By GINNY VAN ALYEA

The Art Institute of Chicago is known around the world as a top-tier museum, with a vast, deep collection of works, from major Impressionist paintings to decorative arts, to Modern and Contemporary works. But the blockbusters aside, it is also&nbsp;renowned for its collections of master drawings, both publicly and privately held. The Art Institute of Chicago has been collecting these works for over a century and has substantial world-class holdings&mdash;particularly with regard to drawings of the French and Italian schools.

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1483" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1483/original/img-8930.jpg" />

The stunning&nbsp;exhibition now on view is the final exhibition curated by long-time Prints Department head Suzanne McCullagh, who recently retired. Together with her team of experts, she&nbsp;highlights a selection of master drawings from the 17th to mid-20th century that have been purchased by the museum over the past 25 years but have not yet had occasion to be shown.

<img alt="" data-caption="Gustave Caillebott, Study for &lt;i&gt;Paris Street; Rainy Day&lt;/i&gt;, 1877" data-rich-file-id="1480" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1480/original/img-8918.jpg" />

Though many works are in some ways familiar to us, whether they are by internationally reknown artists or they resemble other works that have been shown at the museum, seeing them together for the first time is enlightening. Surprises include a modest but stunning early beach landscape by Edgar Degas,&nbsp;a preparatory drawing&nbsp;for an Art Institute star painting&nbsp;Paris Street; Rainy Day&nbsp;by Gustave Caillebotte, as well as a sketch book that visitors may digitally page through. Finally, the survey culminates with images from the first half of the 20th century, among them the momentous pastel&nbsp;January&nbsp;by Grant Wood, creator of another Art Institute icon,&nbsp;American Gothic.

The works are a delight to behold and contemplate and are representative of all the surprises the Art Institute continues to share with the public.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/art-institute-of-chicago">On view through January 29, 2017&nbsp;</a>

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Thomas Gainsborough, &lt;i&gt;A Sunlit Path through a Wood&lt;/i&gt;" data-rich-file-id="1479" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1479/original/img-8924.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Edgar Degas, &lt;i&gt;Beach at Low Tide (Mouth of the River)&lt;/i&gt;" data-rich-file-id="1478" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1478/original/img-8922.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Odilion Redon, &lt;i&gt;False Glory&lt;/i&gt;" data-rich-file-id="1477" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1477/original/img-8915.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Georges Lemmen, &lt;i&gt;Bourgeoise Interior&lt;/i&gt;" data-rich-file-id="1475" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1475/original/img-8914.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Grant Wood, &lt;i&gt;January&lt;/i&gt;, 1938" data-rich-file-id="1476" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1476/original/img-8916.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Caillebotte's Sketchbook, June 1883-September 1887, contains 30 drawings in graphite, watercolor, and brush and gray wash, on 40 sheets of cream wove paper" data-rich-file-id="1481" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1481/original/img-8920.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Visitors may page through a digital version of Caillebotte's Sketchbook to see each page" data-rich-file-id="1484" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1484/original/img-8927.jpg" />

Master Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago

A Look Back: Master Drawings Unveiled: 25 Years of Major Acquisitions at the Art Institute of Chicago

September is a busy time in Chicago&#39;s art community, with new shows opening in all the galleries, museum exhibitions happening around the city and suburbs, and of course the season&#39;s art fair frenzy - EXPO first in late September and then SOFA in November. Also happening at the same time as EXPO, in the West Loop at the Chicago Artists Coalition, is&nbsp;The Annual,&nbsp;a&nbsp;yearly sales exhibition celebrating cutting-edge Chicago-based artists.

Arranged by a guest curator, The Annual creates an accessible forum for emerging collectors to discover affordable new work and engage directly with its creators. This year The Annual will run for two weeks on either end of EXPO Chicago, opening Friday, September 16 and closing on Thursday, September 29.

SHOWROOM is curated by Edra Soto, and this year&#39;s Annual is the strongest to-date. From The Annual&#39;s website: &quot;SHOWROOM,&nbsp;is an installation unto itself, bringing together work influenced by fundamental aspects of interior architecture and&nbsp;design&nbsp;objects, and placing them on custom made furniture by Dock 6 Collective.&nbsp;SHOWROOM&nbsp;aims to draw new connections between our understanding of the relationship between art and design, and to make us question our assumptions.&nbsp;SHOWROOM&nbsp;exists within that delicate balance of the expressive world and the pragmatically crafted architecture that holds it.&quot;&nbsp;

Stop in to see the works on view by many of Chicago&#39;s rising stars. Highlights include works by Alberto Aguilar, Mariano Chavez, Maria Gaspar, Anna Kunz, Leonard Suryajaya, Ann Toebbe, and Stacia Yeapanis.

Works may be viewed online and bid on at <a href="https://paddle8.com/auction/cac/">paddle8.com</a>&nbsp;to support CAC.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Stacia Yeapanis, &lt;i&gt;Endless Column (Meditation Practice)&lt;/i&gt;, 2012-2016" data-rich-file-id="1492" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1492/original/122198-1474037487-122198-1473638919-staciafullshot-xl.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Ann Toebbe, &lt;i&gt;E &amp; L&lt;/i&gt;, 2010" data-rich-file-id="1490" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1490/original/img-9224.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Multiple works installed together in SHOWROOM" data-rich-file-id="1489" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1489/original/img-9221.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Leonard Suryajaya, Tree from the installation &lt;i&gt;Don't Hold on to Your Bones&lt;/i&gt;, 2016" data-rich-file-id="1488" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1488/original/img-9223.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Mariano Chavez, &lt;i&gt;Snake Shed Mask 065&lt;/i&gt;, 2016" data-rich-file-id="1487" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1487/original/img-9220.jpg" />

More details available <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/showroom">here</a>.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The Annual, a fundraising exhibition of emerging art, takes place every year at the Chicago Artists Coalition.

SHOWROOM: The Annual at Chicago Artists Coalition 

By ALISON REILLY

Every two years, the Hyde Park Art Center surveys the pulse of contemporary art produced by students graduating from Chicago&rsquo;s top MFA programs. The result is an expansive exhibition that finds its way into every inch of the first floor of the Art Center. The show features an impressive roster of 22 artists from Columbia College Chicago (CCC), Northwestern University (NU), the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), the University of Chicago (UC), and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Here are a few highlights:

&nbsp;

<h3>Angela Lopez (NU 2015)</h3>

<img alt="" data-caption="Angela Lopez, &lt;i&gt;Dip Hands In&lt;/i&gt;, 2015, watercolor on paper" data-rich-file-id="1466" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1466/original/hpac-angelalopez.jpg" />

Lining the wall of the main hallway on the first floor of the Hyde Park Art Center are 50 watercolor paintings by Angela Lopez, which form a singular work titled Dip Hands In. The conceit is simple: in each composition Lopez freeze-frames a pair of hands as they immerse into an unknown black liquid. But the quality of the line and the texture of paint create a powerful portrait of severed hands as they transform under the pressure of repeated stains.

&nbsp;

<h3>Gulsah Mursaloglu (SAIC 2015)</h3>

<img alt="" data-caption="Gulsah Mursaloglu, &lt;i&gt;Ubiquitous Notes for a Fellow Traveler&lt;/i&gt;, 2016, toothpaste, sunflower seeds, brass bells, and mixed media, dimensions variable. Photo: Jared Powell" data-rich-file-id="1467" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1467/original/hpac-gulsahmursaloglu.jpg" />

In Gulsah Mursaloglu&rsquo;s installation titled Ubiquitous Notes for a Fellow Traveler, three turquoise columns reach up to the ceiling of the main gallery. From a distance, the columns appear to be made of oversized turquoise beads fed onto a vertical rod. However, the installation lays bare the device: ice cube trays stacked underneath a wooden table were used as molds for casting toothpaste. The material resists any sense of permanence and will slowly turn from bright turquoise to a faded green throughout the course of the exhibition. Despite their fragility, the turquoise lines ground the installation, designating a space for Mursaloglu within the crowded gallery. Other parts of Mursaloglu&rsquo;s installation highlight the slow passage of time. Barnacle-like structures made from precisely placed sunflower seeds emerge from the corners of the shelf to suggest the continuation of growth. The artist restricts herself to everyday materials: toothpaste, graphite, sunflower seeds, red yarn, and water placed in cups of varying heights. With her found media, Mursaloglu imbeds the process of creation within the presentation of the work.

&nbsp;

<h3>Jeff Prokash (SAIC 2015)</h3>

<img alt="" data-caption="Installation view of &lt;i&gt;Ground Floor: A Biennial Exhibition of New Art From Chicago&lt;/i&gt;, 2016. Photo: Tom Van Endye " data-rich-file-id="1471" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1471/original/hpac-prokash2.jpg" />

Jeff Prokash, a meticulous and measured sculptor, presents an impressive installation of his ongoing series Objects for a Production in Eleven Acts. Various objects, including concrete slumps, foam rectangles and moving blankets, are carefully placed on five metal industrial shelves. In other iterations, Prokash has worked on a horizontal plane, laying the objects out for careful inspection. At the Hyde Park Art Center, the sculptor works vertically, forcing viewers to crane their heads to see what&rsquo;s on the highest shelf. Prokash&rsquo;s collection of found and made objects provokes questions of conservation methods, storage practices, and public accessibility while drawing upon the various histories of his sourced objects. For instance in Stasi Files, a series of photographs in an adjacent hallway, Prokash visited Berlin to document the archives of the former German Democratic Republic&rsquo;s State Security Service.

&nbsp;

<h3>Orkideh Torabi (SAIC 2016)</h3>

<img alt="" data-caption="Orkideh Torabi, &lt;i&gt;Pire Frazaneh&lt;/i&gt;, 2016, fabric dye on stretched cotton, 24&quot; x 18&quot;" data-rich-file-id="1472" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1472/original/pir-e-farzaneh.jpg" />

Hung in a large grid, Orkideh Torabi&rsquo;s series of cartoonish characters offer slight smiles, over-the-shoulder eyebrow raises and muted stares. For Torabi, the portraits, many of which are set against tiled backdrops, aim to mock Iranian men who dominate her country&rsquo;s patriarchy. But within this context, the anonymous set form a troupe of outlaws, a band of jokers unwittingly as ridiculous as a commedia dell&rsquo;arte performance. Torabi&rsquo;s staining technique and loose handling produces soft washes of color with a faded, yet striking color palette.

&nbsp;

<h3>Yael Ben-Simon (SAIC 2015)</h3>

<img alt="" data-caption="Yael Ben-Simon, &lt;i&gt;I can change&lt;/i&gt;, 2015, acrylic, oil and spray paint on canvas, 60&quot; x 47&quot;" data-rich-file-id="1473" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1473/original/yaelbensimon.jpg" />

Yael Ben-Simon&rsquo;s acrylic and oil paintings simultaneously conjure digital and physical worlds. In I can change, seemingly digital fabric fragments billow across the two-dimensional canvas. Beneath the bright pink and black patterns are yet more layers: an off white tattered sheet appears to stretch across a textured, multicolored background. The composition alludes to a world beyond the canvas; the painting itself seems to be a small part of a larger whole.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Ground Floor: A Biennial Exhibition of New Art from Chicago is on display at the Hyde Park Art Center until November 6, 2016. For more information visit:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hydeparkart.org/">hydeparkart.org</a>

Top image: Gulsah Mursaloglu,&nbsp;Ubiquitous Notes for a Fellow Traveler, 2016, toothpaste, sunflower seeds, brass bells, and mixed media, dimensions variable.&nbsp;Photo: Jared Powell

Every two years, the Hyde Park Art Center surveys the pulse of contemporary art produced by students graduating from Chicago’s top MFA programs. 

Ground Floor at the Hyde Park Art Center

The fall art season kicks off Friday, September 9. Openings take place across the city in gallery centers and institutions, with the exhibitions on view for the next several weeks. The fall kick-off is perhaps the most well known focal point of the city&#39;s visual arts calendar, as it offers a chance to get back into the galleries, to meet artists, mingle with friends and to experience what is new. &nbsp;This season the galleries are unveiling their top artists and most thoughtful shows with a wide range of offerings.

There are also some stellar shows taking place in area museums, and many cultural venues and institutions are partnering with international art fair EXPO Chicago for this year&#39;s <a href="http://expochicago.com/expo-art-week">EXPO Art Week</a>, which begins September 19 and runs through the fair (Sept 22-25.)&nbsp;

All eyes are on Chicago right now, and there is so much exciting art to see and enjoy, so many perspectives to view and so many artists to celebrate.&nbsp;

See you around town!&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<h3>Gallery Show Highlights </h3>

<h4>full openings and exhibitions list <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar?what-type-of-event">here</a></h4>

&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/theaster-gates-heavy-sketches">Theaster Gates: Heavy Sketches</a>&nbsp;at Richard Gray Gallery

Friday, Sep 30 - Nov 20, 2016

A solo exhibition of new bronze and mixed material sculptures by&nbsp;Theaster Gates.

<img alt="" data-caption="Theaster Gates" data-rich-file-id="1441" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1441/original/gates.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/mcarthur-binion-seasons">McArthur Binion: Seasons</a> at Kavi Gupta Gallery&nbsp;

Saturday, Sep 17 - Nov 22, 2016

To be seasoned is to be experienced&mdash;seeing the benefits of knowledge gained&nbsp;over times distill in one&rsquo;s work. For McArthur Binion, committed to the&nbsp;tension of colors both art-historical and racial, the seasons and decades&nbsp;have infused his practice.&nbsp;In Seasons, these stubborn crosshatches, which served to blur and distort both&nbsp;their weave and the photocopied numbers and names behind them&nbsp;(gleaned from Binion&rsquo;s personal address book of 1970s New York), have&nbsp;given way to the grid.

<img alt="" data-caption="MacArthur Binion" data-rich-file-id="1436" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1436/original/binion.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/roger-brown-andy-warhol-pop-artists-subversive-politics">Roger Brown &amp; Andy Warhol: Pop Artists, Subversive Politics</a> at Kavi Gupta Gallery

Friday, Sep 23 - Nov 22, 2016

Juxtaposing Brown and Warhol provides opportunities for&nbsp;rethinking the scope of pop art, which takes cues from a diverse array of&nbsp;aesthetic traditions and conceptual techniques.

<img alt="" data-caption="Roger Brown" data-rich-file-id="1443" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1443/original/guptabrown.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/tetsuya-noda-a-retrospective">Tetsuya Noda: A Retrospective</a> at Andrew Bae Gallery

Throughout the 50&nbsp;years of his art career and 500 works he produced under a single title&nbsp;Diary,&nbsp;Tetsuya Noda&nbsp;never lost his affinity for novel inspiration.

Friday, Sep 9 - Oct 29, 2016

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1435" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1435/original/bae.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/rhona-hoffman-40-years-part-1">Rhona Hoffman 40 Years, Part 1</a> at Rhona Hoffman Gallery

Friday, Sep 16 - Oct 22, 2016. Opening reception: Friday, September 16, 5-7:30pm

This group exhibition is the first&nbsp;in a series of three&nbsp;exhibitions celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Rhona Hoffman Gallery.

<img alt="" data-caption="Barbar Kruger at Rhona Hoffman" data-rich-file-id="1454" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1454/original/rh40kruger.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/selections-from-the-steve-and-karen-berkowitz-collection">Selections from the Steve and Karen Berkowitz Collection</a> at Carl Hammer Gallery&nbsp;

Friday, Sep 9 - Oct 29, 2016

A range of works from the personal collection of the founder of Marwen and his wife.

<img alt="" data-caption="Ed Paschke" data-rich-file-id="1444" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1444/original/hammer.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/city-space-stray-light-clarissa-bonet">City Space + Stray Light: Clarissa Bonet</a> at Catherine Edelman Gallery

Friday, Sep 9 - Oct 29, 2016

The concept of place, and our relationship to it, is at the heart of Clarissa Bonet&rsquo;s work.&nbsp;Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, after moving to Chicago in&nbsp;2010, she was stunned by the isolation she felt among the throngs of people rushing along the sidewalks. This body of work examines individuality in a large city.

