THE LAB

The Lab is a dedicated venue for installation, time-based media, sound, and light. It is not afraid to showcase the fruit of visual experimentation, and it does not require a ‘finished product’ or an ‘established artist.’

THANK YOU 2023 EXHIBITION SPONSORS

98.3 THE COAST, BOULEVARD INN & BISTRO, HONOR CREDIT UNION, PELLA WINDOWS & DOORS OF NORTHWEST INDIANA, RMB CAPITAL, STARKS FAMILY FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES, SILVER BEACH PIZZA, STORAGE OF AMERICA, TYLER AUTOMOTIVE,  THE JOHN DeVRIES INSURANCE AGENCY, KRUGGEL LATWON CPAs, TABOR HILL WINERY & RESTAURANT

IN THE LAB: MARIANA NOREÑA

September 23-November 26

The house that lives within me

floats on the lake and

hides in the mountains

“I was raised in a country made up of the Andes mountains. Since moving to Chicago, I have found myself questioning recurrently the meaning of “belonging” and what I call “home.” I explore the answer in the process of meditating on the landscape that surrounds me and that is within me.”

~Mariana Noreña

EXHIBITION PROGRAMS

For someone whose artistic practice is grounded in the landscape, a move to a new country might be especially jarring, but for Mariana Noreña it was an opportunity to attune to a new environment and shift her process – other key aspects of her work. In The Lab, Noreña proposes an “immersion” into her story of belonging, in which Lake Michigan features prominently: “As you stand on the two lands that I now call home, I invite you to be lulled by the sound of the tree that gives shade to my house, to smell the rosemary planted in my garden in Colombia, and feel the undeniable way of adapting and being in constant motion of Lake Michigan.”

Mariana Noreña holds dual bachelor degrees in Design and Fine Arts with an emphasis in Painting and Drawing from La Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) and a Master of Fine Arts in the Fiber and Material Studies department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She is a recipient of the Colfuturo Grant as well as the Second Year International Graduate Scholarship at SAIC. Noreña has participated in group exhibitions in Colombia at La Feria del Millon Art Fair, Contemporary Museum of Art of Bogota, and SGR Gallery. In the United States, she has exhibited at venues including the LeRoy Neiman Gallery at Columbia University, New York City, and Gallery 1922 at SAIC, Chicago. Her work is in the collection of the Museo Bolivariano of Contemporary Art. 

Artwork: Mariana Noreña. The House That Lives Within Me/ La Casa Que Habita Dentro De Mi (detailed in top banner), 2023. Steel, water from Lake Michigan, wood, soil from Bogotá, soil from Chicago, corn husks, rosemary, recycled paper, basket reed, bent wood, sound, frame.

EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING

Learn more about the work on view during special tours, artist talks, and virtual events, some of which require advance registration. See all exhibition programs by clicking here.

Additional links, artist chats, and videos can be found on KAC’s Facebook page by clicking here.

ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

Interested in exhibiting in The Lab? Any emerging visual artist residing in the United States is welcome to apply. Participants must propose an art installation to fit within a 367 square-foot gallery space by completing our online Exhibition Proposal Form, available by clicking here. Materials will vary, and may include time-based media, sound and light.

Exhibition proposals are reviewed on an ongoing basis and held for 2 years. Due to the quantity received, we will contact you only in the event of an exhibition opportunity. 

Artists and curators are encouraged to review The Lab gallery plan by clicking here to ensure proposals are scaled appropriately.