Shape Shift: Works on Paper by Beth Herman Adler

Oliva Gallery presents “Shape Shift”, a solo show of works on paper by Beth Herman Adler Opening Friday, June 18, and running through July 10 at 3816 W. Armitage, Chicago

Curated by Kate Roth, “Shape Shift” highlights the shifts that Chicago-based artist Beth Herman Adler has experienced over the last four years, both in life and in her in her art. The show moves from works created during a difficult personal time through brightly colored, design-friendly monoprints inspired by mid-century modern motifs; it visits her Covid Houses and culminates in her very recent Luna series. All of the work employs Ms. Adler’s printmaking skills and often incorporates, drawing, painting, folded sculpture, collaging, and stitching.

Covid Houses, 2020-21

With its exterior “built” of folded monoprints and Its interior papered in Covid reports
from newspapers and magazines, each house marks a month in quarantine. Shown are nine houses from June 2020 to February 2021.

Adler: “The Houses were my diary for this period, keeping track of the progress of the virus. Each house is a memorial to those who suffered during the pandemic. So many people died and I wanted to remember that.”

Inspired by Modernism, 2018-20

Ms. Adler has always been drawn to the biomorphic shapes and colors of the 1950s and ’60s. Inspired by artists such as Ruth Asawa and the textiles of Ray and Charles Eames, she created design-friendly monoprints that work well in contemporary homes and offices.

Land Shift, 2017

In 2017 Ms. Adler experienced a health issue that forced her to cancel a much-anticipated overseas trip. While recovering, she produced a series of works incorporating the map-like patterns created by suminigashi marbling on handmade paper and using pen, chalk, and ink to fill the resulting spaces. Combining the macro view of landforms with micro shapes, she visualized the disease that impaired her travel and the shift she needed to make in her plans.

Gallery Hours: Friday 5-8 pm, Saturday 12-4pm, or by appointment
Covid precautions will be observed. A maximum of 25 people will be allowed in the gallery at any time. Masks are required.

Artist Talk: Saturday, June 26, 2pm 

Exhibition closing: Sunday, July 10, 12-4pm

See Ms. Adler interviewed for a March 23, 2021, segment of the WTTW news show Chicago Tonight:

https://news.wttw.com/2021/03/23/chicago-printmakers-covid-year-project-study-art-therapy

About Beth Herman Adler

http://www.hermanadler.com

Beth Herman Adler is a printmaker and mixed media artist. She studied printmaking and graphic design as an undergraduate at the School of the Art Institute. Her first job was as a graphic designer for Chicago’s Field Museum, working on exhibition graphics. Surrounded by the plethora of natural and cultural history specimens there, she developed an eye for pattern and shape. Ms. Adler went on to work as a graphic designer for over 25 years; she continues to bring design thinking to the creative process as an artist/printmaker, engaging collaboratively with collectors, interior designers, and architects on custom artistic solutions, filling private and public spaces with unique art.

About Oliva Gallery

Oliva Gallery is a contemporary fine art gallery in Logan Square opened in 2016. Gallery owner Kimberly Oliva exhibits primarily Midwest artists with 10 exhibitions annually and was a SOFA 2019 Participant.

For more information about Oliva Gallery or to make an appointment to see the show, please contact Kimberly Oliva at 847.922.5736 or Kimberly Oliva <olivagallery@gmail.com>.

Image: Gravitational Pull, 2021, 22” x 30”, Mixed media collage with printmaking, hand letterpress, and sewing on black Arches paper.