<img alt="" data-caption="Clarissa Bonet" data-rich-file-id="1437" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1437/original/bonet.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/christa-donner-our-new-system">Christa Donner: Our New System</a> at Gallery 400&nbsp;

Friday, Sep 9 - Oct 22, 2016

Chicago-based artist Christa Donner expands her virtuosic body of drawings concerning the complexities of the human body to explore collectivities and spaces for new forms of human sociality. Donner&rsquo;s practice has grown out of visual research and inquiry originating in interviews and dialogic workshops with individuals and communities.

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1442" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1442/original/gallery400.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/stone-1-000-000-bc-ad-1940">STONE! 1,000,000 BC - AD 1940</a> at Douglas Dawson Gallery

Friday, Sep 9 - Oct 15, 2016

Prehistoric stone tools and weapons from Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Americas are on view at this unique space across from the Art Institute.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1439" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1439/original/dawson.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/jamie-adams-porch-and-a-vista">Jamie Adams: Porch and a Vista</a> at Zolla/Lieberman (one of multiple shows opening at the gallery)

Friday, Sep 9 - Oct 1, 2016

New figurative paintings of the&nbsp;artist&#39;s view of pop society.

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1433" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1433/original/adams.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/james-mesple-gem-myths">James Mespl&eacute;: Gem Myths</a> at Printworks

Friday, Sep 9 - Oct 15, 2016

The artist&#39;s final show at Printworks. &nbsp;Known for intensive research into the themes that shape his vibrant exhibitions, this show focuses on gem stones and related mythology.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="James Mesple" data-rich-file-id="1447" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1447/original/mesple.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/michiko-itatani-starry-night-encounter">Michiko Itatani: Starry Night Encounter</a> at Linda Warren Projects

Friday, Sep 9 - Oct 22, 2016

A solo exhibition by one of Chicago&rsquo;s most prolific and esteemed painters,&nbsp;Michiko Itatani. Presenting a wide selection of new work, chosen from several epic series or &ldquo;chapters.&quot;

<img alt="" data-caption="Michiko Itatani" data-rich-file-id="1451" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1451/original/warren.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/unbroken-art-after-injury--2">Unbroken: Art After Injury</a> at Bridgeport Art Center&nbsp;

Opening September 9,&nbsp;6:30&ndash;9:30PM. Opening tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door

This exhibit is a glimpse of the accomplishments, pain, happiness, loss, and beauty of artists with spinal cord injury and paralysis. The show celebrates Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Bridgeport Art Center" data-rich-file-id="1438" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1438/original/bridgeport.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/rndd-annual-fall-gallery-walk">River North Design District Gallery Night Walk</a>

Friday, September 9 5-9pm

Creative neighbors of the River North Gallery District open their showrooms to the public and feature contemporary art in design settings. Special events include a Champagne kick-off and live art.

<img alt="" data-caption="RNDD" data-rich-file-id="1449" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1449/original/rndd.jpg" />

<h3>Museums</h3>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/birth-death-breath-an-inflatable-opera-by-diane-christiansen-and-jeanne-dunning">Birth Death Breath: An Inflatable Opera by Diane Christiansen and Jeanne Dunning</a> at Elmhurst Art Museum

Thursday, Sep 22 - Nov 27, 2016

Elmhurst Art Museum presents the world premiere of&nbsp;Birth Death Breath, an opera &quot;performed&quot; by inflatable Christmas lawn decorations in various stages of inflation and deflation.

<img alt="" data-caption="Elmhurst Art Musuem" data-rich-file-id="1440" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1440/original/elmhurst.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/master-drawings-unveiled-25-years-of-major-acquisitions">Master Drawings Unveiled: 25 Years of Major Acquisitions</a>&nbsp;at the Art Institute of Chicago&nbsp;

Thru &nbsp;Jan 29, 2017

Chicago is renowned for its collections of master drawings both publicly and privately held. The Art Institute of Chicago has been collecting these works for over a century and has substantial world-class holdings&mdash;particularly with regard to drawings of the French and Italian schools. This exhibition highlights a selection of master drawings from the 17th to mid-20th century that have been purchased by the museum over the past 25 years but have not yet had occasion to be shown. It is also the final show curated by recently retired department head Suzanne McCullagh&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Grant Wood. &lt;i&gt;January&lt;/i&gt;, 1938. Regenstein Acquisition Fund and Regenstein Foundation. " data-rich-file-id="1434" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1434/original/aicmaster.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/every-building-in-baghdad-the-rifat-chadirji-archives-at-the-arab-image-foundation">Every Building in Baghdad: the Rifat Chadirji Archives at the Arab Image Foundation</a>, on view at the Graham Foundation&nbsp;

Thursday, Sep 15 - Dec 31, 2016

This exhibition examines the work of Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji through the collection of his original photographs and building documents held at the Arab Image Foundation in Beirut.

&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/urth-ben-rivers">Urth: Ben Rivers</a>&nbsp;at the Renaissance Society&nbsp;

Saturday, Sep 10 - Nov 6, 2016

Urth, Rivers&rsquo;s first solo presentation in the United States, presents new and recent moving image works. The exhibition takes its title from the Old Norse word suggesting the twisted threads of fate.

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1448" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1448/original/rivers.jpg" />

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/there-was-a-whole-collection-made-photography-from-lester-and-betty-guttman">There was a Whole Collection Made: Photography from Lester and Betty Guttman</a> at the Smart Museum of Art&nbsp;

Thursday, Sep 22 - Dec 30, 2016

Artists included in the show include William Henry Fox Talbot, David Octavius Hill, Hannah Hoch, Man Ray, Laszlo Maholy-Nagy, Brassai, Berenice Abbott, Helen Levitt, Diane Arbus, Malick Sidibe, Chuck Close, Carrie Mae Weems, among many others.

<img alt="" data-caption="Smart Museum" data-rich-file-id="1450" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1450/original/smart.jpg" />

A round up of Chicago 2016 fall gallery shows and openings 

Early Fall Art Highlights

By KEVIN NANCE 
 
On October 3 it will have been a year since the Stony Island Arts Bank, one of the most remarkable new cultural projects on Chicago&rsquo;s South Side in memory, opened its doors to the public. As the Arts Bank&mdash;the brainchild of the multimedia artist Theaster Gates&mdash;prepares to celebrate its first anniversary, the hybrid visual arts gallery, music venue and African-American heritage institution can pride itself on a solid start to a long life of service to its neighborhood and beyond. 
 
The handsome granite Arts Bank building, designed by the prominent architect William Gibbons Uffendell and constructed in 1923 at 6760 S. Stony Island Ave., was once a stately savings-and-loan institution serving the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. But by the time Gates acquired the building in 2012, just weeks before it likely would have been demolished by the city, the bank was in shambles.&nbsp; 
 
Abandoned for nearly 30 years, the 17,000-square-foot structure had suffered decades of rain pouring in through holes in the ceiling; in the basement-level vault, where rows of metal safe-deposit boxes still gleamed, storm water stood chest-high. Nearly a third of the ornate coffered plasterwork on the ceiling of the first-floor great hall had crashed to the floor below.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Rusted safe-deposit boxes" data-rich-file-id="1411" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1411/original/stony-island-6-dxo.jpg" />

&ldquo;People who live in this neighborhood walked past this building for 30 years, and saw it literally falling apart at their feet and above their heads,&rdquo; says Amy Schachman, director of strategic operations at the Rebuild Foundation, the nonprofit group that oversees the Arts Bank and other Gates projects. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a legacy of neglect but also a legacy of possibility.&rdquo; 
 
To keep that legacy clearly visible to visitors, Gates and his team of architects chose not to restore the building to its original pristine state, but rather to leave much of the damaged surfaces&mdash;including the coffered ceiling, interior columns and inner walls of the first floor&mdash;essentially untouched. Intermixed with those areas are several newly designed and constructed spaces, such as the high-ceilinged second-floor room that now houses the 16,000-volume Johnson Publishing Library, complete with a shelving system built in part with reclaimed railroad ties from the nearby tracks that give the neighborhood its name. 
 
&ldquo;By showing what was lost and what was salvageable, by keeping this mixture of old and new, we made an intentional decision to say, &lsquo;Something can be this far gone and you can bring it back,&rsquo;&rdquo; Schachman says. &ldquo;You can make it beautiful, and you can make it an amenity for the people who live in the neighborhood as well as those who come from farther away. If you can take a building this big, and this far gone, and bring it back, that&rsquo;s a pretty strong testament to the work that we&rsquo;re able to do across this neighborhood and that Theaster is doing throughout the South Side.&rdquo; 
 
Although the renovation is still not complete and may never be&mdash;&ldquo;Never,&rdquo; Schachman repeats, noting that the building is in a &ldquo;constant state of reinvention&rdquo; in response to Gates&rsquo;s elastic vision, the capacity of the 12-person staff and the needs of the neighborhood&mdash;the Arts Bank has now settled into something like a comfortable routine. Open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from noon until 7 p.m., the Arts Bank offers a regular schedule of activities that include live music on Thursday afternoons and, on Fridays, House Tea, during which DJs spin music from the Frankie Knuckles collection of vinyl house music recordings housed on the third floor as visitors are treated to home-brewed tea.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="A second-floor reading room features a collection of books on black culture and history recently donated by the DuSable High School Library. Photo: Kevin Nance" data-rich-file-id="1377" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1377/original/stony-island-4.jpg" /> 
 
Patrons can view an ongoing rotation of outside exhibitions &ndash; such as a recent show of photographs by Ghanaian street photographer and portraitist James Barnor &ndash; as well as shows drawn from the various in-house collections, including over 60,000 glass lantern slides of art and architectural history, inherited from the University of Chicago; the Edward J. Williams collection of &ldquo;negrobilia,&rdquo; often mass-produced objects and artifacts with sometimes stereotypical images of African-Americans; and a collection of older books on black culture and history, recently decommissioned and donated to the Arts Bank by the DuSable High School library.

<img alt="" data-caption="Slides in the archive" data-rich-file-id="1410" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1410/original/stony-island-5-dxo.jpg" />

The Arts Bank features regular orientation sessions exploring the Johnson Publishing Library, which includes, among other things, bound editions of Ebony and Jet magazines. As Schachman puts it, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re always having people come in to look up the 1972 Ebony because their uncle&rsquo;s picture was in it.&rdquo; 
 
What&rsquo;s it like to work at the Arts Bank every day? &ldquo;Wonderful,&rdquo; says Demecina Beehn, outreach and engagement manager. &ldquo;To be surrounded by such beauty and such amazing collections, to be able to meet the enthusiastic people who come in every day&mdash;it&rsquo;s just breathtaking.&rdquo;&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1409" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1409/original/stony-island-dxo.jpg" /> 
Special activities to commemorate the Bank&rsquo;s first anniversary are in the works. These were not firmed up at press time, but Schachman promises &ldquo;a lot of music and a lot of late nights.&rdquo; She adds, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to sum up concisely what we&rsquo;re all about&mdash;hybridity is key,&rdquo; Schachman explains. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s not a single answer that captures everything we&rsquo;re trying to do. So when people ask that question when they&rsquo;re right outside, we just say, &lsquo;Come in. Figure out for yourself what&rsquo;s interesting to you.&rsquo;&rdquo;

Top image:&nbsp;The first-floor main hall of the Stony Island Arts Bank features a mix of partially restored as well as newly designed spaces such as the Johnson Publishing Library (above). Photo: Kevin Nance

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October 3, 2016 marks one year since the Stony Island Arts Bank, one of the most remarkable new cultural projects on Chicago’s South Side, opened.

Stony Island Arts Bank: One Year Later

By ALISON REILLY

One year ago, Emanuel Aguilar and Julia Fischbach opened the doors of their gallery, PATRON. The two had previously worked together as directors at Kavi Gupta Gallery. Since opening in fall 2015 they have doubled the number of artists they represent while presenting impressive shows by Alex Chitty, Daniel G. Baird, and Myra Green, to name a few. I recently sat down with Emanuel and Julia at their space in River West. 
 
CGN: Tell me about your background. How did you get&nbsp;started in the art world? 
 
Julia Fischbach:&nbsp;I&rsquo;m from Chicago. I grew up here, and then I went away to a school in central Kentucky called Asbury University. Soon after I graduated, I came back to Chicago and I met an artist who had started working with Kavi. I started going to the openings and things like that. After a series of conversations I was hired by Kavi when I was 23. I was there for just over 17 years.&nbsp; 
 
CGN: What about you Emanuel? 
 
Emanuel Aguilar:&nbsp;I grew up in the city as well. I went to Columbia College and double majored in art history and marketing. But when I was very young, seventeen, I met a gallerist, Jean Albano in River North, through family and friends. I worked for her for about eight years, through college. When I left school I launched a magazine called Jettison Quarterly with some of my fellow graduates. One of the other founders of the magazine, Peter Skvara, worked with Julia and Kavi, and so I formed a relationship with the gallery. At one point our offices were in the same building. Kavi offered me a job and I took it. I was there for a few years, and then it led to this. 
 
CGN: Was the idea of opening up your own space something that you had been thinking about for awhile?&nbsp; 
 
EA: It&rsquo;s an industry where you eventually reach the point where, either you do it on your own, or you leave. Especially in a city like Chicago, there are only so many opportunities. To continue up the ladder you need to think about how or if you want to continue. It wasn&rsquo;t something we planned for until after we left and thought about what we wanted to do. We had options to leave the city and work for other spaces.&nbsp; 
 
CGN: Are you happy with the decision to stay in Chicago? 
 
EA: Yeah, it&rsquo;s difficult. Chicago is a very difficult place. I think that&rsquo;s something we both learned at Kavi&rsquo;s. Anything you can imagine in the art world globally, we were exposed to. When you have that kind access to the industry at large you have to reflect on&mdash;in order to stay sane&mdash;what aspects of the job are fulfilling. You come out of it really exhausted and you think to yourself, &lsquo;Why do I want to keep doing this for the rest of my life? What is it about this that makes me want to wake up?&rsquo;&nbsp; 
 
But Chicago has a lot of opportunities. There&rsquo;s definitely a void to fill. It has a lot of challenges because the community and the collector base is small. The collector base often isn&rsquo;t as risky; they sometimes wait for the rest of the world to approve something and then they follow through. You have to reach out to the rest of the world. But we&rsquo;re happy because the reception has been great. 
 
CGN: Julia, what about you? Are you happy with the decision?&nbsp; 
 
JF: Yes, for sure. When we left there was no plan for anything because we had different opportunities coming our way. I needed time to completely regroup. We had people who wanted us to go to the West Coast, East Coast, the whole thing, but I was like, &lsquo;You know we have both been here, we love the city.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s easy to leave sometimes, but I felt like more and more of the world&rsquo;s eyes were turning towards Chicago. In my heart I felt like I needed to stay.&nbsp; 
 
CGN: But I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;ve both been traveling a lot. 
 
EA: When we were at the other gallery we were on the road so much, flying out almost every other week. I almost felt like a stranger, because I was never here. At one point I was talking to a friend about my apartment and I mentioned that I had slept like five nights out of the last three months in my own bed. Sometimes you disconnect with your own community. Being in Chicago now has helped me to reconnect with what is going on here and to be a part of it. But eventually travel happens. The way that the art world functions these days you have to be on the road.

CGN: You&rsquo;ve said you want to foster connection between South America and Chicago. Have you been traveling to South America this year or do you have plans in the future to do so?

