Wilson Abbey Windows

Get ready for "This is Gene Arthur", a high energy exhibition.
Opening reception is May 30th, 2025, 6-8:00, 935 W Wilson Ave
You're invited, bring a friend, friends, family
This is a promising , energetic show

Wilson Abbey Advent Windows Week Four, Day 24
Advent is a season of HOPE, PEACE, JOY & LOVE, OF ANTICIPATION

Title: Yeshúa

Artist Juan-Carlos Garzon Barrera brings the story of fulfillment, and promise from the past into our time.

"In my painting, I depict the poignant tale of a young Jewish boy born in Palestine as his family flees the life-threatening decree of a relentless king. The brushstrokes unveil the emotional weight in his eyes, where fear and hope intertwine within his Jewish identity. Each stroke narrates the odyssey of this family, and the child's face, marked by his heritage, becomes a symbol of resilience in the face of adversity. My painting celebrates the strength of a Jewish child destined to be a beacon of light amid historical darkness." --Juan Carlos

En tu pintura, el rostro del niño judío refleja la angustia y la incertidumbre de nacer en Palestina mientras su familia huye de una amenaza de muerte proclamada por un emperador. A través de su expresión, capturas la complejidad de sus experiencias y la tensión de la situación que enfrenta, transmitiendo la historia única y conmovedora de este pequeño en un contexto histórico significativo.
--Juan Exegesis

Wilson Abbey Advent Windows Week Four, Day 23
Advent is a season of HOPE, PEACE, JOY & LOVE

We asked artist Deb Strahan to create a window piece on Mary and Joseph. Deb was able to bring Mary into our time with her piece "Mary in a Red Dress".
The red dress became a symbol of MMIW, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Originally, an art installation by Canadian artist Jaime Black, featuring red dresses hanging in trees, symbolizing indigenous women who are no longer here, either missing or murdered.

"As I painted, I imagined what it would be like to sit with Mary in a circle of women who tell their stories of missing and murdered loved ones. What would we hear? What lament? What strength? What would it be like to sit at a table with those who had someone missing? To hear the pain and anger of telling their stories to those who could help, but through prejudice and lack of respect for the humanity of our indigenous brothers and sisters, went unheard and unseen? What might it be like for these women to sit with Mary among them, listening as a woman who also experienced the murder of her child?
These questions inhabited my conversations and haunted my sleep for weeks.
--Deb Strahan

Rosalie Fish is a member of the Cowlitz Tribe and a descendant of members of the Muckleshoot Tribe in Washington state. She is a competitive runner who raises awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, MMIW, by painting MMIW down her right leg and a red handprint across her mouth. Her family knows first-hand the pain of a missing and murdered loved one. Hear her speak in a TED Talk at:
https://www.ted.com/.../rosalie_fish_running_for_missing...
About artist Jaime Black and the REDress Project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH7FuxzrFvs&t=45s
https://www.jaimeblackartist.com/exhibitions/

Wilson Abbey Advent Windows Week Four, Day 22
Advent is a season of HOPE, PEACE, JOY & LOVE

Artist Touly Phiachantharath captures a moment of Asian American Pacific Islanders on the move. While specific, the figures are still developing.

"Above all else, humans will endure. We evolve. We adapt. We grow. We learn from the past and use those traits to keep moving forward and chase our dreams. As a proud Asian American refugee myself, I always want to focus on the intersection of past and present that combines old world charm with modern sensibility. Be inspired. Be curious. Be interested. And if you keep dreaming and creating, your time will come." --Touly Phiachantharath

https://stopaapihate.org/
https://www.refugeeone.org/
https://www.chinesemutualaid.org/

Wilson Abbey Advent Windows, Week Three Day 20
Advent is a season of HOPE,PEACE & JOY

Artist Dave Coleman shows us his take on domestic abuse titled "Doing the Dance". He captures the anguish, and the frustration and maybe the long shadows of trauma.

Hagar is in anguish from slavery and abuse. Alone, she is a woman seeking escape from domestic violence. Her flight brings her to the desert, a Biblical place of death, temptation, and isolation. Yet Hope is found there. "The Lord has heard your misery," says a Divine Messenger, she marvels at the oasis of comfort found at the well and in those words.
"I have now seen the One who sees me." In a moment, she is certain the Holy One is her shelter, haven, holy sanctuary. The healing begins. --Beth Nicholls

Wilson Abbey Advent Windows Week Three, Day 18
Advent is a season of HOPE, PEACE & JOY

This is a exciting new piece to this series created by artist Dave Coleman. Dave's evocative piece has captured a moment of expression and gesturing, in the hope of showing the Deaf Community's values of communication and connection.

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Wilson Abbey Advent Windows Week 3, Day 17
Advent is a season of HOPE, PEACE & JOY, and preparation

Experiencing Homelessness
Artist Brach Siemens lives in Chicago. He know himself and recognizes what many of us know..."It is easy for these people to become invisible to us all. We often pass by these people without really seeing them or we intentionally ignore them.
In the time and place of Jesus’ birth, shepherds were seen as second-class citizens. They were marginalized and lived apart from society. One of the beautiful and profound things about the Christmas story is that God chose to announce His arrival in this world to a group of shepherds…and they were invited to celebrate in the manger with Mary and Joseph!"

In this Advent season to consider what ways you can honor those who are often invisible around you? --Brach Siemens