S.H.E. Gallery
Hosting Art Exhibitions at traditional and non-traditional spaces;
performing arts, social justice events - live cable televised CAN T.V. hotline;
community murals; collaborations with mission to make and help make
visions come true. We are building equality, opportunity and a real
world-wide
community with respect to history, your story and to the cultivation of
culture
- graffroots at forefront.
Founded in 2015
Founder and Director, Dulce M. Diaz
Video by Efren M. Villalobos, 2018
S.H.E. Gallery Members
Amanda Saucedo
Artist / Dancer / Teaching Artist
Amanda Saucedo, of Mexican-Ukrainine descent, is a native of Chicago. She is a Company Dancer and Resident Teaching Artist at Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater. Amanda started her dance training with a Mexican Folkloric group in her youth. She continued on with Spanish dance, along with studying Ballet and Modern at Northeastern Illinois University. Amanda has performed internationally as well as nationally alongside local Chicago artists, dance companies and arts organizations. She continues to partake in collaborative work in nopes to inspire and share her art with others.
Bernice Vargas
Artist / Event Planner / Activist
Born and Raised in Chicago, Little Village
I was born in Chicago and grew up in the Little Village neighborhood. I'm first generation Mexican American. I studied and lived in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico from the age of thirteen to sixteen which gave me an opportunity to experience my Mexican culture.
I am on a journey towards empathy, kindness, love, and enlightenment. Through this path I have come to know myself in a new way and found that I am a people person. Service to others, my fellow beautiful and strong sisters, my Latin and my American community, that fuels me. This growth helps me help others.
My creativity comes from my passion and desire to help others. In my event planning and tradeshow career I have found purpose planning events that serve a greater purpose. I found my voice when I found Green Card Veterans as it forced me to look outside myself and understand that others have very different life experiences. We all have traumas that need to heal so we can then understand, that we are all connected.
Malcolm X prayed for our understanding of the problems of this world, and to find our place in that picture. I see art as a creative experience to healing. We must let go of fear to heal from within. That's how we grow. That's how we begin to have empathy. My art will be created through the healing experiences of others.
Che Gardona
Artist
Artist Name: OPIK
Born and Raised in Chicago, Pilsen.
Name inspired by "OPTIC" shortened and made original by changing "C" to "K".
Che is a self-taught artist. Practicing since the age of 10. He's worked with different mediums and his current focus is a unique art style he invented called Styrograff and labels it as a new type of graffiti sculpture.
His work is influenced by the hip hop culture and its innovating artists as well as Swiss Painter, H.R. Giger; Movies such as Fantastic Planet, Coonskin, Wizards and comic books, like that of Spiderman and Batman.He was also influenced by music, such as Gary Bartz, Stevie Wonder, disco and house music.
Diana Mendez
Artist
Born and raised in Chicago, IL.
Diana has earned a Master's Degree in Psychology from NLU and a post Master's Degree from DU as well as various other certifications and professional endorsements. Diana's artistic desires began as a very young child with memories of sketching and coloring bringing her a sense of self-expression. Diana considers herself a "closet artist" - being that she's put the raising of her family and building her career at the forefront and she has not been able to focus on her creative side. Though she never went to art school, her father was a big influence in her advocacy for the arts and they used to practice live drawing with him. Diana is ready to step out of the closet and shift her focus back to the arts. We look forward to watching her bloom.
“I feel like now more than ever I need to focus on my creativity because it brought me peace and some self- reflection. My career influences me in a way that I take nothing for granted and I see beauty even in despair.”
– Diana Mendez
Dulce Maria Diaz
President / Founder / Artist
Artist Name: dulce37 and/or d37
First name/initial followed by the 3 and 7 numbers she repeatedly saw growing up. Learning of their meanings, she added them as part of her name to symbolize
"Living through the trinity seven days a week".
Born in Tumbiscatio de Ruiz, Michoacan, MX.
Raised in Chicago, IL. since the age of 5.
Dulce studied business for the arts through The University of Chicago Continuing Education Graham program in partnership with The Hyde Park Art Center. She is a certified producer and editor through CAN TV and an intuitive self-taught artist since as early as she can remember. As an artist, she works with various mediums. Dulce is mostly influenced by her faith, her dreams, intuition, sociology, philosophy, mythology and the hip hop culture she grew up with and mostly her older brother, NAGS of WAR CREW. Her roots have led her to a passion of cultivating all culture, capturing history and especially that of innovating local graffiti artists that have helped paved the way to the popular street art.
Eddie Yeung
Artist / Illustrator
Artist name: Chunchunart
Born in Hong Kong, China.
Raised in Chicago, IL. since the age of 5.