JF: We&#39;re starting the conversations and then doing research. I don&#39;t want the program to feel like &lsquo;These are South American artists! And artists from the States!&rsquo; so we want to make sure that there&#39;s a lot of crossover as far as conversations that can be blended beautifully. We are starting to work with artists from South America who live in Chicago or have lived here for a time.&nbsp;

CGN: Last year, you had a booth at EXPO, but I didn&rsquo;t see you on the exhibitor list for this fall. Are you planning on participating in other ways? 
 
JF: Yes, EXPO asked us to do a project. We will have a piece up by Samuel Levi Jones. It&rsquo;s an earlier work from 2012 called 48 Portraits Underexposed that informed where his work is today. We&rsquo;ll also be focused on Harold Mendez&rsquo;s exhibition opening here. He lived in Chicago at one point, he&rsquo;s down in Houston now. It&rsquo;s going to be very different and fresh. It&rsquo;s really amazing work.

<img alt="" data-caption="Harold Mendez, &lt;i&gt;At night we walk in circles&lt;/i&gt;, 2016 Cotton, graphite, spray enamel, watercolor, toner, litho crayon on ball grained aluminum lithographic plate mounted on dibond, 72&quot; x 60&quot;" data-rich-file-id="1381" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1381/original/hm-at-night-we-walk-in-circles-.jpg" />

CGN: You started with four artists when you opened a year ago, and now you represent eight. How did you get there? 
 
EA: It&rsquo;s a process to build relationships with artists. Not only do we have to believe in the practice and in the work, but we also have to develop good relationships with these artists as people, because we work very intimately with them. We are gallerists who like being in the studio often, collaborating with the artists and working side by side. It&rsquo;s forming a relationship that functions as a productive partnership for both sides to realize whatever it is that the artist&rsquo;s aspirations are. It took some time to get to know who&rsquo;s right for that and whether we can also do something for those artists. There are a lot of artists we like but for whom we&rsquo;re just not the right space. 
 
CGN: The mold making process for Daniel G. Baird&rsquo;s&nbsp;recent exhibition at PATRON seemed very intensive. He travels into caves across the United States and makes molds of the surfaces. Is Baird&rsquo;s project one that you were involved with specifically? 
 
EA: Yes, if you look at our artist roster, I&rsquo;d say 95% of everything the artists are doing we&rsquo;re involved with, at some point, even if it&rsquo;s just a discussion. Dan has very ambitious ideas and his exhibition was laying foundation for those ideas to grow even bigger and get more ambitious. Everything in his show happened through months and months of conversations. 
 
CGN: Tell me about your philosophy for the gallery. How does it relate to the name PATRON?&nbsp; 
 
JF: Even though we&rsquo;re a newer space we want to make sure that we are really accessible to people. We want the space to feel very open; our offices are almost in the middle of the space instead of hiding. Anybody who comes into the gallery is welcome to walk back into the showroom area. We&rsquo;re interested in helping someone who&rsquo;s never bought a piece of art in their life and has no idea how to go about that, as well as working with those who&rsquo;ve been doing it for forty years. Everyone is a different case.&nbsp; 
 
There are many, many ways to be a supporter. The original definition of patron&mdash;usually you think it&rsquo;s someone who has money and is giving to something&mdash;is actually a much more beautiful, generalized term. It&rsquo;s a supporter, a protector. That is our job. We do that everyday when we cross a threshold. We chose the name very carefully. It&rsquo;s at the foundation of who we are as a space.

CGN: What was the most challenging part of opening up a space this year?

JF: Even though we&#39;ve been in the industry for a long time we&#39;re starting from scratch. It&rsquo;s been very thrilling. It&#39;s a completely different thing when your problems are your problems. We&#39;ve had so many experiences in our lives that it&#39;s allowed us to say &lsquo;It&#39;s okay.&rsquo; You make a decision and you move forward.

EA: It&rsquo;s a challenge to redefine your identity and your life. Both&nbsp;locally and&nbsp;internationally people saw us under a certain umbrella&mdash;we belonged to this other place. We&rsquo;ve had to restructure the way that the world sees us and&nbsp;reconfigure our networks into the fact that we&#39;re no longer there and we&#39;re here. But it&#39;s been really good.

For more information visit <a href="http://patrongallery.com/">patrongallery.com</a>

Top image: Samuel Levi Jones, 48 Portraits (Underexposed), 2012, inkjet print on paper, 48-28&quot; x 22&quot; each or 8.5&#39; x 23&#39; overall, Edition of 1&nbsp;with 1 AP, SLJ025

One year ago, Emanuel Aguilar and Julia Fischbach opened the doors of their gallery, PATRON.

PATRON: Committed to Chicago

In conjunction with the 25th Anniversary of Ukraine&rsquo;s independence, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (UIMA) celebrates with a new exhibition.&nbsp;Reality Check: Directions in Contemporary Art Since Ukrainian Independence&nbsp;is on view August 26-November 27, 2016.

The exhibition presents the work of eight contemporary artists affected by the country&rsquo;s 1991 independence. Reality Check examines the strictures imposed during the Soviet Union with installations, sculptures, and paintings by artists working in the United States, Canada, and Ukraine.&nbsp;For Ukrainian professional artists, the collapse of the Soviet Union created an opportunity to learn and engage with current artistic developments occurring in the west, as well as delve into those of the past from which they had been excluded.

<img alt="" data-caption="Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak Bear T(hugs), 2015 Felted bear, 5 painted wooden nesting dolls 10 x 14 x 6 in." data-rich-file-id="1412" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1412/original/bears-web.jpg" />

The exhibition is curated by Adrienne Kochm, one of North America&rsquo;s foremost scholars of contemporary art of Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora,&nbsp;and includes artists: Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak, Anna Bogatin, Yhelena &amp; Michael Hall, Roman Hrab, Natalka Husar, Yulia Pinkusevich, and Valya.&nbsp;

<a href="http://uima-chicago.org">uima-chicago.org</a>

<img alt="" data-caption="Valya, BABA, Merino wool fleece, felt, silk gauze; 109” x 79”" data-rich-file-id="1380" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1380/original/uima-ed.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Anna Bogatin Aurora, 2015 Acrylic on canvas 48 x 48 in. Courtesy of Larry Becker Contemporary Art, Philadelphia PA" data-rich-file-id="1413" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1413/original/uimablue.jpg" />

Top image: Natalka Husar, Why They Behave Like Russians, 2005, Oil on book cover, 8.5 x 12 in.

In conjunction with the 25th Anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, UIMA presents Reality Check.

Artists Mark an Anniversary – Reality Check: Directions in Contemporary Art Since Ukrainian Independence at UIMA

By FRANCK MERCURIO

 
Lawrence &amp; Clark is an unassuming storefront gallery that functions as a public venue for graphic designer Jason Pickleman&rsquo;s private art collection. Over the past 30 years, Pickleman has assembled an eclectic collection of more than 1,000 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by the likes of Sterling Ruby, Michael DeLucia, Jin Lee, Judy Ledgerwood, Tom Friedman, and his current favorite, Puppies Puppies (Drew Olivo). On a recent visit to the gallery, I spoke with Pickleman about his collection and his deep roots in Chicago&rsquo;s art community. 
 
Pickleman&rsquo;s approach to collecting: 
 
I buy almost everything at first sight. I see it; it piques my interest; I buy it immediately. Very seldom do I hem, haw, think, research. I do almost no research when it comes to collecting&mdash;purely instinctive, always impulsive&mdash;much to my wife&rsquo;s chagrin! 
 
Purchasing a sculpture by Jenny Buffington: 
 
Jenny Buffington had a one-woman show at Heaven Gallery. So I picked up [this sculpture], and I bought it not knowing anything about the artist. Never seen her work before. I was there for a party. [The piece] was available. One glass of whiskey later, I walked home with it! That happens a lot. 
 
Ground up vs. museum down: 
 
I guess my collecting started from the ground up, as opposed to from the museum down. It has been brought on by my relationship with the Chicago cultural community, by being engaged with arts groups, artists, architects, entrepreneurs, and designers &ndash; by going to openings and doing studio visits. I go to places like Heaven, LVL3, and the Chicago Artists Coalition. 
 
&ldquo;Emerging&rdquo; is a dirty word: 
 
You know, I don&rsquo;t like the term &ldquo;emerging.&rdquo; Actually, I take offense to the word. Because, I mean, everybody&rsquo;s emerging as something else. 
 
When you go into a more established gallery, a more commercial gallery, there&rsquo;s a certain pedigree that shapes one&rsquo;s responses to the work. When I go into a &ldquo;scruffier&rdquo; gallery, I find the lack of pedigree to be freeing. I can have a more personally authentic experience with an art object when I don&rsquo;t know the artist&rsquo;s name, their reputation, or their exhibition history. 
 
Encountering Rothko at age 10: 
 
I remember a trip to New York when I was maybe nine or ten and seeing Rothkos at MoMA. That lodged in my brain, that level of atmospheric abstraction as a field of interest for an artist. It was mind-blowing for a ten-year-old. [The Rothko] wasn&rsquo;t a picture of something. It wasn&rsquo;t a place. It wasn&rsquo;t recognizable as anything. But at the same time, it was suggestive of a state of thinking, a state of emotion. I kind of sensed all that at a young age: that art could be this thing that was both specific and ambiguous, suggestive and abstract. And I think that my collection and my habits in collecting are absolutely informed by those contradictions. 
 
Art as memory device: 
 
[The works I collect] are mnemonic devices, memory devices for me. They are snapshots of where I was at certain point in my adult life. And my adult life&mdash;I&rsquo;m 51 now&mdash;has been 100 percent engaged with the Chicago art community. And I haven&rsquo;t left Chicago. I&rsquo;ve been able to find opportunities in Chicago&mdash;both personal and professional opportunities&mdash;and I&rsquo;ve watched multiple generations of artists come up. Many of them leave. Many of them disappear. And owning the work of so many has been one way for me to acknowledge their importance in my adult life. 
 
Opening Lawrence &amp; Clark: 
 
I think opening the gallery was one way for me to rationalize buying more work and as a way to treat the work more respectfully. Because I do&mdash;passionately&mdash;enjoy, love, and respect everything I buy. And often, collectors buy work and then it just disappears into this very private realm, and on one level, that does a disservice to the artist. So by having this gallery space, I open the possibility of not sequestering the work&hellip;that&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m here every Saturday, with open hours.

<img alt="" data-caption="Pictured clockwise from top: Claire Valdez, Invader, Jenny Spota, Ivan Thorpe, Ken Fandell, William S. Burroughs" data-rich-file-id="1378" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1378/original/overall100-jasonpickleman.jpg" />

Collecting as part of living a creative life:&nbsp;

 
[The collection is an] end result of a professional life, lived in Chicago from 1987 to 2016. I mean, as a designer, I&rsquo;ve produced over 200 books for the most well known artists in the city of Chicago. I&rsquo;ve befriended artists who ended up having significant careers&mdash;Sterling Ruby, Tony Tasset, Judy Ledgerwood, Kerry James Marshall, I&ntilde;igo Manglano-Ovalle. These are people I have relationships with. I&rsquo;ve worked for major museums. I&rsquo;ve worked with very important curators and museum directors. My entire adult life has been centered around art making, art exhibiting, and art appreciation. Collecting is the end result of those relationships. I did not say, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to become a collector.&rdquo; Instead I said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to live a creative life in the city of Chicago.&rdquo; And owning all these rectangles and sculptures and neon, that&rsquo;s the residue.

Lawrence &amp; Clark, 4755 N. Clark. Open Saturdays 1&ndash;5pm and by appointment via text 773-459-0586

Top image:&nbsp;Pickleman in front of one half of Sol LeWitt&rsquo;s Wall Work No. 391 (1983-2016) at Lawrence &amp; Clark 
&nbsp;

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Lawrence & Clark is an unassuming storefront gallery that functions as a public venue for graphic designer Jason Pickleman’s private art collection.

Collector Jason Pickleman’s Creative Life

By ALISON REILLY 
 
In her exhibition last fall at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Ania Jaworska presented an impressive set of screen prints titled A Subjective Catalog of Columns. In one print, a flattened flame of concentric lines burns behind a cartoon capital filled with a wood grain pattern. Beneath the image, a line of text reads, &ldquo;Wooden Column on Fire (It Was Always Burning).&rdquo; Hung side-by-side within inches of each other, Jaworska&rsquo;s playful columnar designs reimagine the canonized history of architecture while offering many entry points for the casual viewer.

<img alt="" data-caption="Ania Jaworska, &lt;i&gt;Wooden Column on Fire (It Was Always Burning)&lt;/i&gt;, 2015. Screen print on folio paper. Courtesy of the Artist. © MCA Chicago" data-rich-file-id="1375" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1375/original/aniajaworska-column.jpg" />

In an adjacent gallery, Jaworska installed monochromatic black sculptures within a room of black walls and carpet, creating an island of architectural misfits. A HERE sign marks nowhere in particular. A set of stanchions and a corded rope form a circle only to guard an empty space. Throughout the exhibition, Jaworska questions the implicit power of signage and archetypal forms like an arch, a column or a step.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;A column is still a very powerful symbol,&rdquo; Jaworska said, &ldquo;that is not really questioned. It sends a powerful message and it does an excellent job.&rdquo; More recently, the Polish architect has been researching how universities, banks, law firms and other institutions interpret columns graphically in their logos. By cataloging these graphic designs, Jaworska hopes to more thoughtfully assess how they function in contemporary life.&nbsp; 
 
This fall Jaworska will present a new body of work&mdash;functional furniture&mdash;at Volume Gallery in the West Loop. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m building up my interest in simple forms,&rdquo; Jaworska noted, &ldquo;very bold forms that bring references that are not necessarily specific to anything else.&rdquo; Producing functional objects is not entirely new for the designer who was commissioned in 2013 to create the now iconic mesh metal bookshelf for the Graham Foundation. However, she considers that project &ldquo;more as an installation in space. I&rsquo;ve thought about furniture before but this [at Volume Gallery] is a new experience. &rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
Jaworska grew up in Stary Sacz, a small town in southern Poland along the border with Slovakia. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an old town, 750 years old,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It used to be a prominent town, but it never really grew so it stayed very small. There are gothic and baroque churches, a market square and it&rsquo;s all still cobblestones, so people are very much aware of their heritage in the town. They keep as much of the original old town as possible, which influenced my understanding of what architecture is, because I was surrounded by really beautiful buildings&mdash;not many, but some.&rdquo; 
 
At that time in the eighties, Poland was coming to terms with what it meant to be post-communist state. &ldquo;If you wanted to build your own house in my town you had to do it on your own,&rdquo; Jaworska said. Her parents, with the support of friendly neighbors, built their house from start to finish, which she compared to a barn raising&mdash;a community coming together to help a neighbor construct a necessary structure. Jaworska, who attended the Cracow University of Technology and Cranbrook Academy of Art, connects these early memories to her decision to study architecture. &ldquo;I always knew I wanted to study something related to art, and the more I thought about it architecture seemed to be the best approach.&rdquo; 
 
As a designer, Jaworska benefitted from the traditional architectural approach at Cracow focused on drafting, drawing, and planning, coupled with the hands-on, material based studies at Cranbook. &ldquo;I explored two different sides of architecture,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;At Cranbrook I was mostly building so I had the experience of how to actually make things, which of course as an architect you know it&mdash;in theory. But I think that really changed my practice. I had two years of studio time. There are no classes and no grades. It&rsquo;s really you and your own ideas.&rdquo;&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Ania Jaworska, &lt;i&gt;Study for Coffee Table&lt;/i&gt;, forthcoming exhibition at Volume Gallery" data-rich-file-id="1376" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1376/original/aniajaworska-coffee-table-image.jpg" />

While it&rsquo;s common for young architects to experiment with proposals as a means of developing their practice, Jaworska continues to employ this method in her work. &ldquo;I use proposals deliberately as a way to express ideas and communicate what I would like to do,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The proposals also exist as works that are already done and finished. They can be experienced as they are but also can promise works of a larger scale.&rdquo; Monument for Them, an oversized kneeling &ldquo;Hi&rdquo; sign that was installed at the MCA, functioned as a unique sculpture but also represents Jaworska&rsquo;s desire to engage viewers within public spaces.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;My interest in language came directly from signage,&rdquo; Jaworska said. &ldquo;I started with &lsquo;Hi&rsquo; in my explorations because I realized that signage really is about saying what we as a group of people or specific company or institution represent in the most direct way. It sends a message.&nbsp;You can&rsquo;t get any more direct than &lsquo;Hi!&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp;

Ania Jaworska&rsquo;s upcoming exhibition opens&nbsp;November 12 at Volume Gallery.&nbsp;

Top image:&nbsp;Installation view, BMO Harris Bank Chicago Works: ANIA JAWORSKA, MCA Chicago, August 25, 2015-January 31, 2016. Photo: Travis Roozee. &copy; MCA Chicago

CGN interviews architect and designer Ania Jaworska.

