Mary Porterfield | That Which Remains | April 7 - May 11, 2024

*The Tides Within,* 2023-2024, Oil on semi-transparent Dura-Lar film, 82 x 216 inches, Photo: Tom Van Eynde

Exhibition Dates: April 7 – May 11, 2024

Opening Reception: Sunday, April 7, 2024, 3:00 – 6:00 pm

Join us afterwards for a private happy hour across the street at the Quincy Street Distillery.

Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00 pm

The Riverside Arts Center is pleased to present That Which Remains, a solo exhibition by Mary Porterfield in the FlexSpace. The exhibition will consist of drawings, an installation, and a community participatory art wall addressing the challenges of caregiving.

*Support that Remains,* 2023-2024, Spray painted and painted walkers and crutches, size variable, Photo: Tom Van Eynde

My drawings reflect my mother’s struggle to care for my father who had Parkinsonism and was homebound. The life-sized images, which are cut out and attached to the wall, represent the mounting difficulties my parents faced, made worse by the pandemic. I overlap translucent layers to signify my father’s gradual evanescence, using the vastness of the wall to represent my mother’s perseverance, hardship and love. Since my father’s passing, the assistive devices remain as witnesses to the weight my mother bore, both physically and metaphorically. The layering of film symbolizes the passage of time as my mother recalls what was, yet acknowledges the impermanence of what is. In sharing my parent’s story, I hope to elevate those who have had such an impact on our past, while making visible those caregivers who make the present possible.

– Mary Porterfield

Mary Porterfield has exhibited her paintings, drawings, and installations nationally and internationally at venues including the Lim Lip Museum in South Korea, the Phoenix Art Museum, the San Diego Art Institute, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Kohler Arts Center, the Figge Art Museum, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, and the Rockford Art Museum. Solo shows include Hofheimer Gallery (Chicago, Il), Packer-Schopf Gallery (Chicago, Il), Concordia University (River Forest, Il), the University of Illinois (Urbana, Il), and the West Valley Art Museum (Surprise, AZ). Honors include three Illinois Artist Council Grants, a City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Grant (DCASE), a Puffin Foundation Grant, and three Chicago Community Arts Assistance Program Grants. Porterfield teaches at Northeastern Illinois University and received an MFA from Arizona State University.

https://maryporterfield.com/home.html