Alicia Forestall-Boehm

In today's world of COVID-19, experiencing life virtually is our new normal. From classes to work to cultural events we are living our lives while sheltering in place. Temporary closings, limited openings and social distancing, have forced artists, art galleries, art museums, and art organizations to think outside the box to find new ways to present art exhibitions. With that in mind, I decided to create an online virtual art gallery that can host an exhibition that is engagin g and informative. One that is visually appealing as well as interactive.  A virtual art exhibition th at can be used by a single artist to present a solo show or a gallery or art group to pr esent a group or member show. I am pleased to present the virtual art exhibition #FusedAtHome , a collection of artworks by the artist members of FUSEDChicago. I designed and produced this interactive art exhibition. It uses an appealing art gallery background. The viewer can travel between the many gallery rooms to vi...

On Friday, March 6th, I attended the opening of BUILD: A Sculpture Show at Oliva Gallery in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Included in this show was a new sculpture that I created specifically for this exhibition . The idea of social distancing was just beginning to take hold, and while many of us in attendance at the exhibition opening were resisting hugging and shaking each other’s hands, none of us could have guessed that in just over a week, the gallery, and most businesses would be closed and we would all be sheltered at home. The resulting quarantine has put a pause on all of our lives. Many artists have created art for postponed or canceled solo and group shows that no one will see. Fortunately, many museums are offering virtual tours and many art curators and artists are creating virtual online art exhibitions. The Corona Sidestep: A Virtual Exhibition , curated by Joanne Mattera, is an excellent collection of artwork that offers “some visibility to ar...

Setting up an art exhibition quite often begins by choosing a theme.  A theme can serve to tie all of the included works together.  It usually explores a particular concept or idea.     I am a member of the artists group FUSEDChicago.  For our first group show of the year, Textual Encounters at ARC Gallery in Chicago, we exhibited works that are inspired by the written word.  My textural reference was a quote from the artist Jasper Johns:  “One likes to think that one anticipates changes in the spaces we inhabit, and our ideas about space.” For this exhibit I wanted to include some of the columns from my sculpture "Spaces We Inhabit".  These 15 feet high sculptures were designed to be hung from the ceiling, enabling visitors to walk among them but I was unable to do so in this space.  So I adapted and installed 7 of the columns with this wall hanger.     "Spaces We Inhabit", ARC Gallery I have been in ar...

I was thrilled to have had the opportunity for my first solo exhibition this past December. My show Transformed Spaces consisted of two sculptural installations; Infinite Possibilities and The Spaces We Inhabit.  It considered the symmetry of the urban landscape and explored the physical and mental boundaries of the public and private spaces we inhabit.      Infinite Possibilities is a wall installation consisting of 30 unique wall cubes, each utilizing similar and familiar materials yet each recognizing its own distinctive space .   Spaces We Inhabit is an installation of a dozen, twelve foot high columns of encaustic and fiber sculptures created by altering 2-dimensional paintings.   This transformation acknowledges another kind of space; one of visual repetitiveness and change.    Transformed Spaces was installed in the Art on Armitage Gallery window December 1, 2015 and was up throughout the month. ...