Current Art Gallery Exhibits

Galleries One and Two

April Behnke

Off/Grid

March 9 - April 17, 2026

Artist Talk and Reception: Wednesday, April 1, 2026

2:30 p.m. Artist Talk in Luecht Auditorium, B170

3:30 p.m. Reception in Gallery One, A212

• Behnke's Statement
  In Off/Grid, Chicago-based artist April Behnke presents a series of paintings that explore perception, structure, and visual instability. The work is rooted in the grid, but deliberately pushes against its order. Behnke’s paintings follow systems of organization while simultaneously disrupting them, creating tension between logic and unpredictability.
  
  The grid in Behnke’s work serves both as a formal tool and as a perceptual guide. It organizes space and reminds viewers that the painting exists as a physical object, with edges, surface, and material presence. Yet the grid is rarely fixed or perfectly aligned. It bends, shifts, and fragments, while shapes and color interplays layered across the surface disrupt the expected order. This balance between structure and visual surprise creates a dynamic viewing experience that shifts between awareness of the painting as a constructed object and immersion in depth or illusion.
  
  Behnke’s paintings often layer multiple organizing systems at once, including grids, diamonds, diagonal lines, and waves. These underlying patterns are partially blocked, overlapped, or shifted by opaque shapes and variations in color or tone, which prevent the eye from settling. Foreground and background relationships are frequently reversed, creating spatial ambiguity. As a result, perception remains active, and the viewer’s eye moves across the surface, noticing new relationships over time.
  
  Off/Grid reflects Behnke’s interest in perception as an active experience. The work invites viewers to slow down, test their expectations, and remain engaged as the paintings shift between stability and instability, clarity and ambiguity. Rather than offering fixed meaning, the paintings create space for ongoing visual and mental interaction.
• About April Behnke
  April Behnke received her MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her BFA from Cornell University. She has completed residencies at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha and the Slak Foundation in the Netherlands. Behnke has exhibited nationally and internationally, including in Mexico City, Seoul, New York City, Berlin, Chicago, London, and Basel. Her work is included in Georgetown University's art collection and has been featured in Chicago Gallery News, The Washington Post, Time Out Chicago, and on CBS News, among other media outlets. Recent awards include the Creative Accelerator Grant from the Illinois Arts Council. Behnke is based in Chicago. For more details about Behnke, visit her website and Instagram page.

Epping Gallery

Lucy Dolan

THIRTY-TWO

February 23 - March 27, 2026

• Lucy Dolan’s Statement

  This exhibit is a reflection of my journey through difficult times toward healing and a healthier mindset. The works presented here are an exploration of my evolving relationship with nature and my body, two forces that have been integral to my recovery.

  Each piece symbolizes a step in the process of reclaiming my mental and emotional well-being, as I sought refuge, strength, and understanding in the natural world. Nature has been my guide, its cycles of growth, decay, and renewal mirroring my own transformation.

  The journey from struggle to wellness is not linear, and neither are these pieces. They represent both the complexities and simplicity of recovery, the moments of breakthrough and the times of quiet reflection. This exhibit is not just a representation of the past but a celebration of the present moment, where I stand today, more in tune with myself, my body, and the natural world that grounds me.

  Through this work, I invite you to connect with your own path of healing, embracing the power of nature, and listening to the wisdom that comes from within.

• About Lucy Dolan

  Lucy Dolan is a photographer based in Bloomington, Illinois. She previously worked throughout the McHenry County area, where she began developing her photographic practice and interest in documenting everyday life. Dolan earned her Associate of Arts degree from McHenry County College and later received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Illinois State University. For more details about Dolan, visit her Instagram page.

For more information, to request pricing, or to be added to the mailing list for upcoming exhibitions, contact Trevor Power, Art Gallery Curator.