<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418552/ya0ji1hcey0eohvobrwv.png"></figure>&nbsp;By GINNY VAN ALYEAAt the busy northside intersection of Lincoln and Diversey, floor to ceiling windows on a&nbsp;corner flatiron building reveal a seemingly&nbsp;out-of-nowhere art gallery, filled with unusual toys and bright figures displayed on the high walls. Inside visitors find quality work by both established and emerging artists in the fields&nbsp;of modern pop, illustration art and character/toy design. Everything within Rotofugi Designer Toy Store and Gallery is devoted to the unusual. Below is my conversation with co-founder Kirby Kerr.&nbsp;–GVCGN:&nbsp;How did the gallery, and Rotofugi Designer Toy Store, get started and how did you come to focus on toys and modern pop?KK: My wife and I opened Rotofugi in July 2004 because we found this thing called "urban vinyl toys" that no one in Chicago seemed to have. In August 2006 we were lucky enough to take over the building next door to our toy store and officially open Rotofugi Gallery as its own space, giving us more room to do regularly scheduled exhibitions. Before moving next door, our first exhibits were held in the back half of our store and ranged from customized toy shows to more traditional paintings and drawings. While we loved showing work in our store, we began to ache for more space after nearly two years of exhibits in the increasingly cramped space.The gallery was, to be entirely honest, almost an accident. When we were first starting out we called ourselves "Rotofugi Designer Toy Store &amp; Gallery" primarily because we wanted to get across the idea that the toys we were selling were not just toys, but art toys. What we quickly found out was that if you put the word "Gallery" anywhere as part of your name people will ask if they can have an exhibit in your space. So, in some way, we accidentally became a gallery space in addition to selling toys.Our focus has always been on showing artwork that we love. In our earliest days we booked a lot of exhibits with friends and customers of the store, and then progressed over time to inviting some of our favorite artists to exhibit in our space. In large part that philosophy has held true...we show things we personally love. These days it's a combination of modern pop, illustration and artwork by folks&nbsp;who are somehow involved in the designer toy world. Our curator, David van Alphen, joined us in 2008 after having owned/operated DvA Gallery for several years. We had long admired the way David curated his own space so when the opportunity arose, we were happy to join forces.CGN:&nbsp;What do you tell or show people who come into the gallery for the first time?KK:&nbsp;We're pretty hands off, preferring to let the work speak for itself. We like to think we've got a unique situation where the gallery gives context to the toys and vice versa. Of course if a visitor wants to talk about the work we're always happy to provide as much information and background about the artist as we can.CGN:&nbsp;Do most of your artists also work as&nbsp;(or with) designers?KK:&nbsp;It's really all over the place. Some are full-time artists, others work in graphic design or even toy design by profession, and many are professional illustrators.CGN: How do you see your gallery in relation to the overall Chicago art scene?KK:&nbsp;I've always struggled with our place in the Chicago art scene. On one hand we're often exhibiting nationally or internationally known artists. On the other hand, because we work in a lesser-known niche, the audience for the work tends to be rather small within Chicago. I'd like to think we're adding a layer of variety and showing work that would otherwise not have a home in Chicago and giving exposure to artists in a positive atmosphere.&nbsp;CGN: Does Chicago have a unique place within the modern pop and illustration art scene?KK:&nbsp;Chicago is home to a number of fantastic modern pop artists and illustrators, many of which we've shown over the years. In particular, we're big fans of both Jeremiah Ketner and Travis Lampe, two Chicago-based artists who have made a good impact with their paintings. Another Chicago artist we love,&nbsp;Jay Ryan, is probably the closest to having help put Chicago on the map, not necessarily for "modern pop" but as a gig-poster artist, another art form we absolutely love.CGN:&nbsp;Describe the scene of your typical&nbsp;openings.KK:&nbsp;It's hard to generalize, but they are for the most part pretty casual affairs. Given the nature of our combined toy store and art gallery setup we tend to be pretty family friendly (no alcohol) and we almost always arrange to have the artist available to meet with fans at the opening.&nbsp;CGN:&nbsp;Are most of the works shown in the gallery humorous or sinister? &nbsp;KK:&nbsp;A little of both actually! We do often show things that could be seen as humorous, but we don't specifically seek that out. A few of our favorite artists tend to explore dark themes too, like Daniel Danger and Derek Hess.CGN:&nbsp;Is the client market for works exhibited in the gallery different than in the designer toy store? &nbsp;KK:&nbsp;Yes...and no. We do have several good clients that purchase artwork but aren't into the toys, but also have many that buy both. In a lot of ways we see the toys we sell, when everything "clicks," as just another way for an artist to reach their collectors. Of course not every toy meets that goal, but we're constantly looking out for artists that are doing interesting things within the designer toy niche.CGN:&nbsp;Do you ever deal in the secondary market?KK:&nbsp;We've toyed around (sorry, pun not intended) with selling a few items on consignment for customers, but for the most part we avoid the secondary market...we're interested in what's new and fresh, not what's hot on eBay.CGN:&nbsp;In the toy store are you essentially&nbsp;selling highly collectible novelty items for adults, or sophisticated toys for kids? Do most of your clients get hooked early on?KK:&nbsp;For the most part the toys we sell are intended for adult collectors, though you're right, many of our good customers are younger kids or teens who appreciate the design elements. I can't say that we intentionally try to hook customers, but collecting toys is definitely an addiction for many... a&nbsp;fun addiction for sure!&nbsp;CGN: Are most of your collectors new to the&nbsp;contemporary art world?KK:&nbsp;I'd venture to say that a majority of our gallery clients are fairly new to collecting original works of art. We see a lot of people starting out with toys and collectibles that later become regular gallery patrons as they seek out unique examples of artwork. In a lot of ways it's not dissimilar to people starting out collecting inexpensive prints and "graduating" to buying paintings. In the end we're just trying to offer good art and design across a spectrum of media and prices, at least that's what we aspire to!</body></html>

CGN's interview with Rotofugi's Kirby Kerr

Dealer Profile- Rotofugi Gallery: Where Toys and Art Meet

<html><head></head><body>By GINNY VAN ALYEACollectors Anne and Mark Siebert bought a house in suburban Naperville 21 years ago, and though they like their quieter pace of life 30 miles outside of Chicago, they have become devoted city gallery visitors.&nbsp;After first meeting artist Peter Max one day at a suburban mall, they were so delighted with the personal experience that they started venturing downtown in search of more. They found a community ready to teach and welcome them with open arms, and many of those relationships have become two-way dialogues with artists and dealers that have opened up their world and shown them that art can indeed change your life. - GV&nbsp;Sitting down over coffee and pastries in their tidy kitchen, Mark and Anne tell me when they first realized how eye-opening art could be as a part of their day-to-day life. Mark admits&nbsp;that the first spark ignited in a suburban shopping mall in the late 1990s when they wandered into Merrill Chase Gallery, where painter&nbsp;Peter Max was having an exhibition.&nbsp;Mark laughs and remembers thinking, “‘He’s a really famous artist. Let’s go in.’ So we met him. And we actually bought something.”To Anne seeing an artist’s passion in person was a revelation, and she wanted more. The couple plunged headfirst into what would become an art collecting addiction. Seeking art in gallery spaces in the city, they ventured in by train and introduced themselves to dealers, attended dozens of openings and panel discussions, as well as BFA and MFA shows at the School of the Art Institute Chicago.&nbsp;They got know a number of artists, such as Dan Addington (also a dealer), whose piece was the second one they purchased in River North (Ron Clayton, represented by Addington's gallery, was the first), and William Conger. The dealers they met, like Ann and Roy Boyd of Roy Boyd Gallery, Frank Paluch of Perimeter Gallery, Myra Casis and Meg Sheehy at Zg Gallery, and William Lieberman of Zolla/Lieberman all took the eager new collectors under their collective wing to help them learn. Coming to downtown galleries to see what was new soon became an escape from a structured 9-5 life.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418568/vumr3ezel9tc4glo8kf5.png"><figcaption>The Sieberts lounge in their colorful corner. From left to right: Paul Sierra, Su-En Wong, John Buck, Sarah Hicks (on glass table), Willam Conger (on wall in back corner)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;To learn more about this new scene, Mark and Anne started going on the free River North Saturday Gallery Tours when they began over a decade ago. Mark recalls, “We continued to go on the tours even after we started to collect. Any space we go into, if you want a direction to explain about the gallery or the artists, they’re more than happy to do it, but on the tour you get so much more additional background. Even with artists we’re familiar with, when we hear the dealer talk we learn something we didn’t know before.”The Sieberts approached their newly discovered passion for art like dedicated students and did their homework.According to Anne, “Neither one of us has a background in art, but once we went to River North, that was it for the malls. We were captivated. Our tastes changed really quickly—they’re changing still even now.”*The Sieberts have lived in the same house in Naperville for 21 years. Having made some updates over the years, their most significant change seems to be the addition of artwork to almost every wall and tabletop.&nbsp;According to Anne, “Everything else is pretty bland in our home—it’s all beige and black, so we’re not limited by colors. We fall in love and make it work.”Their collecting approach is very straightforward, “There is no formula where we think, 'OK, now we have to get this type of art or that type.' We try to keep things different—various materials and mediums, young artists as well as established—in order to have a range.”<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418569/odjavf08p6kszbz5wenq.png"><figcaption>The Sieberts' neutral living room is a showcase for sculpture, ceramics, and colorful paintings. Works seen here from left to right: paintings by Jamie Adams, and William Conger; on the table: William Lieberman, Ruth Duckworth, and Jay Strommen; on pedestal and sideboard: Josh Garber.</figcaption></figure>Connecting with artists has been a particular source of engagement for the couple. “We’re proud of the fact that we support local Chicago galleries. We have purchased art from 13 Chicago galleries, and many of the artists in our collection are local. We treasure our relationships with all of the artists that we’ve gotten to know,” says Anne.&nbsp;About sculptor Josh Garber Mark shares, “We have lunch or dinner with him, or he’ll have us out to his studio. Sometimes he runs ideas by us. At an opening after he’d just found out that he was a finalist for a commission for the City [of Chicago], he was sketching and asking what we thought. It was fascinating to be in that kind of discussion with him.”&nbsp;Anne says they even give him a little feedback when he asks, “I think Josh lets us in on the process. He shows us prototypes—sometimes we snap them up. That’s a lot of fun for us. I think when artists are surrounded by other artists maybe they forget how unique their talents are. As non-artists, we want to tell them how phenomenal their gift is. I think they need to hear it. And anyway, I’m not sure anyone could even stop us from telling them ‘fabulous job!’ I think artists are thrilled with each chance to talk to interested people. They’re all so willing to share with us.”William Lieberman says there’s something special about the relationship with Garber, “Anne and Mark both elevate his process. Josh is so into it—his whole existence revolves around his art. They make him feel it’s really important. They help artists feel good about who they are.*Nearly every piece in the collection has a backstory that the Sieberts are eager to share. A painting by Betty Cleeland, black with scattered bits of red and yellow, hangs in the family room by the TV. Anne tells me that they ended up buying the work when the shuttle Columbia exploded in 2003. The Sieberts watched the news before heading into the city to visit Roy Boyd Gallery. “Betty says you’re either looking through the end of a microscope or a telescope. The painting was a reminder of the mysteries of the universe and the need for space exploration. It especially struck us on that day.”In a tiny room off of the hall is one of Nicholas Sistler’s diminutive works. Mark explains it is based on erotica from the Weimar Republic in Germany, commenting on what many women had to do to make ends meet after WWI. The charged scene is almost too small for the casual observer to see, but Anne clearly recalls a day when a plumber, finishing up some work in the house, had his nose practically in the piece, astounded at the small scale of discovery of a naked woman in a compromising position.&nbsp;She remembers, “I was torn whether or not to pretend to be shocked. His expression was priceless.”•Mark is an insurance attorney, and Anne is a biologist turned textbook representative. She explains, “What we do certainly colors our experience. We tend to be very black and white and analytical in the way we evaluate things. Collecting art has sort of given us the gray. That artistic element is an interesting layer for us that’s added a dimension that didn’t exist before we started collecting. It wasn’t a part of how we used to think.”Looking ahead, Anne reflects, “We plan to be with this art for quite a while, but we get the&nbsp;sense that it will exist beyond us. Since almost all of our works are originals, we lend whenever there’s a request. All an artist has to do is ask. They are also invited to come here to visit their art anytime too, since it’s a part of them."&nbsp;</body></html>

