Birthday
Sacristy Gallery
September 19, 2025 - November 22, 2025
My 1.5-year-old son says only a handful of words- wow, momma, daddy, ball, truck, fraise, ciao. The week I committed to this exhibition at Epiphany, he added a new word: birthday.
Birthday is about how scary it is to begin. The first scream, first smile, first word, first step, first fall. The moment my son was born, I was certain I was dying. In the days and months that followed it still wasn’t clear as we existed in a new web of pain, euphoria, and wonder. It helps to have something to hug, something to hold you up, somewhere to rest.
A birthday is a celebration, a renewal, but also a reckoning. Sometimes counting up feels like counting down, and the beginning is also an ending. The work in this show is holding on and letting go. The subject matter appears familiar, a stuffed animal, a lifejacket, paintings of pillowcases. Materials in the show include silk, human hair, and hair salon foils. Having grown up in a hair salon, these objects and images anchor me to my own childhood, my own history of birthdays, and the experience of the passing of time. The week Birthday opens, my son will turn 2.
RSVP for the opening reception on Friday, September 19th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the link below:
Click HERE for more information on gallery hours and private appointments.
Birthday
Sacristy Gallery
September 19, 2025 - November 22, 2025
My 1.5-year-old son says only a handful of words- wow, momma, daddy, ball, truck, fraise, ciao. The week I committed to this exhibition at Epiphany, he added a new word: birthday.
Birthday is about how scary it is to begin. The first scream, first smile, first word, first step, first fall. The moment my son was born, I was certain I was dying. In the days and months that followed it still wasn’t clear as we existed in a new web of pain, euphoria, and wonder. It helps to have something to hug, something to hold you up, somewhere to rest.
A birthday is a celebration, a renewal, but also a reckoning. Sometimes counting up feels like counting down, and the beginning is also an ending. The work in this show is holding on and letting go. The subject matter appears familiar, a stuffed animal, a lifejacket, paintings of pillowcases. Materials in the show include silk, human hair, and hair salon foils. Having grown up in a hair salon, these objects and images anchor me to my own childhood, my own history of birthdays, and the experience of the passing of time. The week Birthday opens, my son will turn 2.
RSVP for the opening reception on Friday, September 19th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the link below:
Click HERE for more information on gallery hours and private appointments.
Margaret Crowley (b. 1987, Ottawa, Illinois) is a Chicago-based artist. Recent solo shows include Hazard at University Galleries at Illinois State University, and Comb at Devening Projects in Chicago. Her work has been exhibited at Ditch Projects in Springfield, Oregon; Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago; Chicago; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; Chicago Artists Coalition; Cue Foundation, New York City; and Área: Lugar de Proyectos, Caguas, Puerto Rico. Crowley has received the Jarislowsky Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award, which included a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Canada. She has also been awarded multiple individual artist grants from the Illinois Arts Council and a residency at Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists. NewCity Chicago named her one of Chicago’s 10 Breakout Artists of 2023. Crowley is the co-director of Produce Model Gallery, Chicago. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Chicago, M.A. from Eastern Illinois University, and B.S. from Illinois State University.
Margaret Crowley (b. 1987, Ottawa, Illinois) is a Chicago-based artist. Recent solo shows include Hazard at University Galleries at Illinois State University, and Comb at Devening Projects in Chicago. Her work has been exhibited at Ditch Projects in Springfield, Oregon; Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago; Chicago; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; Chicago Artists Coalition; Cue Foundation, New York City; and Área: Lugar de Proyectos, Caguas, Puerto Rico. Crowley has received the Jarislowsky Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award, which included a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Canada. She has also been awarded multiple individual artist grants from the Illinois Arts Council and a residency at Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists. NewCity Chicago named her one of Chicago’s 10 Breakout Artists of 2023. Crowley is the co-director of Produce Model Gallery, Chicago. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Chicago, M.A. from Eastern Illinois University, and B.S. from Illinois State University.
