Allison Lacher is a visual artist and curator based in Springfield, IL. She has exhibited independently at venues that include Ortega Y Gasset, Practise, The Luminary, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, PDX Contemporary Art, CUAC Contemporary, Future Tenant, Grounds for Sculpture, and the Illinois State Museum. In addition to an independent studio practice, she maintains a collaborative practice with artist Jeff Robinson. They have exhibited at venues that include the Hyde Park Art Center, Julius Caesar, Des Lee Gallery, The Franklin, Illinois State University Galleries, Roman Susan, and Co-Prosperity Sphere. In 2020, they were awarded with the Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award.
Allison has been awarded artist residencies with the Ellis Beauregard Foundation, Spiro Arts, Prairie Center of the Arts, Vermont Studio Center, The Luminary, and Signal Fire on US/Mexico borderlands, and she was a HATCH Projects curatorial resident with the Chicago Artists Coalition.
She is the Director of the University of Illinois Visual Arts Gallery and she is a Co-Director at STNDRD. She was a founding member of the artist-owned gallery Monaco in St. Louis, MO and she served as Co-Director of DEMO Project until its demolition in 2018. She was a founding member of the Board of Directors for Terrain Exhibitions and collaboratively organized three iterations of the Terrain Biennial: Outpost at Enos Park, each featuring over twenty public art installations.
Solo + Collaborative Exhibitions
2021 - Towering, in collaboration with Jeff Robinson, Monaco, St. Louis, MO
2018 - Sitting Pretty in collaboration with Jeff Robinson, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2018 - Full Sun, Monaco, St. Louis, MO
2018 - Cue Winter in collaboration with Gina Hunt, STNDRD at Granite City Art and Design District, Granite City, IL
2017 - Good Neighbors in collaboration with Jeff Robinson, 2018 Terrain Biennial, Terrain Exhibitions, Oak Park, IL
2017 - Subdivision in collaboration with Jeff Robinson, Illinois State University Galleries, Normal, IL
2016 - No Diving! in collaboration with Jeff Robinson, Roman Susan, Chicago, IL
2016 - I’m Here for Pets in collaboration with Jeff Robinson, Ski Club, Milwaukee, WI
2016 - Sky Parlor in collaboration with Jeff Robinson, Outhaus, Urbana, IL
2015 - Water. Water. in collaboration with Jeff Robinson, Museum Blue, St. Louis, MO
2015 - A Kitchen Without a Knife is Not a Kitchen in collaboration with Jeff Robinson, Kitchen Space, Chicago, IL
2014 - Nonnative, CUAC Contemporary, Salt Lake City, UT
2012 - That’s Love, Baby, UIS Visual Arts Gallery, University of Illinois Springfield, Springfield, IL
2012 - That’s Love, Baby, Backspace, Peoria, IL
2011 - Play Date, Blackburn College Gallery, Blackburn College, Carlinville, IL
2009 - Perform in collaboration with Victoria Calabro, The Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
2008 - Slow and Deliberate, Future Tenant, Pittsburgh, PA
2007 - Sigh-specific, Red Mill Gallery at Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2005 - Think Pink (Young Love), Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, UT
2004 - Rich Material, Center for Contemporary Art, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA
2004 - Hanging, Brew House Space 101, Pittsburgh, PA
2003 - True Love Forever, SOFA Gallery, Bloomington, IN
2003 - Roommate, Susu, Pittsburgh, PA
2002 - Think Pink (Young Love), Fuller Projects, Bloomington, IN
2000 - Pretty Girl, Cactus Bra Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Selected Group Exhibits
2022 - Arch Inverted, PLUG, Kansas City, MO
2022 - Clockwork, Dream Clinic, Columbus, Ohio; curated by Morgan Rose Free
2021 - Fluid Ground, Julius Caesar, Chicago, IL; curated by Pia Singh
2021 - Date Night, Monaco, St. Louis, MO
2020 - Body Screen Meme, Des Lee Gallery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO; curated by Amanda Bowles
2019 - The Lies We Live, Super Dutchess, New York, NY; curated by Jessica Bingham
2019 - Bitter Nectar, Practise, Chicago, IL; curated by Allison Wade
2019 - How Shallow, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY
2019 - Collage Office, The Franklin, Chicago, IL
