“Creatures” at the Austin-Irving Library

19 Jan “Creatures” at the Austin-Irving Library

Photo by Carma Lynn Park

Sharon Gissy is a visual artist and children’s librarian. Her exhibit of “Creatures” oil paintings January-March 2017 is the result of the efforts of the Chicago Public Library’s Divers ability committee.

Gissy says, “I have always painted creatures, either from life or lately, from mythology. For many of us, mythical creatures represent a world first glimpsed in childhood that can be simultaneously fascinating and frightening. In my mythical creatures, I’ve tried to capture what is actually human, animal-like, or relatable about them, so that we can see a little of our world reflected through the fantasy. Creatures cannot help the way they are made, and a gorgon must get lonely turning everyone they stare at to stone. My hope is the spectator can empathize with creatures they may once have thought of as only monsters or curiosities and begin to imagine what they must live like.”

Diagnosed with bipolar disorder in late 2015, Gissy uses art as therapy to cope with depression and as a mode of expression.

Austin-Irving Library, 2nd floor gallery
6100 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago
312.744.6222
http://www.chipublib.org/locations/7/

Photo by Carma Lynn Park