Exhibit @ Takohl Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Kelly Tribout 312.421.6222

“Sustanium” Ecological & Horticultural Art

Chicago, IL June 20th, 2011 - Takohl Gallery invites you to join us at 110 N. Peoria Street on Friday Evening June 24th, 2011 6-9 PM for our newest show “Sustanium” by artist Ashley Lieber. Her works consist of moss montages, suspended container gardens made from repurposed champagne boxes, small-scale aquatic ecosystems, ‘Plant Panels’ (portions of reclaimed barn wood that have been soaked in water and encased with moss to allow various house plants to grow) prints and drawings. Cocktails will be served and hors d’oeuvres will be provided by Karyn’s on Green.
“I was recently coined a ‘horticultural artist’ and I find this quite fitting; my work emerges from participation in urban agricultural development and consistent interaction with various forms of living vegetation and aquatic ecosystems. ‘The Sustainability Series’, was a study and hands on project investigating (and presenting) percepts of sustainability, merging the fields of sculpture, urban agriculture, and psychology.” – Ashley Lieber
Ashley has spent eight years in higher education. She earned her BFA from Grand Valley State University in 2005 and an MFA from the University of Michigan in 2010. While a student, she maintained an active studio practice but her studies were predominately in The School of Natural Resources and Environment. It was there Ashley developed an intimacy with ecology, specifically ecological restoration, aquatic ecosystems, alternative methods for urban agriculture and the psychology of environmental behavior change.
Ashley is a fellow in public scholarship and is very active in her community as a gardening and ecological educator. Her studio is located in Grand Rapids, MI where she teaches part-time in the public school system.