Press Release: because . . . FLOWERS
New Contemporary Art Gallery in the Indiana Dunes Launches with Inaugural Show:
because . . . FLOWERS
Chesterton, Indiana — Gallery 1882 is pleased to announce because . . . FLOWERS, a celebratory group exhibition running May 23 - July 19, 2026. A reception will take place on Saturday, May 23, 2026, from 5:00-8:00pm and is open to the public.
because . . . FLOWERS features more than 70 works from the following artists from across North America: Renee Adams, Reed Anderson, Juventino Aranda, John E. Bannon, Amy Bay, Sarah Bedford, Alina Bliumis, Lizania Cruz, David Kennedy Cutler, Chantell Donwell, Flor Flores, Colin Ives, Louise Jones, Melissa Leandro, Melih Meriç, Ben Murray, William J. O’Brien, Olivia Parker, Suneeva Saldanha, Tad Savinar, Eric Stefanski, Raychael Stine, Nicholas Szymanski, Emily Tanner-McLean, Winnie Truong, and Brandi Twilley.
What: because . . . FLOWERS
When: May 23 - July 19, 2026
Where: Gallery 1882, 115 Broadway Ave., Chesterton, Indiana 46304
Gallery Hours: Sun: 12pm-6pm; Thurs-Fri: 11am–8pm; Sat: 10am-8pm; or by appointment
Opening Reception: May 23, 2026 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Flowers do something powerful to us – they offer beauty, solace, hope. This power is not merely anecdotal nor accidental, but rather “inherited wisdom scribed by evolution into our nerve-endings and brain chemistry. In the presence of flowers our senses glow. Beauty awakens in us.” (David George Haskell, How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries.)
Flowers have always been and will remain fertile subjects for creative exploration. From the earliest depictions in ancient Egyptian cave paintings through almost every culture, religion, society to modern day, flowers have been studied, depicted, celebrated in powerful works of art. And, like the flower subjects themselves, the resultant floral works of art never get old, because they continually allow us to see and experience even the most familiar things in new and exciting ways.
Perhaps above all else, flowers offer hope. Through their evolution, inventiveness, and cooperation over millions of years, flowers, or what Haskell calls "nature’s revolutionaries”, offer resilience and creativity in the face of rapid environmental upheaval and change.
Gallery 1882 believes art can act in the same way. And situated in one of the most biodiverse environments in the United States, we want our inaugural exhibition to celebrate this creative power of flowers and art. We also want to “give flowers” to the exhibiting artists, to art lovers and to the Chesterton and Duneland community.
About Gallery 1882:
Located in historic downtown Chesterton, Indiana, Gallery 1882 sits on the edge of the Indiana Dunes National Park and Lake Michigan. Founded by Timothy and Ellen Kollar, art enthusiasts and collectors, and in consultation with Heather Hubbs and James O’Donnell, the gallery offers the local Duneland community and visitors an opportunity to view, and artists a venue to show, powerful works often found only in art spaces in major city centers. As a non-representing commercial contemporary art gallery, Gallery 1882 celebrates art from artists of all career-stages, ages, backgrounds and geographic locations.