Meet Arica Hilton of Hilton Asmus Contemporary in River North Art District

Today we’d like to introduce you to Arica Hilton.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Arica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
“I have never believed that our lives are predestined by the event that happened before or that we do not have the ability to change our circumstances because of one choice or another. I believe in free will, that we can choose our path the way we want to design it. ​I believe in the power of vision, perhaps that’s why I am an artist.” AH

I opened my first gallery when I was 26 years old. That was 1986. I was divorced with 2 small children and thought I was going to light the world on fire because of my love of the arts. It was a challenging time, being a single mom with 2 children but after about the third year, I learned how to talk to people (I was very shy at the time) and begin to actually run a business. One of my biggest collectors was Morton’s Restaurants. Arnie Morton sold Morton’s to a restaurant group and they began opening locations all over the world. If you go into a Morton’s anywhere in the U.S. (and throughout the world) you will see Leroy Neiman sports art hanging on their walls. I curated the collection for them. They were one of my biggest clients.

In the mid-90’s, I started an art publishing company that yielded millions of dollars in sales selling limited edition fine art prints to Japanese galleries. It was one of the most prosperous times for anyone involved in the art world. One day, I may write a book about that time period in the art market. People were becoming millionaires overnight. That was when the Japanese market was strong and they were buying the $80 million Van Gogh paintings. Today it’s not such a large number, but back then, it was unheard of! It was an exciting time. That lasted only a few years until the Japanese market collapsed. Many of the art dealers and gallerists throughout the world crashed and burned with them.

I was very fortunate that I was able to rebound from the art economy and worked as a private dealer for a few years. During the entire time of my career, I continued to write my poetry. It was about 10 years ago I decided to go back to my true calling and began painting.

In 2012, I was talked into opening another gallery in the River North Arts District on Wells. But this time I would focus on my own work while exhibiting other artist’s works that I love.

In the last couple of years, the gallery has focused on photography showing the works of famous photographers such as Terry O’Neill, Julian Wasser, Peter Sorel, Susan Aurinko, and the world’s best selling wildlife photographer, David Yarrow.

While running the gallery, I am still busy with private and public commissions. I recently completed an 8 x 18 foot painting in the lobby of EMME, LEED Certified Gold high rise in the West Loop.

My work focuses on environmental, human and animal rights issues that plague our world. My series, “I FLOW LIKE WATER” brings attention to the millions of pounds of plastic weighing down our oceans, killing our marine life and releasing toxins into the air we breathe. Water is an essential part of our existence. It is the source of life. Our earth is made up of 70% water and our bodies are made up of 70% water. I wonder if that really is a coincidence?

We are the caretakers of our planet. It is not enough to think on local, national or global terms anymore. I believe we must think in universal terms. I want to do whatever I can to make my little space a better place to live. And if each one of us lives a conscious life, caring for our actions and being an example to our children, our friends and neighbors, maybe they, too, will do the same.Since water is the essence of life, it too is a living thing. If we can learn to flow like water, to become water, we will understand the importance of the interconnection we have with all life.

Below is an excerpt from my artist statement:

When I was a young girl, I discovered a poem by Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, that touched me so deeply that it gave birth to the passionate pursuit of the meaning of life. It’s interesting how in that magic instant one can change course and chart a new path without even realizing it. It began with travel. Not travel in the touristy sort of way. But travel, during the course of business, such as my trips to Japan. When business was done, I would slip away and take the Shinkansen (bullet train) by myself from Tokyo and Kyoto to visit the numerous temples and gardens. I reveled in this new world as I learned about a new people and their cultures. It was like taking an enrichment course.

As much as I loved travel and expanding my world, it was a lonely time for me. I was still young and had not yet settled into my skin, as they say. I had never quite felt rooted anywhere. Born in another country and coming to America at the age of six, I didn’t even speak the language. I learned English after many months but that feeling of displacement had never really left me.

Travel adventures are the greatest education, but no matter where I went, I was still with me. I could not lose myself or find myself, unless I stayed in that place of love. What was I looking for? I loved being in sacred places and meeting sacred people. But what comprised sacredness? Was it someone else’s designation of what was truly “sacred?” I respected other’s beliefs, but I realized that their beliefs did not necessarily resonate with me, although I would appropriate what I felt applied to my life. Years later, a friend told me that I was a “Synchretist,” an amalgamation of different schools of thought or cultures. I tried to live by the best of all I had learned from the teachers in my life.

