Chicago Alliance
of Visual Artists
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CAVA is a volunteer not-for-profit organization founded in 1988 to serve artists aged 50+. We're dedicated to giving our over 200 members throughout Chicagoland the opportunity to exhibit artwork in at least three exhibits annually in such notable venues as the Chicago Cultural Center, Evanston Art Center, Bridgeport Art Center, Beverly Arts Center, and the Leslie Wolfe Gallery in Old Town.
Creating art can be a solitary occupation—CAVA organizes and presents events for older artists come together through its exhibitions, salons, member luncheons, workshops, annual Symposium, and special events. For more information, visit our CONTACT page, and sign up for our e-newsletter.
CAVA MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:
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Exhibit in the Annual Members Show;
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Enter the juried Later Impressions exhibition;
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Engage in various group and media-focused exhibitions
we organize throughout the Chicago area; -
Participate in membership social and educational programs, including our Salon/Critique Events; CAVA Studio Visits; and the annual CAVA Symposium.
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FEATURED CAVA ARTIST
PAULINE KOCHANSKI
has not only been
an artist her entire life—her entire life is a work of art. From early on, she has been fascinated by the creation of art and stories, and how they are shared
through poetry, visual
art, and art history.
Photo © Sean Culver
Pauline has worked and studied all forms of art making, including drawing, writing, painting, ceramics, and paper making. While working as a commercial artist, she received her BFA in photography from Columbia College Chicago. She continued creating art while working as a photostylist for many years, focusing her observations on history, nature, and spirituality. She later completed her master’s degree at
DePaul University in Chicago with a thesis project based on sacred landscapes. In 2010 she started her blog Make Art Every Day, to provide stimulus and momentum to her art practice.
Pauline continues to articulate her artistic vision in multiple media, using methods, materials, and forms that work best to expand on her inspiration. “Leaves and nature permeate my work,“ she says, “But at heart I’m a city person.” She was one of the 2003 featured artists in Chicago Artists’ Month, where she explored how nature makes an appearance unexpectedly in urban and industrial settings. Her 2017 installation piece at ARC Gallery, The Past is Still With Us, draws on her family history, honoring Holocaust survivors with images of stories, bones, and barbed wire.
Pauline’s most recent work builds on her previous themes of nature and history, concentrating on the idea of roots, both in nature, and of humans.
Green Cairn, colored pencil on paper
While exploring these concepts more deeply, she is incorporating all forms of media to bring her ideas to fruition, including drawing, painting, cold wax, handmade paper, watercolor, poetry, and gold leaf.
“I’m energized by using sharp contrasts of black and white, both in painting and photography," says Pauline. "While at the same time, I feel drawn to a specific muted green that is an ever-present part of this winter’s landscape colors."
In addition to working on her visual art, Kochanski also presents her poetry in a monthly open mic event in Highland Park.
To find out more about Pauline, her recent and upcoming exhibitions, and her 3rd-Arc project, click here Follow her on instagram @paulinekochanski. You can also see her work at CAVA's Inspired Stories exhibition at Dwell Studios, at Olivia Gallery, and ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation.