Chicago gallery news features art collectors Anne and Mark Siebert. 

Collector Profile: Anne and Mark Siebert

By GINNY VAN ALYEA&nbsp;Linda Warren’s past 10 years in Chicago have gone by quickly: the gallery will officially turn 10 this June. Thinking about how she got started, as well as what’s ahead, Warren was in a reflective mood when we spoke in the fall. Though she accidentally got into the art business when she was living in L.A. over a decade ago, nurturing artists’ careers came naturally to someone who lives for today. Her passion for nurturing artists’ careers has given her a personal framework with which to build a successful gallery program, and it has led to some new and surprising projects at home and around the country. -GVWhen Linda Warren was working in production in the Los Angeles film industry in the 1990s, an artist friend asked her to store art in her home after being evicted from his studio. She was more than willing. When Warren started casually showing the artist’s work to film colleagues and selling it, she figured she was just helping everyone out. Soon, another artist asked if Warren would show his work as well. She recalls, “I would get excited and bring a painting to someone, just as a friend—I started out as a conduit from the artist to the buyer, and that really continues today.” Despite never feeling truly passionate about the film industry, she says it was a good living through which she made a lot of contacts. Transitioning from the film world to art didn’t happen overnight. Aware that a lot of the film people she worked with were counting on her for employment, Warren eventually converted her entire Silverlake Hills home to a gallery and began to balance her dual role. The result was what Warren remembers as an “apartment gallery on steroids,” filled with hundreds of people and crazy events. Looking back on the experience, she says she can’t believe she allowed it.In the midst of managing her new profession, Warren reconnected with a man she had known when she was in law school nearly 20 years earlier. After seeking Warren’s advice on acquiring artwork for his home on the north shore of Chicago, the couple decided to reconnect for good. Warren closed the L.A. space and moved to Chicago to marry her former love as well as help raise&nbsp;his four young boys. She put new gallery plans on hold, but it was tough to wait: “I dropped an insanely different life and became a suburban housewife. When I finally opened the gallery here in 2003 I was just ready—I knew this was what I wanted.”In L.A. Warren had reached out to artists and friends and was used to having people come to her. When seeking a space in Chicago she gravitated to the West Loop, where she says he liked living in her own little world. Linda Warren Gallery opened in 2003 and became a Fulton Market destination, showcasing art by a variety of media. She remembers, “When I first moved here Paula Henderson—she was my inaugural show here and I represented her in L.A.— introduced me to some collectors who quizzed me, ‘What are you going to specialize in?’ I just looked at them like, ‘What do you mean’? It’s my energy and money. Why would I constrain myself? I’m going to go with what resonates for me.’ People can take it or leave it.”When working with artists, Warren wants to show quality, as well as what she responds to. She’s ambitious but realistic about the overwhelming volume of work out there, much of which is admittedly poor quality, but a great deal, she says, is also good but simply overlooked. She confesses, “I’m very open to looking at everyone’s art who submits. Maybe other people try, but I absolutely do look at everything; it’s exciting to me. I have a box under my desk of stuff I just like. If I can help an artist, I’ll do it, though this year I might have just 6 shows, and that makes it harder for an artist to have a show here. The ones I work with have to let me do what I do.”Warren favors evolution versus planning in her life. She says, “I view my entire career in this as something that happened very naturally. I don’t plot. Setting just an exhibition schedule is even a struggle for me.” Her attitude is that hard work can make up for planning: “I quit law school to go to Israel, and there I became a citizen and became immersed in day to day life. You don’t think much about tomorrow there—that life sort of fit with me. If I’m alive tomorrow that’s great. I’m a hard worker and I’m passionate about what I do. That’s the key for anyone.”Since moving to a larger gallery space around the corner on North Aberdeen in 2011 and becoming Linda Warren Projects, Warren says business has changed in surprising ways. The space accommodates two exhibition spaces now, Gallery X and Gallery Y, and outside the gallery Warren has taken on a handful of substantial corporate art consulting contracts. Warren is candid about the biggest difference between selling art out of the gallery and working on corporate collections—the financial reward gap is vast. Though she says she’s always been out of the mind-set that she loves the gallery business enough to lose money, now she’s pleased that the corporate work is feeding the business and supporting some overhead.Warren’s current project has been taking her to Cleveland for the better part of two years, where she’s been working on a corporate collection for Eaton Corporation’s new world headquarters. “I didn’t know what I was getting into,” she says, “I got the call when I was out walking my dog. They showed me renderings of the building and they didn’t have a specific budget, but they asked me to come up with a contract based on several scenarios. They wanted it to be reflective or their business.” Warren’s own vision was what the company wanted. Tasked with curating the art for an 800,000 square foot space for 1,000 employees (there are 90,000 worldwide), Warren began with a PowerPoint presentation of 150 artists. When the back and forth began, she says, “They flipped out. They liked 100 out of 150. I didn’t really know what they were going to go with it—it was a crapshoot. We went from there to find out what they loved. A lot of work also had to be commissioned, since we were dealing with 50 and 30 foot walls. We’ve got great work from Emmett Kerrigan, Juan Angel Chavez, and Lora Fosberg, among many others. Warren is now close to the project’s final frontier and can finally see how things are shaping up. It is difficult to begin with just drawings, she admits, but it’s great when you realize it’s been two years and you’re already installing all that art.Warren works hard to support her family as well as her artists. Whereas most dealers today say they have no choice but to travel and participate in art fairs, Warren says she usually does just one a year, though in 2012 she didn’t do any. Art fairs remind Warren of the film industry. She explains, “There’s this insane amount of work and exhausting energy required. You might just be talking to people that are not that interesting. It’s exhilarating if you’re selling, but if you’re not, it’s depressing. I know it’s important to artists. It’s just an energy that I cannot stand. The point of what I’m trying to do with my life is to help the art. How I do that might not be how everyone else would, but I want everyone to succeed. I guess it’s ‘please don’t rely on me only.’ I’m not going to be a slave to it either. &nbsp;Looking ahead, perhaps to the next 10 years, Warren still wonders how to balance her life with the gallery. She acknowledges, “The kids are more independent now, so everything’s going to change. What’s going to happen down the road? I don’t know. I envision doing thing much more internationally. I want the gallery to keep going, and it would be great if I could have one big project every couple years as well.”Warren’s husband has always said the longer you’re in the business the more likely you’ll succeed. To Warren, “I know now that it’s true. It takes a lot of time to get it going in this business. I literally don’t have a strategy. It’s going to take time to understand my aesthetic and it’s changing like everyone else’s. That’s how it’s always going to be. It’s a ton of work and it can be a grind, but I just love it.”&nbsp;

CGN interviews gallery owner Linda Warren. 

