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School of Art’s Gallery 214 to host group show ‘What a Long Night It Has Been,’ opens Oct. 15

October 9, 2012

Logo for Gallery 214 group show, “What A Long Night It Has Been.”Maria Dimanshtein and Gallery 214 at NIU will present “What A Long Night It Has Been,” an exhibition of artwork by 21 artists working in a variety of media to address a theme of “the dark times in our lives.”

The show is scheduled from Monday, Oct. 15, through Friday, Oct. 19. An artist reception is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, with a performance at 6 p.m. and an artist panel at 7 p.m.

Gallery 214 is located in the Visual Arts Building.

Artists based in Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York address issues of broken relationships, loss, fear of death, suffering of the body and the meaning – or meaninglessness – of life.

“This exhibit acknowledges existence of pain and sadness as an inevitable and universal experiences. Its intention is to lift up a veil of silence and isolation by creating a context in which we can relate to each other,” Dimanshtein writes in a curator’s statement.

“Contrary to our wishes or intentions, sometimes we find ourselves in a place of turmoil. Overwhelming and prolonged presence of dark emotions can make us lose a sense of self, become disoriented, disconnected from the rest of the world,” according to the statement.

“While we are within that experience it might be hard to imagine feeling differently. Therefore a time like this can be like a never-ending night. We often hide negative and difficult feelings from the rest of the world. We may feel vulnerable, misunderstood, fearful of being judged by others.”

Dimanshtein is an artist who works with installation, mixed media and three-dimensional objects. Her work has been recently exhibited at Evanston Art Center, Woman Made Gallery, Pajama Factory, Museum of Russian Art and Homberg Arcilesi Fine Art.

For more information, email mdimanshtein@niu.edu.