Art Events

Please join Katrin Schnabl on Thursday, May 1st at 6:30pm for an artist talk, discussing her current solo exhibition QUALIA, in the Chase Gallery at Epiphany Center for the Arts.

QUALIA is an invitation for an amplified embodied sensory experience - the way it feels to “feel.” Quale (s)/ qualia(pl), defined as instance(s) of subjective conscious experience, presents a paradox: debated as something that does not exist, or conversely, be something of great neuroscientific significance. Katrin Schnabl views QUALIA as a sensory phenomenon, an inter-firing that naturally occurs without thought, yet possesses a visceral impact all its own. Schnabl’s exhibit presents a series of sculptures and scrolls, SISTERS, along with several works from her PORTAL series, which resemble doorframes and scrolls swathed in a surface of sheer, colorful fabrics, curvilinearly stitched together, forming a dimensional unit. EWNS (an acronym for East West North South) is a large format hanging tapestry, structured as a triptych. EWNS forms a continuous circle, split open, and

experienced in three, 30-foot sections. Conjuring maps and migratory patterns over a spherical form, it is a meditation on the complementing function of our bodies’ halves: a side for fielding circular inputs, and a side for cardinal directions. Participatorily, it offers an embodied deliberation on what is embedded into many languages as the right and the left, highlighting distinctions between what is considered proper and lawful versus what is deemed less important or significant. As a visual journey across a landscape, the structure’s borders become an activation of color fields, a continuous series of neighboring contact points with varying resonances, direction, and dimension via line, texture, form, light, and movement. Schnabl is interested in the experiential dimensions of her work. A commonality is its invitation for a somatic sensory reading; a sense-making through moving and exploring its dynamic and dimensional potential. Schnabl’s work invokes an impulse to “step inside,” as a way to process its information with the entire body, and she considers this as “yoU aRe A Work Of Art “– short URAWOA. Her offering leans into the trust the individual brings to their body as an extraordinary instrument, and Schnabl’s wish for that amplification. ABOUT KATRIN SCHNABL

Chicago-based artist Katrin Schnabl’s practice spans various disciplines that include visual art, sculpture, fashion, dance, performance and installation, fusing movement, pattern and conceptual investigation. She creates dimensional installations and sculptures with chroma-tinted sheer stitched fabrics, dynamically engaging the viewer to explore the body’s spatial awareness and activate the senses. Schnabl continues to collaborate with and contribute to numerous acclaimed dance and performance projects, which deeply informs her distinct approach. Schnabl studied Dance in Frankfurt, and Fashion Design at FIT, NYC. Since launching her first collection in NY in the 1990’s she has expanded her visual, spatial, and kinetic practice with fashion in an ever-expanding context through movement activated capsule collections, installations, and curated experiences. In 2004, she followed an invitation to teach at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Throughout her creative trajectory she engages sustainability, conceptually and pragmatically, such as her work with repurposing

discarded plastic. Recently her work was included in New American Painting, shown at Pan American Art Projects in Miami; featured on stage with scenic and costume design for the San Francisco Ballet, as well as featured in two solo exhibitions in Chicago, and at Devening Projects in the exhibition EVERSO with Jodi Hays.

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for our live music series concerts, and be sure to hit Golden Hour before-hand for drinks and lite-bites! Doors open at 5pm Thursday - Saturday for Golden Hour with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials!

Come early to EXPLORE and DISCOVER your own EPIPHANY… our art galleries are open and there is free entertainment before the show!

Full Concert Calendar Here

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.

Attend the opening reception for Margot McMahon’s exhibit RING OF FIRE: FRIENDS, REEFS, AND BOUNCING BACK
on Friday, May 9, from 6:00-9:00pm.

Coral reefs are an ancient microcosm with a changing diversity of phantasmagoric beauty. As a crucial building block of our planet that feeds twenty-five percent of sea life, the urgency to save coral from repeated bleaching episodes is becoming clear. The Ring of Fire and Coral Triangle, located in the Southern Pacific Ocean, shows why it matters.

Endorsed by UNESCO for ocean awareness during the United Nations Ocean Decade, Margot McMahon’s Ring of Fire: Friends, Reefs, and Bouncing Back exhibit brings attention to how human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, significantly contribute to climate change and rising sea temperatures, which severely impacts ocean life and marine biodiversity. United States’ weather patterns originate in the Southern Pacific Ocean. A warmer ocean slows currents causing west coast droughts, more volatile storms, and Midwest flooding.