Ania Jaworska: Relocating the Canon

By FRANCK MERCURIO&nbsp; 
 
What happens when a 1957 Cadillac de Ville is encased in 16 tons of concrete? In short, it doesn&rsquo;t go anywhere. And that&rsquo;s the point of Concrete Traffic, a public sculpture created in 1970 by German artist Wolf Vostell. This important conceptual work&mdash;commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago, during its early years&mdash;will be re-installed on the University of Chicago campus this September. 
&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Installation view of Wolf Vostell’s Concrete Traffic, January 1970. Courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Library and Archives. Photo © MCA Chicago." data-rich-file-id="1416" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1416/original/installation-view-2c-concrete-traffic-with-cars-historical-photographs-2c-mca-archives-.jpg" />

In an absurdist gesture, Vostell (1932&ndash;1998) took a vehicle that&rsquo;s designed to move and rendered it immobile. It is the type of 1960s conceptual art exemplified by Fluxus, a group of international artists that included (at one time or another) Vostell, Joseph Bueys, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, and Fluxus founder George Maciunas. 
 
Given its intentionally loose parameters, a succinct definition of Fluxus is difficult to pin-down, but the Tate Museum provides a coherent description of what united these artists and their disparate practices: &ldquo;[Fluxus] characterised itself as a shared attitude rather than a movement&hellip;it valued simplicity and anti-commercialism, with chance and accident playing a big part in the creation of works, and humour also being an important element.&rdquo; 
 
To this end, the artists of Fluxus created highly conceptual pieces, often ephemeral, that employed performances and other &ldquo;happenings&rdquo; involving the participation of viewers. The irony is that Vostell created monumental works using these same strategies. Concrete Traffic is a fixed statement, seemingly in direct contradiction to the constantly changing (i.e., &ldquo;in flux&rdquo;) ideals of Fluxus itself. 
&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="David Katzive, view of Wolf Vostell’s Concrete Traffic as it moves down I-90 to the University of Chicago, June 1970. Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Photo © MCA Chicago." data-rich-file-id="1415" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1415/original/david-katzive-2c-concrete-traffic-on-i-90-mca-archives.jpg" />

The MCA&rsquo;s first director, Jan van der Marck, commissioned Vostell to create Concrete Traffic. No stranger to controversy, van der Marck (1929&ndash;2010) championed the work of several provocative artists during his tenure at the fledgling museum. He provided Dan Flavin with his first solo museum exhibition (Dan Flavin: Pink and Gold, 1967&ndash;1968) and displayed Barnett Newman&rsquo;s notorious Lace Curtain for Mayor Daley (1968). Van der Marck also gave Christo and Jeanne Claude their first major U.S. commission, Wrapped Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1968&ndash;1969). 
 
In true Fluxus fashion, the performative aspect of Concrete Traffic was as important as the object itself. On January 16, 1970, more than 100 people gathered in a parking lot at the corner of Ontario and St. Clair to witness the spectacle of Vostell&rsquo;s assistants pouring concrete into a wooden framework surrounding the Cadillac. A few days later, the mold was removed, revealing a car-shaped, concrete form with white walled tires peeking from underneath. The sculpture stayed &ldquo;parked&rdquo; in this space for nearly five months, accumulating masses of parking tickets. (Exactly who ended up paying for the tickets remains unclear.) 
 
A flatbed truck finally hauled Concrete Traffic to a more permanent site on the University of Chicago campus next to Midway Studios. The sculpture stayed in this spot for nearly 40 years until 2009 when it was moved into storage to make way for the new Logan Center for the Arts. 
 
In June 1970, when Concrete Traffic journeyed from&nbsp;Streeterville to Hyde Park, down the Dan Ryan expressway,&nbsp;the Chicago Tribune quoted van der Marck as saying,&nbsp;&ldquo;[the sculpture] gives us a glimpse of the fantastic traffic jam in which the world may someday come to a standstill.&rdquo; 
 
And, indeed, Vostell&rsquo;s sculpture served as an obvious commentary on the drawbacks of American car culture. The newly created interstate system&mdash;built largely of concrete&mdash;was meant to alleviate traffic congestion in inner cities and enable unobstructed travel between communities. Yet, as commuters became more dependent on cars, freeways became virtual parking lots during rush hours. 
 
Concrete Traffic can also be interpreted as a response to growing consumer frustration with the American car industry and its declining product quality in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This frustration was epitomized by Eddie Campos, a Californian who (in spectacular fashion) set fire to his brand new Lincoln Continental in front of a Ford automobile plant in 1971 after repeated repair attempts failed to fix his recently acquired &ldquo;lemon.&rdquo; 
 
Concrete Traffic anticipated the oil embargo of the 1970s in which the nation&rsquo;s cars literally came to a standstill, as drivers sat in long lines to purchase gasoline. The sculpture resonates with today&rsquo;s audiences, as voters and politicians debate how to repair the country&rsquo;s crumbling transportation infrastructure and get America moving again&mdash;literally and metaphorically. 
 
Deterioration was also an unfortunate hallmark of Concrete Traffic. Nearly 40 years of outdoor exposure took a toll on the sculpture. The University of Chicago&rsquo;s Neubauer Collegium funded an extensive conservation program to prepare the work for its re-installation. Chicago-based Methods and Materials conducted the conservation treatments in consultation with outside experts to repair and preserve the concrete, internal steel structures, and the automobile&rsquo;s undercarriage and tires. 
&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Digital rendering of Wolf Vostell’s Concrete Traffic, 1970, in its new location at the entrance to the University of Chicago campus north parking garage." data-rich-file-id="1414" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1414/original/concretetraffic-siting-mockup.jpg" />

After conservation work is complete, the sculpture will be installed inside the University of Chicago&rsquo;s main parking garage&nbsp;adjacent to the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art. The sculpture&rsquo;s new home is in keeping with Vostell&rsquo;s original intention to place Concrete Traffic within an automobile context, challenging drivers to contemplate the piece and question the continued reliance on cars. The covered site will also help protect the piece from damaging weather. 
 
Honoring the Fluxus tradition of happenings and audience&nbsp;involvement, the reinstallation of Concrete Traffic kicks-off&nbsp;with a public procession&mdash;appropriately, through city&nbsp;traffic&mdash;on Friday, September 30. The event begins at Methods and Materials, making stops at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Arts Club of Chicago, and the Logan Center for the Arts before reaching its final destination on the University of Chicago campus.

The University of Chicago&nbsp;will continue to celebrate Concrete Traffic after its installation through a series of special programs and exhibitions.&nbsp; 
 
For details on how to participate in this neo-Fluxus happening,&nbsp;visit <a href="http://arts.uchicago.edu/concrete-happenings/programming">arts.uchicago.edu/concrete-happenings/programming</a>

Top image:&nbsp;David Katzive, installation view of Wolf Vostell&rsquo;s Concrete Traffic, January 1970. Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Photo &copy; MCA Chicago. 
&nbsp;

Concrete Traffic by German artist Wolf Vostell is reinstalled on the University of Chicago campus.

Concrete Traffic Gets Moving Again

By&nbsp;GINNY VAN ALYEA

The internet has been on my mind lately, or more to the point, I cannot seem to get it out of my head. I know I am not alone; many of us have come to unconsciously inhabit an intangible, mobile place that&nbsp;dramatically determines how we see and interact with the physical world. Having both feet on the ground but a head in the &lsquo;cloud&rsquo; has altered the speeds at which we seek and digest information, and it has shifted our ability to make decisions about that information.&nbsp; 
 
I make fewer guesses than I used to; why guess when you can ask Alexa or Siri? I also experience fewer chance encounters and conversations. In an effort to try to always do and find out more, I&rsquo;m often reading a screen on&nbsp;the go &ndash; on the bus, in the crosswalk,&nbsp;up the elevator. I should remember to look out the window at the wind, or up the street to see the changing daylight.&nbsp; 
 
There are those who, maybe unconsciously, believe there&rsquo;s always something better out there, from everyday shopping, to collecting art, even in romantic relationships. This internet-enabled always-searching but never-deciding mentality can be stressful, not to mention debilitating.&nbsp; 
 
We also never get a break. Going offline for a little while is much harder than it sounds. It&rsquo;s not only disconnecting from information, but also from our networks of friends. For anyone who encounters art, it&rsquo;s tempting &ndash; practically second nature to anyone under 25 &ndash; to want to share what you see with others. But sharing doesn&rsquo;t mean what it used to; it&rsquo;s also become a means of soliciting praise and validation. What we see is registered immediately and then broadcast perhaps before we&rsquo;ve taken the time to think about it. Our friends respond with likes and comments, but not so much in a dialogue. How can we be present in one place when we&rsquo;re drawn to be everywhere at once?&nbsp; 
 
This fall edition of CGN is <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2016/8/preview-cgn-s-fall-issue">packed with things we hope you will share</a> in person: openings, show schedules, events, news, profiles, and of course images. Several art world players here are very skilled at doing real things that largely depend on personal interaction: Tony Karman has built a world class art fair. Jason Pickleman has amassed 1,000 works of art. Lisa Wainwright teaches her artistic worldview to SAIC students. PATRON is working with new artists after a year in business.

This season, try some form of self-imposed digital freedom, whether it&rsquo;s turning your phone off in one studio or for an entire art fair. See art up close and in person. Think about what it says to you, at least for a minute before you share it with someone else.&nbsp;

This fall edition of CGN is packed with things we hope you will share in person: openings, show schedules, events, news, profiles, and of course images. 

Publisher’s Letter: Going Offline and In Person

By FRANCK MERCURIO 
 
Earlier this year, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) announced that Kavi Gupta Gallery will represent the estate of artist Roger Brown (1941&ndash;1997) on behalf of the School. The announcement was received with some surprise given that Brown&mdash;a Chicago Imagist who died nearly 20 years ago&mdash;seems outside the typical profile of Gupta&rsquo;s &ldquo;of the moment&rdquo; contemporary artists. But with a presence in both Chicago and Berlin, the gallery is poised to expand Brown&rsquo;s reputation internationally and encourage new interpretations of his work.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;We really want to put [Brown&rsquo;s art] out there in new and relevant ways and increase awareness by curators, critics, artists, and the public,&rdquo; said Lisa Stone, curator and director of the Roger Brown Study Collection. &ldquo;We hope his works find their way into the world and into important collections.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
The Study Collection is owned by SAIC and located in Brown&rsquo;s former Chicago townhouse and studio. Brown willed the building to the School upon his death in 1997, along with his personal collections and much of his artwork. The residence now serves as a museum, archive, and study center for scholars and SAIC students.&nbsp; 
 
As the estate&rsquo;s new representative, Kavi Gupta Gallery will manage Brown&rsquo;s creative output: his paintings, sculptures, and other works of art, which were previously housed at the Study Collection. The gallery&rsquo;s practical responsibilities include the proper storage of these works and the facilitating of loans to outside institutions. Kavi Gupta is also tasked with selling some of Brown&rsquo;s works, in consultation with the Study Collection. 
 
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no &lsquo;fire sale&rsquo; or anything like that,&rdquo; assured Stone. &ldquo;The Study Collection and the Roger Brown New Buffalo, Michigan, property are supported by&mdash;but not dependent on&mdash;proceeds from the estate. So there isn&rsquo;t pressure to sell.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;The gallery&rsquo;s staff have strategies about sales and representation,&rdquo; continued Stone. &ldquo;We respect their work; they are very savvy in terms of estate management.&rdquo; 
 
Kavi Gupta Gallery is also partnering with the Study Collection to conceive new ways of presenting and interpreting Brown&rsquo;s pieces. Case in point: a major fall exhibition at the gallery&rsquo;s Elizabeth Street space will pair works by Brown with those of Andy Warhol. When it opens September 23, Roger Brown &amp; Andy Warhol: Pop Artists, Subversive Politics will place Brown within the Pop art movement.

<img alt="" data-caption="Roger Brown, &lt;i&gt;Gulf War&lt;/i&gt;, 1991, Oil on canvas, Two 36” x 24” canvas panels. © The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Brown family. Courtesy of Kavi Gupta. Photo: James Connolly " data-rich-file-id="1382" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1382/original/rogerbrown-kavigupta-gulf-war.jpg" />

&ldquo;This exhibition will, for the first time, draw together works by artists&nbsp;Roger Brown and Andy Warhol,&rdquo; wrote Rachel Gonzalez, spokesperson for Kavi Gupta Gallery, in an email to the author. &ldquo;While these two artists were contemporaries and dealt with much of the same visual language and subject matter, their geographical distance precluded their work from being viewed as related during their lifetimes, which this exhibition seeks to rectify.&rdquo; 
 
Geography wasn&rsquo;t the only barrier separating Warhol&rsquo;s and Brown&rsquo;s works during their careers. There was also a general neglect of contemporary American art that wasn&rsquo;t &ldquo;of New York&rdquo; by critics and art historians during the decades after the war. Important art movements in Chicago and California were routinely ignored or marginalized. In turn, the Chicago Imagists fiercely rejected New York art trends, further distancing themselves from the Pop artists. 
 
 
Yet despite their independent ways,&nbsp;the Imagists keenly followed developments in New York. In a 1981 video interview conducted by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Brown acknowledged an attraction to Pop art and revealed the impact of the movement on his own work: 
 
The Pop artists interested me tremendously, as I think they did most of my friends. I consider them an influence on what I did. 
 
But Brown went on to articulate the dissimilarities between the two schools&rsquo; perspectives: 
 
The thing that I see that&rsquo;s different&hellip; is the kind of attitude they [the Pop artists] had to what they were doing. I think they chose things as sources and then presented them in a very refined, traditional representational manner&hellip; and I think our approach was not to use those things as sources, so much, but to try and parallel the kind of energy that existed in them as art&hellip;instead of painting pictures of them and cropping them in certain ways so that they look very aesthetic, I think our intention was to say &lsquo;These things are beautiful in themselves. Can I make art that equals that?&rsquo; 
 
Despite these differences in intent, commonalities existed. Brown and Warhol both drew from popular culture and explored a number of similar themes in their work. Gonzalez cites &ldquo;religion, queer desire, politics, violence, and advertising&rdquo; as some of the topics each tackled. Both artists commented on the political and social issues of their day; Brown addressed these subjects in a more overt manner through the use of a satirical, narrative painting style. Warhol, generally, took a more subtle approach, often reproducing and manipulating a single image&mdash;such as his (infamous) electric chair or portrait of Mao&mdash;to emphasize his point. There was also a kind of queer sensibility shared between these two gay male artists, one in which coded visual elements often conveyed meaning to a knowledgeable audience. 
 
Given the strong, traditional definitions that still separate the Imagists from the Pop artists, the exhibition at Kavi Gupta is guaranteed to generate controversy&mdash;not everyone will accept Brown as a Pop artist. But the exhibition promises to push descriptive boundaries and &ldquo;subvert&rdquo; (to borrow the gallery&rsquo;s language) long held notions of what separates and connects the work of these two iconic artists.

