BY FRANCK MERCURIO

Chicago&rsquo;s youth art programs help fill the gaps left by reduced or non-existent arts education in our public schools. For the city&rsquo;s underserved youth in particular, extracurricular arts organizations provide havens where students can safely socialize, learn, and discover their own creative potential. These programs provide services that elevate art-making above the status of &ldquo;leisure activity&rdquo; by empowering youth to think creatively&mdash;not just about their art, but about their educational and life goals. Following are three profiles of non-profit art organizations that are making a difference in the lives of our city&rsquo;s young people through art education, art therapy, and social services.

&nbsp;

<h3>Marwen</h3>

<img alt="" data-caption="Marwen students pictured doing Autumn Watercolors and Light and Vision. A variety of courses are offered. " data-rich-file-id="499" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/499/original/marwenjan15.jpg" />

Founded by entrepreneur Steve Berkowitz in 1987, Marwen is one of the longest running&mdash;and most successful&mdash;youth art programs in Chicago. The organization (named after Berkowitz&rsquo;s daughters, Marcy and Wendy) currently serves 1,000 students, from 6th through 12th grades, in more than 100 art programs.

Many students return to Marwen as adults to teach. &ldquo;A really important aspect of Marwen is that we aim to work with kids over the arc of many terms and years,&rdquo; says Antonia Contro, Marwen&rsquo;s Executive Director for the past 20 years. &ldquo;A young person can come here in sixth or seventh grade, stay through high school and then continue through work opportunities with our teaching-artist community.&rdquo;

Marwen offers programs in traditional mediums such as painting, drawing and sculpture but also courses in new media, interdisciplinary arts, and design, including fashion design. Beyond offering a wide range of visual arts programs, one of Marwen&rsquo;s goals is to get kids to think about their future potential, especially college.

&ldquo;Marwen has a fantastic, nationally recognized college planning and career development program,&rdquo; explains Contro. &ldquo;We help young people understand post-secondary education, apply, and get into college.&rdquo;

According to Contro, over 90 percent of Marwen participants &mdash; the majority of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds &mdash; are accepted into higher education programs.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<h3>South Chicago Art Center</h3>

<img alt="" data-caption="Children at the South Chicago Art Center" data-rich-file-id="500" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/500/original/dscn5228-copy.jpg" />

A world away from Marwen and its River North gallery neighbors is the South Chicago Art Center, located on 91st Street near the Calumet River. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty much a cultural desert down here,&rdquo; says Executive Director Sarah Ward. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re the only program that has served this neighborhood for the past 13 years, and it&rsquo;s the only consistent after school program.&rdquo;

Ward has a degree in art therapy from the Art Institute of Chicago. She sees multiple needs of the kids who live in the South Chicago neighborhood and participate in the Center&rsquo;s programs.

&ldquo;While some programs might fit snuggly into an art education box or a social services box, we fill [students&rsquo;] needs on a holistic level,&rdquo; says Ward.

In addition to offering 29 different programs for elementary, middle school, and high school kids&mdash;covering subjects like art, gardening, and cooking&mdash;the Center also feeds students if they&rsquo;re hungry and helps provide basic necessities like clothing. Most important, the Center gives its students a safe and stable place to go to after school to avoid South Chicago&rsquo;s random violence.

&ldquo;They&rsquo;re coming here to be in a safe place where people are not only going to teach them concepts and art, but they&rsquo;re also going to be respected and heard,&rdquo; explains Ward. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t have to worry about the things that are going on outside of here.&rdquo;

The Center recently purchased a new building at the corner of 91st St. and S. Houston Ave. and has launched a $2.5 million dollar fundraising campaign to pay for the move and needed renovations. Located across the street from the South Chicago Public Library and the South Chicago YMCA, the new home will provide even more safety and security for its students.

&ldquo;It will greatly raise our profile,&rdquo; says Ward about the relocation of the Center. &ldquo;Plus we will have a gallery space, a kiln, and we&rsquo;ll be open for more extended hours&hellip;it will become a really kid-friendly, safe space.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

<h3>Yollocalli</h3>

<img alt="" data-caption="A group at Yollocalli, courtesy Yollocalli Arts Reach" data-rich-file-id="497" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/497/original/yollocalli-copy.jpg" />

Yollocalli means &ldquo;heart of the house&rdquo; in Nahuatl, the Aztec language. Located in Barrett Park in Chicago&rsquo;s Little Village, this teen arts program is an outreach initiative of the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Unlike many youth arts programs in the city, Yollocalli&rsquo;s courses are structured as open-studio residencies.&nbsp;

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not really teaching,&rdquo; says Director Vanessa Sanchez of Yollocalli&rsquo;s approach, &ldquo;but more like a mentor relationship.&rdquo;&nbsp;

The students, in turn, collaborate on their instructor&rsquo;s projects. As a prime example, Sanchez cites a recent collaboration with 96 Acres, a series of site-specific works and events headed by artist Maria Gaspar. Students worked alongside artists to stencil phrases and questions on the walls and sidewalks surrounding the Cook County Jail. In a technique called &ldquo;reverse graffiti,&rdquo; the participants &ldquo;inscribed&rdquo; words onto surfaces using a powerwasher.

&ldquo;Instead of applying paint to a surface, you&rsquo;re cleaning a surface,&rdquo; explains Sanchez.

In addition to other street art classes, Yollocalli also offers unique programs like Digital Journalism, where students use narrative and storytelling in the manner of This American Life or Snap Judgement to create their own podcasts.

To Sanchez, many of Yollocalli&rsquo;s benefits are more intangible than the practical skills that students learn. &ldquo;I think it helps build their character,&rdquo; says Sanchez. &ldquo;They always let us know how much they loved their time with us and how they&rsquo;ve continued the tradition of giving back to the community or doing something positive for whatever neighborhood they&rsquo;re from or for the city at-large.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

For more information visit:

<a href="http://www.happyartcenter.org">happyartcenter.org</a>

<a href="http://yollocalli.org">yollocalli.org</a>

<a href="https://marwen.org​">marwen.org</a>

Pictured at top of page: students at the South Chicago Art Center

Art Offers Youths a Creative Safe Haven

BY ERIN BENATOR

Entering <a href="http://tomburtonwood.com">Tom Burtonwood&rsquo;s</a> studio at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he is an artist in residence, I was greeted by a reverberating, mechanical hum. The source of the noise? A machine &ldquo;printing&rdquo; a complex object, layer by layer until a sculpture took form. Burtonwood discovered the lure of 3D printing,&nbsp; and as an artist he has taken advantage of the opportunity to transition from working in more traditional mediums to a technological revolution in art and design.&nbsp;

Invented over 30 years ago, 3D printing has recently taken the fields of design, art, science, and engineering by storm. From fabricating prosthetics and robots, to replicas of art objects and lamp fixtures, these machines benefit a variety of industries. Unlike the traditional &ldquo;subtractive&rdquo; method of sculpture and manufacturing, 3D printers perform an &ldquo;additive&rdquo; process. Requiring less raw material and producing less waste, whether plastic or metal, the process is more cost effective. Designs can also be fabricated via digital content creation using computer-aided software (CAD), or &ldquo;scanned&rdquo; through images or photographs of an object from various angles.