2019 - Dozer, Neon Heater, Findlay, OH; curated by Ian Breidenbach
2018 - In Transit, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Chicago, IL; curated by Lauren Leving
2018 - John the Revelator, River House Arts, Toledo, OH; curated by Ian Breidenbach
2018 - Allison Lacher for Western Pole, Western Pole, Chicago, IL; curated by Jesse Malmed
2017 - Grand Prix, Monaco, St. Louis, MO
2017 - Suspended States, Tessellate, Pontiac, MI
2017 - Outside Jokes, DEMO Project, Springfield, IL; curated by Jesse Malmed
2017 - Art & Design Series 10, Dock 6, Chicago, IL; curated by Edra Soto and Dan Sullivan
2017 - Property, Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society, Chicago, IL
2017 - Attach Files, 50/50, Kansas City, MO
2016 - VERBLIST, E.Tay Gallery, New York, NY; curated by Mark Joshua Epstein
2016 - GHOST, The Luminary, St. Louis, MO; curated by Sage Dawson
2016 - Blueprints, Chicago Industrial Arts & Design Center, Chicago, IL
2016 - Resident Alumni Invitational, Gallery One, Prairie Center of the Art, Peoria, IL
2014-2015 - Protext: When Visual Art Meets the Written Word, Illinois State Museum: Chicago and Springfield, IL; curated by Robert Sill
2015 - Gifted, DEMO Project, Springfield, IL
2014 - OUTPOST on the Border, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
2014 - Resident Alumni Invitational, Gallery One, Prairie Center of the Art, Peoria, IL
2014 - Trigger, M. G. Nelson Gallery, Springfield, IL
2013-2014 - Where History and Progress Meet, West Chicago City Museum, West Chicago, IL; curated by Anni Holm and Sara Phalem
2013 - Regional Contemporary, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL
2011 - In Stitches, Cobalt Studio, Chicago, IL; curated by Adriana Baltazar
2011 - Material and Metaphor, Cleveland State University Gallery, Cleveland, OH; curated by Irina Koukhanova
2011 - Wee Bitty Things, Space Camp MicroGallery, Indianapolis, IN
2010 - Threadbare, Bulldog, Rochester, NY
2009 - Hand Drawn Map Association, The Green Library at Florida International University, Miami, FL; curated by Kris Harzinski
2008 - MIXTAPE, The Tom Museum, Pittsburgh, PA; curated by Tom Sarver
2007 - Contemporary Women Artists XIV, Mad Art Gallery, Saint Louis, MO
2007 - TiNT, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN
2007 - TiNT, Franconia Sculpture Park, Franconia, MN
2006 - draw_drawing_2, The Foundry, London, England
2005 - Mixed Media, Kiehle Gallery, Saint Cloud State University, Saint Cloud, MN
2002 - Fall/Winter 2002/2003 Exhibit, Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ; curated by Tom Eccles, Valerie Fletcher, and Donald Kuspit
Grants, Fellowships and Awards
2021 - Individual Artist Support Grant, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2020 - Artist Fellowship Award, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2014 - Individual Artist Support Grant, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2013 - Fellowship Award, Spiro Arts Foundation for the Arts, Park City, UT
2012 - Individual Artist Support Grant, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2012 - Richmond Artist Advancement Grant, Springfield Area Arts Council, Springfield, IL
2009 - Artist Fellowship Award, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2009 - Individual Artist Support Grant, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2007 - Full Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2007 - Richmond Artist Advancement Grant, Springfield Area Arts Council, Springfield, IL
2002 - Outstanding Student in Contemporary Art Award, Sculpture Magazine/International Sculpture Center, Hamilton, NJ
2001 - Outstanding Student in Contemporary Art Honorable Mention, Sculpture Magazine/International Sculpture Center, Hamilton, N
Residencies
2022 - Ellis Beauregard Foundation, Rockland, ME
2018 - Ox-Bow School of Art Fall Residency, Saugatuck, MI
2018 - The Luminary Artist Residency, St. Louis, MO
2017 - ACRE Artist Residency, Steuben, WI
2104-2015 - Resident Curator, HATCH Projects, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL
2014 - Signal Fire OUTPOST Artist Residency, Pajarita Wilderness (US/Mexico Border), AZ
2013 - Spiro Arts Artist Residency, Park City, UT