Roger Brown &amp; Andy Warhol: Pop Artists, Subversive Politics&nbsp;opens on September 23 at 219 Elizabeth St., Chicago&nbsp;and runs through November 22.&nbsp;For more information, visit <a href="http://kavigupta.com">kavigupta.com</a>

Top image: &nbsp;Roger Brown, Aha! Heterosexuals Fuck Too, 1991, Oil on canvas, 72&rdquo; x 72&rdquo;&nbsp;&copy; The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Brown family. Courtesy of Kavi Gupta. Photo:&nbsp;James Connolly&nbsp;

Earlier this year, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) announced that Kavi Gupta Gallery will represent the estate of artist Roger Brown.

Roger Brown Goes Pop! at Kavi Gupta

By GINNY VAN ALYEA 
 
Professor Lisa Wainwright is actually an East Coast transplant, someone who unexpectedly found her way to Chicago and stayed &ndash; an opposite path from so many in the art world who get their start here only to flee to the coasts. Living the life of a native Chicagoan today, she first came to the city 27 years ago via the University of Illinois, Champaign, where she befriended a group of people connected to the Art Institute of Chicago. A highly respected art historian, she is now Dean of Faculty and Vice President of Academic Affairs at the School of the Art Institute (SAIC). Most of all she is a fountain of knowledge on the ins and outs of the local art scene, with her finger on the pulse of the global creative community. 
 
CGN: Tell me how you first came to Chicago.&nbsp; 
 
Lisa Wainwright: The individual who started the Art History program at the School of the Art Institute, Sir Robert Loescher, he was knighted by the king of Spain &ndash; he was a Hispanist. A formidable teacher in Art History &ndash; the school is known for its art historians &ndash; Loescher and I met when I was a graduate student in Champaign, and immediately bonded around my work on Robert Rauschenberg, because he was a huge Rauschenberg fan. Loescher was one of the early historians to think about queer theory, and at the time I was working on gay iconography, including tube socks. A side note &ndash; Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson&rsquo;s gift to the Art Institute includes an untitled, gorgeous Rauschenberg, and it has a parachute, and other typical Rauschenberg paraphernalia, but it has a tube sock, basically a gay fetish item. So, Bob and I bonded over this, and the next thing I knew, I went from studying tube socks to a full-time job in Chicago. I&rsquo;m from the East Coast, from Miami and then outside of Annapolis, Maryland, so I never imagined I would be in Chicago, never! But I dig it, I think it&rsquo;s a great city, and the art scene is pretty interesting.&nbsp; 
 
CGN: We always talk about stemming the tide the other way, in particular how to keep more of our art talent from leaving Chicago.&nbsp; 
 
LW: I think it&rsquo;s something about being a historian of modern and contemporary art and working in one of the top art schools in the country,&nbsp;connected to one of the most amazing&nbsp;museums in the world. I&rsquo;m not bookish, you know, and I love being around living artists and students who are attempting to move through the practice. As an art historian surrounded by working artists,&nbsp;why would I leave? So I never left. 
 
CGN: I don&rsquo;t blame you.&nbsp; 
 
LW: In all that time I&rsquo;ve moved up through AIC. I was a tenure track faculty, then I got tenure, then somebody said, &lsquo;Oh, you should try administration, we have these elected faculty positions &ndash; run for this. I said, &lsquo;What the hell? I&rsquo;ll run.&rsquo; Then I became the Graduate Dean, and when Carol Becker left, I became the Dean Dean.&nbsp; 
 
CGN: Are you still teaching? 
 
LW: I don&rsquo;t teach that much. I taught this pretty interesting class, recently, called Chicago Collections with Shane Campbell. It was the second time I taught it. We took graduate students into private homes in Chicago and looked at the amazing wealth of works in private collections. We talked to the collectors about their choices and their installation strategies and the market. Shane knows the ins and outs of what&rsquo;s going on in the gallery world, so that was super fun.&nbsp; 
 
CGN: So that was one recent course.&nbsp; 
 
LW: I teach every other year or so. I just wrapped up SAIC&rsquo;s first MOOC [Massive Open Online Course]. It&rsquo;s gone live (<a href="http://kadenze.com">kadenze.com</a>) and it&rsquo;s called Touring Modernism: From the French Avant Garde to American Pop and Beyond. It&rsquo;s 200 years of art history &ndash; Western art history. I&rsquo;ve spent the last year writing the script, and filming. I went to LA to film &ndash; when in my life will I ever be able to say that again? Never. I used the Art Institute as the primary collection, and several AIC curators appear in the videos. They&rsquo;re going to keep rolling it out. This round it goes through, I think, September or October, and then they&rsquo;re going to launch it again. And it&rsquo;s free. It&rsquo;s online. Anyone can take it. 
 
CGN: What do the students do? Do they just sit there and watch videos?&nbsp;Is there course work?&nbsp; 
 
LW: There are quizzes; there are some assignments. The big project at the end, if you take it for credit, uses this system so that you basically design a gallery and then you drop images in and curate a show virtually. 
 
CGN: Playing paper dolls. It&rsquo;s like a game. 
 
LW: I mean, curators do that, you know. 
I&rsquo;m excited to see what they do at the end with the course, but that&rsquo;s been a lot of work &ndash; oh my God! I used to teach the big freshman survey, from cave paintings to Anselm Kiefer; I taught the second half, so 19th and 20th century essentially. 
 
CGN: It&rsquo;s been a long time since I took Art History.&nbsp; 
 
LW: Right, but you remember. You&rsquo;re going through hundreds and hundreds of slides. I had all of those notes and I dusted that off with my usual feminist bent &ndash; I&rsquo;m pretty much an angry feminist when it comes to the history of art. Too many images of objectified women, and not enough women artists. 
 
CGN: It&rsquo;s getting better. There&rsquo;s still work to do.&nbsp; 
 
LW: Boy, is there still work to do. 
 
CGN: Do you think that more women artists are being recognized today, or not? The numbers are a little better. 
 
LW: Yeah, it&rsquo;s kind of like the Linda Nochlin problem. Nochlin wrote that famous essay in the 70s, Why Are There No Great Women Artists? And it&rsquo;s because the artists weren&rsquo;t allowed into the art schools mostly. In the 19th century, the Royal Academy had three women, and then they weren&rsquo;t allowed to draw from the nude, and it was Realism in the History of Painting, so you&rsquo;re kinda screwed.&nbsp; 
 
I think, yes, things have changed, post-1970, and we&rsquo;re even discovering more female artists from the 60s and 50s, but still, in comparison, I mean when you talk about the 19th century and early 20th century, it&rsquo;s a boy&rsquo;s game.&nbsp; 
 
CGN: What&rsquo;s the difference today?&nbsp; 
 
LW: It&rsquo;s interesting because SAIC is, I want to say, 65% or 67% women. That&rsquo;s a lot of women. 
 
We&rsquo;ve definitely gotten more global, too. You can&rsquo;t teach a contemporary art course today and only talk about western art history; that would be highly problematic, so you&rsquo;ve got to talk about Asia and Africa and South America as well. 
 
CGN: You travel a lot.&nbsp; 
 
LW: I do travel a lot. I just got back from Italy, where I saw the Christo site. It&rsquo;s stunning in photos, but to be there, you don&rsquo;t have the same vista and you don&rsquo;t have the same perspective, and it was like a big pier. It undulates, but I mean it also was 90 degrees. With 100,000 people. It was Italian craziness at its best, and you know, the thing about Christo, it&rsquo;s an event, and you don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s gonna happen and there were all these people &ndash; it very much reminded me of the Seurat painting of Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Le Grande Jatte because it was the masses of all classes and shapes and sizes and they were lounging on this vivid golden drape on the blue water and that was kinda beautiful. But Christo is smart, he know&rsquo;s that media is the lens. It looks great in photographs, it looks great on television. It&rsquo;s a spectacle. You get everybody asking, &ldquo;Is this art?&rdquo; I love that question. 
 
CGN: You see the world, and then what do you see when you return home to Chicago?&nbsp; 
 
LW: I think Chicago is completely in the running of major cities and major art experiences. I mean there is a smaller number of galleries compared to some art centers, but from Shane Campbell, to Rhona Hoffman to the old standards like Zolla/Lieberman and Carl Hammer, and then all the Julius Caesars and alternative spaces, there is some really exceptional energy here. This summer, for instance, I went from Kerry James Marshall at the MCA down to the Terracotta Warriors at the Field in a day, and I thought, &lsquo;Yeah, this is all Chicago,&rsquo; from the high art to the general interest in all kinds of expressions that the Imagists enjoyed so much. I can&rsquo;t even get to everything, so what does that mean?&nbsp; 
 
CGN: What else sets Chicago apart for you?&nbsp; 
 
LW: I think Chicago is one of the most important cities for public sculpture. There&rsquo;s no city that has the Picasso that we have. I don&rsquo;t think there is another public Picasso in the United States.&nbsp; 
 
The collection throughout the city is great. From Oldenberg&rsquo;s [baseball] bat to Anish Kapoor&rsquo;s Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain, even the 19th century and early 20th century sculpture in the city is terrific. It&rsquo;s a great walking city for architecture as well for sculpture.&nbsp;I always bicycle by the Richard Serra [Reading Cones] &ndash; it&rsquo;s out there, very lonely and minimalist power punk that it is. You can see the [Buckingham] fountain if you look through the slit, if you catch it right, which is cool. 
 
CGN: There&rsquo;s a lot of overlap between art and design and architecture in Chicago; all those things exist here in a unique way.&nbsp; 
 
LW: From the Logan Center to the Block Museum, and the Smart and the Renaissance Society, I think there are a lot of amazing artists and intellectuals in Chicago who work within art and design. This is a rich, rich, rich city. 
&nbsp;

CGN interviews Lisa Wainwright, a fountain of knowledge on the ins and outs of the local art scene, with her finger on the pulse of the global creative community. 

SAIC’s Lisa Wainwright: A Native Transplant

August can be a slow month in the art world, gallerists go on vacation or wrap up group shows, museums are filled with tourists but save their blockbusters for later in the year, and art fairs take a brief break. &nbsp;Well, that doesn&#39;t mean that things are quiet at all. This month in particular there&#39;s been quite a bit of buzz on a variety of topics. Highlights are listed below.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<h4>&nbsp;</h4>

<h4>&bull; The Bizarre Peter Doig Trial Involving a Chicago Art Dealer</h4>

Yes, this really happened - a Chicago dealer and a former corrections officer from Canada&nbsp;tried to say a Scottish&nbsp;artist&#39;s work was actually his, even though he said, over and over and over, that it wasn&#39;t... Read the details here from the <a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/kapos-judge-says-painting-isnt-a-doig-and-no-ones-happy/">Chicago Sun Times</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/peter-doig-trial-verdict-618932">Artnet.com</a>

<img alt="" data-caption="The painting that was in question, Bartlow Gallery Ltd. via AP" data-rich-file-id="1420" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1420/original/cqllufgwiaa9d-l.jpg" />

<h4>&nbsp;</h4>

<h4>&bull; The Bizarre Case of an Art Switcheroo and Alec Baldwin</h4>

Alec Baldwin fell in love with a &#39;90s painting by Ross Bleckner, so famed dealer Mary Boone got him what he wanted&nbsp;- or as it turns out, not quite. Read the NYTimes story <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/arts/paint-and-switch-did-alec-baldwin-pay-190000-for-the-wrong-picture.html?smid=tw-share&amp;_r=0">here</a>.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Alec Baldwin Credit Matthew Eisman/Getty Images" data-rich-file-id="1419" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1419/original/14painting4-blog427.jpg" />

<h4>&nbsp;</h4>

<h4>&bull; Leslie Hindman has Real Estate Fever</h4>

Haven&#39;t you heard that the West Loop is on fire? Everyone, from meat packers to fish markets to parking lot owners, is selling space for big bucks as developers take whatever they can find to build highrise condos and rentals. Hindman may get to build a new state of the art facility if the sale&nbsp;nets a high result. Read the Crain&#39;s story <a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20160823/CRED03/160829967">here</a>.

<img alt="" data-caption="Leslie Hindman Auctioneers at Lake and Ada Streets in the West Loop" data-rich-file-id="1422" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1422/original/proxy-1.jpg" />

&nbsp;

<h4>&nbsp;</h4>

<h4>&bull; Cleveland Gets a Triennial</h4>

Art will be hot in Cleveland in 2018 when&nbsp;&ldquo;An American City,&rdquo; will take place July 7 through Sept. 30, 2018.&nbsp;Over 50 international artists are expected to participate, under the dual leadership of Chicago&nbsp;artist Michelle Grabner and Jens Hoffmann of New York&#39;s&nbsp;Jewish Museum&nbsp;and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. Read the NYTimes story <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/arts/design/cleveland-gets-an-art-triennial.html">here</a>.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption=" Claes Oldenburg, Coosje Van Bruggen 1991 'Free Stamp'" data-rich-file-id="1421" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1421/original/3826601457-f4f35c0eeb-b.jpg" />

&nbsp;

CGN follows more art world news on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/ChiGalleryNews">@ChiGalleryNews</a>

&nbsp;

Top image, from Left: art by Ross Bleckner, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Peter Doig<span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIGhlaWdodD0iMzBweCIgd2lkdGg9IjMwcHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9Ii0xIC0xIDMxIDMxIj48Zz48cGF0aCBkPSJNMjkuNDQ5LDE0LjY2MiBDMjkuNDQ5LDIyLjcyMiAyMi44NjgsMjkuMjU2IDE0Ljc1LDI5LjI1NiBDNi42MzIsMjkuMjU2IDAuMDUxLDIyLjcyMiAwLjA1MSwxNC42NjIgQzAuMDUxLDYuNjAxIDYuNjMyLDAuMDY3IDE0Ljc1LDAuMDY3IEMyMi44NjgsMC4wNjcgMjkuNDQ5LDYuNjAxIDI5LjQ0OSwxNC42NjIiIGZpbGw9IiNmZmYiIHN0cm9rZT0iI2ZmZiIgc3Ryb2tlLXdpZHRoPSIxIj48L3BhdGg+PHBhdGggZD0iTTE0LjczMywxLjY4NiBDNy41MTYsMS42ODYgMS42NjUsNy40OTUgMS42NjUsMTQuNjYyIEMxLjY2NSwyMC4xNTkgNS4xMDksMjQuODU0IDkuOTcsMjYuNzQ0IEM5Ljg1NiwyNS43MTggOS43NTMsMjQuMTQzIDEwLjAxNiwyMy4wMjIgQzEwLjI1MywyMi4wMSAxMS41NDgsMTYuNTcyIDExLjU0OCwxNi41NzIgQzExLjU0OCwxNi41NzIgMTEuMTU3LDE1Ljc5NSAxMS4xNTcsMTQuNjQ2IEMxMS4xNTcsMTIuODQyIDEyLjIxMSwxMS40OTUgMTMuNTIyLDExLjQ5NSBDMTQuNjM3LDExLjQ5NSAxNS4xNzUsMTIuMzI2IDE1LjE3NSwxMy4zMjMgQzE1LjE3NSwxNC40MzYgMTQuNDYyLDE2LjEgMTQuMDkzLDE3LjY0MyBDMTMuNzg1LDE4LjkzNSAxNC43NDUsMTkuOTg4IDE2LjAyOCwxOS45ODggQzE4LjM1MSwxOS45ODggMjAuMTM2LDE3LjU1NiAyMC4xMzYsMTQuMDQ2IEMyMC4xMzYsMTAuOTM5IDE3Ljg4OCw4Ljc2NyAxNC42NzgsOC43NjcgQzEwLjk1OSw4Ljc2NyA4Ljc3NywxMS41MzYgOC43NzcsMTQuMzk4IEM4Ljc3NywxNS41MTMgOS4yMSwxNi43MDkgOS43NDksMTcuMzU5IEM5Ljg1NiwxNy40ODggOS44NzIsMTcuNiA5Ljg0LDE3LjczMSBDOS43NDEsMTguMTQxIDkuNTIsMTkuMDIzIDkuNDc3LDE5LjIwMyBDOS40MiwxOS40NCA5LjI4OCwxOS40OTEgOS4wNCwxOS4zNzYgQzcuNDA4LDE4LjYyMiA2LjM4NywxNi4yNTIgNi4zODcsMTQuMzQ5IEM2LjM4NywxMC4yNTYgOS4zODMsNi40OTcgMTUuMDIyLDYuNDk3IEMxOS41NTUsNi40OTcgMjMuMDc4LDkuNzA1IDIzLjA3OCwxMy45OTEgQzIzLjA3OCwxOC40NjMgMjAuMjM5LDIyLjA2MiAxNi4yOTcsMjIuMDYyIEMxNC45NzMsMjIuMDYyIDEzLjcyOCwyMS4zNzkgMTMuMzAyLDIwLjU3MiBDMTMuMzAyLDIwLjU3MiAxMi42NDcsMjMuMDUgMTIuNDg4LDIzLjY1NyBDMTIuMTkzLDI0Ljc4NCAxMS4zOTYsMjYuMTk2IDEwLjg2MywyNy4wNTggQzEyLjA4NiwyNy40MzQgMTMuMzg2LDI3LjYzNyAxNC43MzMsMjcuNjM3IEMyMS45NSwyNy42MzcgMjcuODAxLDIxLjgyOCAyNy44MDEsMTQuNjYyIEMyNy44MDEsNy40OTUgMjEuOTUsMS42ODYgMTQuNzMzLDEuNjg2IiBmaWxsPSIjYmQwODFjIj48L3BhdGg+PC9nPjwvc3ZnPg==); background-color: rgb(189, 8, 28); background-size: 14px; position: absolute; opacity: 0.85; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; border: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; top: 2023px; left: 27px; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">SaveSave