Jackson Levy, a digital fabrication specialist at <a href="http://www.the3dprinterexperience.com">The 3D Printer Experience</a> located in Chicago&rsquo;s River North neighborhood, defines 3D printing as, &ldquo;a technology that has developed into an industry, which facilitates artists, designers, and people who are involved in prototyping and fabrication, as well as manufacturing&hellip;It introduces all these groups and individuals who have been working with old tools of fabrication to a new medium.&rdquo;

3D printing is not done in a vacuum; the open-source movement is at the heart of the printing community, where designers&rsquo; and artists&rsquo; concepts are often available online for other users to download and utilize. Burtonwood even shared a recent design of his for Orihon, his 3D-printed accordion-fold volume containing scans of ancient sculptural objects from the Art Institute of Chicago&rsquo;s collection.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Studying a 3D object in a 2D space is a challenge,&rdquo; explains Burtonwood, as he pulls out a sample draft page from a new 3D-printed book he is working on, along with a jar of Play-Doh. He takes a glob and pushes it into the mold. The after effect is a 3D model of an ancient Greek sculpture. Burtonwood says he values 3D printing&rsquo;s educational tools. For him as well as other artists, 3D printing opens up a new realm of art education, where students can have economical and easy access to art objects through 3D replicas of their actual forms in space.&nbsp;

The 3D Printer Experience is one of the first places to offer 3D printing as an interactive, personal experience for the general public. Whether users want to submit a design for printing or learn how to use 3D printing equipment and software, their mission is &ldquo;to make an immediate impact through open information and education,&rdquo; says Levy.&nbsp;

The printing technology for 3D continues to evolve. From the ChefJet, which enables users to print out edible objects, to Home Depot&rsquo;s recent agreement with desktop 3D printer company MakerBot, the 3D printing industry is increasingly becoming more mainstream and user accessible. Like the computer once transformed society across all industries from design to medicine, 3D printing holds the boundless new potential to shape the future of art, design and more. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

Image shown at top of page: Tom Burtonwood, Orihon (3D Printed Accordion Book), &copy; Tom Burtonwood

Industry, Art and Education: 3D Printing

Happy birthday to The&nbsp;Golden Triangle! &nbsp;This week the global home furnishing and antiques resource turns 25.Founded in 1989, <a href="https://www.goldentriangle.biz/index.html">The Golden Triangle</a> has always been unique, thanks to the vision of founders&nbsp;Douglas Van Tress and Chauwarin Tuntisak. The Golden Triangle&nbsp;is today one of the city's largest home furnishing stores, which is pretty remarkable when you consider that so many of Chicago's&nbsp;big furniture&nbsp;stores that come to mind are corporate bohemoths featuring mass produced wares promoted in glossy catalogues, and The Golden Triangle specializes in antiques.&nbsp;Frequent flying and unusual travel has been the hallmark of the business since its inception, since only by in-person buying trips and personal research can Doug and Chauwarin bring the best of the world back to Chicago (and then beyond again, since the store also holds a national profile.)&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/467/original/gt1.jpg" alt=""></figure>Devoted to specializing in fine Asian and European antiques, The Golden Triangle has made a sometimes stuffy field accessible to a new generation. Furniture and pieces sold at the store easily blend in with traditional or contemporary aesthetics, so there is something for everyone's style.&nbsp;History is palpable without being too precious. Pieces found here have more meaning, as well as long term value, when compared to the sometimes disposable alternatives from big-box stores. Van Tress is a proponent of the value of antiques, and that personal passion is evident in the range of resources he finds for clients.&nbsp;The Golden Triangle's original focus was on antiques and artifacts just from Thailand. Over the years the store's inventory has changed&nbsp;regularly due to availability, quality and trends.&nbsp;Offerings are always&nbsp;expanding, today coming from all over Asia as well as many destinations in Europe, so clients have a reason to visit the store over and over.&nbsp;The Golden Triangle's showroom is a work of art which creates a comprehensive visitor experience. Housed in an 18,000 square foot former Chicago River warehouse and featuring an indoor courtyard, the store invites visitors to explore several vignettes from various historical periods, such as the Raj, other Colonial periods, ancient China, and 19th Century Europe. As shoppers and designers move from space to space, their experience changes with the context. That variety can also deliver helpful inspiration to clients and designers. &nbsp;The scale of Golden Triangle's space also allows for displaying its signature large works, like ancient doors, panels and mantles.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/468/original/gt2.jpg" alt=""></figure>While The Golden Triangle is an international resource for many, its roots are in Chicago, and the founders are devoted to supporting people here at home. Since 2006 the store has&nbsp;featured modern furnishings made from reclaimed exotic hardwoods as well as contemporary Chicago-made case goods and upholstered sofas and chairs.&nbsp;Here's to celebrating 25 years in Chicago!&nbsp;&nbsp;The Golden Triangle is celebrating their anniversary this week with an <a href="https://www.goldentriangle.biz/events.html">Open House</a>&nbsp;on Saturday, October 18, 12-5pm. The event is open to the public and will feature refreshments and cultural performances.&nbsp;The Golden Triangle330 N. Clark,&nbsp;Chicago, IL 60654 •&nbsp;T: 312-755-1266&nbsp; M-F&nbsp;10-6;&nbsp;Sa&nbsp;10-5&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/469/original/gt3.jpg" alt=""></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/470/original/gt4.jpg" alt=""></figure>&nbsp;

The Golden Triangle Turns 25

Monday night at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)&nbsp;was a big night for ten local artists, thanks to the support of Chicago's 3Arts. The charity, devoted to supporting women artists, artists of color and artists with disabilities, hosts a special event each October to announce the year's lucky recipients of unrestricted grants - inspirational windfalls or bountiful financial relief packages that are always greatly appreciated. 3Arts' has always touted its mission of providing the means for artists to freely create art and build a sustainable career, but now the charity is&nbsp;expanding programming to include residency fellowships, project support, and professional development and promotion.&nbsp;This year for the 7th annual awards,&nbsp;the grants are worth more than ever: $25,000, up from $15,000&nbsp;in&nbsp;2013.&nbsp;To date, 3Arts has raised nearly $1.5 million to directly support artists. The recipients work in a variety of arts-related fields, including the performing, teaching and visual arts. This year’s 3Arts Award recipients are: dancer&nbsp;Darrell Jones&nbsp;and choreographer&nbsp;Erica Mott; circus choreographer&nbsp;Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi&nbsp;and playwright&nbsp;Calamity West; instrumentalists&nbsp;Brandi Berry&nbsp;and&nbsp;Carlos Mejía; visual artists&nbsp;Irina Botea&nbsp;and&nbsp;Amanda Williams; and teaching artists&nbsp;Sophia Nahli Allison&nbsp;and&nbsp;Samuel Roberson. Full bios are available at <a href="http://www.3arts.org">www.3arts.org</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/463/original/irina-botea.jpg" alt=""></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/464/original/amanda-williams.jpg" alt=""></figure>

