ARTIST STATEMENT
EXHIBITION HISTORY
GALLERIES
MY FAVORITES


Artist Statement -



Artists explore and give the world a view of their personal heightened awareness. I visualize and think with keen beliefs and insights. Reflection of human and societal concerns which cross emotional boundaries-- communicating that which is unspoken. My traditional art foundations of drawing, painting and printmaking, evolved into video, digital photography and experimental media. I use digital photography and imaging to envision the concepts originating from the creative pulse.An individual artist explores and gives the world a view of their personal heightened awareness. Artists see and think with keen beliefs and insights.Reflection of human and societal concerns which cross emotional boundaries-- communicating that which is unspoken.
My traditional art foundations of drawing, painting and printmaking, evolved into video, digital photography and experimental media. I use digital photography and imaging to envision the concepts originating from the creative pulse.

Artist Exhibitions



N A N C Y B E CH T O L Art Exhibition Bio
Awards recognitions
Midwest Regional Fellow National Endowment for the Arts Illinois Arts Council Fellowship Award-Media Arts Neighborhood Arts Program Artist at Lathrop Homes, Chicago Housing Authority CHA City of Chicago. Dept. of Cultural Affairs American Video Conference Award sponsored by the American Film Institute Billboard Magazine Tokyo International Video Festival, Special Merit Award in Experimental Video Art American Registry of Outstanding Professionals Chicago Access Network Television, Chicago Access Network Television CAN TV Independent Producer 1986-current. , ARC Gallery Educational Foundation, Current Affiliate member and former President, Director-1999-2001. Chicago Society of Artists, current member..
BIO
Artist, Independent Filmmaker Photographer, Educator, Media Consultant
MFA The School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1984
MA. ED. Loyola University of Chicago 1980
BA Roosevelt University
Chicago Community Access Network TV. CAN TV. Certified Independent Producer 1986-current.
The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago. Professor - Adjunct digital media photography 1999-2015
American Press Association - Bureau Chief and Photojournalist 2010 to current

Art Exhibitions
2023
Chicago Society of Artists. Awarded. 1st place for digital art, Member Calendar art. Print book.
Jackson Junge Gallery. Chicago. 10 x 10 Oct-Jan
2022
Koehnline Museum of Art. International Juried Exhibition of art by Women. Our Bodies, Our Health Navigating the Wars Within and around us Nathan Harpaz. CuratorArts Manager. Lindsey Hewitt Oakton Community College. Women Gender and Sexuality Studies. Nov 13-Nov10. Catalogue.
MDW Fair. Chicago. Jenny Lam and Artists on the Lam. 10 year anniversary I Can Do That MdW Assembly will bring together artist-led projects from across the region for a four-day alternative to an art fair September 8th-11th, 2022
Old Town Triangle Gallery. Chicago. Chicago Society of Artists. Legend continues since 1887
August House Chicago. Birdhouse Bird is the Word. 8-9 2022
TallGrass Arts Association. Park Forest, Il. April 30 - June 4 Chicago Society of Artists A 135 Year Legacy Continues.
Gallery Seven. Lockport, Il. Mar 3 - April 3 Chicago Society of Artists Members Exhibition.
Old Town Triangle. Chicago Society of Artists Annual Calendar. May
Bloomingdale Park District Museum - Bloomingdale, IL, October 8, 2022 - November 5, 2022
Old Town Triangle Leslie Wolfe Gallery - Chicago, IL, June 24, 2022 - August 5, 2022
Chicago Society of Artists A 135-Year Legacy Continues
Old Town Triangle, Chicago May 2022
Chicago Society of Artists Members Annual Calendar
Gallery Seven - Lockport, IL March 3, 2022 - April 1, 2022 Chicago Society of Artists Members Exhibition
ARC Gallery Educational Foundation. 49th Anniv Member Show

