Ordinary Lives

Ordinary Lives July 31-September 9, 2021

 Please join Art Saint Louis for Ordinary Lives, our late Summer juried exhibition featuring new artworks by 42 St. Louis regional artists. Mask required as mandated by the City of St. Louis.

PARKING RECOMMENDATIONS
Art Saint Louis is located at 1223 Pine Street in downtown St. Louis. There are parking meters on Pine Street and and all nearby streets. Parking meters run 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Fines are steep ($20), so don't let your meter expire. Visit Downtown St. Louis.org's website for additional parking suggestions. You might also download the handy Parkmobile app, whereby you can pay for and monitor parking meter via your mobile phone.

On weekdays, hourly parking is usually available in the nearby Park Pacific Garage located on Olive just West of Tucker (entrance is on the South side of Olive). Parking is at your own expense and payable by credit card upon exiting the garage. For info: 888-614-7426. Be sure to take your parking receipt/ticket with you when you exit your car to visit the Gallery or you won't be able to get back in to the garage to get to your garage. Your parking ticket is your key to get back in to the garage. Art Saint Louis cannot validate parking.

The Gallery is easily accessible by Public Transportation with MetroLink and MetroBus with MetroBus stops nearby.
If you are uncomfortable driving downtown, you might want to consider a carpool or rideshare to our location.

 The 42 featured artists in Ordinary Lives are:

Ordinary Lives
Jurors' Statements

"The call for “Ordinary Lives” was incredible timing. The theme was planned before the pandemic, but the call went out after it had started. After the unprecedented experiences of this period, it’s as though we are reevaluating our individuality and our day to day lives. This theme brings me back to a conversation with an artist. She was referring to things that we encounter every day that become mundane in their familiarity. She said when you can reexamine those things and view them with fresh eyes and find new meaning and understanding in them, that’s when you can find their true beauty.

These thoughts formed my process and truly gave me a new perspective when viewing the entries for this exhibit. I found myself examining the portraits with greater depth; thinking in terms of how the artists captured emotions such as loneliness or introspection as in Sarah Blumenfeld’s Portrait of Eliot Grace or other personal shared experiences. A portrait that really struck me was Martha Iler’s Quandary; through the glance between these two women is translated so much information, opinion and conflict. Imagery of places or occasions with joyful faces had startling new context. Or perhaps a beautifully examined view of a nearly empty restaurant, such as in Mark Schatz’s San Francisco. It begs the question: “Before, or after?” Some works give a feel of true simplicity, such as Deby Gilley’s Linocuts Warsh Day and Blest Be The Ties That Bind. The images bring the feel of the breeze moving the hung linens on a quiet day, but also the observant eye of the mother whose face is not shown to us (but stirs the feeling of that gaze from personal experience). And those connections pull us into the body of work.

The aspect of this exhibit that will draw the viewer in is the emotive quality of much of the work. The theme encourages the viewer to examine what the artist wants them to feel about their perspective and what the artist wants to convey about their own Ordinary Life. Would you have viewed it differently at a different time in your life? The theme and the body of work invite the viewer to engage with their own personal narrative and to encounter a new perspective along the way. And to be touched by the lives of others. And see how we are all connected."

— Sarah Merideth, artist, Co-owner, Framations Gallery, St. Charles, MO

“As any juror knows or quickly discovers, jurying an exhibition is tough. Jurying an exhibition produced during a world pandemic is maybe even worse. Much of the work submitted to Art Saint Louis for the “Ordinary Lives” exhibition reflects some of the isolation that so many us have experienced the last year and a half. The artists who submitted art for the exhibition demonstrated they are a diverse group and the images range from the technically skilled to highly expressive. The thing I discovered from the body of work was that it felt like it came from somewhere deep within this isolation.

As a population, we were thrown into isolated worlds and for some of us this was a first. As a group, we quickly discovered new things about ourselves and this was reflected through the images submitted. Many of the topics explored ranged from weight gain, working in a garden, being with children, family, loneliness and confusion, that was demonstrated through uncompromising abstractions.

As a juror, “Ordinary Lives" proved to be a challenging and rewarding experience. My thanks and congratulations to Art Saint Louis for being here for so many years, and to the artists who were and were not selected for their submissions."

— David Ottinger, artist, St. Louis, MO, and Emeritus Professor of Art, McKendree University

Some of the 51 featured artworks in Ordinary Lives:

Sarah Blumenfeld, Clayton, MO. “Portrait of Eliot Grace.” 2021. Oil on Linen, 25”x21”. $2,400.	Deby Gilley, Mountain Grove, MO. “Blest Be the Tie That Binds.” 2020. Linocut on Paper, 18”x14”. $125.	Rosalinda Post-Lucas, Springfield, IL. “Ascension.’ 2019. Acrylic on Canvas, 56”x44”. $3,700.
Ronald Vivod, Collinsville, IL. “Buddies.” 2018. Photodigital Drawing on Paper, 28”x22”. $220.	Christa Denney, University City, MO. “Dog.” 2021. Mixed Media, 14”19”x7”. NFS.	Nancy Galvin, Ladue, MO. “Almost Home.” 2020. Acrylic on Wood Panel, 21.5”x17.5”. $500.
Award of Excellence recipient Mark Schatz, Lake St. Louis, MO. “San Francisco.” 2020. Acrylic on Canvas, 24”x36”. $1,200.	Soledad Van Emden, St. Louis, MO. “Comedor.” 2021. Oil on Canvas, 36”x48”. $1,600.	Linda Mueller, St. Louis, MO. “Untitled.” 2021. Photograph, 49.25”x33.625”. $2,800.
Makenna Burton, Wildwood, MO. “Don’t Forget to Floss.” 2021. Oil on Canvas, 22”x18”. $425.	Tamara Eberle, St. Louis, MO. “1571 Days.” 2021. Painted Bra with Resin on Wood with Bronze Plaque, 14”x34”x8”. NFS.	Alex Paradowski, Granite City, IL. “Self-contained.” 2020. Hand Cast Paper, Acrylic, 58”x36”. $6,500.