Linda Warren Gallery turns 10 in 2013

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418577/jrn2it4pa7jhnqh7zglc.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Born in Prague, artist Jan Tichy lives and works in Chicago and teaches at the School of the Art Institute (SAIC). This fall, several impressive projects coincide at area art institutions throughout Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Expo Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Richard Gray Gallery. CGN's Laura Miller met with Tichy to hear about all that's happening for the artist-educator this season.&nbsp;LM: Tell me about working with the Museum of Contemporary Photography for the past year on a project involving their collection.&nbsp;JT: Last year MoCP curator Karen Irvine asked me to consider new ways of interpreting their collection of more than 12,000 images and to create an exhibition that would explore it from a different perspective. MoCP was one of the first museums to upload digital images of their collection to their website as a way to connect with the public. I realized soon that the access and search tools are quite inappropriate for an interaction with this amazing digital archive. So, I considered ways to improve the access to the online collection and decided to create a think tank of Chicago MFA students (Columbia College, SAIC, UofC, UIC) that would bring updated perspectives on how to identify and develop strategies for better online interaction. We introduced applications, web design strategies and interactive elements that will hopefully give better access to a greater community.&nbsp;While coming to work at MoCP I realized that the museum itself is not really accessible/ visible from the street, despite its prominent Michigan Avenue location; many Chicagoans don't even know about it. So, I proposed to establish a digital gallery on the outside of the museum. Two large monitors will be installed on MoCP's exterior walls at the corner of Michigan and Harrison. The digital galleries will display exhibitions from the collection, curated specifically for that purpose by a wide range of curators from around the world. My exhibition there this fall will explore the collection using my own time-based tool of video and projection and will hopefully expose some hidden jewels.&nbsp;What else can we expect from you this fall?&nbsp;At Expo Chicago I'm really excited for the U.S. premier of&nbsp;Things to Come&nbsp;(1936-2012), a three-channel video installation made from 80 seconds of never before exhibited film footage that Laszlo Moholy-Nagy created in 1936 in London. H.G. Wells commissioned Moholy-Nagy when working on an exhibition design for his show at Loyola University Museum of Art three years ago. It took me sometime to realize the potential hidden in these film snippets; using Moholy-Nagys analog techniques in digital media with the initial H.G. Wells criteria, I hope to bring new life to it.&nbsp;I have older works in group-exhibitions this fall at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Richard Gray Gallery. For the Art Institute of Chicago's Ando Gallery, I'm working on a site specific installation to coincide with an exhibition of contemporary Japanese garments from SAIC's Fashion Resource Center. Outside of Chicago I'll be participating in this fall's Architecture Biennale in Venice in the Israeli Pavilion and working with No Longer Empty in NYC.&nbsp;You've been involved in several large-scale collaborative projects with local college students, community members, and art institutions—2011's powerful&nbsp;Project Cabrini Green, 2009's Lighting the Crown Hall at the IIT, now the MoCP project, among others. How do these collaboration evolve?&nbsp;As an artist and educator I believe in a creative collaboration between faculty and students as one of the models of successful art education, a theory that Moholy-Nagy was practicing in Chicago 60 years ago. I also share the belief, formulate and practiced by curator and educator Mary Janes Jacobs, that in the contemporary art world, art school offer a great platform to develop professional art productions.&nbsp;Project Cabrini Green is a good example of how this model benefits students, the institution and the community as well as an artist and a commercial gallery. The project required huge amounts of time and involvement. Together with Efrat Appel we collaborated with 25 dedicated students and faculty from SAIC to develop and create all the different layers of the project and worked with over 100 teenagers from four after school programs in Cabrini Green to create the content. It wouldn't be possible without the active support of Richard Gray Gallery and the administration of SAIC. Including the MCA and CHA there were over 200 people involved in the project.&nbsp;How did you make the transition to Chicago?&nbsp;It was actually very easy, maybe because I moved from Prague to Jerusalem when I was 19. During my MFA studies at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Tel Aviv, I participated in a collaborative project in Helsinki initiated by SAIC. Eventually I was accepted to their Sculpture program. I finished my MFA at SAIC in 2009 and stayed to teach at the Department of Art and Technology Studies. I fell for Chicago from the beginning, and the city was kind to me. I had the extraordinary opportunity to create projects for a few signature buildings like Crown Hall, the Hancock, Spertus, Montgomery Ward, and Cabrini Green. There are more under way (Chicago Cultural Center in 2014.)After living, working, and exhibiting around the world, how do you find Chicago for art?&nbsp;The way Chicago is built—physically, socially, and culturally—there's space and opportunities for many cultural activities, and plenty of people want to do things. I serve on advisory boards of ACRE and threewalls, non-profits that provide the local art community with accessible spaces and rich programming. These organizations, like many other independent art spaces, apartment and pop-up galleries, are the vital source of culture for the community and an important spawn of the next generation of cultural producers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Artist Insights: Jan Tichy

