Bee Keeper
2023
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
13 1/8 x 13 1/8 inches
Mountain Snow
2023
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
14 x 14 inches
Pig Tails
2023
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
13 1/8 x 13 1/8 inches
Plaza Sun
2023
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
13 1/8 x 13 1/8 inches
Sea Shore
2023
Acrylic, collage, oil on panel
14 x 9 1/2 inches
Striped Cheek
2023
Acrylic, collage, oil on panel
14 7/8 x 10 inches
The Cake Lady and Mrs. Columbus Welcome Candy
2023
54 x 60 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
The Botanist
2022
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
30 x 30 inches
The Architect
2022
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
42 x 30 inches
The Meteorologist
2022
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
36 X 28 inches
The Poet
2022
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
36 x 28 inches
The Geologist
2022
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
42 x 30 inches
The Astronomer
36" x 28"
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
2022
Cat Kiss Nimbus
2021
Acrylic, collage on canvas
40 x 50 inches
Castle Gingham
2021
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
41 x 41 inches
Plumes
2021
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
35 x 40 inches
Sprinkles
2021
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
35 x 40 inches
Waking Stiff Hair
2018
Acrylic, collage, wax on panel
11 x 14 inches
Waking Flagger
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
15.5 x 22 inches
Waking Deer
2019
Acrylic and collage on canvas
13 x 15 inches
Waking Balloons
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
12 x 12 inches
Waking Candles
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
12 x 12 inches
Waking Blinds
2019
acrylic and collage on panel
14 x 24 inches
Waking Cartoon
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
16 x 20 inches
Waking Cat Suit
2019
acrylic and collage on panel
12 x 12 inches
SOLD
Waking Pink Brain
2018
Acrylic, collage, wax on panel
12 x 16 inches
Waking Free Weights
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
12 x 12 inches
Waking Geometry
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
20 x 16 inches
Waking Helmet
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
12 x 16 inches
Waking Iceberg
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
12 x 12 inches
Waking Parachute
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
12 x 16 inches
Waking Climber
2019
Acrylic and collage on canvas
13 x 15 inches
Waking Plans
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel
12 x 12 inches
Waking Umbrellas
2019
Acrylic and collage on panel,
12 x 12 inches
The Eyed Tree #6
2017
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
56 x 48 inches
MLZ 83
SOLD
Motes
2017
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
44 x 59 inches
MLZ 88
The Eyed Tree #7
2017
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
62 x 46 inches
MLZ 87
The Eyed Tree #5
2016
Acrylic, oil collage on canvas
48 x 60 inches
MLZ 81
The Eyed Tree #4
2015
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
48 x 60 inches
MLZ 78
The Blackeyed Tree
2017
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
40 x 59 inches
MLZ 85
The Blackeyed Tree #2
2017
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
48 x 56 inches
MLZ 86
Blushing Shoots
2016
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
46 x 46 inches
MLZ 84
Beaded Echo
2016
Acrylic, oil collage on canvas
46 x 36 inches
MLZ 79
Black Urn
2016
Acrylic, oil collage on canvas
46 x 48 inches
MLZ 80
SOLD
The Burlington Bequest
2016
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
46 x 35 inches
Ochre Footling
acrylic collage, oil on canvas
2015
46 x 32 inches
Mirrored Turquoise
acrylic collage, oil on canvas
2015
46 x 32 inches
Lilac Swirl
acrylic collage, oil on canvas
2015
46 x 32 inches
Bouquet 1 (yellow)
2015
Collage, acrylic and oil on canvas
46 x 32 inches
Bouquet 2 (green)
2015
Collage, acrylic and oil on canvas
46 x 32 inches
Bouquet 3 (Lilac)
2015
Collage, acrylic and oil on canvas
46 x 32 inches
Loose Ships
2012
Acrylic, collage on canvas
34 x 50 inches
MLZ 82
Material Matters
2014
acrylic collage, oil on canvas
55 x 35 inches
The Rest is Easy
2015
acrylic collage, oil on canvas
31 x 58 inches
The Eyed Tree #3
2014
acrylic collage, oil on canvas
48 x 60 inches
Motor Control Blue
2013
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
55 x 35 inches
MLZ 69
The Blind Staggers
2013
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
55 x 38 inches
MLZ 70
Cornered Up
2014
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
58 x 38 inches
MLZ 68
Far Away Spring # 1
48.5 x 52 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
2013
MLZ 63
Far Away Spring # 2
2013
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
59 x 44 inches
MLZ 66
Lavabo
2013
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
48.5 x 52 inches
MLZ 64
Long Term Hug
2013
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
58 x 38 inches
MLZ 67
Binocular Stall
2010-11
41 x 31 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
MLZ 51
Feel Apart
2010-11
41 x 31 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
MLZ 52
The Eyed Tree # 1
2012
31 x 57 1/2 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil paint on canvas
MLZ 62
The Eyed Tree # 2
2013
59 x 44 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
MLZ 65
Mars Flight
2010
48 x 52 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
MLZ 58
Ball Of Professors
2011
42 x 48 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
MLZ 61
Who’s Seeing You?
