Ruth Esserman 2016

Ruth Esserman: Future Presence is the McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries 2016 summer exhibit. An artist, teacher and mentor, Esserman has been an important presence in the Chicago art world for many decades. She has exhibited her intricate drawings and paintings throughout the world, including the "Hanga-ten" exhibit at the Tokyo National Museum of Art (2014) and the Pilzen (Czech Republic) Museum Biennial Exhibit (2008 and 2010, Best of Show) and her retrospective exhibit, The Present Future, at the Bridgeport Art Center (2016). USI is pleased to present much of that artwork in our summer exhibit, which will be on display June 1 to September 2, 2016.

Esserman has been an innovative leader in art education, serving as adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute, chair of the Fine Arts Department at Highland Park (Illinois) High School and president of the Illinois Art Education Association during her teaching career. Her unique sculpture studio home in Crested Butte, Colorado, has been featured on HGTV's "Extreme Homes." She continues to create art in her studios in Chicago and in Crested Butte, Colorado.

Esserman's connections to USI are twofold: she served as juror for the 2006 Student Art Show, and she has been a lifelong mentor to Katie Waters, director of the McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries. 

The summer hours of the galleries are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday. There will be a closing reception for Ruth Esserman from 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, August 31, in the McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries. The public is cordially invited to attend and to meet the artist.