<span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,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); 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News snippets in August from around the art world

August Art World News

By GINNY VAN ALYEA

 
EXPO CHICAGO may seem like a fixture on the art world calendar now, but a few short years ago there was a serious possibility that the city who led &nbsp;the art fair craze from the beginning in the &lsquo;80s would be left without an international contemporary fair of its own. We spoke with Tony Karman, President, Director of EXPO, about the fifth edition of EXPO Chicago and the rapid changes that have been a part of the evolving show as well as the surrounding art community. 
 
<img alt="" data-caption="Tony Karman, photo by Audia" data-rich-file-id="1407" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1407/original/tony-karman-photo-by-audia.jpg" />

CGN: You&rsquo;ve made it to five. Tell me where you were back in 2012 and where you are now in 2016.&nbsp; 
 
Tony Karman: I have been saying that it feels like we are going to Kindergarten but we are actually quite mature. Five years is an incredible milestone. I didn&rsquo;t have any great foresight to understand where I hoped to be, but I&rsquo;m awfully proud of where we are. I think that from the beginning, in 2012, we made a huge mark, and we&rsquo;ve built upon that mark, not only being true to the tradition of a great art fair in Chicago, but more important, making sure that this was, and is, and will be, a great international art fair that has programming of merit, has galleries of merit, and represents an incredible list of artists. We move to the fifth year with great optimism.&nbsp; 
 
<img alt="" data-caption="Visitors to EXPO 2015" data-rich-file-id="1408" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1408/original/expoinsta.jpg" />

CGN: You&rsquo;ve managed not only to&nbsp;survive, but to build. 
 
TK: That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m most proud of. From the beginning we&rsquo;ve had an extraordinary list of dealers. Maintaining this in a world of too many art fairs, despite great swings in the economy, there&rsquo;s no question that we&rsquo;ve continued to not only provide a great international fair but grow with a list of powerful international art dealers. That&nbsp;is a testament to our city, our curators, our institutions, our collectors, our &nbsp;galleries &ndash; to our artists.&nbsp;In 2012 there wasn&rsquo;t the IN/SITU&nbsp;program or /Dialogues series; there wasn&rsquo;t THE SEEN. All those elements are maturing to be of service to the fair, as well as, hopefully, the whole ecosystem of the Chicago arts community. &nbsp;I don&rsquo;t think that there&rsquo;s any laurel to rest on. We&rsquo;re only as good as our last fair, and all of us here feel that urgency to continue to push and create new programming. It&rsquo;s all built on the dealers&rsquo; backs, they&rsquo;re the ones taking the greater risk here.&nbsp; 
 
CGN: Did people sign on at the start, figuring it was a gamble? Now, five years in, maybe they think, &ldquo;This is a fair that I need to be a part of.&rdquo; 
 
TK: I think you just hit it. We are at that place. Year one &ndash; there was no question that we came out of the box with an extraordinary list of dealers. I wouldn&rsquo;t say they necessarily sold that much, but they believed in the city, they believed in the mission of the fair, and they believed in the intent enough to want to come back to a year two. In year two they actually sold. Then the machine starts to work in everyone&rsquo;s favor because collectors hear, &ldquo;Something&rsquo;s happening in Chicago again. We gotta go next year.&rdquo; By year three you had even more people wanting to attend and support, and more sales taking place. In year four I think the programming and the cumulative good word meant that they did well.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="EXPO 2015 at Navy Pier" data-rich-file-id="1406" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1406/original/expo2015.jpg" />

CGN: Did some people count you out before you got started? 
 
TK: No question. I will say healthy skepticism was there, but not enough to deter the great dealers to attend, but the cultural and civic leaders in Chicago to jump in and support us. I think that&rsquo;s a testament to our city. I&rsquo;ve said this often, because it&rsquo;s critical: I don&rsquo;t know of any city in the world that would have rallied in that way and in that first year, I would say that we maybe had 95% or 98% of everyone&rsquo;s support, with that other 2% going, &ldquo;Well let&rsquo;s just see what it looks like.&rdquo; People questioned, &lsquo;Can Chicago sustain a great international fair?&rsquo; &lsquo;Is this the fair that one would want to participate in?&rsquo; After 2012 doubts were erased about what we were and what we wanted to be, so it allowed for even greater support to flow in &ndash; support to me is when everyone wants to be an ambassador to tell the world to be here. 
 
CGN: Where does art rank in Chicago&rsquo;s international reputation? Among architecture, food, design, sports,&nbsp;art is not at the top of that list yet.&nbsp; 
 
TK: I think you&rsquo;re fair in that observation. This sounds horribly one-sided but I see the fair playing a large role in telling the art world to convene here at the very least once a year. I wish they would convene 365 days of the year.

That&rsquo;s not possible, but I think the fair has reestablished the city and regalvanized the galleries, the artists and the institutions around this weekend in a way that we can export what is happening here in a pretty profound way. There&rsquo;s still room to grow, even in the 360 days out of the year that the fair isn&rsquo;t taking place. So many people don&rsquo;t recognize yet how many great artists are now living here and staying here, the number of galleries showing amazing work. Collectively we all have a responsibility to make sure nobody forgets that, &lsquo;Damn! There&rsquo;s a lotta good happening here.&rsquo; 
 
CGN: How do you sum up EXPO now for someone who doesn&rsquo;t know what an international art fair is?&nbsp; 
 
TK: To some extent, sadly, I have to reference another experience [like Art Basel Miami Beach] for those who don&rsquo;t realize we had that legacy once. I&rsquo;m going to start to change my tune a little bit and say we are that legacy again. There are 20 and 30 year olds who know what Art Basel Miami Beach is &ndash; I mean that is an extraordinary thing &ndash; but from 1979 until really the early 2000s, Chicago was the only place the international art world came to in North and South America. That&rsquo;s hard to imagine now, since there are so many fairs taking place around the world, but it basically started here. Now that we&rsquo;ve established EXPO, there&rsquo;s never a minute that we&rsquo;re not pushing to make another person more aware of what the fair is or what the scene is in Chicago. 
 
CGN: Are you headed for 10 next?&nbsp; 
 
TK: I&rsquo;m pleased we&rsquo;ve made it to five, and now I know we&rsquo;re continuing in the right direction. This fair has established a place where, I think even after year five, it&rsquo;s undeniable that it deserves to exist and has a future. I can&rsquo;t guarantee that; there are so many factors that can come into play, but I feel that it&rsquo;s not overconfident for me to say that the fair has its own energy.&nbsp; 
 
CGN: What makes Chicago so special for EXPO, as well as for emerging&nbsp;galleries in the fair and in the city?&nbsp; 
 
TK: I think Chicago overall, but especially the emerging art world players, deserve greater recognition. There&rsquo;s no question &ndash; I say this to collectors or&nbsp;curators who have been kind enough to&nbsp;be great supporters of the fair &ndash;they&rsquo;re&nbsp;really coming for them, after all. The collection of galleries at Navy Pier is important, as is the programming we put together, but the reason why a dealer is doing our fair or a collector or curator comes here is to see what&rsquo;s new and experience all that Chicago has to offer. I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s been a time in my 35 years in Chicago that the curatorial teams of all of the institutions have ever been this strong. Or the artists graduating from our amazing schools have not only been this strong, but are finding a way to actually work here. Artists are figuring out that they can still be represented on the coasts or in Europe but have a great studio space here. That&rsquo;s something that we need to foster together, that this is a place where one can be a maker and still be represented and be tied into the international art world and not have to leave. The more that happens, the more the gallery scene becomes richer the more, more, more. I really do believe that this city&rsquo;s never been this strong, and that is why I keep saying the world wants to come here. 
 
 
EXPO Chicago 
At Navy Pier, September 22-25, 2016 
<a href="http://expochicago.com">expochicago.com</a>

Top image:&nbsp;Tony Karman. Photo by Paul Audia.

CGN interviews EXPO President & Director Tony Karman about the fifth edition of EXPO Chicago.

EXPO Chicago: Five Years and Counting

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1417" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1417/original/cgnsept16cover.jpg" />

The Jeffrey Breslow Gallery opened in the West Loop at 1015 W. Fulton Market on September 19, 2015. The gallery, dedicated to permanently showing the abstract sculptures of Jeffrey Breslow, rotates work by 2-D artists three to four times a year. Currently on display are realistic figurative sculptures made out of recycled newspaper by Japanese artist Chie Hitotsuyama. Previously the gallery has shown the collaborative works of Meg Frazier and Morgan Winter, cityscape paintings by Chicago painter Sam Rosenthal, and photographs by Chicago artist Laurel Feldman. Future exhibitions feature: Polish fairytale artist Lidia Wylangowska, Dominican artist Byram Bueno, and installation artist Lucy Slivinski.

Breslow is a lifelong Chicagoan, born and raised in Albany Park. He began his artistic journey in high school, building his own pottery wheel and kiln at the age of 15. His obsession with forms and their fabrication led to his discovery of creative dimensions beyond shaping and making designs. He received his BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Illinois, spending 41 years as a renowned toy designer and former president and CEO of Chicago&rsquo;s Big Monster Toys. Breslow left the toy design world in 2008 to devote himself to his passion for sculpture.

He first began making bronze figurative work but decided that it was not creative enough for him, as it emphasized execution. At a transitional point, Breslow recalls: &ldquo;I was out for an early morning run along Lake Michigan, and I could see in the distance the water touch the sky. A particularly colorful burst of clouds stopped me in my tracks. Watching the birth of a new day was glorious. When I turned around there was a fallen tree next to some stones, which I wouldn&rsquo;t have run by if I hadn&rsquo;t stopped for the sunrise. It was an epiphany for me. Next, I began to create abstract sculptures with small stones affixed to the ends of the branches. I was open and ready for a new direction, and there it was.&rdquo;

An avid hiker, Breslow is constantly curious, adventuring in the woods and wilderness. His abstract sculptures kindle a conversation between human creativity and the natural world, while his artistic intention is to inspire smiles and invite contemplation. His creative combinations of stones and boulders with shaped steel ultimately balance his love of nature with joy in design, creating a playful and inviting energy in his work.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gS6lmVDFfm8" width="420"></iframe>

In 2015, Breslow showed 26 steel and stone sculptures at the first ever indoor and outdoor exhibit at Willis Tower. This fall, Breslow is a featured artist at the outdoor West Loop Arts Festival; he is participating in ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan and in SOFA at Navy Pier. In 2017 he will have an exhibition in the sculpture garden of The American University in Washington, D.C.

Top image: Jeffrey Breslow, Street Talk II; Steel, stones, granite boulder, 168&rdquo; x 96 &ldquo;x 48&rdquo;, 4,000 lbs, 2012

The Jeffrey Breslow Gallery, which opened on year ago, features the work of sculptor Jeffrey Breslow along with a rotating selection of sculpture from 2-D artists.

On the Cover, Fall 2016: Jeffrey Breslow

On August 19, <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/richard-gray-gallery">Richard Gray Gallery</a> announced an exhibition of new work by Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/theaster-gates-heavy-sketches">Heavy Sketches</a> opens September 30&nbsp;and will be on display through November 20. The exhibition features a series of&nbsp;bronze sculptures inspired by Ogoni, Dan, Baule, and Bamana ritual masks.&nbsp;While Gates is very active both locally and internationally, the gallery&nbsp;noted that the exhibition was the artist&rsquo;s first in Chicago since&nbsp;<a href="https://mcachicago.org/Exhibitions/2013/Theaster-Gates-13th-Ballad">13th Ballad</a>, which was on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2013.&nbsp;

During a call on August 23, Paul Gray confirmed that the gallery is&nbsp;now representing Theaster Gates. He noted that they have had a&nbsp;long friendship with the artist and are looking forward to presenting future exhibitions together.&nbsp;Gates previously curated an exhibition of work by artists from the Black Artists Retreat in 2014 that was held conjointly at Richard Gray Gallery and Valerie Carberry Gallery. The exhibition featured the work of Derrick Adams, Erika Allen, Elizabeth Axtman, Bethany Collins, Tony Lewis, Kelly Lloyd, Valerie Piraino, Mitchell Squire, Wilmer Wilson IV, and Nate Young with a essay contribution by Romi Crawford. Gates recently hosted the fourth annual Black Artists Retreat in Chicago&nbsp;on August 20-22.

Gates is currently represented by White Cube in London and Regen Project in Los Angeles. Previously, he was represented by Kavi Gupta in Chicago.&nbsp;Along with his forthcoming exhibition at Richard Gray Gallery, the artist is also organizing a series of performances at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C. He recently joined the museum&#39;s board as a trustee, and the series will be his first contribution to the museum. The first performance titled &quot;The Runners&quot; will feature Gates&#39; own experimental music group,&nbsp;The Black Monks of Mississippi, alongside students from Howard University and will take place on September 21.

For more information about the upcoming exhibition at Richard Gray Gallery&nbsp;visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/theaster-gates-heavy-sketches">Theaster Gates: Heavy Sketches</a>.&nbsp;

Top image: Theaster Gates, Untitled work in progress for upcoming exhibition&nbsp;Heavy Sketches&nbsp;at Richard Gray Gallery, September 20-November 30, 2016.&nbsp;

Richard Gray Gallery announced an exhibition of new work by artist Theaster Gates.

Theaster Gates to Exhibit at Richard Gray Gallery for the First Time

CGN is thrilled to announce that our fall issue will be released this week.&nbsp;The new issue features interviews with EXPO&#39;s Tony Karman and SAIC&#39;s Lisa Wainwright, profiles of designer and collector Jason Pickleman and&nbsp;gallerists Emanuel Aguilar and Julia Fishbach of PATRON, along with much more. Below you will find&nbsp;previews of our news stories that will be published soon.