2011 - Prairie Center of the Arts Artist Residency, Peoria, IL
2009 - University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV
2007 - Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency, Johnson, VT
Selected Panels + Public Lectures + Visiting Artist & Critic
2022 - Panelist, General Operating Support Program Panel for the Visual Arts, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2022 - Advisory Review Panelist, Artist Fellowship: Sculpture, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2021 - Visiting Artist and Panelist, Sam Fox School Visiting Artist Program, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
2021 - Visiting Critic, NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, NY
2021 - Admission Review Panelist, Terrain Exhibitions Artist Residency, Oak Park, IL
2021 - Visiting Artist & Curator, BFA Review, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
2020 - Visiting Artist & Curator, Expert Exchange Program, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2020 - Panelist, Program Grant Review, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2019 - Admissions Review Panelist (second round), ACRE Residency, Chicago, IL
2018 - Panelist, “Expanding Cultural Access through Nontraditional and Temporary Programming,” One State Conference, Galesburg, IL
2018 - Program Grant Review, Panelist, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL
2018 - Admissions Review Panelist, ACRE Residency, Chicago, IL
2018 - Guest Lecturer, Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
2017 - Artist Talk/Visiting Critic, Illinois State University Galleries, Normal, IL
2016 - Panelist, You Are Looking Good, A Real Good Looker, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL
2016 - Visiting Artist, St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO
2015 - Artist Talk, Text Talks, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
2015 - Artist Talk, Museum Blue, St. Louis, MO
2015 - Artist Presentation, Installation Art: Environment and Experience, Springfield Art Association, Springfield, IL
2014 - Artist Presentation, Constructing Response, Illinois State Museum Collections and Research Center, Springfield, IL
2014 - Panelist, What it Means to be Regional, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL
2013 - Youth Outreach Presentation, Kimball Arts Center, Park City, UT
2010 - Visual Arts Representative, Final Panel Review, Individual Artist Support Awards, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Chicago, IL
2010 - Preliminary Visual Arts Panelist, Individual Artist Support Awards, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Chicago, IL
2009 - Artist Lecture and Visiting Artist, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV
2008 - Presenter, Arts + Creativity + Entrepreneurship Conference, Millikin University, Decatur, IL
Professional
2022-Current - Guest Curator, Re-Imagining Collections, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
2022-Current - Co-Director, STNDRD, St. Louis, MO
2021-Current - Instructor of Art and Visual Arts Gallery Director, University of Illinois Springfield, Springfield, IL
2017-2021 - Co-founder and Member, Monaco, St. Louis, MO
2017-2021 - Board of Directors, Terrain Exhibitions, Oak Park, IL
2011-2021 - Exhibitions Manager, Visual Arts Gallery, University of Illinois Springfield, Springfield, IL
2011-2019 - Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Springfield, Springfield, IL
2013-2018 - Co-Founder and Co-Director, DEMO Project, Springfield, IL
2011-2012 - Adjunct Instructor, Lincoln Land Community College, Springfield, IL
2008-2010 - Instructor + Gallery Manager, Millikin University, Decatur, IL
2007 - Adjunct Instructor, University of Illinois Springfield, Springfield, IL
2006 - Adjunct Instructor, Blackburn College, Carlinville, IL
2005-2006 - Assistant Professor of Sculpture, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN
2004-2005 - Museum Attendant and Installation Assistant, Salt Lake Art Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Education
Master in Fine Arts in Sculpture, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture, Edinboro University, Edinboro, PA