Big Money for Ten Lucky Chicago Artists

BY FRANCK MERCURIO The 140 galleries participating in EXPO Chicago this year&nbsp;showcase a range of established artists from across the globe. But the exposition of contemporary and modern art also provides opportunities for a select group of local artists to exhibit their work to an international audience. Jenny Kendler, John Preus, and Erik Peterson are three Chicago artists whose work is highlighted at this year’s EXPO at Navy Pier.Kendler is the first-ever artist-in-residence for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Her EXPO installation&nbsp;Tell It to the Birds&nbsp;(2014) fills the entire NRDC exhibitor booth and vibrantly reflects issues surrounding dwindling biodiversity and the conservation of species. You can read more about Kendler’s installation in a previously published Chicago Gallery News article,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2014/8/realizing-human-relationships-with-nature-through-art">Realizing Human Relationships with Nature through Art</a>.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/460/original/kendlercombo.jpg" alt=""></figure>Above: images from Kendler's NRDC installation.&nbsp;Until recently, Preus (rhymes with “choice”) was the lead fabricator for artist and activist Theaster Gates and the creative director of Gate’s <a href="http://rebuild-foundation.org">Rebuild Foundation</a>. Given this background, it’s not surprising that Preus fabricates many of his works from found objects. For EXPO&nbsp;Preus was invited to create a series of installations using discarded furniture from Chicago Public Schools. Collectively titled&nbsp;Social Furniture&nbsp;(2014), these works address last year’s closing of 54 Chicago schools and bring attention to what Preus sees as waning support for public education.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/461/original/photo-2.jpg" alt=""></figure>John Preus's installation at EXPO&nbsp;Peterson, a recent “graduate” of the Chicago Artists Coalition BOLT residency, creates works that explore the dichotomies between “space and surface, luminescence and reflectivity.” His neon sculptures grabbed the attention of EXPO officials during a recent tour of the CAC’s artist studios; Peterson was subsequently invited to create a site-specific piece for EXPO. Titled&nbsp;Seep&nbsp;(2014), this pink neon sculpture activates a dark—and rather challenging—outdoor space at the lower level entrance to EXPO. True to its name,&nbsp;Seep&nbsp;“spills” from its brick wall base onto the sidewalk, blurring spatial boundaries, a trademark condition of Peterson’s sculptures.A second site-specific work by Peterson titled&nbsp;Indulge Your Every Whim&nbsp;(2014) is located in the Chicago Artists Coalition booth inside Festival&nbsp;Hall (EXPO's main exhibition space.) This piece was selected from a dozen other proposals by Kate Nesim, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. Similar to&nbsp;Seep,&nbsp;Indulge You Every Whim&nbsp;is created from pink neon tubing and designed to fit its space. Peterson calls the two works “fraternal twins.” Both use neon in what Peterson calls a “mannerist way,” where the medium is manipulated and transformed from its original function as signage material into a more expressive mode.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/462/original/photo-1.jpg" alt=""></figure>"Seep" by Erik Peterson&nbsp;Says curator Nesim of Peterson’s installation “[It] struck a compelling balance between, on the one hand, contributing to the sense of spectacle or visual dazzle in a fair environment, and, on the other hand, arresting the viewer—providing a space in which optical disorientation and ultimate orientation are explored both playfully and thoughtfully.”The works of Kendler, Preuss, and Peterson are on view at <a href="http://expochicago.com">EXPO Chicago</a> from Friday, September 19 through Sunday, September 21.&nbsp;&nbsp;For images and posts from EXPO all weekend, follow CGN on <a href="https://twitter.com/ChiGalleryNews">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://instagram.com/chigallerynews">Instagram</a>

Local Artists Featured at EXPO CHICAGO

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY KEVIN NANCEIf a man’s home is his castle, an artist’s studio is his or her laboratory—a place of experimentation, trial-and-error, research and development. Cooking metaphors come to mind: throwing things at the wall to see what (literally!) sticks; the shrouded mystery of sausage-making. Far from the pristine galleries where their finished pieces are displayed, some artists labor in smudged, messy spaces crammed with works-in-progress, materials and tools arrayed in minimally organized chaos; others are more compartmentalized and precise.&nbsp;For our second installation of Artists at Work, we offer&nbsp;a glimpse into eight such environments, occupied by leading Chicago artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Phyllis Bramson, Audrey Niffenegger, Nicholas Sistler, Marcelo Eli, Louise LeBourgeois, the Zhou Brothers, and Edra Soto.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/454/original/kerry-james-marshallaaw.jpg" alt=""></figure>Kerry James Marshall in his studio in Bronzeville. Last year he became the first African American to have a solo show at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and later had a show in Antwerp, Belgium, that is now touring Europe. When I saw him in his studio, he looked glad to be home.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/452/original/audrey-niffeneggeraaw.jpg" alt=""></figure>Audrey Niffenegger in her attic studio at her home on the West Side. The skeletons are her pals and models -&nbsp;they've made cameo appearances in several of her pieces -&nbsp;and so is the taxidermied raven on her desk; the bird modeled for several images in Audrey's most recent graphic novel, "Raven Girl."&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/458/original/phyllisaaw.jpg" alt=""></figure>Phyllis Bramson is&nbsp;shown in&nbsp;her West Loop live/work space. "I'm trying not to care so much," she said of her painting/collages, but that seems to be coming along slowly. Stated in regards to a change in visual strategy as Bramson gets ready for her Thirty Year Retrospective at the Rockford Art Museum, opening in October 2015 - January 2016.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/457/original/nicholas-sistleraaw.jpg" alt=""></figure>Nicholas Sistler in his home studio in Bucktown. The clown outfit was his idea; as he put it, "Why not have some fun?" Good question.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/455/original/louise-lebourgeoisaaw.jpg" alt=""></figure>Louise LeBourgeois in her Rogers Park studio. She specializes in paintings of Lake Michigan, one of which recently was acquired by Fermilab, the particle-physics research facility in Batavia, IL&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/456/original/marcelo-eliaaw.jpg" alt=""></figure>Marcelo Eli in his Bridgeport home studio. For the photo shoot, he sat on a wooden stool that he's had since he was a small child. He's a grownup now, as the beautiful painting behind him shows, but the stool still bears his weight nicely.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/453/original/edra-sotoaaw.jpg" alt=""></figure>Edra Soto in her home studio a few blocks from the Garfield Park Conservatory. She worked until 1 o'clock in the morning the day of the photo shoot because&nbsp;she had an exhibit opening that evening, "Say Everything" at the Lloyd Dobler Gallery. She still looked fresh and rested for the shoot.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/459/original/zhou-brothersaaw.jpg" alt=""></figure>The Zhou Brothers in their Bridgeport studio. During the shoot, I asked the brothers how they manage to stay in such good shape, and especially how they keep their midsections so trim. "Well," DaHuang Zhou (on the right) said with a smile, "I suck it in."&nbsp;Kevin Nance&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/KevinNance1">@KevinNance1</a>