2021
Stola Contemporary Gallery, Chicago, SOS, Planet Earth. catalogue. Kelly Matthews, Curator.
Stola Contemporary Gallery, Chicago, Liberty and Justice for All catalogue. Kelly Matthews, Curator.
Art Of Gallery. Chicago. Exhibit, Auction and Mural fundraiser event. curated by Anne Farley Gaines
Lewis University. Wadsworth Gallery. Chicago Society of Artists Exhibition As We See It
Comfort Station. Chicago. Logan Square. Chuquimarca presents film This Is Indian Land-Okees Vision and supported Zoom event. Produced by Shadow Bechtol Studio.
Old Town Triangle. Chicago. Chicago Society of Artists Members Annual Calendar
August House Studio. Chicago Marya Veeck, Curator. Thoughts from Inside the Box Box Show.
August House Studio. Chicago, Marya Veeck, Curator Holiday Exhibit
Gallery 7. Lockport, Il. Calendar Print Show.

2020
Koehnline Museum of Art. 10 -11 International Juried Exhibition of Women. Where Are We Now - Activism of the Everyday printed and digital catalogue and ZOOM online opening event.
ARC Gallery. Chicago. Imagining Futures 46th Anniversary. ARC Members’ Show
IMAGINING FUTURES Opening Reception Fri. September 10, 5pm 46th Anniversary Exhibit.

Stola Contemporary Gallery July- August. All in the Same Boat – or Are We, Curator. Anne Farley Gaines
The subject matters represent what people around the world are confronting…isolation, fear, depression, suffocation, loneliness, paranoia, disgust, despair, distrustfulness …you name the dysfunction and or psychological stressor.

Chicago Society of Artists. Calendar 2021. included with members 2 works.
Jackson Junge Gallery. Chicago. THE FUNK MACHINE. Juried. THE FUNK MACHINE Exhibit March 6 - May 13, 2020

Lark Gallery. West Hollywood LA Evolve Women Wisdom juried March. 2020 with catalogue Art and Beyond.
Gallery Seven. Lockport, IL. 320-520 Chicago Society of Artists spring
See Me. NYC Digital Projection juried
Gene Siskel Film Center. Chicago. 10.2020 streamed online. Chicago Premiere of indie film The Last Hippie Freak By the Beard of Lee Groban 43 min
produced by Shadow Bechtol Studio. Exec. Producer David Bechtol. Narrator Vito Carli with film clips by Frank Garvey, OmniCircus, S.F

2019
LACDA. Los Angeles Center for Digital Art. Open Source Exhibition . Rex Bruce, Director. 12.2019 large digipainting 30x40

Chicago New Media 1973-1992 Curated by Jon Cates
with assistance from Chaz Evans and Jonathan Kinsley November 1 - December 15, 2018a, Nancy Bechtol, video projected on the wall.

Ars Electronica Festival 2019, video art included.
September 5 - 9, 2019, POSTCITY Linz, Austria Ars Electronica is one of the worlds largest stages for media art, a festival for digital music, a showcase for creativity and innovation