2002
Acrylic, Oil, and Collage on Canvas
50 x 48 inches
MLZ 5
To Her Senses
2005
48" x 50"
Acrylic, oil, collage on canvas
MLZ 24
Made Of Iron
2010
34 x 46 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
MLZ 56
Devil's lake
2008
63. 5 x 44 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
MLZ 53
Civic Trick
2011
32 x 48 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
MLZ 60
Me Me #3
2010
10 x 10 inches
Acrylic, collage on canvas
MLZ 50
Me Me #2
2010
10 x 10 inches
Acrylic, collage on canvas
MLZ 49
Me Me
2010
10 x 10 inches
Acrylic, collage on canvas
MLZ 45
An Ant Finds A Kingdom
2010
48 x 52 inches
Acrylic, collage, oil on canvas
MLZ 57
The Cake Lady
2011
48 x 42 inches
Acrylic, collage on canvas
MLZ 59
House Proud
2003
Acrylic, Oil, and Collage on Canvas
54 x 66 inches
MLZ 8
Early Shore
2006
Acrylic, collage on panel
27 x 24 inches
Rope Beast
2003
Acrylic, collage, oil on panel
16" x 10"
MLZ 31
Chowder
2005
Acrylic, collage on panel
24" x 15¾ inches
MLZ 28
LittleSpittle
2003
Acrylic, collage, oil on panel
16 x 10 inches
MLZ 32
Yellow Eye
2005
Acrylic, collage on panel
24 x 16 inches
MLZ 30
Henry
2006
20" x 16"
Acrylic, collage on panel
MLZ 35
Harvey
2007
20" x 16"
Acrylic, collage on panel
MLZ 34
Crystal Needler
1993
Acrylic, Oil, and Collage
34 x 55 inches
MLZ 43
Submissives
2005
Acrylic, collage on panel
16 x 24 inches
MLZ 29
Little Balls of Air
1994
Acrylic, Oil, and Collage on Canvas
44 x 67
MLZ 42
Pasquinade
2001
Acrylic, Oil, and Collage on Canvas
50 x 38½ inches
MLZ 3
EDUCATION
1980 BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1978 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
ACADEMIC AFFILIATION
1990 - present. Adjunct Professor, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
2004 - present. Advisory Board, Mildred's Lane, Beach Lake, PA. Mark Dion, J. Morgan Puett, directors
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2020 Because It Feels So Good When It Stops, Ed Paschke Art Center, Chicago. Curator. The Center Will Hold, Glow Exhibitions, Chicago. Curator.
