Last Thursday afternoon marked the grand opening of the Indiana Women’s Caucus for Art’s (IWCA) gallery titled “Collective Impressions” in Saint Mary’s Moreau and Hammes Galleries. Of the various woman artists represented in the gallery, Berkeley Hutsebout, Kari Stieglitz Black and Teresa Greve Wolf presented their artwork and participated in a discussion panel in the Vander Vennet Theater.
“The WCA is a national member organization, unique in its multi-disciplinary, multicultural membership of artists, art historians, students, educators and museum professionals,” long-time member Helen Geglio said when introducing the panelists. “The mission of the Women’s Caucus for Art is to keep [and] create community through art, education and social activism.”
According to Geglio, the local chapter of the IWCA was founded in South Bend in 1978 and for over 40 years, members of the organization have worked towards creating opportunities and recognition for women in the art atmosphere.
As part of their mission, the organization offers “leadership opportunities and professional development, expanding networking and exhibition opportunities for women, supporting local, national and global art activism and advocating for equity in the arts for all,” Geglio said.
Hutsebout, the vice president of the local chapter, presented her artwork first. As a disciplinary artist, she received her bachelors of fine arts in craft with a concentration in drawing and painting from the Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2015. She has also studied psychology and photography at Santa Monica College and apprenticed at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles before moving to South Bend. In addition to her work included in the “Collective Impressions” exhibition, she has also showcased work at the now-defunct Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture in 2018 and the Hammes Gallery in 2021.
Hutsebout spoke extensively about her inspirations for her artwork, from studying artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Hilma af Klint to living with the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers for two weeks in the Amazon rainforest. Much of her current work focuses on braids and abstractionism that comment on the material and spiritual worlds.
“Though I’m not ashamed to reveal that I’ve experienced [spiritual connections], it is a very esoteric idea and feeling and I understand it could be difficult to accept as even a possibility,” Hutsebout said, describing one of her most recent pieces “Self-Guided.”
“It's been tricky to portray such an ineffable discovery but making art that is specific and personal is a vulnerable act that I admire in other creators. So I'll continue to make and allow what comes up to come up," she said.
The second artist to present, Stieglitz Black, earned two bachelor’s degrees from Ball State University and Indiana University South Bend and is currently working on her master’s degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She serves on the board of directors for The Friends of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art and the South Bend Museum of Art in addition to acting as president of the Northern Indiana Artists. She is also an adjunct professor at Bethel University and an instructor at the South Bend Museum of Art.
As a ceramist and painter, Stieglitz Black combines her passion for both astrophysics and art to advocate for altruism and environmentalism. During her presentation, she highlighted pieces from her master’s exhibition and thesis, which focuses on people’s affinity for the cosmos and desire for global justice.
“I ask you to think about the state of the world today, how many wars and conflicts rage around the globe. Neighbors, families, churches, political parties, let alone countries, cannot get along,” Stieglitz Black said. “But changing our minds about contacting any possible alien intelligence is no longer an option. All of our radio and TV broadcasts, as well as mobile phone and satellite communications, all continue to travel out into space. If there is someone else out there, we will eventually be found.”
The final panelist, Greve Wolf, discussed how she uses her artwork to represent her cultural heritage as a Chilean American artist. She first studied at the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Chile before moving to South Bend and continuing her studies at the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University South Bend. Greve Wolf’s work has been featured across the country, most prominently at Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s, the Civil Rights Heritage Center, the Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago and the Museo de las Americas in Denver.
Throughout her career, Greve Wolf found a passion for painting social justice issues and inspiring action through art. It was sparked, she cites, by Augusto Pinochet’s military coup in 1973 in Chile and the subsequent violence under Pinochet’s rule. Since then, her work has also acted as commentary on the Iran and Iraq wars, the Black Lives Matter movement, climate change, gun violence in the United States and the Russo-Ukrainian war.
“This collection not only showcases my evolution as an artist but also reflects my commitment to addressing the pressing issues of our time through my art,” Greve Wolf said. “I hope to leave you with this question, ‘What change do we reflect?’"
