Education
1980 BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1978 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
Academic Affiliation
1990-present Adjunct Professor, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2004-present Advisory Board, Mildred's Lane, Beach Lake, PA. Mark Dion, J. Morgan Puett, directors
Curatorial Projects
2019 The New UnNatural, The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, IL, co-curated with Robin Dluzen
2016 Analog RAM: The Return of Active Memory, The Research House for Asian Art, Chicago, IL, exhibition curator
Solo Exhibitions
2018 Vivarium, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2014 Mary Lou Zelazny, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2011 The Cake Lady Returns, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
Flags and Swags, Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL
2009 Altogether Mutable: The Work of Mary Lou Zelazny, Hyde Park Center, Chicago, IL (with catalog)
Online Exhibition: Altogether Mutable, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
2007 The Lake is Not an Ocean, Union League Club, Chicago, IL
2007 Repeating the Habit, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2004 Next in the Gallery, Herron Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
2004 Break the Charm, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2001 What Was the Question Again?, IUN Gallery for Contemporary Art, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, IN
2000 What Was the Question?, Thomas McCormick Gallery, Chicago, IL
1996 Mary Lou Zelazny, Phyllis Kind Gallery, Chicago, IL
1994 Soundings, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago IL
1992 Living with Memorabilia, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL
1991 Mary Lou Zelazny: Solo Series, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
1990 Mary Lou Zelazny, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL
1988 History of Tools, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago, IL
1987 Mary Lou Zelazny, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago, IL
1986 Mary Lou Zelazny, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago, IL
1984 Famous Women and Interesting Men, Bookspace, Chicago, IL
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019 What Came After: Figurative Painting in Chicago 1978-1998, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
Ineffable, Keystone Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The New UnNatural, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, IL
2018 The Figure, Humor, and the Chicago Imagists, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
Images on File, Stuart & Co Gallery, Chicago, IL
Come Back with a Warrant, Frederick Holmes and Company, Seattle, WA
A City to Wear 2.0, The Research House for Asian Art, Chicago, IL
2017 The Mind’s I, Ed Paschke Center, Chicago, IL
Barely Seen / Summer Selections, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2016 Selections from the Collection of Mildred's Lane, Part 1, The Mildred Complex(ity), Narrowsburg, NY
2015 Surrealism: The Conjured Life, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
From the Collection of Cleve Carney, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
2014 Making Space, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, curated by Susanne Doremus, Chicago, IL
Surrealism and War, National Veterans Art Museum, Chicago, IL
Recombinant Stare: A Stare Magazine Retrospective, The Annex, Spudnik Press Cooperative, Chicago, IL
2013 Creating a New Whole, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2012 4800 W: Artists of Portage Park, Klee Building, Chicago, IL
2011 Cut Ups, Peter Paul Luce Gallery, Cornell College, Mount Vernon, IA
This is Paul Halupka, C33 Gallery, Columbia College, Chicago IL and the Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery, Palos Hills, IL
2010 Beyond the Arches: Selected Works from McDonald's Corporate Collection, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, IN
Chicago Imagism(s), Natalie and James Thompson art Gallery, San José State University, San José, CA
Faculty Projects, Betty Rymer Gallery, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Chicago, IL
Touch and Go: Ray Yoshida and His Spheres of Influence, Sullivan Galleries, Sullivan Center SAIC, Chicago,IL,
and the John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI
Twos, O'Connor Art Gallery, Dominican University, River Forest, IL
2008 Ahh, Decadence!, Sullivan Galleries, Sullivan Center SAIC, Chicago, IL
Not Just Another Pretty Face, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2007 Fresh Takes, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
Girl on Guy, A & D Gallery, Chicago, IL
2006 Creative Imagining, The Howard A. and Judith Tullman Collection, The MobileMuseum of Art, Mobile, AL
Putting it All Together, The Art of Collage, Hinsdale Center for the Arts, Hinsdale, IL
2005 All About Women, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2004 The Flat-Round World, Three Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL
The Reflected/Refracted Self, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
Hard Candy, Sextablos, Works on Metal, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
Time Travel: Truth, Beauty, and Justice, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2003 Emergence: Women Artists in the New Millennium, William Bachman Gallery, Munster, IN
Color and Form, Forum Plus Gallery, Chicago, IL