Douglas Dawson Gallery is a serene art destination hidden behind a steel entry wall off of Morgan St. in the heart of the Chicago's meat packing district. When you walk up the stone walkway under the cover of the wood trellis you are aware that you are about to enter a gallery unlike any other in the city. The gallery turns 30 at the end of this year, and for the occasion gallery directors and partners Doug Dawson and Wally Bowling spent some time over tea one rainy summer morning to talk about running a contemporary gallery that deals in ethnographic art and ancient artifacts. Unique challenges face them as they try to reach the next generation of collectors while managing new realities of sourcing and authenticity, but the two have relied on experience and perspective to get them where they are today. - GV&nbsp;Doug Dawson credits his entry into the gallery business to a potent combination of naïveté and terror. 30 years ago, when he moved to Chicago from a political collective in northeast Iowa, Dawson had never been in an art gallery. He admits,&nbsp; I very naïvely decided to open one. In retrospect&nbsp;it all seems like great strategizing, but in fact it was dumb luck. &nbsp;His timing was also fortunate, since he happened to rent a River North loft space in 1983&nbsp;when the area was just beginning to buzz. Dawson reflects he was delighted to find himself suddenly in the middle of what was fast becoming the hot contemporary art neighborhood of Chicago.Today, the gallery has been in the West Loop for seven years. Dawson has seen many changes since opening the gallery three decades ago, but one constant has been the gallery's focus on tribal art. When he first opened he used a contemporary gallery model to hold openings and complementary activities like lectures, as well as thematic exhibitions. Dawson credits this structure with helping him reach a larger, more energized audience of contemporary collectors than just those who collected tribal art. The contemporary juxtaposition, he explains, means that someone who encounters an ancient piece doesn't have to have expert knowledge about Burkina Faso; it doesn't matter if you've never heard of the Ashanti tribe. A new context can dispel insecurities, and, Dawson says, help fill in the gaps later.To continue to offer new contexts and to keep things fresh, the gallery occasionally showcases contemporary art, working with artists who see the ancient work in new ways&nbsp;–&nbsp;a strategy Dawson explains complements other pieces in the gallery. He says,&nbsp;"As much as we need to keep our clients interested we need to keep ourselves interested. In dollars it s a small part of the business, but in interest it generates a lot. It's harder and harder to do shows just on ethnographic art, so this helps fill our openings calendar as well as put older works in a new light." Many of Dawson s collectors are also interested in minimalism, conceptual art, even antiques, so parallels are easily found. &nbsp;Dawson and Bowling cross boundaries in other practical ways as well. Dawson explains, "We participate in contemporary art fairs – we actually prefer them to tribal art fairs. If you interview our collectors most will tell you they're contemporary art collectors. Collecting tribal art has a long and dynamic history that surprises many people. As Dawson says, "In fact, early French artists were collectors of this material too – they were affirmed and inspired by it. Their own art was ratified by it. Interestingly there has been a major paradigm change in that relationship. If you look at French artists in 1915 they were looking at tribal art and seeing in it issues they were dealing with in their own art. Today it's just flipped completely - it's understood and evaluated by looking first at 20th Century art. People come in and say&nbsp;'That looks just like a Giacometti,' for instance. That's how it's validated."All these overlapping interests would seem to indicate a broad audience for tribal art, but Dawson admits that engaging a young audience with this material can be challenging today. He says, "There's less interest in non-western culture. Young people don't travel like our generation did. There's a kind of ambivalence now. And tribal art certainly isn't cool. Someone can spend $200,000 on a pre-Columbian textile, for example, take it home, put it on the wall, have a party, and 98% of the people there will have no idea what it is, let alone how much they've spent. It doesn't make the kind of impact that contemporary art can for people who collect by the numbers. You can't brand it."Another challenge that affects Dawson's market, as well as the antiques market he says, is what he sees going on with interior design. He notes, "All dealers are loathe to admit that's a really major engine in the art world but it is. Trends in interior design now seem very conservative, very corporate. We hear young people aren't really using interior designers anymore. They buy a loft and put in a TV screen bigger than the house we grew up in, a Crate &amp; Barrel sofa&nbsp;and lots of electronic toys. That's kind of it." When asked to think about how&nbsp;much best-selling furniture and art at chain&nbsp;stores appeals&nbsp;to these same transient younger people, Dawson discussed how so many pieces&nbsp;are in fact inspired by, if not copies of, originals&nbsp;from far flung countries or long ago eras. As he sees it, "If people feel they can obtain an apothecary coffee table that looks like it came from a remote village in South East Asia with the click of a button – and free shipping – why would they seek out a well-traveled dealer who's actually gone to the trouble to procure the real thing from a real village?"&nbsp;Dealers, and individuals, he points out,&nbsp;used to have to travel much more to pursue such treasures. But Bowling adds that even if you travelled that way, especially on your own, you wouldn't necessarily buy&nbsp;such things anymore.&nbsp;He says, "So it's kind of a catch-22. When we used to travel more, it was more readily available. You'd get excited about pieces in-situ. People just got excited about the third world, but now it all looks very western. Villagers are wearing t-shirts shipped from the US.&nbsp;There are no ceramics.&nbsp;Instead, you see Michael Jackson's face printed everywhere. It's a different perception of the world now, generally."The number of younger collectors who frequent the gallery is small, but Bowling cites a handful who are new to tribal art. He believes,&nbsp;"If you know you want to collect something, pre-Columbian ceramics are amazing. A lot of people think because of the age, prices must be out of reach; we do have to reflect the market, but if you look at what goes at the major auction houses today, these things are much less than contemporary counterpoints, and they have some history."Dawson thinks any younger collector should first be curious. He advises, &nbsp;"Don't expect to buy right away, but do look and wonder on any kind of level&nbsp;–&nbsp;aesthetic, technical, historical. When we were younger we used to go to so many galleries and just see and absorb.&nbsp;He is frustrated by art students who come in but don't really look at pieces in the gallery. He's lectured classes in the space, only to have no one come back, and he wonders where they are getting their messages.&nbsp;For me the ideal is being curious and asking questions, wondering about the people who made these things. It broadens my idea of human experience. That's what art is. I think it's important people know about the world."A museum experience is naturally a quite different from&nbsp;the one a gallery provides, especially in a field like tribal art. Locally, Dawson looks to the Art Institute and its excellent collection. He says the head of the department that deals with tribal art is probably the best in the United States, but it still remains a department that has a very low profile in Chicago. He says,&nbsp; "There s no energized community around this material here. That affects business. There are some other dealers in Chicago who are participating in the same market that we are, but no one is doing international shows and seeking the same national level. &nbsp;I'm not demeaning anyone, but it would be nice if there were more galleries dealing in this kind of art in order to give people something to compare."These awareness challenges are all the more reason that visitors should be attracted to Dawson's space and unique field. In the gallery visitors encounter prime examples of tribal art as well as moving insights into world history. Bowling, a trained architect himself, points out that the space was designed to look like the houses their clients might have. Small rooms and spaces allow you to discover things. He says, "There's an intimacy that you don't get in a museum. You can look at a piece here and respond in your own setting."&nbsp;Dawson says visitors are invited to come in, touch things, ask an expert questions. It's a rare point of access. &nbsp;Dawson and Bowling have gone to great distances to give clients that kind of up-close access, traveling the globe to art fairs and remote destinations to bring the best of the world s tribal art to collectors. Their specialty also involves regularly going through hoops. One of the primary obstacles demonstrates how recent issues of our own security have resulted in newer challenges off dealing in tribal art. Dawson says, "The Patriot Act really has become sort of a nightmare in the art business, where everything is suspect. Dealing with the Federal Government, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Customs – to get a clarification of what you can and cannot do, it's become almost impossible."Dawson and Bowling say they travel a lot less than they used to, partly because of the recession, and partly because they haven't needed to replace inventory as often. Bowling says they do more domestic travel and less foreign, and that the overseas trips they do take now are&nbsp;more for pleasure. Still, they manage to travel about a quarter of the year, but art fairs largely dictate their schedule and destinations. Recent ventures to&nbsp;South America, Asia, and throughout Africa&nbsp;would make any globetrotter envious. Trips usually involve seeing contacts, visiting museums, and staying up to date with other collections. &nbsp;Travel is often not when acquisitions are actually made, since as Dawson points out, objects are almost never come from the country of origin. He explains, "We buy things that have impeccable provenance and authenticity, and to do that we must spend a lot of time going through a great deal of steps. We have a good museum business, and it's more and more difficult to sell to museums now because of concerns about provenance and authenticity. For instance, we're more likely to look to buy things from this country or Europe than we are from Mexico or Peru or Indonesia."Authenticity is a serious matter, particularly since Dawson has a strong museum business.&nbsp;"Not long ago,"&nbsp;Dawson says, "we had a large prehistoric African terra cotta figure and the head had been broken off. In that world of African archeological ceramics there's a lot of forgery - mixing of pieces and reconstructing things. The client wanted to be sure we had the right head for the body. We sent it to a firm&nbsp;in suburban Chicago for a host of tests, like thermoluminescence, which determines when a ceramic was submitted to a certain temperature. Both the head and the body came out equally correct in that test. Then, they ground up samples from both parts and those came out perfectly. They X-rayed. Then, they drilled into a point where the ceramic hadn't gotten hot enough to carbonize organic material, and they found animal hair that had been used as a bonding agent. These pieces are 2,500 years old. They pulled a hair out of the head, and a hair out of the body and did DNA tests. The hairs came from the same female goat. Ultimately they said it was&nbsp;highly likely – the most definitive statement they'll make – that the two parts were made at the same time, from the same lump of clay, by the same person. We will go that far to determine authenticity."Regarding their base in Chicago, Dawson says it's a double-edged sword: "We do have some Second City syndrome here, where people will prefer to buy things in New York or Paris, particularly in the art world, since that has a sort of cachè.&nbsp;That said we have been here for 30 years. Chicago is a great city that draws a lot of people in for numerous events."&nbsp;He admits to a familiar dealer quandary, "We couldn't survive in Chicago just on Chicago. It's because we've developed a national reputation that we can do what we do here. But I think that's true of everyone. That's what keeps everyone open in this city." Dawson says that above all they've enjoyed a great run in Chicago. Most of the obstacles they've faced have in fact been in place from the beginning, and here they still are after three decades. He concludes, "For our space, this is a protected manufacturing district, so we are able to have this sculpture gallery and to make the gallery a destination. Obviously we could not have all of this in too many other cities."<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/douglas-dawson-gallery">Douglas Dawson Gallery</a>

An interview with Douglas Dawson and Wallace Bowling for the gallery's 30th anniversary

