Dittmar Gallery exhibits ‘Dog Days’

A midwinter exhibit will immerse viewers in the heat of a Southwest summer when the Dittmar Gallery presents "Dog Days," a multimedia series by artist Yve Holtzclaw. The show will be on view following winter break from Jan. 5 to Feb. 11.

Inspired by a three-month summer road trip to explore abandoned architecture in the Southwest, Holtzclaw’s paintings, tapestries and sculptures feature wildfires, pit bulls and ghost-towns, juxtaposing actual events of the trip with omens associated with extreme heat, such as drought, fever, mad dogs and bad luck.

“I am interested in questioning the relationship between power and responsibility, and the potential personal, social and ecological havoc from the mismanagement of that power,” Holtzclaw said.

Holtzclaw is an artist and educator based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Colorful, bright and loosely autobiographical, their work looks at the byproducts of capitalism, colonialism and expansion. They received their bachelor’s in fine arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2020.

An opening reception with the artist will take place Jan. 5, 2024, from 6 to 8 p.m. Dittmar Gallery is located on the second floor of Norris University Center,1999 Campus Drive, on the Evanston campus.

Dittmar Gallery admission is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Mondays through Sundays, except when a new exhibition is being mounted.

For more information, visit the Dittmar website, call the Dittmar Gallery at 847-491-2348 or email dittmargallery@northwestern.edu.

Elisa Juang is a work study student in the Office of Marketing and Communications.