Exhibition: “Almost Sacred” by Nancy Wisti Grayson

Information

• Carlson Tower Gallery: The Carlson Tower Gallery is free and open to the public Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. – 9p.m.
• Reception and Artist Talk: September 1, 2026 at 4:30 p.m.
• Parking: Free parking is available in the lot on  Foster and Kedzie.
• Contact: smat@northpark.edu or 773-244-5630

About the Exhibition: “Almost Sacred”

For the past several years, I’ve been an artist in residence at Arte Studio Ginestrelle in Assisi, Italy. During this time, I visited churches and art historical sites where I borrowed details from paintings, frescoes, and sculptures. While I often photograph what I’ve seen to help remember, I rarely refer to the photos while making the pieces. The pieces become impressions of memory that may or may not resemble the original source. By removing the images from their original contexts and selecting a detail to pay attention to, the pieces are conglomerations of memories,
observations, and personal histories. They function less as representations of specific artworks than as relics of memory.

Recycled polystyrene, grout, wood, paper, markers, and thread are used in the pieces. In the works on paper, drawn, painted, or printed imagery is layered within translucent sheets of vellum, making the images feel remembered rather than depicted. Stitching serves both a practical purpose and as an extension of the drawn line, suggesting history, ritual, repetition, and imperfection. The styrofoam and wood pieces resemble architectural or fresco fragments, while the materials themselves keep them from becoming traditionally precious. Many of the source images originated in churches as objects of worship. Removed from that setting and reimagined through memory, they become less about religion than about the power of images themselves. Almost Sacred reflects this shift in meaning, considering how images can retain a sense of reverence even after their original purpose has changed. What remains is a devotion to looking rather than religious beliefs.

About the Artist: Nancy Wisti Grayson

Currently based in Chicago, Wisti Grasyon received her BFA and MA in painting from Wayned State University in Detroit.

Selected recent exhibits include:

• White Column’s Artist Registry listing, NYC
• Solo exhibition: “Mementos: Paths That Cross” at Materal Exhibitions in Chicago (essay by Jefferson Godard)
• Assisi International Art Exhibition, Galleria Le Logge, Assisi, Italy
• ART IN PLACE: Self Isolation: an on-line exhibit at Standard Space, Sharon, CT;
• “Gold” at Aspect/Ratio Gallery, Chicago
• Open Boundaries, Loosen Arts Books, Rome, Italy
• Solo Exhibition and Publication Fellow at Peripheral Vision Arts (Critical Essay: “Material Memory: Postmodern Nostalgia in the Works of Nancy Wisti Grayson” by Crystal Rosenthal).

She was an artist in residence at Palazzo Rinaldi, Noepoli (Basilicata), Italy in 2008 and Arte Studio Ginestrelle, Assisi, Italy in November of 2022 and March of 2024, 2025, and 2026.