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1387" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1387/original/1concrete-preview.jpg" />

CONCRETE TRAFFIC GETS MOVING AGAIN 
What happens when a 1957 Cadillac de Ville is encased in 16 tons of concrete? In short, it doesn&rsquo;t go anywhere.

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1383" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1383/original/6rogerbrown.jpg" />

ROGER BROWN GOES POP! AT KAVI GUPTA 
This September, Kavi Gupta presents an exhibition of Roger Brown&#39;s work in conversation with Andy Warhol.

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1418" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1418/original/3tonykarman-detail.jpg" />

EXPO CHICAGO: FIVE YEARS AND COUNTING 
&nbsp;EXPO President &amp; Director Tony Karman reflects on the&nbsp;fifth edition of EXPO Chicago.

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1388" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1388/original/2lisawainwright.jpg" />

SAIC&rsquo;S LISA WAINWRIGHT: A NATIVE TRANSPLANT 
&nbsp;CGN Publisher Ginny Van Alyea sits down with art historian and dean&nbsp;Lisa Wainwright,&nbsp;a fountain of knowledge on&nbsp;the local art scene.

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1389" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1389/original/pickleman.jpg" />

COLLECTOR JASON PICKLEMAN&#39;S CREATIVE LIFE 
Jason Pickleman offers insight into his&nbsp;collection that he now displays at his storefront gallery, Lawrence &amp; Clark.

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1385" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1385/original/5jaworska-.jpg" />

ANIA JAWORSKA: RELOCATING THE CANON 
Designer and architect Ania Jaworska works across disciplines to thoughtfully engage the public in her work.

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1384" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1384/original/4patrongallery.jpg" />

PATRON: COMMITTED TO CHICAGO 
CGN chats with&nbsp;gallerists Emanuel Aguilar and Julia Fischbach one year after the opening of PATRON.

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1391" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1391/original/9stonyisland.jpg" />

STONY ISLAND ARTS BANK: ONE YEAR LATER 
October 3 marks one year since the Stony Island Arts Bank, one of the most remarkable&nbsp;projects on Chicago&rsquo;s South Side, opened.

&nbsp;

For updates on the latest in the art world, subscribe to CGN&#39;s Art Headlines: <a href="https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001toIo64RrRzcUqVU3LAqdkghEB2u5wMekiKos9xN7j0v3IJN5DvQQDbbtuQY2IBGcs6lGbPaa5_uZNTR2LF31V-0BZAnuTdpf-1srRtOn7_V38KNPnVSg7lMiNRVuFM-WKcFLoVQccocb0Z7aBW_s5dfnxnbgnMFycTfecs6_xC9T74q7GhlDeg%3D%3D">Sign up here</a>

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CGN's fall issue is packed with interviews, profiles, features and the latest news about the arts in Chicago.

Preview: CGN's Fall Issue

The Arts Club of Chicago is marking its centennial with a three-part exhibition September 20-December 17, which includes projects by Chicago-based, internationally-recognized artist collectives Sonnenzimmer and Luftwerk, as well as a reinstallation of the Club&rsquo;s permanent collection. Programming is part of The Arts Club&rsquo;s yearlong celebration, The Arts Club of Chicago at 100. A public exhibition opening takes place Sept 20, 6-7:30pm. &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://artsclubchicago.org">artsclubchicago.org</a>

A series of events as well as specially created videos, invite the public to be a part of this significant anniversary and to follow the Club&#39;s remarkable timeline, highlights of which are summarized below.&nbsp;

The Arts Club was founded following the controversial exhibition of modern art known as The Armory Show, and the club&#39;s first headquarters was located on the fifth floor of the iconic Fine Arts Building on South Michigan Ave. They then moved to&nbsp;the Wrigley Building, where the Arts Club began to mount&nbsp;increasingly ambitious exhibitions of international artists. Marcel Duchamp famously organized&nbsp;an exhibition of Brancusi sculpture in 1927.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="610 S Michigan, The Fine Arts Building where the Arts Club was first located" data-rich-file-id="1398" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1398/original/screen-20shot-202016-08-23-20at-2011-22-40-20am.png" />

In 1942, club president&nbsp;Rue Shaw commissioned&nbsp;Red Petals&nbsp;from Alexander Calder and then, after a rough period that leads to a temporary closure, convinced Mies van der Rohe to design new rooms to house the Club. The Mies space at 109 E. Ontario St. opened in 1951 with a landmark lecture by Jean Dubuffet entitled&nbsp;Anti-Cultural Positions, and hosted artists including Marc Chagall and Louise Nevelson.

<img alt="" data-caption="Harry Callahan, Mies van der Rohe, ca. 1952. Collection of The Arts Club of Chicago." data-rich-file-id="1401" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1401/original/screen-20shot-202016-08-23-20at-2011-24-58-20am.png" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Alexander Calder, Red Petals, 1942, installed at 400 N. Michigan Avenue." data-rich-file-id="1399" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1399/original/screen-20shot-202016-08-23-20at-2011-24-45-20am.png" />

In the late nineties, establishing a permanent home at 201 E. Ontario St. designed by John Vinci, The Arts Club begins to focus&nbsp;on world class exhibitions while continuing to cultivate a society of arts professionals, collectors, artists, and critics. Under Executive Director Kathy Cottong, the exhibition program included such highlights as Marcel Broodthaers, John Baldessari, Alighieri e Boetti, Yayoi Kusama, Paul Thek, Lawrence Weiner, and Maya Lin. Important additions to the permanent collection include paintings by Peter Doig, Alex Katz, and Sigmar Polke.

<img alt="" data-caption="Peter Doig, Purple Jesus (Black Rainbow), 2006. Collection of The Arts Club of Chicago." data-rich-file-id="1402" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1402/original/screen-20shot-202016-08-23-20at-2011-25-39-20am.png" />

Today&nbsp;The Arts Club returns to its history and foundations, rededicating itself to its mission to inspire conversations around the arts. With expanded public programs, experimental performances, and garden installations by Chicago artists, the Club looks to support lively discussion while maintaining the ambiance for which it is celebrated. At the same time, it commissions new projects by such artists as Simon Starling and Josiah McElheny that bring attention to the specific modernist legacy of the Club.

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1403" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1403/original/screen-20shot-202016-08-23-20at-2011-25-47-20am.png" />

This interdisciplinary history will be celebrated on October 22, 2016, when the new music ensemble&nbsp;eighth blackbird&nbsp;performs a commission by Oscar-nominated composer David Lang in an environment conceived by visual artist Mark Dion.

<img alt="" data-caption="Installation view of Two Clubs at The Arts Club of Chicago, 2013." data-rich-file-id="1404" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1404/original/screen-20shot-202016-08-23-20at-2011-28-59-20am.png" />

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.&nbsp;Events will be added throughout the rest of 2016.

The Arts Club of Chicago is marking its centennial with a three-part exhibition September 20-December 17.

The Arts Club at 100

By DAISY FORNENGO

The Chicago Artists Coalition is an institution aimed at supporting local artists and curators, with both artist residency programs and educational workshops to offer. It&rsquo;s a beautiful, fresh space with creaky, white floors, and I was immediately drawn in when I walked through the door. The exhibition in the main gallery vibrates;&nbsp;posters composed of bright blues and pinks contrast the large, white walls.&nbsp;A Fine Line, the group exhibition featuring three residents in the Coalition&rsquo;s &ldquo;Hatch&rdquo; program (Austen Brown, Alex Calhoun, and Angela Davis Fegan), employs contrasting methods of representation and subversion, while testing the viewer&rsquo;s perception of what&rsquo;s before him or her.

A brief digression: In the foreground of the poster-covered wall were small installations by both Calhoun and Brown, works that certainly fit into the category of what many people think simply isn&rsquo;t art. Of course, the question of &ldquo;what is art?&rdquo; is an eternal one, especially to an artist, or one who&rsquo;s studying art history, like myself, so I&rsquo;ll stop there. Let&rsquo;s just say that nearly all of the pieces placed around the gallery had a note on them saying, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t throw away, this is art!&rdquo;

Alex Calhoun installed various configurations of wooden planks and hardware in the exhibition, while Brown included rubber gloves, towels, and enlarged construction project proposals, both of which served to &ldquo;draw attention to the ways in which standards, norms, and policy permeate and condition our daily lives,&rdquo;&nbsp;as the exhibition promised. However, I found that Angela Davis Fegan&rsquo;s part of the exhibition resonated most with me.

Fegan chose to present the&nbsp;Lavender Menace Poster Project, a display of hundreds of colorful posters including variations of 20 different common human rights phrases. These phrases are printed and displayed in the hope of serving as a catalyst to a public discussion of queer politics, women&rsquo;s rights, and self love. They are meant to be taken, displayed, photographed, and circulated in order to reach the widest audience possible, allowing the project to extend beyond the isolated gallery space.

<img alt="" data-caption="Installation view, &lt;i&gt;A Fine Line&lt;/i&gt;, Chicago Artists Coalition, 2016. Photograph by Daisy Fornengo," data-rich-file-id="1322" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1322/original/cac.jpg" />

Not only is a wall filled with vibrantly colored texts like &ldquo;pushing the aesthetics of resistance and periphery&rdquo; and &ldquo;when we unite you call us separatists&rdquo; extremely powerful, but the ability to be a part of the project was thrilling, too. The posters are loud, and they present words that are so often silenced in a way that incorporates an appealing visual aesthetic. The viewer plays a huge role in the success of the&nbsp;Lavender Menace Poster Project, which is synonymous to the viewer&rsquo;s role that he or she may (or may not) choose to play in the development of these rights among the human population.

After walking along the wall and reading various posters, I sat down and sifted through piles and piles of them on the ground (I didn&rsquo;t want to take one off the wall and alter the presentation). After originally intending to bring a poster with one phrase on it to a public space, I chose a unique one that had many different phrases printed over one another in different hues of purple, pink, and blue. This poster was particularly interesting to me because, although it looked haphazardly done, I knew that every single print was intentional. The chaos of the words going every which way made me think of how long these various rights have been discussed, struggled with, and fought over, only to be left still unclear among society. Something as simple as words cause tension, and make people either uncomfortable or empowered, a strong but interesting duality presented. I felt that by posting an image of the wall on social media, I played a small part in this captivating project and that I could bring the poster I&rsquo;d chosen home with me instead of displaying it. It&rsquo;s still being circulated, but instead of reaching a very wide audience, everyone who enters my bedroom sees it, is able to sit down and read it, and I&rsquo;m there to tell them about the project personally.

So how does&nbsp;A Fine Line&nbsp;unfold into a cohesive exhibition from my perspective? All of the elements of the show are composed almost entirely of household objects, yet they are configured in such a way that makes them special. Paper, wood, a tennis ball, and rubber gloves- not very riveting on their own. However, what these objects have to say in a formal gallery setting and what they can conjure up in an individual&rsquo;s mind is both fascinating and unique.

Brown&rsquo;s attention to space and how it affects people&rsquo;s actions is drawn from his on-site gatherings from both Marina Towers and the Raymond Hilliard Tenement Homes. The excavation of these two historical structures in Chicago, both built in the 1960s by the same architect, suggests a sense of togetherness and community that the buildings provided to the people living in or around them. &nbsp;

Calhoun focuses her work on the balance between humor and seriousness, and in presenting, for example, wood planks balancing on one another, she is doing just so. Her viewers might not take her work seriously, suggesting that she has simply put one piece of wood up against another, but so what? Now all of a sudden the viewer is not judging the artwork, but the artist herself. Also, what she has put before the viewer might make one think of the importance of balance itself, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually, or however else balance might play a role in one&rsquo;s daily life.

These three artists come together in&nbsp;A Fine Line&nbsp;to put physical objects and words in front of a viewer out of their original contexts, allowing them to be internalized as ideas rather than things. We are conditioned to think of these objects as &ldquo;not art&rdquo; because they are so present in our daily lives, yet the space in which they&rsquo;re experienced, like Brown hopes to suggest, changes everything. &nbsp;

I highly suggest a visit to this group exhibition and that you take the time to grapple with the connection between the various works of these three Chicago artists. Let the posters sink in, start a conversation, and spread the word to keep the&nbsp;Lavender Menace Project&nbsp;alive. The exhibition is on display until August 11, 2016.

Top image: Alex Calhoun, Lavendar Menace Poster Project, 2016. Photograph&nbsp;by Daisy Fornengo.

CGN Intern Daisy Fornengo reflects on the Chicago Artists Coalition's current exhibition, A Fine Line.

A Fine Line at the Chicago Artists Coalition

By THE CONSERVATION CENTER

Whether a corporate collection adorning an office building, public artwork exhibited in municipal buildings, or heirlooms on display in a historical home, special attention should be paid to artwork at high risk of bumps, splashes and natural disasters. Worst-case scenarios for collections involve disasters such as a fire or flood; not only is there the primary cause of damage, there will likely be additional exposures &mdash; for example artwork with fire damage&nbsp;will often also have water damage from the efforts of first responders working to save the building. Unless the art collection is specifically included an emergency evacuation plan, the collection will likely remain in the damaged building until it can be reached by restoration crews. However, precautionary steps in framing, storage, and display can mitigate the extent of the damage.

<img alt="" data-caption="Custom Plexiglas vitrine" data-rich-file-id="1183" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1183/original/5-art-in-vitrine.jpg" />

When The Conservation Center was called in to rescue and preserve LaSalle Bank&rsquo;s extensive photography collection following a fire in 2004, the benefits of precautionary steps were obvious. Though a few photographs too close to the core of the fire were irreversibly charred, the majority of the collection was repairable in part due to the professional matting and framing. Without proper housing, those photographs which had escaped the fire itself might have been water damaged by fire hoses, or marred by soot and smoke.

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="1180" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1180/original/2-frame-package.jpg" />

The method and materials of an artwork&rsquo;s housing correlates to its longevity and safety. The housing materials that the artwork is in direct contact with can have detrimental effects, such as discoloration from an acidic mat: in addition to darkening, this can cause embrittlement to the piece. If an artwork was framed more than twenty years ago, it&rsquo;s likely that acidic supplies were used. The availability of archival materials has improved over the last two decades, thus the archival quality of the framing supplies used can vary greatly with the framer and when it was framed. Appropriate hinging that is reversible can allow for the removal of damaged materials without altering the work. Even the choice of framing glass makes a difference; the use of UV glazing can help prevent fading, and choosing acrylic glazing instead of glass can provide more security for some pieces since it does not shatter. An encapsulated, sealed assembly can further protect the piece from potential water exposure and contamination.

<img alt="" data-caption="Mat burn" data-rich-file-id="1181" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1181/original/3-mat-burn.jpg" />

Once suitably housed, the piece should be stored or displayed appropriately and carefully. Proper storage solutions, not just for transporting artwork but also for those works that are not currently displayed, are an integral part of maintaining a corporate collection. In the case of businesses with large art holdings or with archives that are not displayed, a large proportion of their collection might be in storage at any point in time: pieces should be stored securely, in archival housing and monitored regularly. Items should be stored on appropriate racking, flat files, or shelving, and should not stand directly on the floor. They can also be packed to prevent dust accumulation and additional handling. Artwork in long term storage should be checked regularly.

<img alt="" data-caption="Custom storage" data-rich-file-id="1182" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1182/original/4-custom-storage-boxes.jpg" />

For an object or artwork on display, care should be taken to ensure against possible damage, especially in situations where the art is displayed in busy public areas. Framed pieces should be equipped with adequate hanging and security hardware,&nbsp; so that the piece cannot be easily removed from the wall. Sculptures and objects should be attached to a stand, while smaller objects should be secured and protected with a vitrine. Well-housed artwork should be able to survive an accidental knock or fall while on display without damaging the piece. With the right precautions taken, a collection can be safely maintained and displayed for future generations while maintaining the organization&rsquo;s art assets.

