Woman Made Gallery (WMG) is pleased to present “Absurdity: In Dada We Trust,” a theme that honors artist and supporter Helene Romer Smith, who died in March of 2022. Created in collaboration with The Art Center Highland Park, the Chicago Women’s Caucus for Art, Stola Contemporary Art, and Alma Interiors, this exhibition was juried by WMG co-founders Kelly Hensen and Beate Minkovski. The show includes work by 43 artists and will be on view from July 22 to August 19, 2023, at WMG, 2150 S. Canalport Ave., 4A–3, Chicago, IL 60608. The opening reception will be held on Saturday, July 22, from 4 to 7 p.m. Regular gallery hours are Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
When the world goes mad, the arts go Dada.
In the U.S. and across the globe, bullies have been applauded and emboldened to share the self-serving rhetoric of nationalism and to act out sanctioned racism. Women’s rights are being set back 50 years, and the LGBTQIA+ community is dangling by a thread as individual rights are regulated but assault weapons are not. Social media has hijacked the news, and the term “alternative facts” has become the norm, no longer just the brunt of jokes.
For artists, it is a clear call to look to the past for guidance and to take a stand. How? In a word: Dadaism. Created as a reaction to the absurdity of war and the propaganda of World War I, Dadaism was the reaction of a group of artists from another time in history when the world was on the brink of madness. That is why Woman Made Gallery is joining this collaboration in building a creative coalition for fighting back against the current trend toward insanity.