2002 Transcultural Visions: Polish-American Contemporary Art, National Museum of Szczecin, Poland
Natural History, Aaron Packer Gallery, Chicago, IL
Evoking Histories/Memory of Water: Spoleto 2002, curated by Mary Jane Jacob and Tumelo Musako, Charleston, SC
Pasted On, A Survey of Collage Strategies, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2001 Reflections: Fifteenth Anniversary Show, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
Transcultural Visions: Polish-American Contemporary Art, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2000 Synthesis, Collage and Mixed Media, Sonnenschein Gallery, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, IL
Sextablos, Works on Metal, Barrister's Gallery, New Orleans, LA
1999 It Looks Easy, Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Collage '99, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA
Sextablos, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
1998 The Velvet Show, Café Bocci, Chicago, IL
1997 Breadth of Aesthetic, Phyllis Kind Gallery, Chicago, IL
Pink, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
1996 International Exhibit of Collage, Parkland College, Champaign, IL
Revelries, Ford Center for the Arts, Knox College, Galesburg, IL
Visual Feasting, Suburban Fine Arts Center, Highland Park, IL
Views of a Lady, Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York, NY
Pleasure (Beyond Guilt), Artemesia Gallery, Chicago, IL
Selected Works in Collage, Merwyn-Wakeley Galleries, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL
1995 Some New Faces, Phyllis Kind Gallery, Chicago, IL
Art About Life: Contemporary American Culture, Indiana University Fine Arts Gallery, Bloomington, IN (with catalog)
1994 Something in Common, Women Faculty in Painting and Drawing from the SAIC, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL (catalog)
1993 A(t)Tension to the Moment, Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts, Fine Arts Center, Bowling Green, OH
Chicago Drawings, Galleria Porta 33, Madeira, Portugal
The Return of the Cadavre Exquis, The Drawing Center, New York, NY
Chicago Art Group in Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany (with catalog)
Garment as Metaphor, Suburban Fine Arts Center, Highland Park, IL
Collages: Faulkner, Sensemann, Zelazny, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, IL
1992 Quotations from America's Studio: Drawing New Conclusions, Betty Rymer Gallery, SAIC, Chicago, IL (with catalog)
Face to Face, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL (with catalog)
1991 Spirited Visions: Protraits of Chicago Artists, State of Illinois Gallery, Chicago IL (traveling-1993) (with catalog)
1990 The Chicago Show, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago IL (with catalog)
Indianapolis Collects, Herron Gallery, Indianapolis Center for Contemporary Art, IN
Our Corner of the World: Seventeen Illinois Artists, University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, IL (with catalog)
1989 Material Matters, College of DuPage Arts Center Gallery, Glen Ellyn, IL
Chicago Artists in the European Tradition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (with catalog)
1988 Endangered Species, Klein Gallery, Chicago, IL
Field and Seam, Roy Boyd Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Only a Woman Could, Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL
The Truncated Figure, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL
1987 Egg Tempera: Archaic Methods/Modern Minds, Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL
Masks, Klein Gallery, Chicago, IL
Artagogo, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
Surfaces: Two Decades of Painting in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, IL (with catalog)
Endsville, 1480 W. Webster, Chicago, IL
1986 New Horizons in Art, 1986, Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
Self-Protraits: Then or Now, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL (with catalog)
1985 Mary Lou Zelazny, Andre Ferella, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago, IL
UNScene, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
14th Union League Art Competition and Exhibition, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL
1984 Chicago Head, Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
1983 The Big Pitcher: 20 years of the Abstracted Figure in Chicago Art, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL (with catalog)
Sex Show, The Northside Auditorium Building, Chicago, IL
1981 Some Girls, A Celebration of Chicago Women Artists, The Donahue Building, Chicago, IL
Awards and Fellowships
2017 Kunstmeile Krems Betriebs GmbH:AIR-Artist in Residence, Krems a.d. Donau, Austria
2014 Santo Foundation, Individual Artist Award
2008 Illinois Arts Council Special Assistance Grant
2007 Faculty Enrichment Grant, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2007 Illinois Arts Council Special Assistance Grant
2003 Margaret Klimek Phillips Fellowship
1998 Faculty Enrichment Grant, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1992 Arts Midwest/National Endowment for the Arts Regional Visual Arts Fellowship Award
1986 Dorland Mountain Colony Residency
Public Commissions
2006 McCormick Place Expansion Project, Chicago, IL
Selected Collections
City of Chicago Public Art Collection: 19th District Chicago Police Department, Chicago, IL
Elmhurst College Art Collection, Elmhurst, IL
First Chicago Bank, Chicago, IL
John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI
