October 2008

For Chicago Artists’ Month, “Artists and Issues That Matter” Nancy Plotkin
and Margaret Lanterman are presenting portraits of Chicago workers.

Lanterman’s sculptures and Plotkin’s paintings take an intimate look
at people who make their living by working with their hands. Taking
this concept further, the artists explore how the work of one’s hands
defines one’s identity. They have selected subjects whose work might
range from boxing to baking, from firefighting to tailoring. These
real-life models are represented by two pieces of art, a painting of
the head and a sculpture of the hands. “I’m always trying to reach
through and touch the character inside” says Plotkin. “I go for the
soul”. Similarly, Lanterman sees the subject’s hands as shaped by
work that become, in her words, “a map of one’s experience, a gate to
the landscape of a person’s life.”

Both artists have a history in the founding years of Artemisia
Gallery and have exhibited widely, both in the U.S. and internationally.
Plotkin has taught for the Museum of Contemporary Art and Governors
State University . Lanterman has been teaching at DePaul University
for over twenty years.