August House Studio curated by Marya Veeck. small things considered. 12.2019
Koehnline Museum. Oakton CC Women Gender Studies. Juried International Exhibit Fashioning the Self You Are What you Wear
I am the other Through your eyes I see myself Photodigital Painting on aluminum with QR code and writing on edges.
Inspired Art 2019. Benefit event for the America Scores. who provide free poetry, soccer, and the service learning for poet-athlete youth in underserved areas of Chicago. Oct.
John H. Vanderpoel Art Museum. Chicago Society of Artists Presents Honoring the Masters Oct 1-31
Lewis University Wadsworth Family Galleries. Chicago Society of Artists Presents The Legacy Continues. Oct.3-25
ARC Gallery. Chicago. 46 Years and counting ARC Gallery Members Exhibition. Self of Many Colours 20x30 fine art Metal Print. Oct.4-26
Gallery Seven - Lockport, IL March 6, 2019 - April 6, 2019
Chicago Society of Artists Members Exhibition
Lewis University - October 3, 2019 - October 25, 2019
Chicago Society of Artists - The Legacy Continues
Vanderpoel Museum - October 1, 2019 - October 31, 2019
Chicago Society of Artists - Honoring the Masters
Art Colony Second Saturday Event - June , 2019 and for 6 years prior
Sage Gallery - Lakeside Arts Park at the Dole Mansion June 7, 2019 - August 2, 2019
Chicago Society of Artists Summer Exhibit
Secondary Meanings Figural Diptychs
Poets Artists exhibition at the Zhou B Art Center curated by Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt and it features figurative diptychs.
GALLERY AT ZHOU B ART CENTER
May 17th – Jul 12th 2019
Chicago, Zhou B Art Center 1029 West 35th Street Chicago
Listed in Artsy
August House Studio May 17, 2019 - June 23, 2019
Birds I Have Known
Special birdhouse exhibition
ALL POLITICS ARE LOCAL Jackson Junge Gallery. Chicago Feb, 2019
2018
Chicago Society of Artists. CSA Illinois Bicentennial Portfolio. Illinois organized by Rene Arceo
Original handprinted Silkscreen included in the limited edition with 20 other print makers. Dec, 2018
Gallery 400 Chicago New Media 1973-1992 Curated by jon cates. Included in Catalogue. Nov. 2018
ARC Gallery. Chicago. Women Strong Sept - Oct 2018
ARC Gallery. Chicago. Reinvention II Oct-Nov. 2018
Vanderpole Art Museum. Illinois
Chicago Society of Artists Interprets Illinois Bicentennial
Koehnline Museum of Art Oakton CC Juried show and catalogue
Nevertheless She Persisted Women of Courage, Tenacity and Strength
Lost Artists Chicago ONLY BLUE TALK LOVE Sept. 2018
Bloomingdale Park District Museum
Illinois Bicentennial Exhibition, CSA Members Aug. 2018
Lost Artists Chicago EMBRACE summer Jun, 2018
Lost Artists Chicago once in a super blue moon at ART COLONY Apr, 2018
Gallery Seven at the Historic Gaylord Building. Lockport, Ill
Chicago Society of Artists- A Spring Member Exhibit
2017
ARC Gallery Educational Foundation It Figures 2017 Dec, 2017
ALL who WANDER...ARE not LOST
Lost Artists Chicago Nov, 2017
Lewis University
A Collective Expression Chicago Society of Artists Reception and Gallery Talk, Oct. 26, 7-9pm Oct, 2017
Koehnline Museum of Art OCC Juried with catalogue.
Women and Anger Resistance, Power, Inspiration
Womens juried exhibit, Koehnline Museum of Art, Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, IL,
Lost Artists Chicago FALL BACK Again Kickin IT Sep, 2017
Anderson Art Center, Kenosha, WI
Chicago Society of Artists Present at Anderson Art Center Wisconsin Jun, 2017
Lost Artists Chicago Long Exotic One Night ONLY Jun, 2017 Lost Artists Chicago The Lost ArtistsLivelive the Hype} May, 2017 Lost Artists Chicago the lost artist show. hey yeah spring tonic Apr, 2017 Lost Artists Colony. Chicago. Special Wall installation, March for Science. Chicago documentation. Lost Artists Colony Chicago. Fall Back Sept 2017.
Jackson Junge Gallery Chicago. Juried. OPPOSITIONS Mar, 2017
Joliet’s Gallery Seven
Gallery 7 CSA group show
ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation Chicago
Persistence of Vision Scene unseen-- Dual Exhibit Nancy Bechtol and David Bechtol major showcase of works. March 1-March 25, 2017
Seeing Red
ARC Gallery. Chicago. Seeing Red Feature showing Womens March Chicago DVD and online of 425 images . installation
Gallery 7. Joliet, Il. March 2-31 Chicago Society of Artists Members Exhibit
2016
August House Studio. Chicago.
“REAL SURREAL” A two person show of Photography and Photo-related works by Nancy Bechtol David Bechtol. The gallery will be divided in half. The photo-manipulated experimental works of Nancy Bechtol on the “SURREAL” side and David Bechtol’s majestic art photography on the “REAL” side. Both individually have over 40 years of work history in the media. Ceiling video projection for the opening. Opening Reception, October 7, 2016. 6-9 2016. Exhibit runs Oct 7th -Oct 28th. Curated by Marya Veeck.
Koehnline Museum of Art. “Beyond Rosie the Riveter Women and Work”
Sept 29 – Oct 21 Oakton Community College. IL An International Juried Exhibition of Art by Women. Presented by Womens Gender Studies, WGS coordinator. Kathleen Carot. Rosie the Riveter represented the contributions of the millions of women who worked in America’s factories, offices and shipyards during WWII. This Exhibition honors that spirit by celebrating women at work..and those who have managed to break through the glass ceilings to lead the boardrooms, political arenas ans other avenues of power and decision making. Work included “Singularity”
ARC Gallery Educational Foundation. Member Show. Oct. 2016
Tech Month. Chicago. Citywide Event. June.
Featured at Lost Artists Colony. Altered Images..
Gallery 7. Joliet, Il. LightRide Series, Trio featured. Chicago Society of Artists. Member Show.

