On view February 21 - March 18, 2026
Opening Reception Sunday, February 22, 2026, 1-4 pm
Poor, raised in Indiana, uses their art/labor to parse personal and collective memories of the rural Midwest and to investigate intersections between power, religion, american history, faith, and deviancy. They have navigated the majority of their terrestrial existence through three separate co-created golems and is newly living through experimental learning.
Poor received their MFA from the Painting & Drawing department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and completed their B.A. in Studio Art and Religious Studies at Cornell College and DePauw University. They currently reside in Chicago, Illinois, where they teach at SAIC, North Central College, College of DuPage, and educate/advise with the Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project. They have shown work nationally and internationally at venues such as the University of Chicago [Chicago, IL], Secrist|Beach Gallery [Chicago, IL], Acli Gallery [Monte Castillo di Vibio, IT], the New York Academy of Art [New York, NY], Zolla/Lieberman Gallery [Chicago, IL], Art EXPO [Chicago, IL], The Green Gallery [Milwaukee, WI], ADDS DONNA Gallery [Chicago, IL], Manifest Gallery [Cincinnati, OH], Woman Made Gallery [Chicago, IL], and Indiana University [Bloomington, IN]. They are also the current Artist-in-Residence with the Chicago Artist Coalition (2024-2026).
An exploration of mourning rituals, particularly that of hand-making, as it relates to various historic and cultural religious sources. Beatrice is the culmination of a multi-year study and execution of "grief-work" as a means to ground oneself upon witnessing environmental degradation, autonomy, and community from rising authoritarianism, Christo-facism, and consumerism. Alongside the catalyst of personal loss, Poor gathers this wound/womb with growing communal anguish in an attempt to share and demonstrate the benefits of spirituality as creative practice, honor marginalized or rejected religious/spiritual beliefs, and identify bodily sanctification* as the cornerstone to healing.
*through abolition, symbiocene, and memorialization
GALLERY HOURS & VISITOR INFORMATION
This exhibition will be held in the Second Floor Gallery of the Evanston Art Center (EAC). Masks are optional but strongly recommended for students, visitors and staff.
Gallery Hours
Monday–Thursday: 9am–6pm
Friday: 9am–5pm
Saturday–Sunday: 9am–4pm
HOW TO PURCHASE ARTWORK
Artwork sale proceeds benefit both the artist and the Evanston Art Center. If you are interested in purchasing artwork on display, please contact Emma Rose Gudewicz, Director of Development and Exhibition Manager, at [email protected] or (847) 475-5300 x 102.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.