OPAL’s Annual Figure and Portrait exhibition is juried this year! For decades OPAL has recognized the importance of figure study to artists of all skill levels and media and is proud to continue offering affordable live model life drawing sessions in the studio.
This juried national call seeks to showcase a diverse spectrum of work based on the human form yet pushing the boundaries of how we depict ourselves and the bodies we inhabit. All media welcome, no AI generated art. Submit through Submittable.
Jurors: Artist Susan Hall & William Ewers, Executive Director of Palette & Chisel
SUSAN HALL was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has been a Chicago-area resident since 1993. Her paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States, including shows in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City and Seattle. Her honors include an Illinois Arts Council Grant, a Georgia Council for the Arts grant, a Community Arts Assistance Program grant (Chicago) and a Best in Show award at the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society’s Animal Images exhibition juried by the late Ed Paschke. Hall received an MFA from the University of Georgia and a BA from Connecticut College.
WILLIAM J. EWERS is the Executive Director of Palette & Chisel. Over the past 130 years, artists of all kinds have used the Palette & Chisel as a place to gather and create. From geniuses of realism and founders of art nouveau, to dedicated amateurs and students, the Palette & Chisel has been, and continues to be, a home to all. Both past and current Palette & Chisel members include revered Illustrators, portrait painters, watercolorists, and sculptors, to name only a few.
● All work must have been completed within the past 3 years and not previously exhibited at OPAL.
● Deliver artwork to the Gallery on the drop-off dates below. All media/mediums accepted except for AI generated work.
● ARTWORK IS LIMITED IN SIZE TO (42”) IN THE LARGEST DIMENSION, including frame.
● Sculptural work can be up to 24” high if it is freestanding but must be no more than 24” wide in the round.
● All work MUST be ready to hang, with hanging wire.
Important Dates
Call open for submissions: Dec 15, 2024
Submission Deadline: February 16, 2025
Notifications: February 26, 2025
Drop off work: Mar 8 & 9
Exhibition dates: Mar 14 – April 6
Please note ~ Opening reception:
Saturday, March 15, 1pm – 4pm
Pick up work: April 5 & 6
Deadline: 02.15.2025