CAN TV. Channel 21 Cablecast. “Free Speech the Transcendent Journey of Chris Drew, Street Artist” indie documentary film by Nancy Bechtol.
SWAN Day Events. Via International WomenArts.org, San Francisco based.

Lost Artists Colony. Guest Artist. Monthly event showcasing new works and series fine art and photojournalism.
IN PLAIN SIGHT, A remarkable exhibit of 25 contemporary photographers
Nov13- 2015 Jan 10.2016 August House Studio. Curator Marya Veeck. Chicago.

2015
Koehnline Museum of Art. IL Feminism Across the Generations
October 1 – 23 juried. features work from 70 international artists, that explores ways feminists can reach across divisions of time and place to learn from one another in order to grow the movement. This provocative exhibit examines—and celebrates—feminism’s past, present, and future. Presented by Womens Gender Studies at Oakton. Curated by Nick Harpaz.

WAAND. The Women Artists Archives National Directory WAAND. Listed in the Archives. comprehensive survey of U.S. archival collections holding primary source documents of and about women visual artists active in the U.S.

Old Town Triangle Art Center CSA Chicago Society of Artists CHICAGO PRINTS Portfolio Show
10-112015

ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation Urban Threads - ARC Members Show Oct, 2015

4Art Inc Gallery at Zhou B Arts Center. Chicago. April, May, June 2015. Monthly exhibition of art, rotated, from “Digital Mindset Series”

Illinois State Museum-Chicago Gallery. Special Event. Ill. Women Film and Video Screening. and Swan Day Event. 32715. Chief Thundercloud as told by Hilda Williams and Friends. 2230.

Lost Artists Colony. Guest Artist- PhotographicArt exhibitions and installations. Guest artist Monthly since Sept 2012 – current

Gallery 350. Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago Mart Plaza. Chicago. 9 Faculty Group Show including Nancy Bechtol showing Light Ride Series-Trio March - May 2015

2014
Logan Theatre. Chicago. Premiere of indie documentary, Free Speech the Transcendent Journey of Chris Drew, Street Artist. 99 min with featured soundtrack by Behind the Sun- Hey Now Records. Exec. Producer Technical Supervisor, David Bechtol.

The Lost Artists Colony. Chicago Guest Artist 2012 - current.

NYC SeeMe group showing projection pursuit of creative NYC Times Square July 24, 2014 5 works projected in Times Square on buildings.

Columbia College-Journalism Dept. Chicago.- Pre-Screening of indie feature documentary film Free Speech the Transcendent Journey of Chris Drew, Street Artist 99 min hosted by Dr. Barbara Iverson. April.

Trickster Gallery .Native American owned and operated Schaumberg, Il. hosted by Exec Dir, Joe Podlasek. Preview of indie feature documentary film Free Speech the Transcendent Journey of Chris Drew, Street Artist 99 min

ARC Gallery Educational Foundation. Chicago. Benefit Preview screening of indie feature documentary film Free Speech the Transcendent Journey of Chris Drew, Street Artist 99 min
for ARC, nonprofit, womens run cooperative, all proceeds to gallery. June. Chicago.