Douglas Dawson Gallery: 30 Years of Tribal Art

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418577/hnmzoc6jsgvyqprlnabe.jpg"><figcaption>Contemporary design and furniture complements the art - pictured here a range of works, including a sculptural piece by Nick Cave</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By GINNY VAN ALYEAThe label 'collector' can convey the notion that buying and acquiring art is an insular pursuit, reserved for insiders wih connections and expensive taste. Collectors Marilyn and Larry Fields prove that a passion for collecting and living with art can begin at any age, and their shared enthusiasm is a lesson to anyone interested in learning about contemporary art and the artists who create it. Their story of how they filled their lakefront high-rise home with works by some of the greatest contemporary artists of our time in a few breath-taking years is a unique inspiration. The art the Fieldses have collected complements striking design pieces from the 1940s and '50s and fills&nbsp;their home&nbsp;with style and their life with&nbsp;meaning. Their private home gallery, located in an adjacent condo,&nbsp;is devoted to exhibiting works from their collection on a rotating basis. On a rainy afternoon, I enjoyed keeping up with the Fields's frenetic conversation and sharing their passion for the art and artists who have touched their lives. –GV&nbsp;To walk into the home of Marilyn and Larry Fields is to enter a tranquil,&nbsp;expansive art space. Stepping off of the elevator onto their private floor, I encounter&nbsp;a towering collage of hundreds of photographs that&nbsp;Jason Lazarus scoured from the photo-sharing site Flickr;&nbsp;each image&nbsp;depicts someone's&nbsp;personal experience&nbsp;during the Iraq war. This was just the first of many powerful pieces I would see. Seated with&nbsp;Marilyn in the couple's round living room, overlooking Lake Michigan, she explains,&nbsp;"We certainly live with art&nbsp;24/7. It's really become our passion."Married for 34 years, the Fields say they've always bought art. If something was visually appealing, they'd buy it. Larry says that at one point they were interested in posters and art glass, picking out a piece here or there, but he admits, "That was mostly haphazard—nothing really made a collection." They&nbsp;aimed&nbsp;for a new level in 2000&nbsp;after putting a down payment on a condo in a Streeterville&nbsp;building designed by French architect Lucien Lagrange. They didn't move in for five years, but in that period several decisions affected their collecting savvy: they became very involved with the Museum of Contemporary Art— Marilyn joined the Women's Board in 1998, while Larry became an MCA trustee around 2004 – and they began attending an annual art extravaganza, Art Basel Miami, in 2002.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418578/bhbvu7ogjhkntgj7nmaz.jpg"><figcaption>The Fields's apartment overlooks Lake Michigan</figcaption></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2288/original/fields1.jpg" alt=""></figure>The Fields' home is a balance of art, architecture and contemporary design. Though Marilyn and Larry collect as a team, their roles at home&nbsp;are different. Marilyn has taken great care to develop the character of the home through furniture and design, collecting 1950s modern furniture as well as pieces by 1940s French designers Jean-Michel Frank and Andre Arbus. When they finally moved into their apartment in 2005, Marilyn describes opening up the art and furniture as, "One of the most exciting moments—we'd bought all of these beautiful pieces and they'd been in storage for years." For Larry, "We looked at which pieces had dialogue with each other. It's fun buying, but it's even more fun installing."&nbsp;Each piece in their collection exists in relation to the others around it. According to Marilyn, "We love how each piece&nbsp;speaks to the other. We try to make it all work. But most important, it has to appeal to us."Larry wants to know, "What's the contextual idea? How is it somehow related to society today? Is it process oriented? When you meet an artist, they can open up your eyes to a way you haven't seen the world." Marilyn says: "We've grown tremendously and become more sophisticated collectors because of the MCA. Meeting the curators and artists, you really take so much more from the art that you're buying. It's given us a different type of focus. We've also met so many amazing people and made many friends in the art world, including other collectors."&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418579/iqej5hrgss0wip2locqp.jpg"><figcaption>A pair of works by Kara Walker and a painting by Ed Ruscha displayed in the Fields's sitting area</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The Fields have collected art from many cities in many countries, but they feel a great deal of pride for the City of Chicago, as well as an obligation to support it art community. Larry and Marilyn agree that the time seems to be right in Chicago for a boost for some artists and galleries. Larry point to success stories of young artists like Theaster Gates, Rashid Johnson, Angel Otero, and William J. O'Brien, each of whom have work in the Fields' collection. To Larry&nbsp;because of the international attention these artists have recieved, he suspects that people who may have been previously reluctant to purchase work from a Chicago gallery (instead of say, in New York) may now have more confidence buying art here. Larry says he and Marilyn try to support younger artists when they're getting started; for instance they have acquired a piece from each of Gates' series. Larry states, "It takes a village to support artists here: galleries, art schools, non-profits, museums—they all work together to create a nurturing experience."&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418580/xxewgf2voim2nogyx3l6.jpg"><figcaption>Mark Bradford's sculpture featuring a switchblade embedded in a rock recalls Sir Lancelot's sword in the stone&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The couple credits the opening of Millennium Park in 2004, followed by&nbsp;the&nbsp;Art Institute of Chicago's&nbsp;Modern Wing in 2009, with finally drawing a more international crowd to the city. Larry explains, " I think Anish Kapoor's 'Bean' [Cloud Gate] in Millennium Park has become sort of symbolic of a new city-wide pride. It has drawn people to the city just for this kind of art experience." Marilyn adds, "That was not something that used to happen. The amount of funding the community raised was pretty incredible. The gardens, Jaume Plensa's&nbsp;Crown Fountain—it's all perfection. " Larry hopes that what has been successful about Millenium Park could someday be done to update other sites in the city as art showcases, such as the iconic Navy Pier.&nbsp;Navy Pier will in fact be transformed for a weekend this September when EXPO Chicago debuts, returning an international contemporary art fair to a much-loved venue. Marilyn recalls that during Chicago's art fair heydey in the early 1980s, Vernissage was the party for the premier contemporary art fair in the world. As part of the MCA's Women's Board, which is once again hosting Vernissage on September 19, she remembers, "There was Art Basel in Switzerland, but not much else. From 1982 here until it ended in 2004 it was really phenomenal. Galleries who came from around the world were very, very disappointed when it ended. The thought of bringing it back to Navy Pier, where everyone's heart was, is exciting, and many of those original galleries are coming back." To run a successful fair here again, this is a critical place for a certain scene, and Marilyn agrees that Vernissage is an important element that will get people excited about the return of the fair.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418581/iahrznme3mornpkvtifd.jpg"><figcaption>In the gallery space a John Baldessari painting dominates. A hidden room features a closet and a kitchenette covered 360° in acrylic resin. Also pictured is Erin Swinson's sinister sculpture of a small deer struggling with a shadowy cape.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Having discussed collecting, art in Chicago, and the upcoming EXPO, Larry relished the opportunity to introduce me to his favorite works, so I made a concerted effort to keep pace as he rattled off names of artists and the story behind each piece. Both Marilyn and Larry have personally placed each work of art, but they've also largely kept the experience of others in mind when deciding where certain works should be. Certain spaces are meant for quiet pieces, such as one of Sol Le Witt's minimalist cubic constructions placed in a window overlooking the back of the MCA. Nearby is a subtle Fred Sandback installation, as well as a work by Italian painter Lucio Fontana. On a bench in the entryway is a commissioned book by Deb Sokolow, featuring an amusing conspiracy story about Larry –&nbsp;who works as a cattle futures trader –&nbsp;and some cows mysteriously being found in a warehouse on the west side of Chicago. Marilyn calls it a clever homage to Larry.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418581/alt468jlnitkcwytkecx.jpg"><figcaption>Pictured in center: Mark Tansey's Utopic</figcaption></figure>In the tranquil entryway, muted by opaque green glass panels, a handful of large-scale paintings are meant to make a dramatic first impression. Mark Tansey is a favorite of the couple. His&nbsp;Utopic, in his signature inky blue, looms on the wall opposite the front foor, featuring a dreamy scene from Anna Freud's study. Larry notes that the hermaphrodite statue picture on the chaise actually exists in the Louvre. Freud, Marx and Nietzsche are looking down from inside their portrait frames, psychoanalyzing her sexual identity.&nbsp;In the Fields' long, open dining room, four 1970s-looking photographs by Richard Prince are lined up opposite a wall of windows overlooking the Lake. Larry excitedly explains&nbsp;the placement, "When we have dinner parties, the guests at the table can pick their favoite lady. The ladies are all looking to the left, to the east, in the room. What are they looking for? Love. We made sure to place Robert Indiana's&nbsp;LOVE sculpture at the east end of the buffet to create a story line for everyone."&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418582/sw1vetni2puqpv9eiiex.jpg"><figcaption>A view of the Fields's second gallery space adjacent to their main living space.In the foreground a soundsuit by Nick Cave.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Larry tells me that they move works around in the apartment's private gallery about 2-3 times a year, whereas most art in the main apartment stays put. An initial impression of the gallery is of whimsy and interaction, exemplified by Anish Kapoor's target-like, shiny whirlpool, which draws your attention as you enter the room. Set into the wall itself, the viewer has the sense of&nbsp;falling down a rabbit hole to infinity—it's like having a Millenium Park&nbsp;"Bean" at home, without the crowds.&nbsp;&nbsp;Groupings, common in the gallery space, are evidence of Larry's fondness for curating. Marilyn explains, "He really loves delving into each work of art and sharing all the stories." Larry puts works together according to a&nbsp;theme, such as surface, era, concept, or global geography. He enjoys seeing how things go together and how they speak to each other. One group focuses on an African American aesthetic, showcasing Mark Bradford's bags of soccer balls, as well as a flag by David Hammons, and pieces by Rashid Johnson, Hank Willis Thomas, Lyle Ashton Harries, and Kara Walker. Larry is undeniably proud of all of the works in the collection—it's as if the artists are his children and he's the proud parent. Art conjures up different things to different people, and as tour guide Larry offers his own insights while also allowing&nbsp;others to say how a work's message might appear to them. He reflects, "I think art can leave a personal space to think about what it means to you."&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418583/yksyeb3d6azkhygicefo.jpg"><figcaption>A work by Anish Kapoor</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The Fields are frequently generous with their time as well as their knowledge, leading tours of their home for groups interested in contemporary art. Marilyn admits that though she's a very private person, "I want someone to come here and really learn –&nbsp;to think this is it." Larry adds, "As an art collector, I think you have a responsibility to know the art and to also open up your home and be able to share it and help others see. You must know about the artists and understand their work and why it's here."Of course, the ultimate goal of collecting is appreciation and enjoyment. Together Marlyn and Larry agree, "It's about not taking yourself too seriously. That's what it's all about—fun."#<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418584/ox8j86zkjci0kxmbfvfy.jpg"><figcaption>Larry paired Maurizio Cattelan's marble Everyone is Broke with Tony Tasset's colored rocks.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN interviews local art collectors Marilyn and Larry Fields. 

Collector Profile: Marilyn + Larry Fields

When Todd Schwebel was a kid, he&rsquo;d pass over the more popular Sports Illustrated for Antiques magazine. Long before the advent of virtual bulletin board sites like Pintrest.com, Schwebel would dog-ear magazine pages, making notes and pointing out to his mother which chair or table he wanted to have someday. An eighth-generation Illinoisan, it was his grandfather who regularly took him to country auctions downstate, where Scwebel would spot bargains for Empire and Victorian pieces when we was still a teenager, sparking an interest in high-quality antiques that would stay with him all his life. &ndash;GV

Todd Schwebel thinks there is a big problem for antiques. Though he&rsquo;s been a collector since he was just a teen, his passion is hardly the norm among his contemporaries. Antiques have fallen so far out of favor with today&rsquo;s sleek, design-minded, transient audiences, Schwebel doesn&rsquo;t know how they&rsquo;ll ever come back in style. It&rsquo;s a crisis that has repercussions far beyond nostalgia, or the fate of a few aging antiques dealers. When Schwebel and I met recently in River North, I wanted tips to share with younger collectors about beginning an antiques collection. We ended up having a conversation about the cultural challenges facing the industry and whether there&rsquo;s any way to save it before it&rsquo;s too late.

In the late 1908s Schwebel bought a 1906 Kenwood residence, which had been the only freestanding house in Chicago designed by architect Benjamin Marshall. In 1921 the Norton family, who owned the house, hired Howard van Doren Shaw to increase the homes size as well as ass his own signature touches. By the time Schwebel bought the house, it was in disrepair; he painstakingly restored it and filled it with period-appropriate antiques. 20 years after he did it again for clients who purchased the same house for their young family. Formerly an antiques dealer specializing in early 19th C. American antiques, today he runs The Schwebel Company in River North, a design firm that provides architectural and design services nationally. The firm has also won many awards for historic preservation, Schwebel still sells investment quality American antiques, fixtures, and decorations, and he&rsquo;s a go-to expert for individual collectors as well as museums. Devoted to American style, antiques from our nation&rsquo;s history are a key part of his creations. Schwebel&rsquo;s business takes him most often to the eat coast. In 20 years situated in River North, among many contemporary art galleries, Schwebel says he hasn&rsquo;t made one waling antiques sale, something he attributes to a profound lack of interest in Chicago.

