Life Force Arts Center Gallery

Life Force Arts Center gallery has presented fifteen juried art exhibits since we opened in 2008, featuring the work of over 100 artists.

Our exhibits are based on themes related to the connection of art and spirituality, and run from 2 - 4 months each.

The exhibits feature beautiful and energetically powerful artwork of all styles and media. The artwork creates a sacred space for performances, spiritual rituals and other events that are held in conjunction with the theme of the show.

Please click on the links below for videos and other information on the exhibits.

Visit LFAC's Facebook page for photos of the exhibits.

Spirit Guides
art exhibit ~ performances ~ events

January 25 - April 4, 2013

Life Force Arts Center

1609 W Belmont, Chicago

image: Dream Eagle

(c) Sierra Golden Eagle Undine

Open the path between the worlds and meet your helping spirits from the Otherside at Spirit Guides, an art exhibit featuring workshops, performances and other events running January 25 - April 4, 2013 at Life Force Arts Center, 1609 W Belmont, Chicago IL 60657. Opening Reception is Friday, January 25, 2013 from 6 - 10 PM. Closing Reception is Thursday, April 4, 2013 from 7 - 9 PM. Gallery hours are Mondays and Thursdays 1:30 - 6:30 PM, and by appointment. Admission is free to the exhibit and Opening and Closing Receptions. Workshops, performances and other events related to the theme of spirit guides will also be held as part of the show. For more information, please contact Joan Forest Mage, Executive Director, (773) 327-7224, joan@LifeForceArts.o rg.

image: Woman of Atlantis (c) Vivian Gutierrez

Spirit Guides are helpful beings of the non-physical plane who aid, advise and heal us. They give us wisdom and protection, especially when we journey inward. Spirit Guides can appear in the form of animals, humans, crystals, plants, angels, ancestors, gods, goddesses, faeries and other spiritual beings. They come to teach people important lessons in life. We communicate with our Spirit Guides through meditation, visions, dreams, signs, omens, art and other ways we perceive the invisible realm. LFAC's Spirit Guides show especially focuses on art that helps viewers understand the concept of spirit guides, reach beyond mundane reality, and meet the viewer's own allies on the Otherside. The guides are there to help us if we just open the path between the worlds.

Click here to see all the artwork from Spirit Guides on LFAC's Facebook page

Artists featured in Spirit Guides:

Special Events

1/26 - Spirit Guided, Free-Flow painting in the Now with Pat Heydlauff

2/5 - Merging with Animal Spirit: Guides of the Chakras with Amy Christensen

2/13 - The Gift of the Gatekeeper with Rev. Susan Sinclair

2/16 - Art Meditation: Spirit Guides exhibit with Joan Forest Mage

2/23 - Rock Art: Ancient Spirit Guides of the American West with Dorothy Graden

3/2 - Lessons from Sedna: Exploring Women's Woundedness, Reclaiming

Personal Power & Planetary Healing Through Myth, Ritual &

Embodied Art with Anna Applegate, M.A.

3/10 - Spirit Guides Concert with Cathy McManamon

3/13 - Moved by the Spirit! Artwork for Spiritual Insight with Rev. Susan Sinclair

3/16 - Spirit Dolls: The Magic & Mystery with Szmeralda Shanel

The mission of Life Force Arts Foundation (LFA) is to advance the field of spiritual art through artistically excellent exhibits, events and publications that explore the connection of art and spirituality. We define spiritual art as visual, literary or performing art that flows from spiritual practice, strives to connect the audience with Spirit, and creates spiritual awakening, healing, or evolution. We focus on the arts as a common ground of human expression, where artists and audiences of diverse spiritual traditions can honor each other, and share their personal and collective experiences of the spiritual aspect of life. LFA's goals are to develop spiritual artists, the spiritual arts audience, and the spiritual arts community. The Foundation operates Life Force Arts Center (LFAC), Chicago's spiritual art gallery and performance space, which presents visual art exhibits, dance, theater and music performances, author book signings and workshops with artists who are experts in spiritual artmaking.

image: Female Buddhist Monk (c) Bev De Meyer

Ancestors

art exhibit ~ performances ~ events

Sarcophagus for My Mother (c) Marilyn Zimmerwoman

Exhibit runs Sept 21, 2012 - Jan 8, 2013 Mitochondrial Mother (c) Sujata Tibrewala

Free admission to exhibit & Opening & Closing Receptions

Gallery hours:
Mon & Thurs 1:30 - 6:30 pm & by appointment

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 773-327-7224

Honor and commune with the ancestors and explore the many meanings of heritage, lineage and identity at Ancestors, an art exhibit running September 21, 2012 - January 8, 2013 at Life Force Arts Center gallery, 1609 W Belmont, Chicago IL 60657. Opening Reception is Friday, September 21, 2012 from 6 - 10 PM. Closing Ceremony is Tuesday, January 8, 2013 from 7 - 9 PM. Workshops, performances and other events related to the theme of ancestors will also be held as part of the show.