On McMahon’s 2017 diving excursion to the Palauan reefs in the Ring of Fire with a childhood friend, they witnessed the largest recorded global bleaching event, impacting the Coral Triangle: a marine epicenter with the highest coral reef and fish diversity in the world. On a return trip in 2023, the two friends and environmental activists observed a revitalization of the coral reefs through a healthy reef bounce-back, made possible by reduced carbon emissions during the global Covid-19 lock-down, conservation efforts, and sustainable practices.

Over the seven years of reef recovery worldwide, McMahon painted her Ring of Fire series to show the symbiotic relationship between a vast variety of plants, animals, and minerals that form the most diverse ecosystem on earth.  Her ocean landscapes also emulate prayer cloths to express a spiritual energy that conveys healing, while highlighting the biodiversity and stunning magnificence of the reefs. Through her technique mixte process, combining egg tempera and oil paints, McMahon’s coral reefs are luminous, as light penetrates and reflects through the layers, giving the paintings a depth and vibrancy that echo the resonance of the ocean.

Coral reef bleaching events are caused by environmental stressors that include increased water temperatures due to global warming and human pollution. These stressors disrupt the interdependent relationship between coral and algae, leading to the whitening or bleaching of corals. With the increase of carbon emissions since 2023, the world is currently experiencing its fourth global coral bleaching event, which NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) announced in April 2024 and is ongoing. This event has affected coral reefs across all major ocean basins, including the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Make sure to RSVP for this amazing event!

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for Golden Hour beforehand for free live music, drinks and lite bites in the Café Bar! Doors open at 5pm with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials until 7:00pm

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.

Attend the opening reception for Laurie Buman’s SANTOS Y MILAGROS (SAINTS & MIRACLES) | THE LIGHT WITHIN THE DARKNESS SERIES on Friday, May 16, from 6:00-9:00pm.

Laurie Buman’s series, Santos y Milagros (Saints & Miracles) | The Light Within the Darkness, is the culmination of over a decade of work. This collection explores social issues affecting the most vulnerable members of society. Through the lives of the Saints, Buman addresses contemporary concerns and shares the stories of these heroic women.

Each piece is layered with meaning beyond the obvious—every item and image carries its own history, coming together to form a larger narrative that transcends the physical. With these images, Buman seeks to inspire awareness, protection, and positive change in the world.

Make sure to RSVP for this amazing event!

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for Golden Hour beforehand for free live music, drinks and lite bites in the Café Bar! Doors open at 5pm with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials until 7:00pm

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.

Attend the opening reception for Laurie LeBreton’s INSISTING AND MAINTINING on Friday, May 16, from 6:00-9:00pm.

Artist Alok Vaid-Menon has said, “There’s something audacious and beautiful about insisting on maintaining your humor and delight.” For Laurie LeBreton, humor and delight are a direct result of her work as a fiber artist. She works primarily in handmade paper to convey these ideas, using her favorite properties of paper – the messy pleasure of making it, its ability to absorb color, and both its apparent fragility and veritable strength.

The paper tapestries in LeBreton’s exhibit INSISTING AND MAINTAINING are typical of her work in many ways. The simplicity and repetitiveness of their construction lead LeBreton to calm and peace. There’s an element of playfulness: She turns a series of flat objects into a three-dimensional structure. She uses this simple structure to comment on impermanence through various means of installation. She uses color to express joy.

Finally, through this work, LeBreton also honors traditional women’s crafts – quilt making, sewing, and weaving, with the intent to convey warmth and comfort, and to express love.

Make sure to RSVP for this amazing event!

Golden Hour at Epiphany:
Stop by Epiphany for Golden Hour beforehand for free live music, drinks and lite bites in the Café Bar! Doors open at 5pm with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials until 7:00pm

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.

Attend the Opening Reception for Melissa Weber’s exhibit ODE TO COMMON THINGS on Thursday, May 22, from 6:00-9:00 pm.

Melissa Weber’s ODE TO COMMON THINGS invites viewers to reimagine the ordinary, by drawing inspiration from everyday objects. Weber references Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's collection of poems by the same title, in which he expressed profound affection and admiration for everyday objects, highlighting their intrinsic value and the roles they play in our lives.

