Margaret Crowley: Hazard Solo Exhibition at Illinois State University

Translating Physical Therapy Into Art at Illinois State University

When an occupational injury upends a daily routine, the recovery process usually unfolds in quiet, sterile rooms filled with medical equipment and relentless repetitions. For artist Margaret Crowley, accompanying her mother to physical therapy sessions for nearly a year turned into an entirely different kind of observation. Instead of sketching human figures or capturing the clinical environment directly, Crowley began translating the textures and rhythms of healing into gouache-on-silk paintings.

Those works form the core of Hazard, a solo exhibition by Crowley, a 2013 Master of Fine Arts alumna of Illinois State University. The exhibition ran from January 14 through February 26, 2025, at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. The collection brings viewers face-to-face with the peripheral details of medical recovery, focusing on objects that mark the passage of time and effort in a rehabilitation clinic.

The Particularities of Repeated Visits

The exhibition statement outlines a deliberate departure from traditional medical imagery. Rather than showing patients or doctors, Crowley zeroes in on the objects that populate the background of rehabilitation. These include the ubiquitous timers keeping track of the bodies’ necessary movements toward healing, a cheerful row of pet-portrait snapshots that adorn the wall, and the radio that provides constant background noise and rhythms for the staff and clients.

The paintings also capture the small signifiers of clinical life, such as a therapist’s informative badge with decorative elements added to its lanyard, alongside the intricate details of anti-fatigue floor mats that aid in prolonged standing. Together, these elements document the specific atmosphere of recovery spaces through the lens of repeated visits.

Crowley was named one of ten Newcity Chicago Breakout Artists of 2023.

Conversations Across Generations of Alumni

As part of the exhibition, Crowley will be in conversation with artist Karen Reimer, who earned her MFA from Illinois State University in 1989. As part of the exhibition, Crowley will be in conversation with artist Karen Reimer, connecting Reimer’s artistic practice with Crowley’s gouache-on-silk compositions.

While university galleries frequently host contemporary installations—such as the institution’s 2021 exhibition featuring Chicago-based artist Alice Hargrave—Hazard anchors its focus entirely in the quiet, domestic choreography of physical rehabilitation and the quiet resilience required to navigate it.

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