Kemper National Insurance Companies
McDonald’s Corporation Collection, Oakbrook, IL
Mildred’s Lane Art Complex(ity), Narrowsburg, NY
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Nagin and Associates, Miami, FL
Prudential Insurance Company, Newark, NJ
Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
The Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL
Weichman and Associates, Munster, IN
Cover Art, Publications and Audio Recordings
"Open Season", band: Yawn, Englophile label, 2011
"Ship of Fools", band: Rubbish and Crank Sturgeon, Roil Noise Offensive label, 2008
"Private Arts", D. R. Heiniger ed. Chicago: Private Arts Press 1996
Sturtevant, Katherine, "Our Sisters' London, Feminist Walking Tours," Chicago Review Press, 1990
Sisskind, Mitch, "Visitations," Brightwater Press 1984
Bibliography
Mary Lou Zelazny, interview with Voyage Chicago, Voyage Chicago, November 2018
Vibrant Bouquets from Mary Lou Zelazny, Judy Carmack Bross, Classic Chicago Magazine, April 22, 2018
“Vivarium”: Mary Lou Zelazny, Bruce Thorn, New Art Examiner, April 19, 2018
10 Highlights from the Expo Art Fair, Paddy Johnson and Robin Dluzen, ArtFCity, September 19, 2015
Artrageous with Nate, the Artist in your Backyard. Public Broadcasting Service, produced by Nate Heck. Aired February 2015
Mission at Tenth Interarts Journal. Volume 5, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA. 2014
Recombinant Stare, Mystery, Misprints, and Misappropriation. Catalog, Spudnik Press, Chicago. 2014
Mary Lou Zelazny at Carl Hammer Gallery. James Yood, Art LTD. August 2014
Mary Lou Zelazny, Chris Miller, New City, Oct 08, 2011
Mary Lou Zelazny / Carl Hammer Gallery, Brian Hieggelke, NewCity Art, October 04, 2011
The Opening of Chicago’s Fall Art Season, Paul Klein, Huffington Post, September 12, 2011
Dana Boutin Interviews Mary Lou Zelazny and Allison Quinn, Dana Boutin, ArtSlant, April 15, 2009
Zelazny’s Collages Delight, Alan G. Artner, The Chicago Tribune, March 12, 2009
Searching for the Pattern: Mary Lou Zelazny’s Collages Defy Explanation, Brandon Hopkins, Chicago Weekly, March 05, 2009
Altogether Mutable: The Work of Mary Lou Zelazny, Karsten Lund, flavorpill.com, February 2009
Altogether Mutable, Bert Stabler, Chicago Reader, February 2009
Mary Lou Zelazny, Laura Pearson, TimeOut Chicago, February 19–25, 2009
Eye Exam: Chicago's Own Surrealist, Jason Foumberg, New City Art, February 16, 2009
The Art of Collage, Alan G. Artner, Chicago Tribune, March, 2009
Piecing perfect puzzles, Robert Loerzel, Pioneer Press, Chicago April 2007
Artist's eclecticism runs more than canvas-deep, Kevin Nance, Chicago Sun-Times, March 2007
Zelazny's Work Has Come a Very Long Way, Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune, December, 2003
Mary Lou Zelazny, Fred Camper, Chicago Reader, December 2003
New American Paintings, Number 35, 2001
New American Paintings, Number 11, 1997
Superior and Huron Bring on a New Season with Style, Margaret Hawkins, Chicago Sun Times, September 1996
Mary Lou Zelazny, Thomas Connors, New Art Examiner, 1996
Art Exhibt Explores Metaphorical Works of 4 Contemporary Collage Artists, Gisele Atterberry, News Gazette, Champaign, IL, 1996
Dedicated to Paint, Mary Jane Jacob, Something in Common (catalog), 1994
Zelazny Takes Giant Step with Latest Show, Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune, September 1994
A(T)Tension to the Moment, Jacqueline Nathan (catalog), Bowling Green State University, OH, 1993
Artists Take Collage on a Joyride of Perspectives, David McCracken, Chicago Tribune, April 1993
The Best Art Exhibitions, Alan Artner and David McCracken, Chicago Tribune, December 1992
Mary Lou Zelazny, Kathryn Hixson, Flash Art, Summer 1992
Art People: Mary Lou Zelazny's Feminine Perspective, Judith Lin Eftekhar, Chicago Reader, March 1992
Zelazny Seamlessly Blends Collage, Paint. David McCracken, Chicago Tribune, March 1992
Face to Face, A Chance to Meet 80 Chicago Artists as They See Themselves on Canvas, Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune, March 1992
Mary Lou Zelazny, James Yood, Art Forum, Summer 1992
Spirited Visions, Portraits of Chicago Artists, photographs by Patty Carrol, text by James Yood. University of Illinois Press, 1991
Rockford Art Museum Keeps Contemporary, Cindy Kranz, Rockford Register, September 1991
Mary Lou Zelazny, Kathryn Hixson, Arts Magazine, April 1990
Artist's Latest Works Show She's Joined the Major Leagues, Gordon Ligocki, The Hammond Times, January 1990
Mary Lou Zelazny, Garrett Holg, Art News, April 1990
Our Corner of the World, Laurie Dahlberg, catalog, Illinois State University, 1989
The Persistence of Modernism, Lynn Warren, catalog, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, 1989
Mary Lou Zelazny, Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune, September 1998
Mary Lou Zelazny, Jeff Abell, New Art Examiner, December 1998
Mary Lou Zelazny, Buzz Spector, Art Forum, February 1988
Collage's Pictorial Variations on a Theme, David McCracken, Chicago Tribune, March 1988
Mary Lou Zelazny at Peter Miller, Sue Taylor, Art in America, January 1988
Surfaces, Two Decades of Painting in Chicago, 70s and 80s, Judith Krishner, catalog. Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, 1987
Two Decades of Painting in Chicago, Denis Adrian, New Art Examiner, December 1987
Review, Garrett Hold, New Art Examiner, September 1986
Collages Depict Us as Seekers of Goods, Sue Taylor, Chicago Sun Times, July 1986
The Big Pitcher: 20 Years of Abstracted Figure in Chicago Art, catalog, 1983