Part II: Artists at Work: Studios as Laboratories

EXPO CHICAGO will be on the minds of more people than ever this fall when it returns to Navy Pier for the third time, September 18-21. The first year everyone watches and waits, the second you get both feet on the ground, and the third time, you take off. This year’s art fair is sure to do just that. Featuring over 140 galleries from 17 countries and 43&nbsp;cities, both the strength of the fair and the special programming will be better than ever.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/439/original/openingssummer-copy.jpg" alt=""></figure>So, what should you watch for? In addition to a packed EXPO ART WEEK taking place in the days leading up to the fair, noteworthy EXPO programs include IN/SITU: a program of large-scale, site-specific installations curated by Renaud Proch, and EXPO Video: film, video and new media works curated by Astria Suparak (new for 2014 is a fourth station featuring the work of Columbia College students.)<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/art-after-hours">Art After Hours</a>, happening September 19, 6-9pm, is a chance to visit local galleries and art spaces around the city after the fair. The rest of the weekend, <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/free-shuttles-during-expo-chicago">free shuttles</a> will run from Navy Pier to the MCA, the Art Institute, River North and West Loop (including Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.)&nbsp;Many Chicago galleries participating in EXPO have openings taking place in conjunction with Art After Hours.&nbsp;Highlights include Mickalene Thomas at Kavi Gupta, an exhibition organized by Theaster Gates at Valerie Carberry and Richard Gray, Simon Starling at the Arts Club and the MCA, Gregory Scott at Catherine Edelman, Dawoud Bey at Stephen Daiter, Paula Hayes at Rhona Hoffman,&nbsp;Magritte at the Art Institute, Bowie at the MCA, 40 years at the Smart Museum, and 75 years at the Hyde Park Art Center. Trust us, there's more!&nbsp;And of course&nbsp;<a href="http://www2.mcachicago.org/vernissage2014/">Vernissage</a>, Thursday’s opening night preview benefiting the Museum of Contemporary Art is the art party of the year. Think light installations, mylar, performance artists, free popcorn, lots of drinks, many things to Instagram, after parties on boats, and more.Cross your fingers and maybe you’ll be extra lucky and also score a $3,000 ticket to the <a href="http://www2.mcachicago.org/bowiegala">MCA’s Bowie gala</a> Saturday night!Complete details available at&nbsp;<a href="http://expochicago.com">expochicago.com</a>

Art at EXPO and Beyond

By KEVIN NANCEArt collectors often claim that they buy art solely because they love it, not because they consider it an investment. But for Paul and Linda Gotskind, a Chicago couple who’ve spent the past quarter-century thoughtfully amassing an impressive collection of contemporary art, they see a work’s monetary value, now and (potentially) in the future, as a necessary part of the decision-making process.“Most people would probably say that they don’t have the money thing in the back of their minds, but they do,” Paul Gotskind says in an interview at their River North home. “We buy art mostly because we like it, but when you’re buying something that costs a lot of money, you’ve got to think about the investment part of it. I’m not saying we buy things because they might go up in value, but at the same time, I don’t want to lose every cent we’re putting into it, either.”Linda is even more definite on the subject. “For me, it’s part of my portfolio,” she says. “I’m not in a position to spend several million dollars on something and ignore the possibility that it could be worthless at some point.”The Gotskinds’ unapologetic practicality with regard to art and money stems in part from the fact that they both spent most of their professional careers as stock and commodities traders, he at the Chicago Board of Trade and she at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. &nbsp;(Paul remains an active stock trader, working from home; Linda, a teacher before entering the financial industry, is retired.)&nbsp;Their understanding of the fiscal realities of art collecting also affects the art they buy and how they buy it. They deal primarily with established galleries in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago (including the Richard Gray, Alan Koppel, Kavi Gupta and Rhona Hoffman galleries). “We’ve occasionally bought pieces from galleries whose reputations we weren’t sure of,” admits Linda Gotskind, “which might not have been the best decision.” And rather than take risks on emerging artists, the couple prefers to collect work by mid-career artists “who’ve made a move for themselves,” as Paul puts it. “They’re associated with good galleries, they’ve sold at auction, they’re in museum collections.”Also hovering in the background of their art-buying choices is the fact that with his first wife, Paul Gotskind built a significant collection of work by blue-chip artists such as Picasso, Dubuffet, Frank Stella and Cy Twombly.&nbsp;At the time of their divorce, Gotskind and his ex-wife chose to sell the entire collection rather than make the difficult decisions that would have been necessary to divide it. “If we hadn’t sold it, that collection would have been worth a small fortune today,” he says wistfully. “Now I’m paying the same amount for younger artists that I was paying for blue-chip artists back then.”*<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/430/original/gotskinds-2-copy.jpg" alt=""></figure>The Gotskinds’ collecting is also largely about their own emotional investment. Showing a visitor around their 2,800-square-foot condo recently (they also have a home in Laguna Beach, Calif., where they keep the other half of their collection of about 100 pieces), they take obvious pleasure in the work. They are unusually knowledgeable about each piece, having developed relationships with many of the artists and learned more than many collectors do about the art-making processes involved. Their collection is consciously integrated with family heirlooms and photographs. “That’s my best art,” Linda says proudly of a framed portrait, “My grandkids.”Both Paul and Linda know what they like (primarily painting and sculpture, the latter often with a textured, tactile quality) and what they don’t. “Conceptual art is something we’re still working on,” Linda says. “Something that needs an explanation, that you have to study up on, is not what I’m normally drawn to—although when you walk around with a curator, that’s all they’re drawn to.” Most of all, they’re drawn to quality. “We’re big fans of buying one of the better pieces by an artist,” Paul says. “I’d rather buy a lesser artist’s better work than Andy Warhol’s worst piece.”Along the way, the Gotskinds have developed fairly specific affinities: for African-American artists, including Rashid Johnson, Kehinde Wiley, Charles Gaines, Jack Whitten and Theaster Gates (“Black artists are having their time right now,” Linda says); women artists (including Rosson Crow, Wangechi Mutu and Elizabeth Neel); and Chicago artists (including Gates, Angel Otero, Dzine and William J. O’Brien).“Paul and Linda have an extraordinary eye,” says Tony Karman, who enlisted the Gotskinds as investors in Expo Chicago, the annual art fair at Navy Pier. “They are very active on the contemporary art scene, not only with leading galleries but as people who collect artists who have gone on to great careers. One of the best parts of their collecting ethos is that they don’t use an art adviser; they share the experience of finding artists they want to collect, and they stay true to their curatorial vision.”Perhaps the Gotskinds’ biggest problem now as art collectors is that they’re essentially out of display space, though they continue to actively collect. Virtually every possible place to show art in their two homes is filled.&nbsp; Lending pieces to museums (which they do frequently, including recent loans to Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and other institutions) only solves the problem temporarily.“It’s a question we don’t have an answer to yet,” Paul says a smile. “We’re working on it.”One possibility is to sell some work at auction, which, so far, they’ve done only sparingly. Another option is to donate some artworks to museums, but that still leaves something to be desired. “The pieces the museums are the most interested in are the pieces we’re most interested in,” Linda says, “and I’m not ready to give them up just yet.”Kevin Nance is a Chicago-based freelance writer and photographer. Twitter @KevinNance1