As Schwebel sees it, many valuable antiques important to our city&rsquo;s history will soon be too far away to get back. Antiques aren&rsquo;t in fashion; people either buy cheap furniture they can thoughtlessly toss some day, or the same trendy, inexpensive furniture their neighbors have, which will never appreciate in value. Schwebel feels that by blindly following brand-name, mass-market designers, people feel their taste is publicly validated. Explaining, Schwebel says, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve met people whose parents have wonderful collections of antiques &ndash; including really beautiful, quality pieces - and the adult children just don&rsquo;t want them. They don&rsquo;t appreciate how quality pieces are significant. So, pieces got to auction and are bought up by those who do know.&rdquo;

Schwebel points to Samuel Marx, a well known mid-20th Century Chicago designer, whose elegant pieces, he says, have been siphoned to collections on the coats; &ldquo;So much of his work has left Chicago and the North Shore because there isn&rsquo;t local interest anymore. It&rsquo;s striking work, and collectors in LA and New York have snapped it up at auction here. It&rsquo;s really hard to get that back now, so something&rsquo;s been lost from Chicago.&rdquo; In general, quality pieces that can still be had cost more than people want to spend if they don&rsquo;t have the knowledge. &ldquo;Since there&rsquo;s no real respect or authority on the topic of antiques here,&rdquo; Schwebel says, &ldquo;I think in some ways it&rsquo;s a reflection of what&rsquo;s wrong with our culture. We don&rsquo;t value history. We don&rsquo;t recognize the treasures we have here &ndash; not just older, but even pieces from the 20th Century. One person I do give lots of credit to is Leslie Hindman for how she&rsquo;s gotten antiques out there. Ultimately we still need more leadership on a cultural scale.&rdquo;

Schwebel suggests, &ldquo;I think because of a branded, &lsquo;celebutante,&rsquo; media culture people have these fleeing tastes.&rdquo; Even those who are savvy manage to be influenced by others taste, opting for what is easiest, rather than what takes the time and effort to built up.

There are several forces working against antiques, according to Schwebel;: &ldquo;Antiques are a forbidden zone for some if they don&rsquo;t have the opportunity to learn.&rdquo; He adds that would-be-collectors end up turning away from or sometimes fully against historic pieces. Depending on the period, antiques&rsquo; cultural and political associations can be minefield for collectors, since pieces are tied to history in sometimes complicated ways, for instance where some European colonial pieces are concerned. It is up to collectors to make educated decisions about what they chose to own.

&nbsp;

The bottom line according to Schwebel, is that people aren&rsquo;t being told about antiques often enough. He believes we have a duty in Chicago to support our decorative arts and to preserve local collections. Younger than east coast cities, much of our identity is split between a gritty past and modern architectural marvels. However, we can&rsquo;t throw everything over in favor of the new. &ldquo;I worry that some day other aspects of the city&rsquo;s cultural scene will also be threatened,&rdquo; warns Scwebel. He points out that without enough diversity in patrons&rsquo; collecting passions, area museums will suffer, losing out to high profile institutions and collections on both coasts.

How would Schwebel begin to address the antiques problem? &ldquo;You&rsquo;d need a critical mass of younger people interested to make a difference. One solution is to fight fire with fire.&rdquo; By embracing the very celebutante &nbsp;culture that&rsquo;s chipping away at history and individual taste, the thought is that a TV show featuring a high profile designer or collector couple could turn the tables. Antiques Roadshow is a good but staid example of what Scwebel has in mind, he says, because it imparts real information. However, many show guests are hoping only to discover hidden value they can cash in. A better, more social show would be about creating collectors vs. consumers.

Antiques appeal to collectors in part because history is built into objects crafted by hand, which have stood the test of time. Pieces used for reasons now obsolete may still be enjoyed as a way to tangibly recall history and culture.

Antiques are never really out of style, though favored periods change. It takes personal devotion like Schwebel&rsquo;s, plus time and investment, to develop a collection. Such a commitment can tie you passionately to history in ways that will support the future.

The Future of Antiques: A Conversation with Todd Schwebel

Chicago-based esigner Kenneth Walter; of Gray &amp; Walter; has been designing personalized creative spaces for discerning client for 30 years. An advodate of being faithful to a client&#39;s unique taste, even if that leads to uncovering surprises along the way, Walter heralds the benefits of working withing a formalized plan. Not limited by tradition, the designer says he will determine what makes the most sense for a client, and that antiques and contemporary art are a few of his favorite supporting elements for unique space. -GV

CGN:&nbsp;Tell me about your design philosophy and what you do for your clients.&nbsp;

KW: My firm was established in 1989, and today we do all different types of projects, from contemporary hotels and club to historic preservations. I find that I&#39;m very interested in working with a plan&mdash;seeing how a project will relate to a site. I also have to see how a client and the overall project are related to one another. I would never deprive someone, but I will maybe try to talk them into the thing that&#39;s best suited to them. A good professional doesn&#39;t do just one thing. I prefer to work with that is appropriate, but I think a lot of architects and desigers get caught up in a look, and then potential clients get confused when they see only one kind of work in a portfolio and cannot get beyond it.&nbsp;

I describe what i do as &#39;ecletic classicism&#39;&mdash;designed based on classical principles, and classical in terms of order, though not always style. Something could be really far out, or done as a period, or it can be funky. I think you can do anything, as long as there is an overall order.&nbsp;

Things definitley come in and out of fashion. One day people will want silk curtains dripping with trim again. Lucite is back right now&mdash;I never thought I&#39;d see that come back! So, everything that&#39;s old is new again. Chintz will probably come back&mdash;whether it should or shouldn&#39;t isn&#39;t the point, but it will come back, so it&#39;s good to work with a lot of styles.&nbsp;

I think people can have a wonderful art collection and it doesn&#39;t have to have museum-level name or even quality. When we work with clients, we often start out helping to grow a collection. We say, you can buy something that&#39;s affordable by a major name artist&mdash;a lithograph, or a print, and there are also many emerging artists to explore&mdash;you just have to love what you buy. You really can&#39;t even buy art as a major investment unless you&#39;re spending thousands of dollars anyway.&nbsp;

How do you combine antiques with contemporary art?&nbsp;

There&#39;s nothing I love more than contemporary art with antiques. I recommend for clients to look at a piece of art and ask &#39;Will I love it in 5 years? In 10?&#39; For antiques, changes are the real thing will cost more than a reproduction, though sometimes I&#39;m shocked by reproduction price&mdash;it screams new but it&#39;s actually&nbsp;more expensive! Buy the best that you can afford and that you feel you will really love. I think it&#39;s a great idea to go to estate sales&mdash;you never know what you&#39;ll find, and there are some great values to find as you learn. Auction houses are great too.&nbsp;

Do you have any favorite pieces or projects?&nbsp;

One of my favoirte projects was for a young couple who had nothing when they came to me. We helped them set up an art collection as well as their home&mdash;we got them into Ruth Duckworth, Giacometti, Henry Moore&mdash;named artists with provenance from good galleries, many in Chicago. If a client has an art collection started, we help them add to it, or curate it, or update framing and placement&mdash;there is so much to do. It&#39;s lots of fun.&nbsp;

CGN interviews local designer Kenneth Walter or Gray & Walter. 

Designer  Talk: Kenneth Walter

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418577/uklpwy8zxyvxyrcsondw.jpg"></figure>By MARY DEYOEI explored a number of alternative art spaces across the city recently for&nbsp;Chicago Gallery News.&nbsp;Artists, curators, writers, and others passionate and focued within the community introduced me to their homes, storefronts, and co-ops, demonstrating what a vibrant and vital component these spaces are to Chicago's art scene. Wanting to learn more, I began a new series in&nbsp;CGN dedicating one article each issue to an alternative space in Chicago. I don't purport to know about every site yet, but I like to think I could some day.&nbsp;For this issue, I met up with former MCA Curator Tricia Van Eck to learn how her current project, 6018 North was developing. The space is a 100-year old mansion that will serve as "green, non-profit space for experimental culture, instalation, peformance, and sounds."-MDThe yellow house at 6018 North Kemore in Edgewater sits wedged between two large brick apartment buildings. It has a deep, covered front porch, and large picture windows on the first and second floors. There is no other structure like it on the block, which is lined with four-plus-ones. Currently the house, which had to be gutted after pipes burst over a year ago, is undergoing a deep, green retrofit. Rather than starting from scratch, two teams of student from IIT are redesigning the current structure to be more energy efficient, so it can accomodate the variety of artistic practices, performances, and gatherings that will take place in this multi-functional and collaborative space.&nbsp;Knowing that Van Eck had already held some events in the space, I was shocked when we walked through the front door. There were no interior walls, just wooden studs and exposed beams; the floor was stripped and uneven. Looking more closely, I saw a long wooden table. It was propped on sawhorses and painted with colorful stripes. The benches along the table were white radiator covers that had star-patterned grills. A few glass bottles and vases with flowers were sitting on a side table, and a large white board covered from edge-to-edge with charts, lists and winding arrows, hung on the wall at the head of the table. These were the remnants of a recent Fluxus film screening and dinner party. Van Eck can seat up to 40 guests at the table, and she has no interest in spreading the group among smaller, seperate tables to make room for more. "It's about everyone being at one table, being a part of one unit, one conversation," she said.&nbsp;Each of the dinners hosted at 6018 North has had a theme. The guests are asked to consider a certain issue regarding art in Chicago and how to address it. Recently, the conversation focused on responsibility of art writers. The current and familiar debate is whether the city serves as an incubator for talent. Many artists come here to study, but then they leave because the market is stronger in places like New York, Berlin and L.A. The question around the table that evening was whether bringing deliberate attention to Chicago is the responsibility of the art critic. The guests were split in their opinions; the artists seemed to think this was the responsibility of the writers, while the writers saw it the other way around, and believe they should be free to focus on art criticism. Van Eck intends to continue to engage the community in these types of conversations as she considers how 6018 can best address these issues and be an innovative resource for Chicago art.&nbsp;The various features of 6018 North will include a Fluxus library and a performance space in the basement; a screening room on the third floor, which will also support sound installations; and a garden and living mural (or green wall) in the backyard. The house will also be home for Tricia and her husband, who plan to live on the second floor, and to an artist-in-residence. The annual residency program will begin as early as this May. Each residency will last 5-6 weeks, and in each cycle Van Eck plans to host at least one writer, chef, visual artist, gardener or landscape architect, and curator.&nbsp;Although construction on the house may not be fully complete for more than a year, the next project and programs at 6018 are well underway. Van Eck is a finalist for a grant from Art Place, and if she receives the grant, funds will go towards the residency program. The diversity of performances, exhibitions, residents and guests was desiged purposefully to create a "clinate for experimentation" both within the space and throughout the wider Chicago community.&nbsp;If the current momentum behind 6018 North remains, the space will surely be a magnet for talented artists, leaders and entrepreneur from both Chicago and other major cities. Learn more about the project at <a href="http://6018North.net">6018North.net&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN profiles 1068 North, an alternative space and art residency. 

