By Nicole Stanton
The Chicago Cultural Center’s “Not a Soft Thing” art exhibit pushes back against the idea that motherhood is gentle, effortless or naturally intuitive. Created by a collective of 15 mothers, the show brings together sculpture, installations and living plants to highlight the real weight of caregiving and the creativity required to sustain it.
Several of the most eye-catching pieces take the shape of human silhouettes painted in deep blacks and greens. The figures stand, squat or push against the walls, their bodies filled with painted roots, vines and rib-like structures.
The organic imagery makes each figure look alive from the inside, as if their emotions, labor and exhaustion have become physical. Instead of showing motherhood as soft or sentimental, the artwork suggests it’s something that grows inside a person the way plants push through soil: slowly, forcefully, sometimes painfully.
Along one wall, small plant cuttings sit suspended in clear tubes, their roots dangling in the water. The display is simple, but it connects directly to the theme of the show: Growth takes time, attention and patience. The cuttings act almost like a quiet reminder of the things people care for daily without much recognition.
The layout of the exhibit gives visitors room to move around the sculptures and notice new details at every angle. The natural light from the large windows plays off the shadows of the cutouts, making the pieces feel even more layered. Even though the subject matter deals with struggle and responsibility, the overall atmosphere feels calm and intentional, inviting viewers to slow down and pay attention to the work in front of them.
“Not a Soft Thing,” which runs until March 22 at the Chicago Cultural Center, ultimately reframes caregiving as a form of strength. The artists show the parts of motherhood that usually stay invisible: fatigue, pressure, dedication, and the creative ways mothers keep going. Instead of presenting care as something delicate, the exhibit argues that it’s demanding and rooted deeply in the body.
Cultural Center art exhibit shows what plants and motherhood have in common
By Tiara Fields
The “Not a Soft Thing” exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center celebrates mothers and shows how plants and parenthood have a reciprocal relationship: They both change and adapt to unpredictable circumstances.
The exhibit is a liberating invitation to see caregiving as powerful and not limiting. The exhibit uses the green and Earthy tones of plants and wooden figures of women to represent growth.
The wood silhouettes of women are placed in the corners of the room, each caring for either a plant or fixing the foundation that holds it in place, which reflects the role of a mother to prioritize the health and heart of the child.
Giving flowers to mothers and caregivers around the world
By JoElla Malmquist
The Chicago Cultural Center exhibit “Not a Soft Thing” gathers work by 15 women from different backgrounds and cultures. The artwork is centered on the stages of motherhood, finding visual ways to interpret the hard work of being a mother. The overall theme of the showcase is heartwarming.
A glazed ceramic piece titled “An Inauspicious End,” represents the torso of a nine-months-pregnant women. Katie Kirk, the artist, describes her fondness of having been pregnant with her daughter. The artwork is encircled by ceramic braids, a reference to how Kirk and her daughter braid together.
The collection includes a poem written by A.Martinez that includes the touching line “remember to bring her flowers,” which could be interpreted as a “Thank you” to all mothers and caregivers, past and present:
“once it occurred to me, I never again
showed up to her house empty-handed;
Black-eyed Susans garden grown,
grocery store roses, foraged aster, yarrow, peony,
tulip, daisy, hyacinth, really whatever bodega bouquet
I could get my delighted hands on would do;
remember to bring her flowers,
remind her of what beauty she’s sown.”
A time capsule of motherhood and life’s tender moments
By Mirah Tulley
In the busy loop of Chicago, there lies a stillness of art in the Chicago Cultural Center. The art exhibit “Not a Soft Thing” brings together sculpture, painting, ceramics, draping, video and writing to highlight the messy overlap of creating and parenting. Some works are polished while others are left raw, reflecting the reality of life’s small moments. Whether it’s a late-night breastfeeding, or a pause to sip water and catch a breath, the pieces reflect the tenderness of care.
What was once a pink baby blanket has faded to beige. This art piece, created by Jenny Halpern, is an eye-catcher right when you enter the exhibition. Every stain, fold and detail embody the beginning stages of motherhood. It is beautifully layered to demonstrate time and stillness as well as the shift of perspective of a new mother.
The draping method captures the beauty and chaos that coexist in the early stages of motherhood. Each piece of fabric, some faded more than others, highlights memory. The art pieces are truly a time capsule, capturing a stage of life that passes quickly.
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