Collector Profile: Linda and Paul Gotskind

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417943/nzmy38pedy2ltbzyotye.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;By KEVIN NANCEIn the community of art dealers in Chicago, Kavi Gupta stands out as one of the busiest and most ambitious. From his base in his eponymous gallery at 835 W. Washington, Gupta surveys an expanding mini-empire of exhibition spaces that now includes a branch in Berlin as well as two satellite spaces in Chicago (219 N. Elizabeth in the West Loop and 2108 S. California in Pilsen); in September, he plans to open a fourth Chicago space, a store specializing in art books and small editions, next door to the main gallery.Over the years, Gupta has represented a core group of midcareer artists from Chicago—including Theaster Gates, Curtis Mann, Angel Otero, Melanie Schiff and Tony Tasset—but casts a wide net in terms of marketing them around the globe. More recently, his stable of artists has diversified in terms of geography, but Gupta’s approach to selling their work has remained consistently international.&nbsp;Chicago Gallery News recently visited Gupta, 45, at the Washington Boulevard gallery, where he also lives in a rooftop apartment with his wife, Jessica Moss, associate curator of contemporary art at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. Following is an edited transcript of our chat.&nbsp;What drew you to become an art dealer, and what was your preparation for it?I started out collecting art. My family in India are some of the biggest collectors of contemporary Indian art. My father, Raj Gupta, was an architect and an engineer, who moved here in 1964 and worked with Bertrand Goldberg on Marina City. I was born in 1969, and our life was about architecture and design. I was an art history minor at Northern Illinois University; I was an investment banker after college but was spending all of my money on art. I went to get a master’s at the business school at the University of Chicago, and they allowed us to work with other departments. I chose the art history department, and that really propelled me into thinking I wanted to do something with art. I wanted to be around art, I wanted to be around artists, and I wanted to show what I was collecting. In the late ’90s, I found a building in the West Loop, a boarded-up crack house on Peoria, for a dollar a square foot. I called right there and said, “I’ll take it.” I built that space over two years, and I later bought the building across the street. As the West Loop developed, the value of those spaces went up, and we were able to leverage that into buying this building.&nbsp;Fifteen years later, you’ve got a ton going on.Yes, although the busyness, for us, isn’t really defined by how many people are walking through the door. We’ve positioned ourselves as a gallery that’s based in Chicago, but we don’t quantify our success based on things happening here. I just had a meeting with the staff, and they’re so busy that they can’t fathom how they’re going to get everything done. But it’s to do with all the things we’re doing around the world—collectors from everywhere, artists from everywhere. We’re a global gallery that just happens to be located here.&nbsp;The majority of our artists are Chicago artists, but we’re promoting them around the world.It’s not about foot traffic.Right. In New York, it’s about dealing with who walks into the gallery; that’s their day. Our day is meetings and conference calls and research for artists and flying everywhere. Somebody from the gallery’s on the road all the time. We’re very proactive on behalf of artists, and that means not sitting here waiting for that client to come into our door. So our guys are out there talking to collectors, talking to curators, talking to art writers, pitching ideas and getting in front of them. If you look out my office door, you’d see two people packaging catalogs and other people writing proposals for museum shows. We have one person doing nothing but PR for specific artists. We have two people, who are artist liaisons, going to artists’ studios, talking about their practice, and talking about what’s coming next. It’s a constant back-office function and a high level of activity with a global focus.What was the thought process behind opening the Berlin gallery?It was part of this same thing we’ve been talking about. Berlin is a cultural capital, a place where curators and artists live and spend time. It’s about thinking; it’s about looking. And it’s a place where new art always comes from. For me Berlin has always been that place in Europe. It’s also very affordable, so it was a great place to make a European foothold. We wanted to reach out beyond Chicago and establish a beachhead for our Chicago artists, to have a different audience come and see the work, increase its recognition. It’s been very successful. We also use Berlin as a way to find new artists from Germany and elsewhere. Because it’s so affordable, artists come from all over the world and have studios there. There are artists from every city in Europe, as well as from Japan, China, and India. So it’s important for us to be there and see what’s really happening in contemporary art today.You also have multiple spaces in Chicago. You just opened a new one on Elizabeth Street, for example.That’s right, and we have a third space as well, an 11,000-square-foot building in Pilsen. The idea, basically, is to build opportunities for our artists. A lot of them work in large scale, and I wanted to give them the impetus to do that if they wanted to. We did a large show of Roxy Paine pieces, Apparatus, in the Elizabeth Street space that won the AICA [International Association of Art Critics-USA] Award as the best gallery show in the country; it took up two rooms and 5,000 square feet. It was a museum-caliber show, one of the bigger productions a gallery has ever done in Chicago. We also produced a Tony Tasset piece for the Whitney Biennial that was 80 feet long.&nbsp;So you have three spaces in Chicago - you’re opening a fourth - and you have one in Berlin. That’s a lot.It happened by need; it wasn’t really a conscious decision. Our gallery here isn’t that big, and we don’t have storage. At one point I was renting a storage building for $8,000 a month, and one of our collectors, a banker, said, “That’s ridiculous. Why don’t you go buy a warehouse, and your mortgage will be half of that for a bigger space.” So we bought the Elizabeth Street building, an 8,000-square-foot cold-storage facility that we renovated, and yes, the mortgage is less than half. And the space turned out so beautifully that we decided to start doing exhibitions there. And then the Pilsen space, a former auto garage, turned into the storage building.So it’s not about establishing an empire.Oh my gosh, no. We’re way too exhausted for that. We’re just working very hard for our artists, and we have to do what they need. We’ve only grown to fill that need.&nbsp;Will you keep expanding in the near future, or stay the same size?We don’t plan things that much; we’re just going with the flow. We do plan to open a kind of small bookstore and editions gallery, which has been a dream project for a while. It’s going to open next to us in this building in September. A lot of our artists are producing small editions, along with monographs or art books, so the new space will be a place to show those. We also want to be able to do lectures and artist talks there, to bring a criticality to the shows we’re doing. &nbsp;&nbsp;Is there some through-line, some shared quality in the artists you choose to represent?Well, there’s a regional focus to some extent. We like to find and promote artists from Chicago; it’s a big thing for us. We’re really proud of having found a program here and taking it global. Another area of common ground is that we’re interested in artists who develop a narrative through process. They’re very interested in the process of making things, and they make a hint of a narrative. Or there’s some personal statement that’s being made.&nbsp;As opposed to something that’s purely abstract.Right. Another area we’re interested in is artists with a little bit of a social practice, a social narrative—who are making, not so much a political commentary, but are looking at the world and responding to it. This September, for example, we have shows by Mickalene Thomas and Glenn Kaino. Both of them deal with issues they’ve been grappling with, including race, gender, political structures. Mickalene’s show is mostly done in cast bronze and has to do with her history with her mother, who was a flamboyant African-American socialite in the ’60s. Mickalene also produced a film about this, “Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman,” that was broadcast this year on HBO; the film will be shown here in the gallery. Also this fall we’ll be doing Glenn’s Leviathan, his first major show in many years, in the Elizabeth Street space.Which artists have you had the longest professional relationships with?Angel Otero, for one; we started working with him before he had finished grad school. Tony Tasset, who had a show here this summer, we’ve been working with for many, many years. We’ve added four or five new ones—including Mickalene, Glenn, Roxy, Jessica Stockholder and McArthur Binion—but most of our artists, we’ve been working with for close to 10 years.Back in the days of the Hairy Who and the Imagists, Chicago artists had a kind of group identity, a set of shared aesthetic concerns, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.&nbsp;The good thing about being removed from New York or L.A. is that there, artists do tend to become slightly homogeneous; they develop schools that emerge pretty regularly, and the schools themselves push an aesthetic. Here, I think the artists don’t tend to group in those ways. Everyone has a unique practice, and we look at each artist as an individual here. I can’t think of anything that really ties them together, but I think that’s a good thing.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kevin Nance is a Chicago-based freelance writer + photographer. Twitter @KevinNance1</body></html>

Kavi Gupta: Taking Chicago Artists Global

BY FRANCK MERCURIO

<img alt="" data-caption="Striped bodysuit for Aladdin Sane tour, 1973. Design: Kansai Yamamoto. Photo: Masayoshi Sukita. © Sukita / The David Bowie Archive 2012." data-rich-file-id="431" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/431/original/7403e9bodysuit-copy.jpg" />

Before the outrageous haute-couture of Lady Gaga; before the gender-bending androgyny of Boy George; before the chameleon-like reinvention of Madonna, there was...David Bowie.

