Anna Showers-Cruser

Anna Showers-Cruser (they/them) works across object-making traditions in order to propose hybrid and humble alternatives to hegemonic binaries: sick/well, body/object, and feminine/masculine. Recent works imagine a contemporary abstract lexicon while reflecting their roots in southern DIY craft. Humor, herbalism, hospitality, and the materiality of mental illness are intrinsic to their work. ASC is a 3Arts grant recipient and was a 2017-18 HATCH artist-in-residence at the Chicago Artists Coalition. They were featured in the South Bend Museum of Art’s Biennial 31 in 2021. Recent solo exhibitions include Soft Hardwares at Monaco Gallery in St. Louis, and the commissioned installation Aerial Parts for Buddy Chicago at the Chicago Cultural Center in 2021.

ASC holds an MFA in Visual Arts from the University of Chicago, and a BFA in Painting from Maryland Institute College of Art. In 2013, they completed the Summer Studio Program with VCU and received the Gerald Donato Award in Painting + Printmaking. ASC also currently teaches in Contemporary Practices at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.