“2025 Later Impressions,” which features artists from The Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists, opened at Evanston Art Center on April 19. The exhibition holds 63 wall-hung pieces and eight sculpture works from 71 different artists, all of whom are CAVA members over 50, according to Susan Bennett, treasurer and board member of CAVA.
CAVA is a not-for-profit organization committed to serving older artists through programming, outreach, networking and exhibition opportunities. It is run by a volunteer board which serves over 350 artists.
Kathi Beste, a long-time CAVA board member and artist, said the organization is committed to a community that few serve: people over 50.
“Once you graduate from grad school, you’re considered an emerging artist. But if you start art late or get to be over 50, suddenly no one considers you emerging anymore,” Beste said. “(CAVA) is a way for older artists to connect with other artists and find places to show work.”
“Later Impressions” is CAVA’s premier juried exhibition. For the past 35 years, CAVA has showcased its members’ work in this annual exhibition, Beste said.
Past “Later Impressions” exhibitions were held in a variety of Chicagoland locations, but CAVA holds a show at Evanston Art Center every three years or so, according to Bennett.
This year, artists Tom Robinson and Juan Manuel Fernandez juried the exhibition. A juried exhibition is a competitive art show in which judges evaluate the works submitted to the show. For “Last Impressions,” they selected a Best of Show Award, three Awards of Excellence and three Honorable Mentions.
Robinson, a Chicagoland artist for over 50 years, said he and Fernandez agreed on many of the awards. The show was professionally judged, he said.
The Best of Show award went to Piotr Antonow for his vibrant painting “Manny,” which Robinson said was not only technically sound and hung well, but had a strong presence in the gallery.
Antonow was shocked when he received the award, he said, because his work is rarely recognized. He said he was excited to exhibit alongside other CAVA members in such a beautiful gallery space.
“Manny” is actually half of a piece, Antonow said. It was originally a commissioned family portrait of a couple, Claudia and Manny, done on two panels. Due to space constraints, Antonow removed Claudia, leaving Manny to exhibit alone, he said.
For CAVA members, the only requirement for submission is that the piece is created within the last two years.
Bennett said CAVA is committed to setting up four exhibitions around the Chicago metropolitan area a year to give older artists more opportunities to show.
“Once you hit a certain age, opportunities diminish because they want to get the new crowd,” Bennett said. “We’ve got some very good artists and this has been their profession their whole lives.”
“Later Impressions” is free and open to the public. It will run until May 25.
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