Through this series, Santana revisits pivotal stages of her life, pairing personal memory with the cultural symbols that have traveled with her family across generations. The result is a body of work that is at once a family portrait, a self-portrait, and an act of reclamation — a chance to look back at inherited culture not with the eyes of a child who wanted to fit in, but with the clarity and appreciation of an adult who understands what she was given.

Karla Santana is a first generation Mexican-American designer and illustrator from Chicago. As a self-proclaimed “serial-hobbyist,” she enjoys exploring a variety of mediums from Risograph printing, screenprinting, sewing, and crochet, and more. She often combines multiple mediums to create whimsical pieces that integrate nostalgic elements of her childhood with playful characters and a vibrant, character-driven visual language.

Karla Santana
Lotería
Opening Reception: May 2, 6-8pm
May 2-30, 2026

Lotería is on view at Spudnik Press, 1821 W. Hubbard St., Chicago, IL 60622. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm.

Programs at Spudnik Press are partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Driehaus Foundation, and the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.

Lees is currently an Artist in Residence at Spudnik Press, developing a new body of printwork that brings together thermally responsive inks and high-visibility reflective fabrics. Drawing from the visual language of early 20th-century pseudosciences—such as Rorschach inkblot tests and Thought Forms—the work takes on a nebulous, expressive quality that reflects early attempts to make the invisible visible. These prints are both intuitive and investigative, evoking shifting conditions and inviting engagement with ambiguity, pattern, and perception.

Kacie Lees is a Chicago-based neon artist, printmaker, and metalworker whose interdisciplinary practice explores light as both subject and material. Grounded in craft and informed by research into optics and chaos theory, the work combines fire and electricity to create luminous forms that exist between natural phenomena and human perception. Lees teaches neon fabrication nationally and is the author of Neon Primer: A Handbook on Light Construction, a hand-silkscreened technical manual supporting contemporary neon practice.

Programs at Spudnik Press are partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Driehaus Foundation, and the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.

Say goodbye to April showers and hello to spring blooms! Join us for a special Drink & Draw featuring a flower monotyping workshop with the help of our neighbors at Flowers for Dreams. Make your own one-of-a-kind floral prints and celebrate the season.

Lee Nah is a community-engaged scholar and printmaker from Chicago. She works as a studio monitor at Spudnik Press and has a special love for monotypes.

Pay what you can — suggested donation: $10–$20
RSVP encouraged so we can plan accordingly — drop-ins also welcome.

Drink & Draw is a low-key, drop-in social workshop devoted to drawing practices. There are no pretensions, no prerequisites, and newcomers are always welcome. Drink & Draw occurs on the second Wednesday of every month and features a special theme and a guest artist. Admission is a suggested donation of $10–$20. We provide the drinks — you just bring yourself (and your friends, and your family; children are always welcome).

Drink & Draw is generously sponsored by The Long Drink

Spudnik Press is turning 19, and we’re throwing a carnival to celebrate! Join us for a special Drink & Draw where we’ll be making decorations for our upcoming fundraiser. Come help us get the big top ready — paint signs, craft garlands, make props, and get into the carnival spirit while you drink and draw.

RSVP encouraged so we can plan accordingly — drop-ins also welcome.

Drink & Draw is a low-key, drop-in social workshop devoted to drawing practices. There are no pretensions, no prerequisites, and newcomers are always welcome. Drink & Draw occurs on the second Wednesday of every month and features a special theme and a guest artist. Admission is a suggested donation of $10–$20 but this time you are helping us, so pick the $0 option at RSVP). We provide the drinks — you just bring yourself (and your friends, and your family; children are always welcome).

Drink & Draw is generously sponsored by The Long Drink.