2013
ARC Gallery Chicago. ARC Celebrating 40th Anniversary Members Show. Included in the Members bookcatalogue.

A Day in Avondale. ADIA. Featured at the Square Bar on Belmont. Chicago. Selections from unreal landscapes and the lightrides including video art short films. My art showing with David Bechtol Canadian Rocky Series. September 2013

Gallery 180. Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. Faculty Show Nov 2013 -Jan 2014 Four Circles of PowWow DVD 8 min video shown on 27 iMac monitor. Originally produced for the American Indian Center of Chicago as an exhibition companion work. video additionally, has a history of screenings 2006-2013 in various locations with the Illinois State Museum Locations, including Chicago and Springfield and other locations.

Gallery 350. Merchandise Mart. Chicago. Faculty Group Show including Nancy Bechtol presenting, APA photojournalist image Al Gore and the Climate Reality Leadership Conf-Chicago. Sept-Jan 2014

Columbia College. Chicago. Journalism Dept. Presentation of work in progress to students and discussion - feature documentary film, Free Speech the Transcendent Journey of Chris Drew, Street Artist

2012
Variable Spaces. Wicker Park. I CAN DO THAT. interactive art-making, rule-breaking. art show curated by Jenny Lam. 40 international and regional artists at alternative space in Chicago.

ARC Gallery.Exhibit by the Langolier Photo Collective Nancy Bechtol, Hermann Wieland, Ron Grenko, David Bechtol. Bensenville, IL O’Hare Airport Expansion Project.
ARC Gallery. Member’s Show. 1012 TAG 003 Virtual Gallery in Collaboration with David Bechtol.

ARC Gallery. ReInvention. Chicago. Selection of Occupy Chicago textimages.

Outsider Art Fair. NYC. Packer Schopf Gallery. Chicago. Video of The Lee Groban Experience, CA NTV SHOW shown in tribute and in the art fair booth.

Gallery 350. The Illinois Institute of Art. Mart Plaza. Portraits- Digital Photography Student and Faculty Exhibition. faculty

2011
American Indian Center, 50 years of PowWow. Exhibition - Production and Postproduction of DVD video Four Circles of PowWow- Shown as an adjunct to the major show by The American Indian Center with the Illinois State Museum. In the educational collection of The Smithsonian Native American ...

Artist Publications



Chicago based artist Nancy Bechtol uses landscapes to encourage her viewers to go beyond the surface of the painting to the hidden truth. In her photography, Bechtol is concerned with using the medium as a “journey”. Her landscapes serve as metaphors for the transformative experiences in our lives. In each of her works, Bechtol has cultivated an emotional connection that communicates outside the visual and real space that it represents.
-Robert Berry, Curator
"Eyes of the World" 2010
"From the Dust"
Icosahedron Gallery
NYC

ART DIGITAL MAGAZINE by Max Eternity. Interviewed 9.26.09
"Nancy Bechtol-Chaotic Zen"
Nancy Bechtol is an internationally exhibited, multi-media artist who creates stream-of-consciousness themed electronic paintings, video, installations and photography. A self-avowed urbanite, Bechtol employs her art as a tool for transcending the discord of disillusionment often found in the metropolitan landscape; providing inspirational revelations through creative imagery–offering opportunities for evolutionary change. for full interview and pics:
http://admag.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/nancy-betchol-chaotic-zen/

HAPPY FACES CHICAGO
http://happyfaceschicago.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-installation-no-6-ossia-fine-arts.html

HAPPY FACES CHICAGO IS ABOUT ART, ARTISTS, AND CULTURE IN CHICAGO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
Blog Installation No. 6: Ossia Fine Arts Gallery
This blog installation is part of Chicago Connection: The 5 Artists Project, showing through November 1, 2008, at Ossia Fine Arts Space in the Fine Arts Building. For the duration of the show, anyone coming into the gallery on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. will be part of the blog.

