Logan County Arts stays "together apart" through social media
Resets 2020 schedule to resume in 2021

[May 15, 2020]    Logan County Arts has revised its scheduling for the rest of the 2020 season, postponing visiting artist exhibitions until next year, while maintaining an active art conversation online via the Lincoln Art Institute and Logan County Arts Facebook pages, as well as on the Lincoln Art Institute Instagram page. Lisa Lofgren’s exhibition of print works will move to May, 2021, Dennis French and Randy Reid will show their sculptural works in wood and metal in July, and Mitch Douglas will fill the gallery with his photographic images in September, 2021.

Biographical information and sample works from each artist will be posted this year, to give gallery goers an idea of what is in store for the future.

Lisa Lofgren is an artist, educator and founder of Together Press, a community printmaking and papermaking facility with Come Together Studios in Bloomington. Together Press provides classes, comradery, and mentorship for professional and amateur artists both in and beyond the studio. She earned a BFA from the University of Wyoming and an MFA from Illinois State University. Her work has been collected locally and internationally, including private collections across Wyoming, Illinois, and Minnesota. She is the Registrar at University Galleries of Illinois State University.

Lisa works with both traditional print making, in which a numbered and signed limited edition of very similar prints is produced, as well as with monotype techniques, including paper lithography, in which ink is transferred to the print in a way that is unique for each artwork. She combines the two techniques to produce subtle and complex images that often refer to the forms and colors of nature or to the imagery in traditional Japanese prints.

In her recent “What it was” series, her prints convey both solidity and transience. The print “Less is” shows the solemn shapes of stones stacked in a misty landscape. For her series “The Earth, worn” she created prints in the shape of life-sized traditional kimonos, rich with the delicate greens and burnished golds of the changing seasons. Prints from these series, as well as many other works, can be seen on her website, lisalofgren.com.

When asked how she and her fellow artists are getting through the COVID virus shutdown Lisa said, “I know that some of my colleagues have found it hard to make work lately because of both stress and studio availability, but find they feel better when they finally do make something. I’m on the same page.”

She points out that some artists are suffering because they usually rely on teaching workshops or part time jobs to supplement artwork sales and rely on income from summer art fairs. She feels fortunate that her studio is adjacent to her home, and her work for University Galleries has not been interrupted.
 

Fellow artist Jason Hoffman agrees that it is much harder for his friends in the city, who must pay rent for separate gallery space. He added, “Being isolated is hard on everybody. We hope to be back in the Lincoln Art Institute Gallery soon, but in the meantime, museums like the Chicago Art Institute and the Metropolitan Museum, as well as gallery and art group websites like ours, are staying in touch with art lovers by offering online tours, access to images, and activities for kids. Making art and looking at the artworks of others are both ways we can stay optimistic.”

[Pamela Moriearty]