2019 The New Unnatural, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago. Co-curated with Robin Dluzen
2016 Analog RAM: The Return of Active Memory. The Research House for Asian Art, Chicago. Curator.
SELECTED ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2018 Vivarium. Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago (catalog)
2014 Mary Lou Zelazny. Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago (catalog)
2011 The Cake Lady Returns. Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago Flags and Swags. Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL
2009 Altogether Mutable: The Work of Mary Lou Zelazny, Hyde Park Center (catalog) Online Exhibition: Altogether Mutable, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC
2007 The Lake is Not an Ocean, Union League Club, Chicago
2007 Repeating the Habit, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago
2004 Next in the Gallery, Herron Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
2004 Break the Charm, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago
2001 What Was the Question Again?, IUN Gallery, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, IN
2000 What Was the Question?, Thomas McCormick Gallery, Chicago
1996 New Works, Phyllis Kind Gallery, Chicago
1994 Soundings, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago
1992 Living with Memorabilia, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago
1991 Mary Lou Zelazny: Solo Series, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
1990 New Works, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago
1988 History of Tools, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago
1987 New Works, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago
1986 New Works, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago
1984 Famous Women, and Interesting Men, Bookspace, Chicago
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 What Came After: Figurative Painting in Chicago, 1978-1998, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst IL Not Just Another Pretty Face, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago Factory, A Guide to the Field: Storefront Practices in the Social Realm, Mountaindale, NY Ineffable, Keystone Gallery, Los Angeles, CA The New Unnatural, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago
2018 The Figure and the Chicago Imagists: Selections from the Elmhurst College Art Collection curated by Suellen Rocca, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL A City to Wear 2.0, Research House for Asian Art, Chicago Come Back with a Warrant, Fredrick Holmes Gallery, Seattle, WA Images on File, Stuart & Company, Chicago
2017 The Mind's I, The Ed Paschke Center, Chicago Barely Seen/ Summer Selections, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago
2016 Selections from the Collection of Mildred's Lane, Part 1, March 25-May 28. The Mildred Complex(ity), Narrowsburg, NY
2015 Surrealism: The Conjured Life, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago From the Collection of Cleve Carney, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst IL
2014 Making Space, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, curated by Susanne Doremus, Chicago Surrealism and War, National Veterans Art Museum, Chicago Recombinant Stare: A Stare Magazine Retrospective, The Annex, Spudnik Press Cooperative, Chicago
2013 Creating a New Whole, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago
2012 4800 W: Artists of Portage Park, Klee Building, Chicago
2011 Cut Ups, Peter Paul Luce Gallery, Cornell College, Mount Vernon, IA This is Paul Halupka, C33 Gallery, Columbia College, Chicago and Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery, Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hills, IL (catalog)
2010 Beyond the Arches: Selected Works from McDonald's Corporate Art Collection, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN Chicago Imagism(s), Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, San José State University, San José, CA Faculty Projects, Betty Rymer Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Touch and Go: Ray Yoshida and His Spheres of Influence, Sullivan Galleries, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Twos, O’Connor, Dominican University, River Forest, IL
2008 Ahh, Decadence!, Sullivan Galleries, Sullivan Center SAIC, Chicago Not Just Another Pretty Face, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago
2007 Fresh Takes, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago Girl on Guy, A & D Gallery, Chicago
2006 Creative Imagining, The Howard A. & Judith Tullman Collection, The Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile AL Putting it All Together, The Art of Collage, Hinsdale Center for the Arts, Hinsdale, IL
2005 All About Women, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago
2004 The Flat-Round World, Three Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago The Reflected/Refracted Self, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago Hard Candy, Sextablos, Works on Metal, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA Time Travel: Truth, Beauty, and Justice, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago
2003 Emergence: Women Artists in the New Millennium, William Bachman Gallery, Munster, IN Color and Form, Forum Plus Gallery, Chicago
2002 Transcultural Visions: Polish-American Contemporary Art, National Museum of Szczecin, Poland Natural History, Aaron Packer Gallery, Chicago Evoking Histories/Memory of Water: Spoleto 2002, curated by Mary Jane Jacob and Tumelo Musako, Charleston, SC Pasted On, A Survey of Collage Strategies, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago
2001 Reflections: Fifteenth Anniversary Show, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago Transcultural Visions: Polish-American Contemporary Art, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago
2000 Synthesis, Collage and Mixed Media, Sonnenschein Gallery, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, IL Sextablos, Works on Metal, Barrister's Gallery, New Orleans, LA