A climate for experimentation by Mary Elizabeth DeYoe

By GINNY VAN ALYEAWright has become the premier auction house specializing in modern and contemporary design in just over a decade. The visionary behind it all, Richard Wright is constantly thinking about new ways to develop his program and showcase design to the world, including introducing some gallery-like programs, such as living contemporary auctions. Wright actually began his career on the ground level of the gallery scene in 1986 and worked his way up, with stints along the way at antiques malls, markets and at Tradeway Gallery in Oak Park. He opened Wright in 2000 and since then, the auction house has sold nearly 20,000 lots across the spectrum of 20th-21st century design, making the action house an international resource for collecting modern design. A devotion to design drives what Wright personally does and what the auction house constantly strives to be. Wright says he’s proud of how the auction house has been able to evolve, and he enjoys the process of changing and growing, saying he doesn’t do any of it quickly, but he does do it consistently. -GV<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2254/original/r-26v037.jpg" alt=""></figure>CGN: What do you think the line is between art and design, if any?RW: I think there is a natural connection between art and design. In our very first action we mixed in&nbsp; little bit of fine art at the time, because it fit well. Since them, we’ve sold sculpture by the designer Harry Bertoia, for instance. The line starts to blur when you look at the work of certain artists, and we’ve made the evolution ourselves of what we feature over time.&nbsp;How did you become interested in contemporary art?I’ve been increasing and improving my own knowledge of contemporary for a while – I’m really self-taught. Since about 2005 I started looking seriously at art and began to learn, but to be totally honest, I was intimidated by fine art for a long tome. With design, people immediately feel comfortable with it, and they most often have an opinion about a piece because they can experience it and see if it’s functional, what it looks like, and so on. It can be much harder to get an honest, direct opinion about contemporary art. I started learning by going to art fairs, museums, and other auctions. I read a lot and tried to start with basics.I’m drawn to area of the art market I can play with. There’s a natural alignment with sculpture and something about the 3-D aspect that’s a good fit. I like art that is smart, undervalued, but not necessarily high-flying. I like art that I think is accessible.&nbsp;Wright started out as an auction house in the traditional sense, offering historically important design pieces. Recently it has offered ‘living’ art – art that’s of now – through Wright 21. What led you to start commissioning work by living artists, such as Arik Levy?Wright 21 is definitely project-based rather than something that’s ongoing, like a dealer/artist relationship. There are clear benefits for both the artist, as well as the auction house in working together this way. The engagement we have with living designers on a personal level – it’s just fun. It’s also taught me a lot about the design process. There’s a learning curve. At a market level there’s still a sorting out of where and how contemporary design is going (everyone hates the term ‘design art’ but I’ll use it here), but as an auction house we think we’ve done the right thing to engage on more of a gallery level with designers today.There is of course a difference between the primary and secondary markets, so we try to be respectful of the primary market but also elevate it in a good way. I don’t want to overstate it, but the backdrop of the recession has had a dampening effect on the primary market, so this takes some time.&nbsp;Wright’s spring 2012 Living Contemporary auction features work by artists such as Sam Francis and Edward Burtynsky, as well as furniture designed by Willy Daro and Gio Ponti. You’ve also planned a selection of Graffiti Art from the 1980s, which everyone seems to be revisiting these days. How do you see 80s Graffiti Art fitting in with design pieces by Eames and Noguchi?We’ve developed a category where we nod to our hybrid offering of design and art. We’ll show some interesting art we believe in alongside furniture pieces we think go with it. We don’t pair just stuff. Whether a buyer literally takes the whole package isn’t really the point, but the matches again are about breaking down a resistance - you can engage with both worlds. It’s a cool little market for us.For this latest auction, if you step outside of big 80s names, like Basquiat and Haring, thee are also some affordable price points.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2255/original/wrightgilead.jpg" alt=""></figure>Wright is a global auction house, but do you see any significance to being based in Chicago?Honestly, Chicago’s been very good to us – we are in a central point [in the country] and we can afford a big facility here. We couldn’t be at this level in New York, so Chicago is great for us. In New York, if you can’t play at the highest level, you might as well be out. Chicago also has a good design image. There is strong architecture, ad a general sort of positive feeling here. I’ve struggled at times because of a lack of a local market, but I have come to see other strengths and it’s been a good fit for the brand.&nbsp;Do you have any advice for collectors or art enthusiasts who may still be unfamiliar with the action world as an art resource?Action houses as resources are underappreciated. All auction houses, and certainly Wright, are here to educate people. When people come here to a preview, they can see things, sit in them, really try them out. It’s all part of the learning process. There’s also something appealing about the market factor for people, since they can see a firm price that someone has paid, as well as enjoy the spectacle or wilder side of auctions. Auction house websites themselves are a great resource – type something in our search fields and you can see anything we’ve ever sold – it’s a free resource of market knowledge.Beginning collectors can be intimidated by auctions. They might think of stereotypes where you scratch your nose and end up buying something by mistake. Really, even if you’re just starting out, auctions are great places to go and learn. Galleries do this too, but auction houses by their nature handle so much stuff. They’re a little more comprehensive because they are reviewing and taking in a lot. They’re a great place to learn. I love going to New York for the big sale previews. You cans see amazing art! You can actually take art off the walls and really look at it. If you have a question, it will be answered by an expert. That access is invaluable.&nbsp;Wright Auction House1140 W Hubbard (60642) • (312) 563-0020View auction details at <a href="http://Wright20.com">Wright20.com</a>

