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Bucking Tradition
by Robyn Farrell Roulo
Group Show at Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)
November 14th - February 14th, 2010
Posted
11/21/09
“Italics: Italian Art Between Tradition and Revolution 1968-2008” sheds light on nearly a half century of contemporary art not otherwise seen outside of Italy. The brainchild of international curator, writer and critic, Francesco Bonami, and co-presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, the exhibition gives new insight to the conventional definition of “Italian Art”. Presenting work by more than 100 works from nerly 80 artists, “... [more]
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Illuminating a Recession
by Dan Gunn
Jan Tichy at Richard Gray Gallery
October 9th - January 9th, 2010
Posted
11/16/09
It’s rare that an economic downturn has an 'upside' but without the downturn Jan Tichy’s show “Installations” for Richard Gray Gallery would not have been possible. Mr. Tichy’s video installations are literally embedded in the vacant offices and abandoned conference rooms of an entire floor in the Hancock Building. Stepping off of an elevator into an empty and dimly lit level of corporate offices is already an evocative enough experience on its own and is heightened by what... [more]
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Reassessing MiddleCoast Art
by Dan Gunn
Design 99, Cody Critcheloe, Jeremiah Day, and Whoop Dee Doo, the Midwest Radical Cultural Corridor's Compass Group, Scott Hocking, Kerry James Marshall, Greely Myatt, Marjetica Potrč, Julika Rudelius, Artur Silva, Deb Sokolow, Carnal Torpor, Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop at Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago
October 1st - January 17th, 2010
Posted
10/26/09
If “Heartland” at the Smart Museum were only another tired attempt to define “Midwestern-ness,” it would have failed before it began. Exhibitions that fall into this trap of showing “Midwestern-ness,” inevitably end up in condescending generalizations, or in forced comparisons, made to prove that “Midwesterners have culture too” which is equally condescending. Fortunately, “Heartland” is not such an exhibition. “Heartland,” is an exhibition that, for once, take... [more]
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Alienated Production
by Erik Wenzel
Liam Gillick at Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)
October 10th - January 10th, 2010
Posted
10/19/09
"Three Perspectives and a Short Scenario" is the midcareer survey of New York and London-based artist Liam Gillick. The show takes on the idea of what a mid-career survey is, as its subject. In dealing with institutions Gillick has a propensity for problematizing the relationship between artist and venue. For each stop of the exhibition, he “gifted” half of the space back to the venue. This forced the interactions between artist and curator out into the open. Gillick contributed four ele... [more]
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Disappearing Act
by Erik Wenzel
Selina Trepp at Andrew Rafacz Gallery
September 11th - October 24th
Posted
10/5/09
Upon entering the dimly lit gallery, one encounters a tasteful pile of smooth rocks under a spotlight. How poetic, in a bad way. But looking up, we see the fire retardant black foil, focusing the flood light into a spot. That is a good relationship, having a very tasteful, Crate and Barrel-like arrangement of attractive stones offset by crude but useful black foil. Many moments in this installation by Selina Trepp allow the utility of makeshift solutions to deflate an otherwise polished... [more]
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Reflection: a video program
by Erik Wenzel
Posted
9/7/09
It is critical today that exhibition strategies for time-based art are examined. Unlike a painting, sculpture, or photograph, if a video is 7 minutes and 30 seconds, that is exactly how long it takes to “see it.” There are also issues of gallery space, sound levels, light pollution and on. The current video program at Gallery 400 has an interesting approach in that the work of five artists “linked by their varying approaches to artist agency” are screened five days a week... [more]
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Overlap
by Robyn Farrell Roulo
Hisham Akira Bharoocha, Bjorn Copeland, Matt Irie, Alexis Mackenzie, HILARY PECIS, Brion Nuda Rosch, Tobacco, Eric Yahnker at ebers|B9
July 17th - August 15th
Posted
8/3/09
Chicago’s artistic landscape is a winding path with many stops along the way. From well-known galleries on Michigan Avenue and River North, to the cutting edge spaces in the West Loop, the city offers a variety of venues for art. Over the past decade some of the lesser known artistic communities have become a hotbed for alternative project spaces that lend a helping hand to struggling artists and gallerists alike. You may find art hanging on the walls of a favorite restaurant... [more]
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It All Depends on What the Meaning of the Word “Is” Is
by Erik Wenzel
Taylor Hokanson, Chris Reilly at Gallery Uno
July 10th - August 1st
Posted
7/20/09
It is always exhilarating to visit the Fine Arts Building. You step off the street of present day Chicago and are transported to the 1930s. After riding in a manually operated roller-coaster elevator that hurtles upward through the darkness, controlled by an expert driver, you arrive on the 5th floor of a building with dark wood trim everywhere and halls of doors with frosted glass that should have hand painted signs saying “private detective.”Instead of men in fedoras and snappy three-piece s... [more]
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Summer Movies and Avant-Garde Performance
by Erik Wenzel
Posted
7/20/09
There seems to be a strange correlation between movies and avant-garde performance art this summer. First was Public Enemies, Michael Mann’s telling of the infamous John Dillinger’s exploits. It made me think of another telling of Dillinger, also shot on video.During his infamous trip to America in the 1974, Josef Beuys made a stop in Chicago to deliver a trademark lecture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While in town he came upon the famous Biograph Theater and w... [more]
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The Big World
by Kristen Carter
Group Exhibition at Chicago Cultural Center
April 25th - August 30th
Posted
6/29/09
Today, the market for Chinese art is widely reported to be among the fastest growing in the world. The country’s growing mega-cities and booming economy are reasons for a dynamic and thriving contemporary art scene worth noting and seeing.Gregory G. Knight and Tereza de Arruda, co-curators of “The Big World” at the Chicago Cultural Center, have put together a show featuring twenty artists that critically explore urban life, the human condition, and the collective ideology of people living... [more]
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