Every year, Holiday GLOW features stunning outdoor artwork from talented artists from throughout the Midwest. Learn more by clicking on the pictures below.
Melt 2024
Medium: aluminum and automotive urethane“Constructed during the Polar Vortex of 2021, a documentary about glaciers inspired me to create a piece that illustrates our changing world.”
Connect More
Medium: aluminum, resin, steel and urethane paint assembled from a collection of resin tests and repurposed aluminum“Connect More is a colorful and whimsical take on a childhood game.”
Rainbow Connection
Medium: aluminum, acrylic and automotive urethane“This piece has been in and out of the works on and off for over a year. It incorporates internal solar dusk till dawn lighting.”
Beneath the Surface
Medium: Aluminum, resin, urethane, steelAbout the Artist: Gregory Stallmeyer was born and raised in Champaign. After studying art in college, he apprenticed under local artist and custom car builder, William Baker. Greg opened G.S. Customs in Seymour, Illinois in 1999, and proceeded to become nationally renowned for his unique ability to combine custom metal work and award-winning paint and graphics. After more than 20 years building cars, Greg closed his shop in Seymour and went to work at Parkland College as an Instructor in Collision Repair and Welding. He built a studio at his home so he could spend more time making art and became involved with the local art community where he has found friendship, support, and feedback that has allowed him to grow as an artist and person. Today Greg still works with metal and automotive paint creating two and three-dimensional art. He garners his inspiration from nature, people, and everyday life.
Artwork:
Fish and Nightbirds
Medium: Aluminum and LED lights“The fish are supposed to be swimming in trees as if we’re under the sea—or, as I like to call them, an ‘Airquarium.’ The nightbirds are just magical glowing wings that swoop and glide around us.”
Dragon
Medium: aluminum and led lights.About the Artist: Michael Young is a Chicago artist specializing in site-specific public sculpture and light-based work. For over thirty years, Young’s customized artwork and design have appeared in numerous public and private collections across the United States and abroad. Highlights include permanent exhibition design for the National Smithsonian Air and Space Museum along with corporations (McDonalds, Hyatt Hotels, RDD Tokyo), schools (including Ballou Senior High School and River Terrace Special Education Center in Washington DC, Carthage College in Wisconsin), and private collections. From concept to installation, Young’s aesthetic reflects the values and interests of each sculpture’s site and surrounding community. After studying science – primarily botany and ecology – while obtaining a Bachelors degree at University of Wisconsin at Madison, Young’s work with organic-forms suggests the interdependence of environmental elements. Skilled in materials ranging from aluminum, bronze, and stainless steel to wood, glass, and light, Young’s work is self-fabricated at Sedgwick Studio, a local metal fabrication studio.
dreaMachine TransmissionsArtwork:
Mycelium Network III is a massive 60 x 38 x 32-foot sound-reactive piece that evokes the intricate networks of fungal mycelia connecting the living soil beneath our feet. The work serves as an ode to interconnectedness, a visual metaphor for our intrinsic relationship with nature, each other, and the unseen currents that shape life.
About the Artists: This piece was crafted by the artist duo of David Jester and Stivan Widick, who together make up dreaMachine Transmissions.
Decatur Andreas Agriculture AcademyArtwork:
Welcome Arch
Medium: mixed media, primarily metal & wood with epoxy and programmable LED lightsAbout the Artist:
Decatur Andreas Agriculture Academy is an urban educational institution dedicated to equipping the next generation of agricultural leaders. Our academy serves 300 students, offering a comprehensive curriculum that integrates academic excellence with hands-on learning experiences. Situated on a 5-acre farm equipped with modern facilities, our students gain practical skills in sustainable farming, animal husbandry, and agricultural technology. Our expert faculty and strong community partnerships provide students with unparalleled opportunities for research, internships, and real-world applications, making Decatur Andreas Agriculture Academy a leader in agricultural education and community engagement.
Zoelle NagibOpen Shapes is a color-changing piece of artwork that was located in the “dark zone” of the walk between the Fu Dog Garden and the Main Parking Lot. The neon work by artist Zoelle Nagib reacts to changes in temperature.
She added the artwork, made from recycling scrap glass tubing from her father’s neon studio, “came about while imagining what it would be like to walk through constellations. We draw flat pictures from our vantage point here on earth, but they are three-dimensional.”
Zelle was also a part of GLOW in 2021 with large oil painting with neon words entitled Pretend to Gardens Unsown.
Melina ScotteSiombosis features four, colorful 4 x 8-foot panels that were stunning during the day, but take on a whole new life when black lights illuminate them under the evening skies of GLOW.
That resulted in eventful trips to the House of the Golden Buddhas — where Siombosis was displayed — as the viewer would see hidden figures once the black lights were turned on.
You can see more of Scotte’s art on her website or on Instagram @Melscotte.
John David MooneyUsing pieces that were originally part of a 52-story high-rise light sculpture, John David Mooney’s Spiral Henge is a series of blue reflective light totems arranged in two concentric circles.
The piece also calls to mind the sacredness of the council ring of the people who once lived on this land. Then, as you progress further into the middle, it is as if you are surrounded by a forest of blue standing lines. In a nod to the great landscape architects, and our own Robert and John Allerton, Mooney says to create that moment for the community that already exists in a place is the magic part.
John E. BannonChicagoan John E. Bannon is a multi-media visual artist whose work is seen in public and private collections locally and abroad. A University of Illinois and School of the Art Institute graduate who specializes in light art, he has provided several pieces for Holiday GLOW, including Live & Breathe, which changed from one portrait to another as you walk around it, as well as Universe and Eye Candy.
