Exhibition | The Heroic Self

Featured Artists

Cybil Johnson

Southern Illinois artist Cybil Johnson works in welded steel, building her sculptures from repeated triangular units through steady, hands‑on construction. Cutting, welding, and assembling each section allows the forms to grow naturally, giving the work its structure and character. She sees her sculptures as a meeting point between order and disruption. Patterns form through repetition, while angled connections and open spaces introduce movement and unpredictability.

When you view her work, it draws you into the details—the rhythm of the triangles, the tension in the lines, and the way the steel opens and closes from different angles. The sculptures invite you to notice how structure and change can exist together in both the material and your own experience.

NC Qin

NC Qin, from Sydney, Australia, works in cast glass. Unlike blown or lamp-worked glass, forms of glass work that many are more familiar with, cast glass is slow, demanding, and deeply hands‑on, involving long cycles of molding, firing, cooling, and finishing. Qin uses this process to create pieces that hold depth, color, and quiet detail within the glass itself. She believes cast glass offers a different way of looking. Light moves through the material in layers, revealing textures and shifts that aren’t visible at first glance.

Visitors will have the chance to see this unique form of sculpture up close, including both intimate small‑scale pieces and larger sculptural works—each one shaped through patience, precision, and a deep connection to the material. It’s a rare opportunity to experience a style of sculpture not often seen, and one that rewards close, thoughtful viewing.

Brooke Yandle

Southern Illinois artist Brooke Yandle begins her painting process by writing in her journal, sketching out ideas, emotions, and fictional characters inspired by everyday life, films, and anime. These characters become symbols—stand‑ins for feelings like freedom, escape, or tension—guiding the mood and direction of each piece. Working in oil paint, she builds her images slowly, layering color and expression until the figures feel alive on the canvas. Her background in design shapes the way she composes each scene, focusing on storytelling and emotional clarity.

This exhibition is a chance to see a unique blend of personal mythology and contemporary influences, with both intimate small works and larger pieces that pull you into the world she creates. It’s an inviting, expressive style of figurative painting that rewards close looking and offers something different from what visitors may be used to seeing.