The Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery is a 2055 square foot state of the art exhibition space located on Joliet Junior College’s Main Campus (inside J building).
The gallery hosts several shows and receptions each year which feature the work of contemporary visiting artists and are accompanied by artist lectures. It is also home to both our annual JJC student awards show and annual Area High school Exhibition.
The Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery plays an important role in our visual arts curriculum. Having a gallery on campus gives both our students and our community a chance to view contemporary work close to home and to interact with the artists that create it. It also gives our students a chance to exhibit their own work in a professional space and learn the skills involved in preparing work for exhibition.
The gallery also provides a work study and educational opportunity for our visual arts students in the form of a gallery assistant position. This is an excellent opportunity for students who plan to continue in the arts as it provides critical skill building in a professional gallery setting.
Gallery Hours
Dates: Monday, Feb. 6 - Friday March 3, 2023
Reception: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 - 4:30-6 p.m.
Artist Talk: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 - 5 p.m.
About the artist:
Ana Žanić was born and educated in Croatia, where she earned a master's of fine arts degree from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, in 2002. She has been living in the United States since 2003.
Žanić’s watercolor practice is an exploration of the formal visual elements, as well as personal feelings, through an intuitive journey.
“Watercolor as a medium holds inherent qualities of intimacy, lightness, and spontaneity. Unlike most other mediums, its mistakes cannot be covered up with another layer. Its transparency shows the whole process. I love that aspect of its vulnerability - it resembles life itself.”
Žanić has exhibited in 20 solo and over 100 group exhibitions in the United States and Croatia. Her work is in numerous private and public collections in the United States, Croatia, Italy, Germany, China and Australia. She is represented by Kathryn Markel Fine Arts in New York, Chicago Art Source Gallery 1871 in Chicago, Walker Fine Art in Denver, and Olson Larsen in Des Moines.
The gallery also provides a work study and educational opportunity for our visual arts students in the form of a gallery assistant position. This is an excellent opportunity for students who plan to continue in the arts as it provides critical skill building in a professional gallery setting.
All exhibitions are free and open to the public. The gallery is open Monday – Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. when the college is open and an exhibition is running. Please see our exhibition schedule for a listing of events and receptions.