And I found myself turning always to poetry. Like a lover pursues the beloved, Poetry pursued me. It was my “Herzblut” as they say in German, my lifeblood, my passion. Reading that first poem by Pablo Neruda “Your breast is enough for my heart and my wings for your freedom. What was sleeping above your soul will rise out of my mouth to heaven” had transported me. And then I discovered Rilke “The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things,” and 13th century Sufi mystic poet/philosopher, Rumi, “This Being Human is a Guest House.” And then Ibn ‘Arabi, the 13th century Sufi poet/philosopher born in Spain came to me. When you register on Facebook, they ask what is your religion? My answer was, “Love, Peace and Freedom.” Later I discovered a line written by Ibn ‘Arabi, “Love is my religion.” I had found my companions in life. Or they found me.

Years later, I met my father for the first time. It was an unfamiliar experience, rather unexpected, so I asked him if he could tell me about the family that I did not grow up with. I wanted to learn about my roots. Born in Turkey, but raised in America, I had no idea where I really came from. Three years later, my father brought me a gift, my genealogical chart. It was a fascinating compilation of characters reaching all the way back to Noah and Adam! And it was only the male line! I took the chart to a professor at University of Chicago to translate some of the names. He was quite impressed with my ancestry, many of whom were poets and philosophers. And who was on that list? None other than Muhiddin Ibn ‘Arab, the great Spanish/Arab poet/philosopher!

That was another step to put my life into perspective. With the reassurance that my DNA was in action, one poem led to another until I was ready for my words to be visually defined. And so the paintings began to unfold. As I explored the visual poetry, I felt I needed to go deeper into the realm of the creation. Isn’t that what religions strive for? I discovered mathematics and physics, quantum mechanics, string theory. All those stars in the sky, I realized were nothing more than another extension of humanity. I learned that all the elements in our bloodstream are the same elements that comprise a star. And what my ancestor Ibn ‘Arabi, Rumi and all the mystical poets wrote about was that interconnection of the human being with the universe. And that is what I had been searching for my entire life. That we are the same as a star. How beautiful is that?”

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a road with wonderful hills and deep valleys. Running a business as a single mom, raising two boys alone for 20 years has been a challenge and a blessing. It has made me stronger and more creative in figuring out ways to survive and flourish.

Oftentimes, working with artists who do not understand the business of art is also a challenge. I found that I have to manage the giving of my time and energy to others with balancing the time to focus on my own creativity.

My left brain and right brain work 50/50, so I am always thinking of the practical aspects of art along creativity nonstop! It can be exhausting. But I find that the more challenging a project is, the more rewarding it is when I finally accomplish my goals. And then I set new goals! It is a never ending cycle!

I never give up and if I am told something is not possible, I figure out a way to do the impossible. There is always a way!

Hilton Asmus Contemporary – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a multi-media artist, poet and social justice activist. As a young girl, I studied architecture and design and have worked as an art publisher, gallerist, interior designer, poet and artist.

My gallery, Hilton | Asmus Contemporary specializes in photography, and multi-disciplinary art installations.

Our mission employs art as a means to make our planet better through conservation of our environment; and by placing value on human & animal rights.

One of the themes I have explored are the issues of water and plastics in the oceans through my series “I FLOW LIKE WATER” in which I have created a body of works to bring awareness about issues that often are ignored, such as the billions of pounds of plastic weighing down our oceans. My paintings are infused with recycled plastic water bottles that will address the issue while seeking solutions to make our world a better place.

I have also launched a speaker series by partnering with organizations tackling social justice issues which occur globally, nationally, regionally and locally.

I am the spokesperson for GREENHEART INTERNATIONAL, a Chicago-based, global nonprofit that connects people and planet to create global leaders through a unique and diverse collection of programs fostering cultural exchange, eco-fair trade, volunteerism, personal development, and environmentalism.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Oh my! I have so many!

• I did a collaboration with Italian artist Marco Nereo Rotelli at the Field Museum curating the poetry aspect of a sound and light installation.
• Recently, I was commissioned to paint an 8 x 18 foot painting for the lobby of a LEED Certified Gold development at 165 N. Des Plaines in the West Loop. The painting can be seen from the street and was a seminal moment in my life.
• In October of 2017, I was the featured artist for a solo exhibition of my I FLOW LIKE WATER series at the UNION LEAGUE CLUB of CHICAGO.
• . On March 13, there will be a dedication of my 6 x 10 foot painting called UNIVERSE, LIFE UNLIMITED at Seigle Outpatient Center of Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago.

I love doing public works and it seems that is the direction my career is heading.

Contact Info:

• Address: 716 N. Wells
  Chicago, IL 60654
• Website: www.hilton-asmus.com ¶ www.aricahilton.com
• Phone: 312.852.8200
• Email: arica@hilton-asmus.com

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