Nancy Bechtol, artist and videographer/photographer, stopped by the gallery. She commented, "The pieces show natural formations but you also get the sense of the urban. They are contained within boundaries, like a grid, but there is an expansiveness to them. You are brought into the pieces and they contain their own universe. You see an intensity of craftsmanship and beauty of an intricate nature."

A Chicago artist whose work spans several media and styles over a 25-year period, Nancy is currently getting ready for her upcoming ARC gallery member show (Does It Matter?), which will feature her Light Ride Series of digital photography. For this series, while her husband drove on the expressways and through small towns in Illinois, she sat next to him and "drew with her camera" to capture spontaneous impressions of direct and reflected light from objects around her in the early morning hours. She has also been working continuously since 1999 on another series entitled Freaks: Viruses, Trojans and Other Variants, which includes photographs of people with disjointed features to show them as symbolic viruses (like computer viruses with personalities).

Earlier in her career, she studied painting with Don Baum, artist and curator, and was influenced by the Hairy Who, the early Chicago Imagists. Earning an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she was inspired by pioneering video artist Phil Morton, founder of the Video Area.

Nancy Bechtol. Graphic Woman Walks. 2007. From the UnReal Landscape Series. Digital photo manipulations. Printed on archival paper.
"My art is really a mixed bag. I adapt for my audience, and whatever works for the concept is what I have used or invented. Currently I work in digital photography and video, both experimental and documentary style. As an artist I often reinvent myself."

Her recent exhibitions include: 50 Years of PowWow, American Indian Center, production and postproduction of DVD/video Four Circles of PowWow included in the traveling show presented by the Field Museum of Chicago; Goosetopia, Bartlett Nature Center, James (Pate) Philip State Park, remounted DVD site-specific 3-channel video in collaboration with David Bechtol; Art Vibes, Chicago Access Network TV, 8-part series about peace marches with original content; The Promised Land, Athenaeum Theatre, Chicago, video of fashion show/live event with Fluxcore.


Nancy Bechtol. Moon Rabbit. 2008. From the UnReal Landscape Series. Digital photo manipulations. Printed on archival paper.

For more information on Nancy and her art, go to http://www.absolutearts.com/nancybechtol.
POSTED BY AMY A. RUDBERG

Art Digital Magazine by Max Eternity. Interviewed 9.26.09
"Nancy Bechtol-Chaotic Zen"
HAPPY FACES CHICAGO IS ABOUT ART, ARTISTS, AND CULTURE IN CHICAGO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2008 Interviewed by Amy Rudberg
Blog Installation No. 6: Ossia Fine Arts Gallery
Chicago Reader. April 24, 2008 featured my digital photo/collage “reasonably disturbed” image in print and online
Chicago Reader > Galleries and Museums
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/art/080424/
Chicago Reader. Critics Corner. Art Vibes. 11/18/05
WZRD Radio. 88.3 FM. Interview for Art Vibes on CAN TV 11/05
WZRD Radio. 88.3 FM. Artist interview with Wizard 1/05.
Illinois Art Gallery. Thompson Center. Chgo.
Dialogue Magazine. Featured Artist. 2001.
New City. Chicago. 01/01 Reviewed by critic Michael Weinstein.
The Chicago Reader. 3 photos printed, and listed in several papers.
MAC 21. Mirabella Spain. Exhibition Catalogue

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Artist Collections



The Art Institute of Chicago - ARC Gallery Collection.Ryerson Library.
Illinois State Museum. Springfield. IL
Chicago Artists Archives. Harold Washington Library. Chicago
ESS.Experimental Sound Studio Archives. Chicago
Flaxman Library Special Collections Joan Flasch Artists Book Collection The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Tweed Museum, Minnesota. USA.
Sverges Television. Stockholm. Sweden
Video and New Media-archives. School of the Art Institute of Chicago
James McNeil Mesple,The Muse Room,Private Collection.Chicago
John Jenkins, Private Collection. Chicago
The Illinois Institute of Art-ChicagoCorporate Collection
Sharon Okee-Chee Skolnick, Chicago. Private Collection.
Carlos Munoz, Chicago. Private Collection.

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