1999 It Looks Easy, Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago Collage '99, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA Sextablos, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago
1998 The Velvet Show, Café Bocci, Chicago
1997 Breadth of Aesthetic, Phyllis Kind Gallery, Chicago Pink, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago
1996 International Exhibit of Collage, Parkland College, Champaign, IL Revelries, Ford Center for the Arts, Knox College, Galesburg, IL Visual Feasting, Suburban Fine Arts Center, Highland Park, IL Views of a Lady, Phyllis Kind Gallery, NYC Pleasure (Beyond Guilt), Artemesia Gallery, Chicago Selected Works in Collage, Merwyn-Wakeley Galleries, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL
1995 Some New Faces, Phyllis Kind Gallery, Chicago Art About Life: Contemporary American Culture, Indiana University Fine Arts Gallery, Bloomington, IN (catalog)
1994 Something in Common, The Women Faculty in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago (catalog)
1993 A(t)Tension to the Moment, Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts, Fine Arts Center, Bowling Green, OH (catalog) Chicago Drawings, Galleria Porta 33, Madeira, Portugal The Return of the Cadavre Exquis, The Drawing Center, NYC Chicago Art Group in Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany (catalog) Garment as Metaphor, Suburban Fine Arts Center, Highland Park, IL Collages: Faulkner, Sensemann, Zelazny, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago
1992 Quotations from America's Studio: Drawing New Conclusions, Betty Rymer Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, (catalog) Face to Face, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago (catalog)
1991 Spirited Visions: Protraits of Chicago Artists, State of Illinois Gallery Chicago (traveling-1993) (catalog)
1990 The Chicago Show, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago (catalog) Indianapolis Collects, Herron Gallery, Indianapolis Center for Contemporary Art, IN Our Corner of the World: Seventeen Illinois Artists, Illinois State University, Normal, IL (catalog)
1989 Material Matters, College of DuPage Arts Center Gallery, Glen Ellyn, IL Chicago Artists in the European Tradition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (catalog)
1988 Endangered Species, Klein Gallery, Chicago Field and Seam, Roy Boyd Gallery, Santa Monica, CA Only a Woman Could, Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago The Truncated Figure, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago
1987 Egg Tempera: Archaic Methods/Modern Minds, Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago Masks, Klein Gallery, Chicago Artagogo, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago Surfaces: Two Decades of Painting in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago (catalog) Endsville, 1480 W. Webster, Chicago 1986 New Horizons in Art,
1986, Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, Chicago Self-Protraits: Then or Now, ARC Gallery, Chicago (catalog)
1985 Mary Lou Zelazny, Andre Ferella, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago UNScene, ARC Gallery, Chicago 14th Union League Art Competition and Exhibition, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago
1984 Chicago Head, Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago
1983 The Big Pitcher: 20 years of the Abstracted Figure in Chicago Art, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, (catalog) Sex Show, The Northside Auditorium Building, Chicago
1981 Some Girls, A Celebration of Chicago Women Artists, The Donahue Building, Chicago
VISITING ARTIST
2019 Symposium: The Figure, Humor and the Chicago Imagists, Elmhurst College and the Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
2014 Loyola University, Chicago, (annual visiting artist since 2010)
2004 Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2002 Williams College, Art Department, Williamstown, MA
1998 University of Iowa, School of Art and Architecture, Iowa City, IA
1996 DePaul University, Department of Fine Art, Chicago
1994 Columbia College, Department of Art, Chicago University of Chicago, Chicago
1992 Northwestern University, Department of Art, Evanston IL Oxbow, Saugatuck, MI
1989 Rockford College, Department of Art, Rockford, IL
PUBLIC COMMISSIONS
2007 19th District Chicago Police Department, Chicago
2006 McCormick Place Expansion Project, Chicago
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2017 Kunstmeile Krems Betriebs GmbH:AIR-Artist in Residence, Krems a.d. Donau, Austria
2014 Santo Foundation, Individual Artist Award
2008 Illinois Arts Council Special Assistance Grant
2007 Faculty Enrichment Grant, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2007 Illinois Arts Council Special Assistance Grant
2003 Margaret Klimek Phillips Fellowship
1998 Faculty Enrichment Grant, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1992 Arts Midwest/National Endowment for the Arts Regional Visual Arts Fellowship Award
1986 Dorland Mountain Colony Residency
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
City of Chicago Public Art Collection: 19th District Chicago Police Department
Elmhurst College Art Collection, Elmhurst, IL
First Chicago Bank, Chicago
Kemper National Insurance Companies
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Nagin and Associates, Miami, FL
Prudential Insurance Company, Newark, NJ
Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
The Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
Weichman and Associates, Munster, IN
COVER ART, PUBLICATIONS, AUDIO RECORDINGS
"Open Season", band: Yawn, Englophile label, 2011
"Ship of Fools", band: Rubbish and Crank Sturgeon, Roil Noise Offensive label, 2008
"Private Arts", D. R. Heiniger ed. Chicago: Private Arts Press 1996
Sturtevant, Katherine, "Our Sisters' London, Feminist Walking Tours," Chicago Review Press, 1990
Sisskind, Mitch, "Visitations," Brightwater Press 1984
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
What Came After’ Exhibition Explores Legacy of Chicago Imagism, WTTW, Marc Vitali, October 8, 2019.
