Reflection: Selections from the Permanent Collection

April 19 - August 9, 2023
Exhibition Poster with colorful drawing in the background and text that reads "The President's Gallery Presents: Reflection: Selections from the Permanent Collection, April 19 - August 9, Harold Washington College, 30 E Lake St. Chicago, IL 60601, 11th Floor."
Curatorial Statement
The noun reflection, like many words, has more than one meaning. Reflection, as defined by the Miriam Webster Dictionary, can mean: “a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation”, or alternately “the production of an image by or as if by a mirror.” Reflection on the past is a powerful way to influence one’s concept of the present, as viewing one’s reflection is a powerful tool for self-understanding. This exhibition is a reflection in both senses of the word. It is a reflection on the works of past members of our educational and art community: students, staff, faculty, and exhibiting artists. It is also a reflection as though by a mirror. Current members of our community have the opportunity to see themselves through these works of art. Art can be a reflection of society and culture, it can help us understand what was, what is, and what can be. 
The works in this exhibition were all selected from the Harold Washington College Permanent Collection. The collection itself contains almost 1,000 works of art produced over at least the past 40 years, though for many works in the collection, including many of the works in this show, the artist and dates of production are unknown. Prior to the work of the past two years, the last available documentation of the collection is from circa 2008, though even that information left a great deal about many of the artworks unknown. Reflecting upon this highlights the need for investigation into our collection, to allow us to fully acknowledge and celebrate these artists and their artistic production. Many of these works have been languishing in storage and may not have been seen by our community in a decade or more. Many more have been installed around the college for an unknown number of years. Now we have the opportunity to see these images again, together and re-contextualized. Now we may reflect upon them and they may, in turn, reflect upon us. 
Reflection: Selections From the Permanent Collection will be on display on the 11th floor in the President’s Gallery from April 19th 2023 to August 9th 2023. 
- Stephanie Burke, Curator
Exhibited Works:
A black and white photograph of women marching in a protest and holding signs. The signs are written in two languages and say "stop violence against women," "trafficking of women is against human rights," and "all discriminatory legal provisions should be repealed."

Kathleen Karp, Stop Violence, Photograph, 9 x 13.5 inches, 1995

Black and white photograph of a woman selling flowers

Inez Boler, Untitled, Photograph, 15.5 x 15.5 inches

Drawing of three hanging beige-colored coats over a white background.

John Alemo III, Untitled, Drawing, 13.5 x 16.5 inches, 1988

Black and white print of a self-storage building with a car parked out front and a person dragging a shopping cart along the sidewalk.

Q. Moscouitch, Self Storage, Print, 18 x 14 inches

A blue, red, and black print of a block of text that has definitions for the words administer and minister

Judith Artoux, Untitled, Gouache Painting, 11 x 9 inches, 1990

Black and white photograph of a wall from building ruins with the Willis Tower in the background

Monica Maeta, Beam n' Rock, Photograph, 12.75 x 9.25 inches

Simple black and white drawing of a man slouched on a bench with a bucket.

Jerry Simon Sosnow, The Window Washer, Drawing, 14 x 16 inches

Color photograph of religious objects seen through a window.

Artist Unknown, Untitled, Photograph, 13.25 x 8.75 inches

Black and white image of a baby wrapped in a blanket and suspended via a hook holding the blanket. Lined shadows surround the baby.

Juan Munoz, Heavy Load, Print, 12 x 14 inches

Black and white photograph of the entrance to an abandoned house with the words "Keep out till payday" etched onto the slatted wooden door.

Uselman, Keepout Till Payday, Photograph, 15 x 12 inches

Black and white photograph of a young girl sitting with her chin in her hand

Dirk Banta, Untitled, Photograph, 19 x 15 inches

A colorful abstract collage showing people and industria-lookingl elements

Artist Unknown, Waca, Mixed Media Collage, 26 x 31 inches

Black and white photograph of a group of six young boys posing together in front of a house.

Artist Unknown, Untitled, Photograph, 6 x 9 inches

Black and white photograph of a young man leading a cow.

Artist Unknown, Untitled, Photograph, 6 x 9.25 inches

Simple black and white image of a nude person from behind laying on the ground.

Gabriela Vasquez, Untitled, Ink on Paper, 8.25 x 11 inches

two colorful skulls merged together

Frank Anderson, Untitled, Watercolor Painting, 6.5 x 7.5 inches

Colorful smeared image of a woman over a black background

Leslie Villagrana, Aberration, Colored Pencil on Paper, 25 x 19 inches

A photograph of a skinny man with bones visible beneath his skin sits hunched on the floor with his back to the camera and in front of a dark brick wall illuminated at the top by a long fluorescent light

Aaron Ferrando, Once, Photograph, 27 x 17 inches

Black and white photograph of a bearded man with glasses and a hat posing in a room crowded with stuff.

Artist Unknown, Untitled, Photograph, 8 x 10 inches

Color photograph of a sitting man from behind with a ox skull in front and a blue tarp underneath him

Leo Pineda, Human Nature, Photograph, 24 x 20 inches, 2016

Multicolored amorphous shape made from the repeated word "help"

Judith Artoux, Untitled, Painting, 29 x 21 inches

Blue-toned painting of a man cutting into a cake that is decorated to look like an American flag.

Marcelino Stuhmer, Untitled, Painting, 31 x 49 inches

Simplified black and white portrait of a woman

Amedia Davidson, Self Portrait, Print, 9 x 11 inches

Triptych drawing of different parts of a transmission tower.

Artist Unknown, Untitled, Charcoal & Pastel

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