In Bowie&rsquo;s 50-year career, the pop music icon has taken on multiple roles: musician, lyricist, performer, actor and artist. Along the way he has collaborated with composers, fashion designers, photographers, filmmakers, and other creatives to bring his trend-setting vision&mdash;and prodigious artistic output&mdash;to a worldwide audience.&nbsp;

To celebrate these creative achievements, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) is hosting the much anticipated David Bowie Is, an exhibition featuring over 400 objects, including photography, video, album artwork, handwritten lyrics, original fashions and set designs&mdash;and of course, music. Originating at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Chicago is the exhibition&rsquo;s only U.S. stop.

Given Bowie&rsquo;s popularity, the MCA is expecting record-breaking crowds. Yet despite its celebrity cach&eacute;, David Bowie Is promises to be more than a &ldquo;rock star show.&rdquo;

&ldquo;It has that rock memorabilia kind of quality to it, especially for those who really want to see [Bowie] putting pen to paper to write out a lyric,&rdquo; says Michael Darling, the James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator at the MCA. &ldquo;But the show is also able to zoom-out to address the mores of the day and show how so much of what Bowie was doing was shocking; it went against the grain.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="Original lyrics for Ziggy Stardust, by David Bowie, 1972. Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive. Image © Victoria and Albert Museum." data-rich-file-id="432" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/432/original/a524812lyrics-copy.jpg" />

Examples that still manage to jolt the senses today include over-the-top stage costumes by fashion designers Kansai Yamamoto and Alexander McQueen, surrealist album cover art by Guy Peelaert for Diamond Dogs (1974), and boundary-pushing videos such as Boys Keep Swinging (1979), which features Bowie performing as a variety of male and female characters.

The exhibition&rsquo;s original curators, Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh of the V&amp;A, interpreted the objects in the show not only as examples of Bowie&rsquo;s artistic output, but also as commentaries on contemporary society. And, rightly so, the London exhibition told the story from a British perspective for a largely British audience.

&ldquo;The V&amp;A has done a good job of building a cultural and social context around the objects in the show,&rdquo; says Darling. &ldquo;But the MCA has been making little tweaks. I&rsquo;ve been calling it our &lsquo;remixed&rsquo; version. There are a few things we&rsquo;re trying to pull out and highlight that might resonate more with an American audience.&rdquo;

Included are programs, handwritten notes, and other memorabilia from the 1980 stage production of The Elephant Man, featuring Bowie, which debuted in Chicago. Also highlighted will be costumes, photographs, and video excerpts of Bowie&rsquo;s 1979 Saturday Night Live musical performance.

<img alt="" data-caption="Promotional photograph of David Bowie for Diamond Dogs, 1974. Photo: Terry O'Neill. Image © Victoria and Albert Museum." data-rich-file-id="433" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/433/original/f30b314diamonddogs-copy.jpg" />

The exhibition follows a rough chronological framework. It begins with Bowie&rsquo;s early career in the 1960s, then follows his creative and commercial break-throughs in the 1970s&mdash;including the birth of his most famous character, Ziggy Stardust&mdash;and continues with highlights from Bowie&rsquo;s many reinventions since then.

&ldquo;The costumes from all the different periods and personas are the anchor pieces of the show,&rdquo; says Darling. &ldquo;You can imagine him inhabiting a particular outfit and what it meant in that time period.&rdquo;

In addition to the costumes, Bowie&rsquo;s music also grounds each period of the artist&rsquo;s career&mdash;an exhibition soundtrack provides an audio context for the displays of visual objects. The Sennheiser Group of Germany (one of the exhibition&rsquo;s sponsors) created a sound experience for David Bowie Is. Using headphones provided at the exhibition, visitors can listen to a changing soundtrack as they walk through the show. Sensors embedded in different displays recognize the presence of each visitor and match the music to the appropriate time period.

Throughout his long career, David Bowie has earned a reputation for anticipating cultural trends. His fluid identity has pushed the boundaries of music, design, performance, and the visual arts during each period of his life, continuously expanding our expectations of Bowie himself as well as what it means to be an artist. It is no surprise that David Bowie Is promises to expand what museum audiences expect from a contemporary art exhibition.

&nbsp;

Image shown at top of page: The Archer,&nbsp;Station to Station tour, 1976. Photo: John Rowlands. &copy; John Robert Rowlands

&nbsp;

David Bowie Is&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.mcachicago.org">The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago</a>