Weber's sculptures transform familiar objects, such as brick remnants, rocks and cardboard packing materials into subjects of reflection, emphasizing their intrinsic beauty and the narratives they embody. Working primarily with clay, Weber explores the transformation from wet mass to fragile form through fire, creating ceramic arrangements, visual systems and topographies that engage with history and spatial relationships.

Situated within the undercroft of the historic former Church of the Epiphany, an 1885 Richardson Romanesque church, now a vibrant cultural hub—the exhibition integrates the building’s stone walls and wood beams as important components of the artistic narrative. In this context, space itself becomes an object, engaging in dialogue with the sculptures and challenging traditional distinctions between subject and environment. In this setting, Weber explores how themes of transformation and the passage of time mirror the metamorphosis of raw materials into refined forms, encouraging deeper contemplation of material transformation and the ephemeral nature of perception. By elevating the mundane to the revered, ODE TO COMMON THINGS encourages a renewed appreciation for the simple elements of daily life, fostering a deeper connection between the observer and the often-overlooked details that shape our existence.

Make sure to RSVP for this amazing event!

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for Golden Hour beforehand for free live music, drinks and lite bites in the Café Bar! Doors open at 5pm with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials until 7:00pm

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.

Attend the opening reception for Marianne Lovink’s exhibit COUNTERWEIGHT on Thursday, May 22, 6:00-9:00pm.

In her latest series of work, Marianne Lovink explores the dynamic relationship between sculptural form and its embellishment. She is fascinated by the visual language of mark making and the limitless expressive potential found in repetitive motifs, which has evolved over millennia. This investigation is deeply influenced by the interplay of positive and negative space, and the tension that arises when a motif both conforms to and resists the sculptural form. This tension engages the viewer and activates the eye, inviting further contemplation. While Lovink’s meticulous craftsmanship, restrained palette, and use of tactile materials remain a consistent element of her practice, she has recently expanded her use of color to provide further visual complexity and enrich the overall composition.

Make sure to RSVP for this amazing event!

Golden Hour at Epiphany:
Stop by Epiphany for Golden Hour beforehand for free live music, drinks and lite bites in the Café Bar! Doors open at 5pm with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials until 7:00pm

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.

Attend the opening reception for George Tonyi’s TUNES IN ART on Friday, May 23, from 6:00-9:00pm.

Inspired by the universal language of music, George Tonyi’s exhibit TUNES IN ART is a visual symphony of rhythms, patterns, and colors that reflect his emotions, experiences, cultural beliefs and traditions. Through his art and music themes, Tonyi aims to transcend boundaries, inviting viewers to feel connected, while weaving together the diverse threads of human experience.

Make sure to RSVP for this amazing event!

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for Golden Hour beforehand for free live music, drinks and lite bites in the Café Bar! Doors open at 5pm with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials until 7:00pm

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule
Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.

Attend the opening reception for DROWN-PROOFING on Friday, May 23, from 6:00-9:00pm.

To drown-proof is to survive. It is a technique—a learned resilience—that allows one to stay afloat when rescue is uncertain. Taught by the community, it is not just a physical skill but a mindset, a method of endurance that depends on the ability to remain calm in unstable waters.

This exhibition explores the art of holding on and letting go, of adapting to unfamiliar territories, and the ways we sustain ourselves without stability. Drown-Proofing brings together artists from the SAIC community, including staff, graduate, and undergraduate students. The artists navigate shifting cultural, political, and personal landscapes, examining what it means to stay afloat amid adversity. Their works address survival tactics, resistance, and transformation, confronting systems of power that threaten to pull communities under.

How do we teach people to breathe when there is no air? How do we connect past and present, tradition and innovation, homeland and new ground? Through acts of creation, artists in this exhibition reclaim agency, revealing the struggles and triumphs of those who refuse to be submerged.

Drown-Proofing is not just about survival—it is about finding strength in the community, learning to adapt, and discovering new ways to rise. We create not only the means to stay afloat, but also the possibilities of a new way forward.

Make sure to RSVP for this amazing event!

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for Golden Hour beforehand for free live music, drinks and lite bites in the Café Bar! Doors open at 5pm with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials until 7:00pm

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.