, upside-down, inside out, inverted, or topsy-turvey. Some are nightmarish scenes working out fears and anxieties, while others are visions of futuristic utopian societies or paradise. Everything from mundane tasks being worked out in the brain to apocalyptic visions of war and destruction will be exhibited.
“Dreaming is kind of like time travel, journeying to the past, forward to the future, or is a gateway to another dimension.” – William Douglas
In addition to the artwork by Project Onward artists, writers have also collaborated for this event!
The featured writers are published and emerging authors from local, national, and international venues, writing in response to the artwork. Their poetry and flash fiction reimagine the main characters in the paintings, expand the compositions, or flip the narratives of the artwork.
Art and printed text are exhibited together. Poems and flash fiction curated by Christine Stiel.
Previous Exhibitions
Feminine Visions
In today’s modern world, the cultural concept of femininity is constantly evolving. Traditional and stereotypical ideas of what it means to be feminine include being caring, delicate, and sweet, while more modern, less genderized attitudes empower the traditional ideas, and add new ideas such as strength, ambition, and independence. Highlighting this evolution, Project Onward artists have created a body of work based on their own diverse ideas of what femininity means to them.
Sereno "Glitterman" Wilson:
Items of Adornment
Now on display at the Haitian American Museum of Chicago.
Sereno "Glitterman" Wilson’s visionary art avows to transcend the physical/ordinary image into a vision of shimmering distinction encrusted in glitter. Beholding these items of adornment give Sereno an acute sense of privilege, prestige, and importance. These objects or items hold mystical significance for Wilson by evoking his ideals of spirituality and themes of power, religion, iconography, history, luck and luxury.
Sereno grew up in a highly religious household and has often combined biblical and religious symbolism into his works. The Haitian Vodou religion has its roots in West African beliefs and Roman Catholicism. Sereno seeks to connect his offerings to the Vodou faith by adapting and interpreting Haitian Vodou Loa flags into an intentional and ever changing mystic environment.
Outsider Art Fair NY 2019: Louis DeMarco, James Hall, David Holt, and Molly McGrath
Project Onward proudly featured works by Louis DeMarco, James Hall, David Holt, and Molly McGrath as a first time exhibitor at the Outsider Art Fair New York, the only fair dedicated to Self-Taught Art, Art Brut and Outsider Art. The fair showcased 67 exhibitors, representing 37 cities from 7 countries.
Pure Imagination
Project Onward artists are a force to compel their own vision. There is an urge to bring what is inside themselves (feelings, thoughts, ideas) outward. Each artist has different reasons for the marks they make and the materials they use. Some obliged by the necessity of the action of putting the pencil to paper, or the repetition of a pattern appearing before their own eyes. Others need to see their worlds and alternate worlds come to life through their artwork.
Works by Tony Davis
Project Onward presents the unique illustrations of artist Tony "Bright" Davis. Over the years, Tony has developed a body of pseudo-biographical work that contains both fascinating and controversial narrative. The portrayal of pimps, hustlers, prostitutes and other unseen residents of West Side Chicago neighborhoods are rare in the art world, but his graphic-novel style and openness offers emotional distance and space from judgment, which allows views who aren't from his society to think and talk about these topics in less-guarded dialogue. As the artist explains," I want people to see the truth, the nitty-gritty. The true street life."
Chicago Architecture
Architecture fans rejoice! A diverse collection of Project Onward's paintings and 3D models of Chicago architecture is on display CallisonRTKL's office on Michigan Avenue.
Whether you want to spice up your space for a special event or want install a permanent collection to impress your clients and inspire your employees,
Project Onward is here to help! Give us a call at (773) 940-2992, or send an email to info@projectonward.org.
Bring Project Onward to your office or business!
You're Not Only Human
London's Gallery of Everything featured a collection of Louis DeMarco's "philosophical aphorisms" for a month-long exhibition.
Feel Chicago
For his debut solo show, "Feel Chicago," Project Onward artist David Hence created a cohesive body of work entrenched in each seasonal mood of Chicago by documenting the highs and lows of the environment and its people with painterly renderings. He approached these moments in our city with careful gesture and grace.
