Decompression Art Exhibit Opens at PSC Christopher Art Gallery Jan. 3

The Prairie State College Foundation is presenting the art exhibit “Decompression,” Jan. 3 through 26, in the Christopher Art Gallery on the Chicago Heights campus, located at 202 S. Halsted St. There will be an artists’ reception from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 19.

Featured artists include Indiana artists Dawn Diamantopoulos and Lee Heinsen-Ligocki, and New York City artist Megan Green. The artists were challenged by the questions: How do you decompress at the end of the day? How do you resolve where your life has led you, compared to where you thought you’d be? How do you put the day away for the night?

Diamantopoulos says her series, “History Repeats,” began when she wanted to rework an art book’s writings into layered drawings. “The phrases were taken/adapted from that book. There wasn’t a good theme line in each group, yet the lines I pulled actually relate to more areas of my life than the original writing,” the stay-at-home mom/artist said.

According to Heinsen-Ligocki, a professional truck driver, her collection of drawings, “Trippin Hands,” are intentionally small for portability. “The drawings reflect thoughts and experiences from hours of solitude,” she said. “Each image suggests an idea, but there is an underlying message the viewer can inwardly interpret,” she added.

Green’s current series of photographs, “Out of Town,” chronicles her travels for work, she says. “What began as a lark has almost become a necessity now when I travel. To me, it’s nothing deeper than inserting myself in a space that is temporary to me – temporarily supposed to be a place of comfort, to sleep, to work, to come back to after shooting all day,” she added.    

The Christopher Art Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. Visits also can be made by appointment. The gallery will be closed on Jan. 15 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For more information about the exhibit or to make an appointment for a visit, contact the PSC Foundation at (708) 709-3636.