THEM: All People Everywhere

See Virtual Exhibit Here

In a polarized world, what does it mean to be an ‘us?’ Is it grouping people together personally, as in the us of our family or community? Or is it political, grouping us by party, by race, by gender, or by place of origin? Artists, Robin Powers and Susan Block, define US by connecting all people, everything. Their sense of form represented in their work is based on the commonality of the human condition.

TAC Galleries put out an open call searching for the juried exhibition, THEM: All People Everywhere. Featured artists/guest jurors, Susan Block and Robin Powers, selected from submission work that explores how systems of labeling “other” lead to systemic discrimation, racism and conflict. In this extremely divisive era, how do we overcome the “us versus them” mentality? What brings US together? Inspired by the call to action by Toni Morrison, 

“This Is Precisely The Time When Artists Go To Work. There Is No Time For Despair, No Place For Self-pity, No Need For Silence, No Room For Fear. We Speak, We Write, We Do Language. That Is How Civilizations Heal.” 

TAC Galleries are replacing the word versus with the conjunction AND in order to break down these kinds of divisions. Our hope is to redefine “other” or “them” to encompass a larger use of “us,” reflecting a more realistic mirror image, providing feedback of what is around us in a more inclusive representational way.

Susan Block and Robin Powers are featured artists and guest jurors.

Chicagoland native, Robin Power received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute, Chicago.  Her primary areas of study were Figure Sculpture and Drawing.  She is an exhibiting and teaching artist. Currently Robin holds a faculty position at Stirling Hall Art Center in Lake Forest where she teaches Ceramic Figure Sculpture and Hand-building. “The underling theme of my work is about the human condition and our interconnectedness.”

Susan Block is an Artist/Stage Actress/Painter/ Sculptor. She holds an M F A from The Art Institute of Chicago. Susan has appeared in dozens of stage plays.  She was nominated for best actress of the year for her performance as Martha in, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, by Edward Albee.  Susan has shown her paintings nationally and internationally. She has had one person shows in galleries all over the United States. She has also had one-person shows in Europe; including across from the National Gallery in London and in Dublin.  Susan has also shown her work in Paris. “I believe in the gift of being born in America.  My work is always about breaking boundaries and being free.”

Contributing Artists: Kelly Burke, Lindsay Cronk, Faith Hagenhofer, Lisa Kinzelberg, John Kirkpatrick, Melissa Lampl, Tom LaPann, Jennifer Levine, Roberta Malkin, Elaine Miller, Tena Russ, Sarah Sipling, Cheryl Steiger, Nancy Wieting