Contact:
donnaessig@yahoo.com
2110 Mount Carmel Road
Rocky Mount, VA 24151
(540)483-9251

Donna Essig was represented for 25 years by the Sonia Zaks Gallery in Chicago from 1980 until 2005 when the gallery closed. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1979 and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois in 1982. Her work is included in many private and public collections. She is known for her large scale figurative watercolors that are highly detailed and intensely colored narratives that include imagery from myth and dreams. Her current work reflects increasing environmental and geopolitical concerns. She has also collaborated with fellow artist and friend Mimi Babe Harris on 2 sculpture installations in Roanoke, Virginia.

Selected Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions:
1985, 1987, 1989, 1991,
1993, 1995, 1998, 2001:
Sonia Zaks Gallery, Chicago, IL
1986 Milliken University, Decatur, IL
1995 Art Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke, VA
   
Juried and invitational exhibitions:
Roanoke City Art Show:
1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000
Art Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke, VA
(People’s Choice Award 1992, 1993,1999)
Worth, Women & Wonder Reality Room Gallery, Georgetown, Washington, DC
Aquatic Visions Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL
Flora 88 Chicago Botanic Gardens
Group Exhibition Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Quiet Obsessions Parkland College, Champaign, IL
Faculty Exhibition 1987, 1989, 1991 Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
Evanston and Vicinity Juried Art Exhibition Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL (Award of Excellence)
Creatures Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
Group Show Bell Ross Galleries, Memphis, TN
Alice & Arthur Baer Competition Beverly Art Center, Chicago, IL
Illinois Invitational Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL
Watercolor USA Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, MO
Chicago Area Artists for Peace The Peace Museum, Chicago, IL
MFA Thesis Exhibition Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois (Purchase Prize)
A Show of Enthusiasm The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Gallery
   
Sculpture Installations:
2004: Sister Cities Sculpture Project Century Park, Roanoke, VA
Permanent sculpture installation Created with Mimi Babe Harris
1993: Artventure Art Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke, VA
Permanent sculpture installation Created with Mimi Babe Harris