My goal with my paintings is to recapture the viewers of the feelings as a child exploring new places and objects. As we grow older we become busier with our lives and not spending the time for ourselves. So I make my pieces with the intention of having the viewers to react and respond in a way a child would do. Size is very important, as a kid everything that is unfamiliar seems large but it shouldn’t feel scary but more of excitement and happiness. So on each piece there are little details that have the viewers would come closer to take a look, as a representation of the feeling of curiosity and excitement as a child.
I create my pieces with watercolor with soft blending to create a whimsical and cute feeling to my painting. I am highly influenced by the film My Neighbor Totoro, by Hayao Miyazaki, as that film always reminds me to enjoy life and keep being curious and creative.
Gabriel Galvan
Artist / Sculpture
Born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, MX.
Raised in Chicago, IL. since the age of 15.
Gabriel is a self-taught artist. He bloomed into his practice approximately seven years ago, working with 2D and 3D sculpture-metal/welding, plastic up-cycle recycle. He specialized in finding old, forgotten or obsolete materials and giving them a new purpose or a higher environmental value - transforming by-products into creative reuse. Gabriel's biggest influences are his children and in many ways is also shaped by our city.
"When my son Marco was 10yrs old, he was really into Legos and Bionicles. I was spending sometimes up to $100 in Lego Kits - we decided to start making our own from recycled materials and that's how I got started. Thank you, Marco.
Art is a way of life in Chicago neighborhoods that you can't get away from. We live in a country where consumption and waste are greater than what this earth can support. There are no limits - technology, new electronics or how much we can produce. Why not take some of that and give it a creative use." - Gabriel Galvan
Marina Dobrosavljevic
Artist / Author / Board Member
Born in Cuprija, Serbia.
Raised in Chicago, IL. since the ago of 8.
Marina is an author/artist creating works with which she hopes to inspire , uplift, and entertain.
Writing has always been a way for Marina to express herself and in 2009 it was her writing that
inspired her to try painting which she immediately loved. Marina believes the arts can have a
positive impact in our lives and that through various forms of art we can connect with one
another in a very meaningful way.
"I feel the work I am doing with S. H. E. Gallery is very important. S.H.E. Gallery is determined
to make a difference in our communities through the arts as well as other forms of community
support and I am honored to be a part of such a great organization ." -Marina "M"
Nicolas Diaz Jr.
Artist / Graphic Designer / Board Member
Born in Apatzingan, Michoacan, MX.
Raised in Chicago, IL. since the age of 8.
Nick studied at The Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago and earned his Bachelor of Applied Science in Visual Communications through Westwood College.
He works with graffiti art, spray can art, digital art and some acrylic painting with focus on digital art. Nick began drawing cartoons at the early age of 5 or 6 years old until he got into the graffiti art form at the age of 13 years old. The Chicago graffiti culture has been huge influence in his life as an artist as well as a designer.
"Influenced at a young age by the art of graffiti. I have learned that composition is key to design. The amount of work I put into each letter shows, and every letter is a new new problem to solve. When I design, I say less is more because I love white space and I strive for simplicity and function. I look at design as a tool that can be changed, formed and discovered as many times as it needs to come up with the right solution." - Nicky Nags
Patricia Cobo
Artist / Spiritual Therapist
Patricia Cobo Art
Patrica is a self-taught artist, and energy worker from Chicago, IL. As an artist she specializes in nature inspired abstracts, pet portraits and soul paintings. Her therapy practice includes Reiki, Qigong, crystal work and intuitive readings.
Her soul painting are an artistic representation of your aura. She reads, paints and interprets your aura to give insight of your energetic balance, spirit guides or if ancestors or angels are present.
Inspired since her youth by her father's artistic ability and creativity, she was also
gifted with her abilities as an energy worker from him. Empathic, clairsentient
and clairaudient from birth, she has harnessed her abilities in energy work through training, mentorship and guidance from multiple nationally renowned
spiritual teachers and Shaman.
Her Cuban roots inspire the energy and vibrant colors she uses to express and
evoke emotion. You will see that same vibrancy in her Soul Paintings as well. Patricia infuses her energy work into her paintings, creating something unique
for your space.
Spirituality, connection, creativity, and community comes through all facets of her work, artistically and energetically.
Yahulah Bentzedek
Artist / Writer
Born in Dimona, Israel.
Raised in Chicago, IL.
First, I am Yahulah Bentzedek. I was born in Dimona, Israel. I grew up in Chicago, Illinois. I’ve been writing since I was in grammar school. I started writing as an outlet to not being heard and feeling ignored, but I’ve always loved the arts. Dancing and just performing arts period. I continue to write because it’s a way of expressing myself and saying all the things my voice doesn’t always say. I love to dance, animals, food, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures. From SHE Gallery, I just want to learn all I can, and help people. I’ve always wanted to travel the world and take more creative writing classes to enhance my writing.