July 01, 2025
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Geneva Center for the Arts opens new exhibit addressing mental health

Three artists’ work will invite viewers to see art as connecting, exposing humanity

By Shaw Local News Network
‘Weeping’ by Dave Sobotka, one of three artists featured in a new exhibit at Geneva Center for the Arts, ‘Say It Out Loud: Addressing Mental Health Through Art.’

"Weeping" by Dave Sobotka, one of three artists featured in a new exhibit at Geneva Center for the Arts, "Say It Out Loud: Addressing Mental Health Through Art." (Photo provided by Geneva Center for the Arts)

GENEVA – The Geneva Center for the Arts announced in a news release that the opening reception for its exhibition “Say It Out Loud: Addressing Mental Health Through Art” will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 9 at 321 Stevens St., Suite Q, Geneva.

The show features the work of artists Patricia Davoust, Tracy Frein and Dave Sobotka.

“We are grateful to these artists for sharing their moving and personal work with us and the community,” arts center board member Katie Newcome said in the release. “We hope this show will facilitate important conversations around mental health, particularly as September is Suicide Prevention Month.”

The show will invite viewers to explore art as a means of self-expression and therapy, reminding that art connects us and exposes our humanity, according to the release.

In pieces such as “Agony” and “Malcontent,” Davoust wrests feelings from the interior and displays them on mottled, sculptural visages, according to the release.

‘Agony and Malcontent’ by Patricia Davoust is one of three artists featured in a new exhibit at Geneva Center for the Arts, ‘Say It Out Loud: Addressing Mental Health Through Art.’

‘Agony and Malcontent’ by Patricia Davoust is one of three artists featured in a new exhibit at Geneva Center for the Arts, ‘Say It Out Loud: Addressing Mental Health Through Art.’ (Photo provided by Geneva Center for the Arts)

Frein uses black and white pencils on drafting film to make his subjects seem more vulnerable, frailer and more human.

Rounding out the exhibit are Sobotka’s digital photo collages. The pieces tell a story of deep despair, but also hope, as they depict the process of transformation that he experienced in surmounting his own personal challenges, according to the release.

Curator and artist Rita Grendze described how the exhibit was developed, saying in the release that “Dave Sobotka’s proposal stood out for its rawness – beautifully executed work that shares his personal journey from depression to suicidal thoughts to wellness.”

“All three of the artists in Say It Out Loud were invited to exhibit because of their mastery of chosen medium, but also because of vulnerability in their message. With so much collective loss being experienced the last few years, this art at this time is necessary,” Grendze said in the release.

‘Solitude in Turmoil’ by Tracy Frein is one of three artists featured in a new exhibit at Geneva Center for the Arts, ‘Say It Out Loud: Addressing Mental Health Through Art.’

‘Solitude in Turmoil’ by Tracy Frein is one of three artists featured in a new exhibit at Geneva Center for the Arts, ‘Say It Out Loud: Addressing Mental Health Through Art.’ (Photo provided by Geneva Center for the Arts)

Concurrent with the exhibition in the main gallery, the center will host an interactive, community-driven art installation in its Hunter W. Shodeen Enrichment Gallery.

In the Mood Board area, visitors are invited to reflect on their own mental health by choosing a button to wear from among a selection of moods, sparking conversations and breaking stigmas surrounding mental health.

In Finding Light in the Darkness, visitors will share their own stories by scratching into the surface of black craft tiles, revealing the colored paper beneath, then placing their tiles within the communal display.

The tiles will hang in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition.

Finally, in Messages of Hope & Support, participants are invited to give and take messages of healing and support as a reminder that there is always someone who cares and is ready to help.

Geneva Center for the Arts (www.genevaartscenter.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on providing curated programming, year-round exhibitions, events and education opportunities that will complement and expand the art scene in Chicago’s western suburbs.

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