&nbsp;

If you need professional help, contact a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services">professional</a> or someone at the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/the-conservation-center--2">Conservation Center&nbsp;</a>

How to minimize risks of damage and take preventative steps

On Display: How to Guard Against Damage to Art Collections

By ALISON REILLY

Michael Rakowitz&rsquo;s latest exhibition spans two prominent Chicago spaces: the Graham Foundation in the Gold Coast and Rhona Hoffman Gallery in the West Loop. The Flesh Is Yours, The Bones Are Ours designates architectural ornamentation as a starting point for exploring the broader social and cultural histories that become legible in the facades of buildings. The body of work was first presented as part of the 2015 Istanbul Biennial: Rakowitz installed the work in two adjacent rooms at the Galata Greek Primary School in the Karak&ouml;y neighborhood of Istanbul. With its relocation to Chicago, Rakowitz embeds new meaning into his extended study of the relationships of designers to their larger social strata.

<img alt="" data-caption="View of Michael Rakowitz, &lt;i&gt;The Flesh Is Yours, The Bones Are Ours&lt;/i&gt;, 2016, Graham Foundation, Chicago. Photo by: RCH | EKH." data-rich-file-id="1259" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1259/original/rch-ekh-gf-rakowitz-051616-022.jpg" />

The concurrent exhibitions weave together the complex histories of Armenian artisans, specifically Art Nouveau mold-maker Garabet Cezayirliyan, with the built environments of modern-day Istanbul and Chicago. Rakowitz collaborated with Kemal Cimbiz, an apprentice of Cezayirliyan who now operates the atelier, to create a series of plaster casts of architectural ornaments from Cezayirliyan&rsquo;s original molds. These casts, made from a plaster aggregate of ground animal bones, fill the ground floor galleries of the Graham Foundation. The stark-white molds are arranged directly on the floor, inches from each other, with some casually stacked against the walls, imitating the layout of <a href="http://www.grahamfoundation.org/grantees/5301-the-flesh-is-yours-the-bones-are-ours">Cezayirliyan&rsquo;s atelier</a>. The molds are pristine&mdash;immune to the passing of time and unlike the weathered facades of the buildings that house their designs. In these rooms, similar to the installation at the Galata School, Rakowitz leaves no path for visitors to walk&mdash;the decorative frames and flourishes can only be observed from a distance.

<img alt="" data-caption="View of Michael Rakowitz, &lt;i&gt;The Flesh Is Yours, The Bones Are Ours&lt;/i&gt;, 2016, Graham Foundation, Chicago. Photo by: RCH | EKH." data-rich-file-id="1258" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1258/original/rch-ekh-gf-rakowitz-051616-020.jpg" />

Alongside the ornate replicas are Rakowitz&rsquo;s own delicate designs, inspired by Cezayirliyan but with a darker twist: these molds are made from the bones of dogs that were banished from Istanbul in 1910 in an effort to modernize the city. With this decision, Rakowitz highlights the use of animal bones as strengthener for plaster casts while calling attention to the expulsion of an estimated 80,000 dogs from Istanbul to the island of Sivriada. Further, Rakowitz uses the banishment of the dogs as a metaphor for the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, a tragedy that the Turkish government still fails to recognize. Through his poetic use of materials and metaphor, Rakowitz revives the legacy of Armenian craftsmanship that is built quite literally into the skeletal system of the city.

<img alt="" data-caption="Michael Rakowitz, &lt;i&gt;The Flesh Is Yours, The Bones Are Ours&lt;/i&gt;, Installation view, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, 2016. Photograph by RCH|EKH art documentation. " data-rich-file-id="1256" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1256/original/rch-ekh-rhona-hoffman-052016-008.jpg" />

At Rhona Hoffman Gallery, a few miles away, the walls are draped with frottage rubbings of architectural fragments designed by Armenians like Cezayirliyan. Rakowitz, with members from the Armenian community still living in Istanbul, traced over the actual facades in order to create permanent reminders of the influence of Armenian craftsmen on the development of modern Turkish society. Through the process of isolating, tracing, and replicating these forms, Rakowitz generates new historical narratives about the relationship of Turkey to its minority ethnic populations. He identifies the influence of Armenian design on the tapestry of an ancient city as it moved towards modernization, and he acknowledges the presence of this distinct aesthetic that still haunts the city.

The rubbings installed on the walls at Rhona Hoffman surround several large glass vitrines filled with pieces of bones, newspaper clippings, and postcards &ndash; Rakowitz&rsquo;s own collection of found artifacts are used to illustrate the complex relationships between the physical infrastructures of cities and the people who occupy them. The vitrines also reference Chicago directly: Rakowitz places two newspaper clippings side-by-side and describes, in black marker directly on the glass, how the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the Great Fire of Pera (a district in Istanbul now known as Beyoğlu) in 1870 both contributed to the use of stone in place of wood for future buildings. Rakowitz notes that with this change architects like Louis Sullivan, who moved to Chicago in 1893, redesigned cities with Art Nouveau facades.

<img alt="" data-caption="Michael Rakowitz, &lt;i&gt;The Flesh Is Yours, The Bones Are Ours&lt;/i&gt;, Installation at Rhona Hoffman Gallery. Author's image." data-rich-file-id="1257" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1257/original/michael-rakowitz2.jpg" />

At times, Rakowitz&#39;s idiosyncratic historical parallels seems to strike a false note; one might rightly question the slipperiness of associating the removal of 80,000 dogs from Istanbul with fin-de-si&egrave;cle Armenian design. However, the poetry of his imaginative pairings quietly honors those that have died while pushing his audience to consider the hands that build their own cities. &nbsp;

The Flesh Is Yours, The Bones Are Ours is on display at <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/rhona-hoffman-gallery--2">Rhona Hoffman Gallery</a> and the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/graham-foundation-for-advanced-studies-in-the-fine-arts">Graham Foundation</a> until August 16, 2016.

Top image: Michael Rakowitz,&nbsp;The Flesh Is Yours, The Bones Are Ours,&nbsp;Installation view, Graham Foundation, 2016. Photograph by RCH|EKH art documentation.

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background-size: 14px 14px; background-color: rgb(189, 8, 28); position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; border: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Save<span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,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); background-size: 14px 14px; background-color: rgb(189, 8, 28); position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; border: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Save

Michael Rakowitz's latest exhibition spans two prominent Chicago spaces: the Graham Foundation and Rhona Hoffman Gallery.

The Flesh Is Yours, The Bones Are Ours

By THE CONSERVATION CENTER

There are few rites of spring more satisfying than the annual clean. And while spotless living spaces make a house a home, many of us unfortunately have to use harsh chemicals and solvents to achieve that goal. The application of products found under the kitchen sink can lead to chemical reactions on the surface of art objects that can prove to be quite serious, resulting in detrimental losses that are usually so much greater than the reward of a home cleaning approach. When it comes to caring for your art and antiques while freshening up around the house, we at The Conservation Center strongly advise collectors to adhere to the &ldquo;DDIY&rdquo; rule&mdash;Don&rsquo;t Do it Yourself&mdash;and leave the job to professional art conservators.

Time and time again&nbsp;at The Conservation Center&nbsp;we see instances where a beloved piece or family treasure has been accidentally damaged due to well intentioned, but ill-advised, attempts of at-home repairs. The treatment and care of art objects is a skill set that is beyond most people&rsquo;s general scope of knowledge, which is why these problems are always completely accidental and performed with the best of intentions, so it is falls to our role as conservators to educate on the importance of prevention.

The standards of high-quality art and heirloom conservation call for reversible materials and processes, so that anything added to a piece beyond original content can be identified by another professional and undone in the future for whatever reason. Fine art conservators apply an in-depth working knowledge of various solutions, chemicals, adhesives, and techniques to actively preserve a piece in a laboratory setting. This knowledge isn&rsquo;t found through a quick web-search, but from years of applied experience. In this sense, there is no easy fix, which is why it is so important to leave any art related problems in the hands of trained conservators.

&nbsp;

<h4>Exhibit A: The Infiltrator</h4>

The Conservation Center sees a lot of ceramics due to their fragility in comparison to other mediums. This is also a type of object that people often attempt to repair at home using fast-drying, instant adhesives, most containing cyanoacrylate. This adhesive is much better known by its brand names: Super Glue, Instant Bond, Super Bond, or Loctite. While this adhesive may be reversible in a few different solutions, it is not considered safe to use on art objects.

For example, a ceramic plate came into our lab that had previously shattered into multiple fragments, which the owner had carefully reassembled using cyanoacrylate. The owner had actually made satisfactory repairs that held, as the pieces were re-adhered at the correct orientation and angle. However, after about a year, the adhesive started to discolor, leading to major concerns for the owner. The fissures in the plate slowly yellowed, and then turned an unappealing brown. Upon noticing the degradation in appearance, the client brought the plate to The Center, where we were able to reverse the chemical processes that bonded the fragments together with little issue. Unfortunately, because ceramic is a very porous material, the adhesive had spread underneath the glazing on the surface of the piece. While we were able to remove the adhesive around the edges, the area underneath the glazing could not be accessed to remove the adhesive without damaging the integrity of the piece itself. None of our poultice techniques to draw the adhesive out could reach that far into the material, despite several attempts from our conservators. So while we were able to put the pieces back together creating a unified whole with a conservation-grade adhesive this time around, at each break point there were yellow and brown lines that remain visible underneath the glazing where the adhesive had previously bonded and discolored.

<img alt="" data-caption="Repair in progress" data-rich-file-id="1174" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1174/original/1-repair-in-progress.jpg" />

&nbsp;

<h4>Exhibit B: The Exploding Vase</h4>

A client brought in to The Conservation Center an ornate, antique vase that had been repaired with a polyurethane glue, an extremely strong adhesive that expands as it dries. Polyurethane adhesives include brands such as Gorilla Glue, Titebond, and Bolder Bond. These are great for fixing many objects, but are unfortunately not good options for repairing art. &ldquo;The problem with adhesives like Gorilla Glue is that they expand as they dry,&rdquo; commented Josh McCauley, the conservator who examined the piece. &ldquo;Because the glue expanded, it displaced the negative space within the vase, placing additional strain on the undamaged parts. This led to further cracks developing.&rdquo; When it was eventually brought in to The Center, repair options became much more problematic, as polyurethane adhesives are not reversible. The Gorilla Glue was mechanically removed, and the pieces then had to be painstakingly reconstructed by hand using a proper conservation-grade adhesive. The losses were filled and inpainted.

<img alt="" data-caption="A &quot;do-it-yourself treatment&quot; using Gorilla Glue on an antique ceramic (top); and post-treatment (bottom)." data-rich-file-id="1175" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1175/original/2-poor-repair-and-after-treatment.jpg" />

<h4>Exhibit C: The Clean Slate</h4>

Often under-the-sink household cleaners have concentrated chemical components that are highly abrasive. Even cleaners that are made from 99% natural ingredients should still be avoided when attempting to clean artworks. A client brought to us a beautiful, hand-painted porcelain box that he had attempted to clean using a multi-surface cleaner at home. Unfortunately, the paint used by the original artist contained the rare and expensive pigment, lapis lazuli, amongst other sensitive pigments. The chemical smeared, and in some places, stripped the paint completely off the piece while the client unknowingly lightly applied the solution to the surface. We were unfortunately not able to offer any beneficiary treatment options, as almost none of the original paint layer was left to save.

Beware of products that advertise safe use on ceramics or porcelain&mdash;your bathtub is made of a far different type of ceramic than antique Chinese pottery. Conservators understand the correct types and relative strengths of solutions to use so that a piece will be cleaned of dirt and grime, but neither stripped nor harmed. Considerations concerning the materials are always made first, based on how they will interact with certain chemicals. The materials our conservators use are specifically formulated for their intended projects, and align to a specific set of museum and archival standards.

&nbsp;

<h4>Exhibit D: The Scotch Tape Massacre</h4>

Surprisingly enough, a strip of tape can be just as harmful as a polyurethane or cyanoacrylate adhesive. &ldquo;A client brought in a cracked porcelain piece that had been taped together to show where all the pieces fit in place. She was trying to prepare the piece to be glued once it got here to The Center. By the time the tape was removed, its glue had already stripped the pigments off the piece,&rdquo; said Josh, reflecting on another item that had been accidentally damaged at home. Luckily, this only occurred in limited areas, allowing our conservators to inpaint the areas of loss with reversible paints after properly gluing the pieces back together with conservation-grade adhesives. We often see fragmented works of art, so our conservators are experts at puzzle-piecing objects back together. While we appreciate the help this particular client was trying to offer, it unfortunately didn&rsquo;t work out as she had hoped.

<img alt="" data-caption="Strips of tape can have harmful effects on your cherished art objects" data-rich-file-id="1176" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1176/original/sculptureb-26a.jpg" />

All of these examples stem from people trying to take care of their objects and keep them in good condition. It is difficult to advise letting a valuable piece gather dust rather than be self-cleaned, but these case studies are hard to ignore. The fact is that all of these mishaps were completely preventable. Conserving fine art, much like creating it, takes years of honed practice and education&mdash;our conservators themselves are always learning new techniques from colleagues and the conservation community at large.

&nbsp;

If you need professional help, contact a professional <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/specialties/conservation-restoration">conservator</a> or someone at the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/the-conservation-center--2">Conservation Center&nbsp;</a>

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Reasons why you shouldn't try to DIY valuable art and antiques 

Don't Do It Yourself: Cautionary Tales of At-Home Art Treatments

This June, the Rapid Pulse International Performance Art Festival celebrates its fifth year, a large feat for the non-profit organization that has been deemed &ldquo;a small festival with a big heart.&rdquo; The year&#39;s iteration will be packed with twenty-five performances over the course of five days (June 1-5), in honor of the anniversary. The multi-day event includes live performances in the main gallery at Defibrillator, durational performance installations in the storefront window, and performances&nbsp;outside in the surrounding neighborhood near Eckhart Park. The festival will also feature a video series, curated by assistant director&nbsp;Giana Gambino&nbsp;and Julia Laffin, and a new&nbsp;nightly experimental food series that hopes to foster discourse about the day&#39;s&nbsp;performances.

<img alt="" data-caption="Ane Lan, photograph by Thomas Albrecht" data-rich-file-id="1191" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1191/original/thomas-albrecht.jpg" />

Rapid Pulse began as a partnership between Gambino and Joseph Ravens, who met in 2011 and conceptualized the idea of a multi-day festival that would bring esteemed performance artists from around the world to Chicago. Ravens, the director of Defibrillator, has co-organized the festival with Gambino for the past five years. While the festival has scaled back from its original 10-day marathon of performances, this year is certain to bring an impressive range of work from artists including Linda Mary Montano, Sarah &amp; Joseph Belknap, Sarah Trouche and Edra Soto.

<img alt="" data-caption="Larissa Kopp, photograph by Nabeela Vega" data-rich-file-id="1192" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1192/original/larissa-kopp.jpg" />

Montano is an impressive veteran of the performance art scene. She famously spent a year tied by a length of rope to Taiwanese artist Teching Hsieh for his performance Art/Life: One Year Performance, 1983-84. Some of her&nbsp;other artistic undertakings&nbsp;include wearing monochromatic garments for seven-year intervals, singing in a scissor lift&nbsp;for seven hours and being blindfolded for seven days. Montano will close the Rapid Pulse festival with an overnight workshop titled Sleepathon, in which she has invited the public to spend the night with her in the gallery space. &nbsp;

For a schedule of performances and to purchase tickets&nbsp;visit: <a href="http://rapidpulse.org">rapidpulse.org</a>

Top Image: Martine Vitale, photograph by Nabeela Vega. All images&nbsp;courtesy Rapid Pulse International Performance Art Festival.

The Rapid Pulse International Performance Art Festival celebrates its fifth anniversary with five days of live performances at Defibrillator Gallery.

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