CGN interviews Auction House founder Richard Wright

15 Minutes with Richard Wright 

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418870/gnsbx6reet8thfy9rgo3.png"><figcaption>Antiques mix with art by Jacob Hashimoto, Theaster Gates, Judy Ledgerwood and others.</figcaption></figure>By GINNY VAN ALYEAI drove to visit Deone Jackman at her home in Hyde Park on a perfect fall Chicago morning. Lake Shore Drive was wide open, and Lake Michigan was colored an ideal shade of cerulean blue, enhanced by the drapery of orange leaves still clinging to the trees along the bike path. Hyde Park often feels like an escape from downtown to me, but until I stepped into the entryway of Deone's 9th floor lake front apartment, I had no idea just what awaited me.&nbsp;*Deone says she has always collected things from her travels. Judging by the many exotic artifacts and statues from far away lands placed throughout her apartment, she must have logged many miles to find so many striking objects.&nbsp;"As a kid I was always cutting things out of magazines and putting them up on walls, long before I had actual art to display," she says.&nbsp;Deone's entree into serious art collecting did not begin in a small way when she acquired work by two of Chicago's most well-known artists: Roger Brown and Jim Nutt. She remembers the acquisitions as "big, compelling, scary purchases."Though I had come to her apartment to talk to her about her art collection, Deone told me upfront that she still thinks the idea of being 'an art collector' is rather grandiose – a familiar, but somewhat vexing topic for those considered by others to be collectors. Regardless of how Deone chooses to view her history of buying and living with art, there is no disputing that her Hyde Park home invites discovery. Deone has covered the walls with remarkable and varied works of art I immediately recognize – pieces by Ed Paschke, Kerry James Marshall, Cheonae Kim, Judy Ledgerwood, Curtis Mann, Jin Soo Kim and Gladys Nilsson – and she has filled her life with enduring relationships with many Chicago artists.&nbsp;Behind many of these works on display are relationships. One which Deone is particularly proud of is the one she's developed with the Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC). A passionate supporter of the Center, it's clear that HPAC has given her a great deal in return. At least a few of the artists whose works may be found throughout Deone's sprawling home, such as Cat Chow, were discovered through HPAC's Not Just Another Pretty Face (NJAPF) program – a biennial benefit that pairs patrons with artists. Patrons select an artist they'd like to work with – in a given price range – they meet the artist, establish a budget and then discuss the commission to be created. After a period of more than a year, a catalogue featuring contrasting perspectives on the experience is published, and the final works are unveiled at a special reception at HPAC in front of patrons and the artists. NJAPF artists split their commission with HPAC, and the program encourages a new group of people to support contemporary artists, as well as understand the joys and possibilities of commissioning artwork. As Deone attests because NJAPF builds very personal bonds between patrons and artists, it can lead to long term support for the creation of art in Chicago.&nbsp;*<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418871/xftvpzoqypbguyfdpq1x.png"><figcaption>Jackman's inviting, round living room faces east, towards Lake Michigan, and overlooks Promontory Point Field House in Burnham Park.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Deone has had the pleasure of enjoying several artistic collaborations. After encountering a series of kite constructions by Jacob Hashimoto at a private event at the MCA Warehouse, she decided she had her own project for the artist. Deone wanted Hashimoto to expand on what he'd done at the MCA and create hundreds of his small kites to install in the ceiling of her second home in Michigan. It turned out to be a 2 1/2 year project, and she ended up with about 2,000 kites to cover not just part but the entire ceiling – a breathtaking result of what seemed at the time like a chance encounter.&nbsp;Deone admits she's a bit impulsive when making some purchases, but she smiles when she confesses she sometimes has to rearrange rooms. "That's the joy of it," she says. Changing things up often means they don't become part of the wallpaper, but Deone also has always felt compelled to arrange objects – so much so that her late husband was always asking her to just sit down.&nbsp;As a visitor, certain groupings become apparent, like the area in Deone's office, that she refers to as her "Wall of Women," including works by artists such as Mickalene Thomas and Julia Fish. But for the most part the way the collection has come together is idiosyncratic. The variety in Deone's collection is apparent in the inclusion of quite a number of antiques, which complement, even soften, the contemporary art. A wood, slant front desk looks at home in the dining room by a large-scale Roger Brown, while an elegant side table beneath two works on paper by Judy Ledgerwood adds an appropriate delicacy.*More meaningful than the art works themselves are the relationships Deone has with the artists. "Any artist I collect, if it make sense to become friends, I love to know them. It's incredibly important in collecting – more so than the objects."&nbsp;She says she considers Chicago an accessible place to get to know artists and therefore to collect art. Deone things it's partly the nature of the city, but she also believes that many artists who choose to live and work in Chicago are inclined to build honest relationships with collectors.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418871/f2y5hr2lxdaqatgduzaa.png"><figcaption>Deone's portrait by artist Ben Gest, commissioned via Not Just Another Pretty Face</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;One of Deone's closest artist relationships is with Theaster Gates, a fellow HPAC supporter. Deone became interested in what Gates was doing with his Dorchester Project, and she was moved by his focus on bringing about positive, creative changes throughout the arts to the Woodlawn neighborhood – an area of town Deone says most Hyde Parkers had long been told to stay clear of because of the risk of danger and violence. She sees Gates's artistic, as well as geographic, choice as a compelling investment in personal life as well as urban space, and she says she appreciates that she has been able to watch his project take shape and expand. Endeavors like The Dorchester Project, which began as a way to transform a poor area of Chicago through reinventing abandoned buildings and creating inviting, cultural spaces while challenging notions of economics, race, and the status-quo, have helped Deone understand how complex the art world can be for an artist who must balance the demands to be successful while also doing what they desire. "You learn about the pressures artists face and the choices they must make. I feel really privileged because it feels like a personal experience for me. Theaster is open about what it's like, and I admire his willingness to share with the community and with me. He doesn't make it a mysterious process."&nbsp;Our tour of the apartment finished in the sitting room, where we could admire the view of Lake Michigan and Promontory Point, almost as much as Deone's two lazy cats were enjoying the midday fall sunlight. Deone returned to her favorite topic, the Hyde Park Art Center, when we began to discuss why openness in art is so critical to the collecting process and to exposing the joy of exploring contemporary art.&nbsp;There are some leaders in the art community who are constantly striving to make art accessible and to make it a living subject. Deone says, "HPAC is such a facilitator of this. They help make art understandable, comfortable." It is undoubtedly her greatest art relationship.&nbsp;There will always be preconceptions to refute about contemporary art, barriers to break through and effort to put in in order to learn and better understand, but just as any relationship – friendly or romantic – progresses through many stages of development, a love of art can begin with butterflies of excitement and end as a deep and enduring companionship.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Collector Conversations: Deone Jackman

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417610/ha2eud8kypc3jwokujif.jpg"><figcaption>Karl Wirsum, Hollow Swallow, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 20 1/2" x 35 1/2"</figcaption></figure>By LAURA METTAMCGN spent some time talking with Karl Wirsum about his long career as a Chicago artist and as a member of the famous Hairy Who artist group from the 1960s. He shared what sparked his artistic interest as a child, the multiple influences on his work throughout his life, and the advantages of looking forward, not back.&nbsp;Chicgaoans may encounter legendary artist Karl Wirsum riding the El downtown, socializing at School of the Art Institute of Chicago events, attending gallery openings, or offering his point of view in a panel discussion. Wirsum is a familiar presence in our art community for several reasons, the most significant being the volume of his distinctive work that surrounds us in galleries, museum collections and public art.&nbsp;At 71 Wirsum is still looking ahead and enjoying his life as an active artist. He recently had a solo show in New York for the first time in two decades, and he has a full schedule in Chicago; last fall during Chicago Artists Month the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs presented this year's Ruth Horwich Award to Wirsum in recognition of his enduring career. Wirsum's work may be seen in the collections of major museums around the country, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, where Wirsum also participated in the 1968 Whitney Biennale.&nbsp;Roased in Chicago, Wirsum was hospitalized for a month when he was just a boy. To help his son with boredom during his long stay, Wirsum's father created a series of narrative images of elves, drawn in sequential situations that told a continuous story. The wonderful distraction influenced Wirsum's entire creative life. Not yet six years old at the time of his hospital stay, he began to create drawings of his own fantasies; eventually the doctor approached Wirsum's mother and suggested she enroll her son in free Saturday classes for children at the Art Institute. It was there that Wirsum benefitted from the museum's stimulating programs, a little creative homework, and the inspirational experience of being in a museum.&nbsp;*<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417611/okgwnargk4pm1pi4gwq9.jpg"><figcaption>Karl Wirsum, (American 1939–) Screamin’ Jay Hawkins,:1968. Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago</figcaption></figure>Wirsum became a member of the wild-child group the Hairy Who in the 1960s, after graduating from the School of the Art Institute in 1961. He reflects that within the group of artists, whose names we still recognize today, each had their own endeavors to pursue but together they brainstormed, installed works, designed and produced catalogues – &nbsp;the relationship was truly collaborative.&nbsp;How the Hairy Who got its quizzical name is a long story, according to Wirsum. The artists working together at the time looked to music groups, as well as art historical periods, for catchy, yet mysterious name inspiration during an evening of brainstorming at the home of artists Jim Nutt and Gladys Nilsson. The name of the art critic Harry Bouras kept coming up all night. Bouras had a weekly radio program and the group found his pronouncements humorous. Continually referenced throughout the evening, and being the only person who was in the dark who Bouras was, when Wirsum's curiosity got the better of him, he blurted out, Harry who? The group responded, "That's it!" and the name stuck. Harry became Hairy, and the group's collective identity was solidified for good.&nbsp;The Hairy Who's rise to prominence began in the late 1960s when Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) organized several key exhibitions that introduced audiences to the vibrant young group. The first, entitled Hairy Who, presented works by six artists, including Wirsum, and set the tone for what was to come in future presentations at the Center. HPAC, and in particular its director, artist Don Baum, were critical to Wirsum's artistic development for a handful of happy years. Wirsum remembers being surrounded by creative friends and like-minded companions at the time. Working individually towards a collective artistic mission was radical, and it was a sociable departure from the classic scenario of the isolated artist.&nbsp;A close friend of Wirsum's was his contemporary, Ed Paschke. He describes their time together "like working on a comedy routine." In 1961 Wirsum, Paschke and Burt Phillips ventured to Mexico after Paschke and Phillips won travel fellowships. They picked Mexico because it was a country next-door to the United States, meaning they could get there by bus, and Phillips knew a woman who needed house sitters for an extended stay.&nbsp;The country's ancient arts, as well as folk traditions and styles, plus pervasive public murals, captivated Wirsum. Paschke and Phillips stayed for two months. Wirsum was there for nearly six. Inspired by the area's mural works, Wirsum covered the house owner's walls while she was away. She returned to Mexico to find Wirsum still in residence, and she was (luckily) delighted by her new, colorful surroundings. The characteristics of Mexico's street and indigenous art stayed with Wirsum; vivid palettes, energetic, bold lines and an emphasis on the figurative are qualities viewers recognize as distinctly his today.&nbsp;Humor plays a prominent role in Wirsum's work as well. Viewers see figures that have exaggerated, comic-like features, neon colors, and loud personalities, living in worlds of wonder and imagination. Aggressive lines and whimsical shapes disrupt any surrounding seriousness.&nbsp;Wirsum's creative perspective may emanate from a darker place, but he explains that in his art he turns ideas around and presents them with a humorous note. He says he doesn't use humor for humor's sake; instead he takes something common, like a jack-o-lantern, and tries to achieve a certain gaiety in his representation, while also playing up its strange associations.&nbsp;Wirsum has had relationships with two galleries in all this time. He exhibited at Phyllis Kind Gallery for years, and then in 1998 he began showing with Jean Albano Gallery in River North. Of working with Jean Wirsum says, "She has a high level of integrity, and she's worked hard on my behalf. Overall between galleries and artists, it's all about human relationships."&nbsp;Wirsum's enthusiasm for his work has not diminished over time, but he also doesn't put stock in looking back. "I do not dwell on self-reflection. I prefer to look forward." He says his approach to his work has been a "continuum of refinement" rather than a search for breakthrough moments. Though he likes to collaborate, he ultimately prefers to work alone. Wirsum explains he knows his time is limited, and he wants to make the most of it.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>