Stace (c) Donita Simpson

The exhibit celebrates ancestry of various kinds: biological, spiritual, geographical, cultural, ethnic. Contemplating one's ancestors is about belonging, acknowledging or discovering who you are and how you express yourself, and understanding the primal instincts of your beginnings.

Cultural expressions including art, music, architecture and fashion are connected to ancestors and their creativity over the generations. There is also the aboriginal concept that all of nature is "the ancestors".

However diluted our conscious knowledge or awareness of them may be, ancestors influence us.

Nautilus (c) Fred Casselman

Artists featured in the exhibit are:

LFAC presents themed shows throughout the year, that include an art exhibit plus events such as workshops, performances, lectures and poetry readings. Some of the upcoming events for Ancestors include:

10/3 - "House by the Side of the Road" movie with Susan Abbott Gidel & Jan Abbott Landow
10/20 – Parting of the Veil – Shamanic Kirtan with Ananda Lila
10/23 - Sacred Cauldron, Holy Grail with Kiel Milner
10/27 - Ghostly Voices: Ancestors on the Other Side with storyteller Mark Kater
11/3 - Renaissance & Folk music with Courtly Consorte
11/4 - Faces of the Dark Goddess: mask making with Szmeralda Shanel
11/10 - Family Constellations Soul Work with Danuta Jirik
11/15 - Libation: Painting as an offering to the Ancestors with Sujata Tibrewala
12/1 - Remembering Artists on WORLD AIDS DAY
12/12 - "Ancestors": performance with Katherine Chronis

Animal Wisdom, Animal Soul:
Lessons of the Wild Things

Art exhibit runs

June 28 - September 9, 2012

Free admission to exhibit & Opening & Closing Reception

Gallery hours:
Mondays & Thursdays 1:30 - 6:30 pm
and by appointment

Life Force Arts Center
1609 W Belmont, Chicago
773-327-7224 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Image: Cheetah (c) Sharon Bechtold

Connect with the spirit of our furred, finned and feathered friends through Animal Wisdom, Animal Soul: Lessons of the Wild Things, an art exhibit running June 28 - September 9, 2012 at Life Force Arts Center gallery, 1609 W Belmont, Chicago IL 60657. Opening Reception is Thursday, June 28, 2012 from 6:30 - 10 PM. Closing Reception is Sunday, September 9, 2012 from 3 - 7 PM. Workshops, performances and other events related to the theme of animals will also be held as part of the show.

Since ancient times, humans have identified with the qualities and energies of animals. Myths and legends of all cultures abound with humans learning from and being aided by animals. From animals, humans can learn how to use intuition and body awareness; thrive in one’s immediate environment; survive and protect oneself through assertiveness or hiding; and nurture our young. Animals are masters of dealing with the elements, weather and navigation, and work in harmony with minerals and plants to balance the ecosystem. With their funny antics and unconditional love, animals are natural healers of humans.

This is the third and final of a trilogy of art exhibits that Life Force Arts Center is presenting which explore the theme of "animal-vegetable-mineral": humans' relationship with their fellow Earth dwellers, and the evolution of life on our planet (click on each for more info).

Animal Wisdom, Animal Soul: Lessons of the Wild Things explores:

the essence and soul of the animal(s)
the wisdom and intelligence of the animal(s)
the gifts of each animal: dog/loyalty; owl/wisdom; lion/courage, etc.
the parallels of body structure and movement of animals and humans, including yoga, Tai Chi, and other forms that have animal movements
what animals teach us (Aesop's fables)

Artists featured in the exhibit are:

Spirit of the Lion (c) Elisa Rose Mountain

More information

Universal Love: Embracing The Divine In All
Art Exhibit September 24, 2012 - March 18, 2011

What does a Christian nun from 12th century Germany have to do with an international organization of Goddess devotees? More than you might think. Life Force Arts Center, Chicago's space for spiritually based visual, literary, and performing art, presents an art exhibit and multi arts festival connecting these seemingly contradictory themes. "Universal Love: Embracing The Divine In All" features the work of fifteen visual artists in various media, including painting, sculpture, jewelry, and mixed media exploring the themes of unconditional love, the unity of all things, transforming separateness into universality and love for all people and beings.

