Miller Beach Arts & Creative District (MBACD) and Save the Dunes will present “Saving the Dunes: Artists’ Paths,” an exhibition of prints, paintings, and sculpture on the subject of the Indiana dunes from Friday, July 10 to Sunday, August 9, 2015 at the Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts in the Miller Beach neighborhood of Gary, Indiana, with the opening reception on Friday, July 17 from 6:00 to 9:00pm. The Center is located at 540 S. Lake Street in Gary. The Gallery is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 6-9pm and on Sundays from 1-4pm.
The exhibition anticipates and leads up to three exciting historic anniversaries happening in 2016: the 50th anniversary of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the Centennial of the National Park Service, and the Centennial of the Indiana State Park System. The exhibit will focus on the works of Corey Hagelberg, Lora Fosberg and Laura Marie Panozzo, artists whose work and media approach the subject of the dunes from multiple and fresh perspectives. The show features not only images of the dunes, but also thought-provoking works that actively engage us with the issues we now face as we think about how to preserve this vital resource for generations to come. The works explore the social history of the dunes, how the dunes landscape has been integral to the development of the region, and how their preservation has become a central element in thinking about the future sustainability of the area.
Several related programs are also scheduled during the run of the exhibition that will emphasize the critical connection between art, science, and community that helped preserve our Indiana dunes. On Sunday, July 26 from 1-3pm the gallery will host a panel discussion with all three artists, “Art, Ecology and Happenings in the Dunes,” about the unique aspects of working on conservation in the Indiana dunes. The artists will be joined by Paul Labovitz, Superintendent of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Laura Brennan, Biological Science Technician at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Nicole Barker, Executive Director of Save the Dunes, and Paul Labus, Program Director for Northwest Indiana at the Nature Conservancy. Also, Tibetan Monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India will hold a “Sacred Arts Tour” event at the gallery August 1 through August 9. They will be creating a sand mandala and conducting art workshops inside the gallery, as well as a variety of other events during their visit.
“Saving the Dunes: Artists’ Paths” is curated by Rachel Weiss, Kay Rosen and Nicole Barker. Both Rachel and Kay are MBACD board members and serve on the faculty of the Art Institute of Chicago. Kay is an internationally known artist. Nicole Barker is Executive Director of Save the Dunes.
About the Artists
Employing clever, accessible, arguably subversive mechanisms to reach the masses---humor, self-deprecation, beauty, and skill, Lora Fosberg allows us to both tolerate and even embrace our egocentric and destructive selves. Throughout the years, and in her own unique visual language, she has expertly and unpretentiously used different forms of two dimensional and three dimensional materials to give a fresh look to familiar ground - man vs. nature and man's interaction, or lack thereof, with nature in our everyday lives. The foibles and frailties of our being, and the diverging and contradictory relationship with mother nature, are her subjects. She has been living and working in a log cabin in the Indiana dunes for the past 10 years after a 25 year stint in Chicago, and it shows. www.lorafosberg.com
Corey Hagelberg has been creating black and white woodcuts incorporating images from the Indiana dunes and the Calumet Region for about a decade. His works focus on the dramatic interaction between nature and industry in one of the most biodiverse regions of the world. His work blurs the line between humor and tragedy, natural and synthetic, current and historical and high art and low art. In 2011, Corey co-founded the Calumet Artist Residency with his partner Kate Land. He currently teaches art at Indiana University Northwest and South Suburban College, serves on the board of directors of the Miller Beach Arts & Creative District and lives in Gary, Indiana.
Laura Marie Panozzo has dedicated her life to studying, teaching and creating art. Laura studied painting and sculpture at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and continued studies at Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy. Panozzo lived in Puerto Rico for four years studying the art of Santos Sculpture and wood carving while working as a Professor at El Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in Santurce. Her years spent living and working in different countries have given new meaning to the adoration she has for her childhood home of Northwest Indiana, where she now permanently lives and works. Her focus has evolved into sustainable art. Panozzo creates sculptures and assemblages using reclaimed woods as well as paintings focused on exotic invasive issues and wildlife from the region. In 2011, Panozzo created Earth Angel Eco Art Studio in LaPorte, Indiana where she teaches workshops, and holds community events.