Overdue Overview, The Chicago Sun Times, Kyle MacMillan, September 12, 2019.
New Elmhurst Art Museum Exhibit Highlights, My Suburban Life, Ella Lee, September 12, 2019.
Defining Chicago Imagism, NewCity Art, Chris Miller, October 4, 2019.
The New Unnatural: Allegories in Art, Classic Chicago Magazine, March 2019, Judy Carmack Bross
Art & Object Magazine, March 2018, Meghan D. Robinson
New Art Examiner, May 2018, Bruce Thorn
Classic Chicago Magazine, May 2018, Judy Carmack Bross
Top Ten, Art & Antiques Magazine, May 2018
Artrageous with Nate, the Artist in your Backyard. Public Broadcasting Service feature, produced by Nate Heck.
Aired February 2015
Mission at Tenth Interarts Journal. Volume 5, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA. 2014
Recombinant Stare, Mystery, Misprints, and Misappropriation. Catalog, Spudnik Press, Chicago. 2014
Mary Lou Zelazny at Carl Hammer Gallery. James Yood, Art LTD. July/August 2014
Mary Lou Zelazny, Chris Miller, New City, Oct 08, 2011
Eye Exam: Chicago's Own Surrealist, Jason Foumberg, New City Art, Feb. 16, 2009
Altogether Mutable: The Work of Mary Lou Zelazny, Karsten Lund, Flavorpill.com, February 2009
Mary Lou Zelazny, Laura PearsonTimeout.com, Feb 19–25, 2009
Altogether Mutable, Bert Stabler, Chicago Reader, Feb 2009
The Art of Collage, Alan G. Artner, Chicago Tribune, March 2009
Piecing perfect puzzles, Robert Loerzel, Pioneer Press, Chicago April 2007
Artist's eclecticism runs more than canvas-deep, Kevin Nance, Chicago Sun-Times, March 2007
Zelazny's Work Has Come a Very Long Way, Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune, December 2003
Mary Lou Zelazny, Fred Camper, Chicago Reader, December 2003
New American Paintings, Number 35, 2001
New American Paintings, Number 11, 1997
Superior and Huron Bring on a New Season with Style, Margaret Hawkins, Chicago Sun Times, September 1996
Mary Lou Zelazny, Thomas Connors, New Art Examiner, 1996
Art Exhibition Explores Metaphorical Works of Four Contemporary Collage Artists, Gisele Atterberry,
News Gazette, Champaign, IL, 1996
Dedicated to Paint, Mary Jane Jacob, Something in Common, catalog, 1994
Zelazny Takes Giant Step with Latest Show, Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune, September 1994
A(T)Tension to the Moment, Jacqueline Nathan, catalog, Bowling Green State University, OH, 1993
Artists Take Collage on a Joyride of Perspectives, David McCracken, Chicago Tribune, April 1993
The Best Art Exhibitions, Alan Artner and David McCracken, Chicago Tribune, December 1992
Mary Lou Zelazny, Kathryn Hixson, Flash Art, Summer 1992
Art People: Mary Lou Zelazny's Feminine Perspective, Judith Lin Eftekhar, Chicago Reader, March 1992
Zelazny Seamlessly Blends Collage, Paint. David McCracken, Chicago Tribune, March 1992
Face to Face, A Chance to Meet 80 Chicago Artists as They See Themselves on Canvas, Alan Artner,
Chicago Tribune, March 1992
Mary Lou Zelazny, James Yood, Art Forum, Summer 1992
Spirited Visions, Portraits of Chicago Artists, photographs by Patty Carrol, text by James Yood. University of Illinois Press, 1991
Rockford Art Museum Keeps Contemporary, Cindy Kranz, Rockford Register, September 1991
Mary Lou Zelazny, Kathryn Hixson, Arts Magazine, April 1990
Artist's Latest Works Show She's Joined the Major Leagues, Gordon Ligocki, The Hammond Times, January 1990
Mary Lou Zelazny, Garrett Holg, Art News, April 1990
Our Corner of the World, Laurie Dahlberg, catalog, Illinois State University 1989
The Persistence of Modernism, Lynn Warren, catalog, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, 1989
Mary Lou Zelazny, Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune, September 1998
Mary Lou Zelazny, Jeff Abell, New Art Examiner, December 1998
Mary Lou Zelazny, Buzz Spector, Art Forum, February 1988
Collage's Pictorial Variations on a Theme, David McCracken, Chicago Tribune, March 1988
Mary Lou Zelazny at Peter Miller, Sue Taylor, Art in America, January 1988
Surfaces, Two Decades of Painting in Chicago, Seventies and Eighties, Judith Krishner, catalog. Terra Museum of
