Meet artists on a campus art walk this March

By Jeff Stevenson, Guest Writer; Edited by Sarah Shoaf, Staff Writer

Experience the gallery through the eyes of the artists. Governors State University's (GovState) upcoming art walk invites the public to explore new exhibits alongside the visionary minds who created them.

“It is important for our students to meet and experience professional artists who are producing excellent artwork and have a depth of knowledge about the field,” said Jeff Stevenson, Director and Curator of the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park (theNate) and Visual Arts Gallery at GovState.

Though, he adds that the art walk is open to all, not just students.

“The art walk is a very casual and visitor friendly way to see the art, meet the artists, and enjoy conversations about all sorts of things,” said Stevenson about the upcoming event. 

The Campus Art Walk with Artists’ Talk runs from 3 – 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4. Beginning in the Visual Arts Gallery, the walk stops at three different exhibits followed by a reception from 5 – 7:30 p.m. 

Poetry and memory inspire Gwen Yen Chiu

Expanding on her sculpture, “The Moon, My Shadow, and I,” that can be found beyond the lake in theNate sculpture park, Gwen Yen Chiu brings her exhibit “Northerly Winds,” which will be on display March 2 – April 3, 2026, in the Visual Arts Gallery.

With poetry and memory as inspiration, Yen Chiu’s work transforms line into form where past and present come together through layers of nostalgia, solitude, and historical reflection.

A Chicago-based Taiwanese American artist, Yen Chiu explores ideas of home, belonging, and identity within the Asian diaspora throughout her work. Drawing upon her early training in Chinese calligraphy and painting, she brings gestural line, rhythm, and movement into metal sculpture, connecting cultural tradition with contemporary expression.

Seeing vs feeling in paintings by Vesna Jovanovic

Playing with opposing ideas, Vesna Jovanovic’s exhibit “Bawdy” explores the tension between seeing and feeling, between the body as a subject and as an experience. This exhibit can be seen in the Big Walls Gallery (E/F Building Corridor) now through April 30, 2026.

Jovanovic is driven by one central question when creating: How do I depict a lived body instead of an observed one? Beginning her process with spontaneous ink pours that evolves into deliberate mark-making, her art blurs the line between control and surrender, comedy and vulnerability, reminding people that embodiment is never still but always shifting between the observed and the lived.

Bridging art and nature with Nikki Renee Anderson

Combining art with the natural world, Nikki Renee Anderson’s exhibit “Blossoms Becoming” transforms the garden into an intimate scene where the cycles of life unfold in vivid, visceral form. Her art is on display in the Skylight Gallery located in the GovState Library now through April 30, 2026.

Inspired by childhood mornings spent alone among plants, Anderson embraces the garden as a space of renewal, growth, and transformation. Her floral and organic sculptures stand as small monuments celebrating beauty, sensuality, and strength. 

Jeff Stevenson is the Director and Curator of the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park and Visual Arts Gallery.