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Our Lives. Past. Present. Future.

The artwork of Lora Jost, Rachel Epp Buller and Emily Schroeder Willis will be featured in “Our Lives. Past. Present. Future.” a new exhibit opening July 27 at Carriage Factory Art Gallery.

Lora Jost is a graduate of Bethel College in North Newton and the University of Wisconsin-Madison who does mosaic, scratchboard and mixed media artwork.

“ With a sense of beauty and compassion, through images that visualize sounds that are both real and imagined, my work sounds the alarm on climate change, animal extinction and other urgent concerns, encouraging the viewer to ‘listen’ with an open heart towards creating a future where there is enough to share and compassion for all,” Jost said.

Buller is a regional coordinator for The Feminist Art Project, a board member of the National Women’s Caucus for Art and Associate Professor of Visual Arts and Design at Bethel College. She describes herself as a feminist, art historian, printmaker and mother of three children whose recent art and scholarship speak to a perpetual balancing act. She has lectured, curated, exhibited and published widely on issues of motherhood and the maternal body in contemporary art.

Willis is a ceramicist who lectures at the Art Institute of Chicago and teaches at Loyola University, Chicago. She also has taught at Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Canada; University of Denver, Colorado; and University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.

“In the past few years I have been trying to simplify the work I make,” Willis said. “I try to make every mark on the surface of my work matter, every dart necessary, every line indispensable.”

An opening reception for “Our Lives. Past. Present. Future.” will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. July 27 at Carriage Factory Art Gallery, 128 E. Sixth St. in Newton. Pianist Dawn Ivers will provide live music. The event is free and open to the public.

“Our Lives. Past. Present. Future.” will be on display through Sept. 20.

Carriage Factory Art Gallery is a nonprofit organization that sells art by more than 50 area artists. It also provides workshops in various art media throughout the year and offers space for rent for special events and meetings. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.