Sheila Ganch ~ human

Image: Sheila Ganch, "Clustered" • stoneware, aluminum, limestone • tallest form 21” each base is 3” x 3” • 2011

I received a shipment of exhibition catalogs for the "human" exhibition, from the printer today. I've work with Modern Postcard for a number of years and they always seem to do an amazing job... and they did it again. The twenty-four page 8.5 x 11", full color catalog, documents the various artists selected for this exhibition. After the pieces were selected, each of the artists were ask to provide a short statement and a one-hundred word biography. This information was used to create the catalog, which will be used to promote the show and to help with the sale of the work.

The "human" exhibition was produced as a benefit for Heartland Alliance. Commissions from the sale of work, will be donated directly to Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, which provides life changing opportunities to people who are homeless, seeking safety or living in poverty. Copies of the catalog will be sent to my collector base and will be available during the exhibition at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. The exhibition opens to previews on January 16, 2012.

One of the sculptors included in "human" is Sheila Ganch. Her grouping of abstracted figures titled 'Clustered", has elements of stoneware and aluminum. In talking about her work, Ganch explains:

A string of challenges are considered and resolved in the creation of these clay forms. The material is sculpted, coaxed, textured, low fired, pigmented, and finally high fired to produce the stoneware sculpture. The final form is mounted on limestone. A single figure in the grouping is cast aluminum, which was sand casted from one of my original stoneware forms.

A reflection of my process, these pieces emerge from an intuitive level that evolves when the clay, stone and metal merge to create what is a thought provoking artistic form. This final form does not exist within a vacuum, but can only be seen as a result of the process. “Clustered”, is the result of a this process. It seeks to capture a sense of community that is missing from our present social and political environment. These figures are gathered to share and honor their differences.

Gallery 180 is located at 180 N. Wabash—at the corner of Lake and Wabash—in Chicago’s Loop. The gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 8am-8pm, Friday 8am-5:30pm and Saturday 9am-5pm. Additional information can be found at gallery180.com. Other work by Sheila Ganch can be found at: sculpturebysheilaganch.com

Sheila Ganch received her degree from Ohio State University, but considers her postgraduate training with other fine sculptors to be the reason for her success. Her work has been exhibited at the Bellevue Washington City Sculpture Show, The Fort Wayne Museum of Art; Fort Wayne, IN, The Chicago Cultural Center, The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, The Harold Washington Library; Chicago and Veridian Gallery; New York. Ganch is currently represented by Gallery H; Three Oaks, Michigan, and The Chicago Art Source Gallery; Chicago.
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