American Art, Chicago, 1987
Two Decades of Painting in Chicago, Denis Adrian, New Art Examiner, December 1987
Review, Garrett Hold, New Art Examiner, September 1986
Collages Depict Us as Seekers of Goods, Sue Taylor, Chicago Sun-Times, July 1986
The Big Pitcher: 20 Years of Abstracted Figure in Chicago Art, catalog, 1983
Mary Lou Zelazny
Whistling In The Dark
Exhibition Dates: October 28 - December 30, 2022
The Carl Hammer Gallery is delighted to announce the opening of Mary Lou Zelazny's sixth
solo show. Whistling in the Dark is the culmination of four years of continuous studio
production and presents an examination of the near universal experience of insomnia and
its accompanying misperceptions. Zelazny showcases forty years of close study of a wide
variety of collage techniques combined with a painting virtuosity that is both
uncompromisingly historical and peculiarly unconventional. Her past work has often bent
reality to her own needs, and this show is no exception, where nocturnal distortions are
made fast —in contrast to the usual instant dissolution of night's dreams and visions. I am
reminded of the old tale of the terrified insomniac, whose frozen posture of fear during
endless hours of thwarted sleep are mocked when dawn reveals that her vision of a coiled
cobra was really just a pile of rope.
These paintings give the lie to the old rock refrain "Dreamin' is free...". Anyone who has
wrestled for hours in the bedsheets expecting to 'knit up the ravelled sleeve of care' will
warm to these fragmented visions. The insomnia series has spawned other related works;
the first being a group of evanescent cloudscapes that invite the viewer to dream in a more
relaxed manner. The second series of works presents a group of imagined portraits of
forgotten women professionals; women who would not be out of place in an untethered
sleepless vision.
Anticipating the tender mercies of Morpheus may be a trial, but it is one softened by our
mind's creation of an infinite variety of distractions as we slowly travel to the terminus of
rest.
VIVARIUM
Exhibition Dates: March 2 - May 5, 2018
In its antiquated definition, the vivarium existed for the study of animals and plants. Vivarium, Mary Lou Zelazny’s fifth solo exhibition at Carl Hammer Gallery, presents her own studies of the plant world. These are pictorial taxonomies of re-imagined flora manifest ideas that have been germinating for several decades; ideas extracted out of an extensive series of now dispersed flower paintings from the 1990’s and nurtured through Zelazny’s continuous practice of plein-air landscape painting.
The works on display here are collaged from a monoprint process emphasizing the randomness generated by automatism. Voluminous piles of accumulated monoprint material, not unlike shed leaves, have been scrupulously and deviously reassembled, creating tree portraits with a quiver and a tremor, simultaneously familiar and uncanny.
Cut flower bouquets have been produced using the same technique, but here some humor intrudes – a swipe at the futile human attempt to bring amputated nature indoors; to transplant the dizzying force of a life from its habitat into ours.
MaryLou Zelazny, 2018
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As in past memorable performances here at Carl Hammer Gallery, Mary Lou Zelazny’s skillful craft acts as a viewer’s transport to other worlds and planes of existence. The illusion of our conveyance succeeds due to her incorporation of found popular culture media images seamlessly combined with the gestural fluidity of a painted background resulting in dualistic, dreamlike scenarios. Her combining of paint with the slickness of the clipped photograph/image creates an end result both expressive and stimulating. Figuration dominates the viewer’s first visual encounter with these hybrid images, but it is the abstraction of figure and background alike which draws and cements the work into unified, intriguing, visual experiences.