September 23-January 4, 2015

"David Bowie Is" Takes over the MCA This Fall

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418409/s9tauy54in3uh5ojycws.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;BY ERIN BENATORNearly 40 years ago, the Smart Museum of Art was opened&nbsp;to the public. Founded in honor of the renowned publishers of Esquire and Coronet, David and Alfred Smart, following a major gift to the University of Chicago, the museum opened&nbsp;in Hyde Park on the University's&nbsp;campus.&nbsp;The Smart first began as a repository for the University’s fine arts collection when the institution opened in the 1890’s. The Smart’s mission has always been rooted in education and research. Not just an art historical resource for U of C students, the museum has blossomed into the south side’s center for the fine arts and acts as an educational art hub today for many, from preschool to graduate students, its reach extending from other local universities and colleges to public schools.Through the years the Smart has played a vital role as a key asset in Chicago’s cultural landscape. The museum’s Dana Feitler Director, Anthony G. Hirschel, and chief curator of 35 years, Richard A. Born, provide perspective on the Smart’s rich history as well as its current collection, exhibitions, and mission.&nbsp;When the museum opened in 1974, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Block Museum at Northwestern University and the newly opened Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago were primarily the only art museums in Chicago.“[The opening of the Smart] established another program in the city for individuals interested in the fine arts. It was very special because the south side - not just Hyde Park - had no fine art museums associated with it.” Born explains, “It established itself through outreach and educational initiatives, as well as many school programs throughout the south side and west sides of Chicago. We were really the only museum in the area for people to visit.”&nbsp;Having a dynamic, diverse faculty and an enthusiastic student body has helped the museum grow and develop as an institution. The University’s cross-disciplinary studies are at the core of the Smart’s research and teaching, not only influencing the nature of exhibitions and traveling shows, but also the museum’s educational programs and outreach.&nbsp;“A great deal of the energy that surrounds the kind of programs we do is derived directly from the fact that we are part of this great research university and the intellectual dynamism that reflects these people – it makes us a much more interesting institution,” says Hirschel.&nbsp;The museum’s collection and exhibitions are built upon four main pillars: Asian art, European art, modern art and design, and contemporary art. Intermingling works of renowned artists like Mark Rothko, Auguste Rodin, and Francisco de Goya with lesser-known gems, including Arthur Garfield Dove and Norman Lewis, encompasses a regional and international body of art. Other works, such as Childe Hassam’s 1893 On the Lake Front Promenade Columbian World Exposition, pay tribute to Chicago’s history and important world events. Combining the past with the present is a unique asset of the museum’s exhibition strategy, and the regular juxtaposition of ancient and contemporary works illustrates lasting cultural and artistic traditions. &nbsp;Sculpture has long been a significant focus at the Smart. The museum’s first large sculptural collection consisted of over 350 works donated by the Starrels family in memory of Joel Starrels, Jr., a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School. Born, a graduate student in the Department of Art at the time, assisted in cataloguing the collection that became the core of the museum. The Smart’s inaugural exhibition, which opened to the public in fall of 1974, showcased 164 19th and 20th century sculptures and drawings, including works by Henry Moore, Jean Arp, and Jacques Lipchitz selected from The Joel Starrels, Jr. Memorial Collection.Now, 40 years later the Smart celebrates its roots in sculpture by transforming the museum’s 8,800 square foot gallery space into an exhibition purely dedicated to sculpture from the museum’s collection titled Carved, Cast, Crumpled: Sculpture All Ways, opening September 27.“Often in museums, sculpture gets the least amount of physical play because it takes a lot of space. The inaugural gift really set a course of collecting sculpture here [and] the exhibit highlights a trajectory that we set early on and over 40 years,” explains Born.&nbsp;Carved, Cast, Crumpled: Sculpture All Ways raises the central question “What makes an object a sculpture?” The answer revolves around five underlying historical themes in sculpture: figuration, extraction, materiality, function, and aura. Unique to the exhibit is Gallery X, an open space that acts as a center for the public’s discussion and thoughts. Also exclusive to the exhibit, labels will not be written by a curator, but by students, interns, and staff members.&nbsp;As Born and Hirschel reflect on their fondest memories at the Smart, from collaboration with scholars in China to bringing a variety of people into contact with art, interaction with students and the public are at the heart of their responses. Born remarks, “Working with students - they keep you young!”&nbsp;In 2014 the Smart looks to the public as a tool for change and growth. “We really think about where we are going to experiment with different approaches - to encourage people to think about our collection, the museum, and the museum experience in general,” states Hirschel, “We want our visitors to help us shape the way we interpret the collections and present them in the future.” Here’s to the next 40 years at the Smart.&nbsp;&nbsp;Image shown at top of page:&nbsp;The Smart’s inaugural exhibition in October 1974. © Smart Museum of Art&nbsp;&nbsp;Correction: This article (also printed in the September-December edition of Chicago Gallery News)&nbsp;has been revised to reflect the following:&nbsp;The Smart was not founded by David and Alfred Smart, who both passed away in the early 1950s. Rather, it was founded in their honor following a major gift from the Smart Family Foundation to the University of Chicago.&nbsp;&nbsp;Carved, Cast, Crumpled: Sculpture All Ways runs September 27-December 21, 2014Smart Museum of ArtThe University of ChicagoTel 773-702-0200 • <a href="http://www.smartmuseum.uchicago.edu">www.smartmuseum.uchicago.edu</a></body></html>

Smart Museum of Art Celebrates 40 Years - Encouraging the Fine Arts and Innovation on Chicago’s South Side

BY GINNY VAN ALYEA<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/428/original/6134bw.jpg" alt=""></figure>Tourism is often on the minds of Chicagoans. Whether we are trying to avoid Michgan Avenue sidewalk throngs or racking our brain for ideas on what to do with a house guest, many of us live day to day alongside visitors to our attractive city.&nbsp;There is no doubt that one of the biggest tourist draws in Chicago is our vibrant cultural scene. The arts, however, are not just a way to dress up an already good looking city; they are serious job and business generators. In a state with a fragile economy, our arts are valuable assets that benefit many individuals as well as groups. The Illinois Arts Alliance estimated that jobs in the arts industry generated more than $2.3 billion in household income in Illinois in 2010, and the majority of the $2.75 billion spent by arts and culture organizations and their audiences in that year went to locally owned or managed organizations, businesses or enterprises.&nbsp;Patronizing the arts nurtures communities, instills a sense of pride, and inspires investment. Supporting individual artists is a wonderful way to support another person’s livelihood, but the impact is actually much greater. The visual arts in particular offer an incredible range of opportunities not just for creativity and economic success but also for solutions, and renewal. Seeing is believing, so to speak, and thanks to visionary artists in our city art can reveal solutions to real world problems.&nbsp;In this issue we talked to a number of people who are making Chicago a better city through the arts.&nbsp;Dealer David Weinberg is devoting his gallery to a new mission of social justice; his first exhibition in this vein features the work of Carlos Ortiz, who embedded himself in the most dangerous pockets of our city to photograph the aftermath of violent crime.Jenny Kendler is the National Resource Defense Council’s first artist-in-residence. For the year long residency, she is examining ways to use art to heal the environment.The Zhou Brothers moved to Chicago from China nearly 30 years ago. As a thank you to the city that welcomed them, they opened the Zhou B Art Center in 2004 and helped revitalize Bridgeport as a place where artists could thrive.Two south side arts institutions, The Smart Museum of Art and the Hyde Park Art Center, are celebrating major milestones this fall (40 and 75 years), and they are both mounting exhibitions that reflect the cultural hub that Hyde Park has become over the years. &nbsp;The arts make a difference. Visitors may come to Chicago to enjoy the lake, the famous food and the sports, but the real power of the arts is personal. The public art we see on the way to work and the local gallery openings we pop into with friends will outlast the seasonal ebb and flow of people jamming into the same downtown shops and restaurants. When the world is on our doorstep during this fall’s art fair frenzy - EXPO in September and SOFA in November, we will have chances to show our best side to those looking for a taste of Chicago. But many who call Chicago home probably first came to the city as tourists. Whatever we saw made us want to stay. And what we do next will make others follow for generations to come.Enjoy our latest&nbsp;edition of CGN, and we wish you an art-filled fall!&nbsp;

Publisher’s Letter: Cultural Offerings Benefit Everyone

BY AMANDA ROSCOE MAYO&nbsp;

Chicago is no stranger to social injustices and violence. This past summer alone the south side saw the city&rsquo;s most violent and deadly weekend to date (as of press time in August 2014) with 84 people shot and 14 killed over the Fourth of July weekend. An abundance of stray bullets wounds unintended targets on a regular basis. Bullets do not discriminate; they pierce the young and the old regardless of the color of their skin, gang affiliation, or religious beliefs.&nbsp;

There are, however, areas of Chicago that are hotter than others for gun violence. To document the atrocities in these danger zones, with a focus on youth, photographer Carlos Javier Ortiz spent eight years embedded in several of the most troubled communities on the South Side, taking his various film cameras to the streets, capturing moments in the lives of those affected&mdash;documenting vigils, prom, graffiti, the aftermath of recent shootings, church services, funerals, and individuals. The project also includes Ortiz&rsquo;s collection of &ldquo;wanted&rdquo; fliers offering rewards for information leading to the arrest of individuals responsible for the death of a loved one in the community. These fliers, photographs, essays, and letters describing the weight of the community&rsquo;s experience are published as a book titled, We All We Got.