"Universal Love" will be held from September 24, 2010 - January 2, 2011 at Life Force Arts Center gallery, located at 3148 N Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, with an opening reception on Friday, September 24 from 6 - 10 PM. Admission is free and gallery hours are 12 - 6 PM Monday - Friday and by appointment. The exhibit will encompass the Hildegard von Bingen Festival of music, dance and poetry, Peggy Rubin's Sacred Theater workshop, The Fellowship of Isis Goddess Festival, 5Rhythm's Movement Practice workshop "The Heart Is A Compass" and other events, for a season-long exploration of the themes of divine love and unity.

Life Force Arts Center, 3148 N Lincoln, Chicago, is Chicago’s space for spiritually based visual, literary, and performing art. The Center presents dance, theater, music, performance art, authors, and visual artists of all faiths and spiritual traditions. Life Force Arts Center defines spiritual art as art that flows from spiritual practice, art that strives to connect the audience with Spirit, and/or creates spiritual healing, transformation, or awakening.

LFAC's Executive Director, Joan Forest Mage, explains, "We looked for a theme for our fall exhibit that would harmonize with the performance events we planned for the season. We have a festival planned for October 15 -16 inspired by the work of Hildegard von Bingen, a nun, mystic, composer, healer and herbalist living in 12th century Germany. She composed exquisite poetry and music about her deep relationship with the Divine and humanity's connection to nature.

"We are also hosting the Fellowship of Isis Goddess Festival on October 2. The Fellowship is an international organization dedicated to the Divine Feminine. Fellowship co-founder Lady Olivia Robertson, who will be joining us at the Festival, has created a liturgy about cultivating love for all beings, rather than the limiting concept of love as being about exclusive relationships or partnerships. We chose the theme Universal Love for the art exhibit because it's the theme behind both Hildegard's and Olivia's work."

Oogenesis by Joan Marie Artist Linmayu Appavu knows this concept intimately. "Recently, through a long period of solitude between relationships, I really experienced what it meant to be 'married to God,' like a nun. I started training with Dahn Yoga and learned the concept of universal love — they call it 'chun ji ki un,' or pure cosmic energy. I learned that Hildegard von Bingen said all the same things they are teaching in Dahn — 900 years ago on the other side of the world. The concept that humans and nature are all interconnected via Divine energy. Hildegard fought hard to have that concept accepted by the authorities at the time. So it can be a struggle to express in society that connection, that universal energy. That's what all my work — the paintings and the dance — strives to express."

Artist Steve Adams, who is creating a sculpture for "Universal Love," says, "With all the war and violence in the world now, I see embracing all religions and ethnic groups as the primary task for humanity at this time. We need to come together — to begin living from the perspective of universal love, instead of loving only specific people and things. Universal Love also means to look for the good in all situations, instead of focusing on the negative things. Everybody needs more love — and the best way to find it is to love yourself first. I have done tarot readings for over 30 years, and the most common thing people ask me about is how they can find a loving relationship. They have it backwards. When you embrace universal love first, then you can easily find personal love by sharing your life with someone else."

Artist Joyce Huntington, with two paintings in the exhibit, says, "Years ago, while meditating in my living room, I opened my eyes and looked out to the street where a friend was standing in the yard. I saw that person connected to a nearby tree with infinitesimal lines of light, and those same lines connected to a bird in the sky and to a child playing down the block, and to the sun and back to me sitting in my living room. Nothing is unconnected. I was able to sense the whole. I have tried to paint in this light, to include this sense of connection in my work ever since."

Steven Blaine Adams

Rose Quartz, Amethyst, Crystal, and Antique Iron Skeleton Keys, 8" dia x 30" h, $700

Yeohyun Ahn

Digital print on canvas, 46.8" x 33.1", $500

Gina Alicea

Acrylic on Canvas, 22" x 28", $1000

Linmayu Appavu

Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16", NFS, commissions available
Acrylic on Canvas, 18" x 24", commissions available

Sharon Bechtold

Woodburning and mixed media, 8" x 36", $150
Woodburning and mixed media, 8" x 36", $150
Woodburning and mixed media, 8" x 36", $150
Woodburning and mixed media, 8" x 36", $150
Woodburning and mixed media, 8" x 36", $150
Fine art woodburning, 10" x 81"

Judy Demchuk

Textile Paint on Silk, Wood, Semiprecious Stones, 59" x 33", $720
"I Love You From Around The World" (2010) by Judy Demchuk|Individual Scarves: Textile Paint on Silk, $60-$70