Donning the same name and on view at David Weinberg Gallery, We All We Got is also an exhibition of Ortiz&rsquo;s photographs, fliers, polaroids, and more; the show marks a turn for the gallery. For the past decade Weinberg has operated his River North space as a venue for group photography shows and a showroom for his own photography. Beyond the art world Weinberg has long been vested in educational reform in Illinois as chairman of the board of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and as a board member of the Noble Network of Charter Schools; through his regular work with the city, he is more than mindful of the daily challenges Chicago youths face. Combining his dual passions, now David Weinberg Gallery will focus on photography centered on social justice. The model Weinberg has created is one where the art community and the non-profits working to improve the quality of life for those affected can come together and offer the public the chance to not only be moved by art but to use it to make a difference. Each exhibition will identify a certain area of interest, and Weinberg will select two or three non-profit beneficiaries. For Carlos Javier Ortiz&rsquo;s exhibition Weinberg will donate proceeds to &ldquo;Kids Off the Block&rdquo; and &ldquo;Youth Service Project.&rdquo; Both organizations are hard at work in Chicago to provide support and alternatives to youth who face the demons of drugs, juvenile detention, violence, and other challenging circumstances. &nbsp;

Photography has a long history of documenting a community; it is a medium that allows the rest of the world to see what shapes that community and gives those involved a chance to be self-reflective. Traditionally we know this type of work as photojournalism, but there are also fine art photographers using photojournalistic tactics to make bodies of work. Ortiz cites Eugene Richards, Dorothea Lange, and W. Eugene Smith as references, which is apt because of style as well as content. Richards, Lange, and Smith all notably captured the effects of war, economic decline, poverty, and violence, largely in the United States. Ortiz&rsquo;s observations on the South Side have made this body of work both personal and relatable.&nbsp;

Art can provide access to a charged, complicated issue that is otherwise unattainable to someone not facing the challenges being captured. Do most Chicago residents really know how bad things are for the victims of violence? How can we? Ortiz shows as much as he can. His images don&rsquo;t just depict death - they tell the story of those who have survived and must go on living. What gives the photographer&rsquo;s images their power is their raw truth, along with the citizen&rsquo;s knowledge that something must be done to decrease this violence and give youth a fighting chance. By partnering with organizations who are already doing critical work in the communities affected, Weinberg&rsquo;s gallery has an opportunity to use art to progress change. Though certainly optimistic, the effort is a worthy, timely one.&nbsp;

To advance this exhibition and new gallery direction, many events will be offered to both the art community and the related social justice non-profits here. This fall an opening reception celebrating Ortiz&rsquo;s work and his book&rsquo;s publication will take place October 10th. The following day there will be an artist talk by Ortiz and a book signing. On October 15th the event moves out of the gallery to &ldquo;Art Works Project for Human Rights&rdquo; to get to the core of the exhibition: youth violence and neglect. As an organization &ldquo;Art Works Project&rdquo; tackles major human rights issues throughout the world, such as genocide, women&rsquo;s rights, human trafficking, and child labor. Hosting this panel regarding the affects of violence among youth in Chicago signifies that this large issue is screaming for attention. The panelists are Alex Kotlowitz (author and contributor to Ortiz&rsquo;s book), Luke Anderson (an advocate involved in urban education in Chicago), Diane Latiker (Founder and Director of &ldquo;Kids Off the Block&rdquo;) and Carlos Javier Ortiz (the artist). It is Weinberg and Ortiz&rsquo;s hope that these various events can serve as entry points into the project and the issue at hand. We All We Got is an opportunity for members of the art world, and the public, to become part of a conversation and potentially another means of support for a community desperately in need of resolution.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Carlos Javier Ortiz: We All We Got

October 10, 2014 &ndash; January 5, 2015

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/david-weinberg-photography">David Weinberg Gallery</a>, 300 W. Superior, Chicago (60607)

&bull; Opening Reception and Book Signing: October 10, 5-8 PM

&bull;Artist Talk and Book Signing: October 11, 1-3pm

&bull;&nbsp;Panel Discussion: October 15, 6-8pm at Art Works Projects for Human Rights, 1137 W. Taylor, No. 113, Chicago (60607)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Image at top: Carlos Javier Ortiz, LiL Al ,&nbsp; 24&rdquo; x 36&rdquo;

We All We Got: Art Supports Social Change

BY MEGAN BONKE

Science or Art? Left brain or right brain? It actually takes both sides of our brain to perform complex tasks like math, art, science, and writing, and sometimes it can be helpful to remember that being creative and logical are not mutually exclusive.

With this year&rsquo;s Chicago Artist&rsquo;s Month theme, Crossing Borders, in mind, I spoke to two Northwestern medical students who just started their second year, who have personally embraced art and consider their professional lives better because of it. One appreciates the break art provides from the usual grueling medical school schedule. The other sees opportunities for new approaches to high-stakes problem solving. Frank Borrows double majored in Biology and Physics and minored in Chemistry at the University of Virginia and is currently obtaining a duel MD/PHD degree. Blake Platt received a Bachelor&rsquo;s in Chemistry from John&rsquo;s Hopkins and aspires to become a surgeon. - MB

&nbsp;

<h4>When did you first begin a regular art practice and why? How often do you practice art?</h4>

Frank Barrows: I remember painting or drawing all the time as a little kid. When playing the Game of Life, I would always try and be the artist, but I would also try and have the highest wage. Now, during the school year, on the weekend immediately following exams, I paint.

Blake Platt: At the beginning of school last year, I needed a hobby. I played baseball in college, but since then I&rsquo;ve had a sort of void. I have always wished I could draw, and one day I decided to try. Once I started I had a lot of fun, so I just kept at it. Now, after I finish studying every night I pick out something to sketch or paint and fiddle around with it for about an hour before I go to bed.

&nbsp;

<h4>How would you describe your work?</h4>

FB: Wonky. Where I feel confident, I like messing with perspective. In actuality I&rsquo;ll have some drinks, get kind of messed up and just paint into the night instead of studying sometimes.

<img alt="" data-caption="Frank Barrows, &lt;i&gt;I Don’t Like Flying&lt;/i&gt;, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 11” x 14” " data-rich-file-id="425" height="324" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/425/original/barrows1.jpeg" width="432" />

&nbsp;

BP: What I have painted is what I would mostly describe as slightly abstract, sometimes geometric landscapes. I just really like water and color.

<img alt="" data-caption="Blake Platt, &lt;i&gt;The Dunes&lt;/i&gt;, 2014, acrylic, 14&quot; x 17&quot;" data-rich-file-id="426" height="281" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/426/original/bp-art.jpg" width="438" />

<h4>&nbsp;</h4>

<h4>Do creativity and art help you in medical school?</h4>

FB: Since I started painting again, my life is better in general. Art is completely stress free for me. Painting is where I get to be productive and creative and not just sit and watch Netflix, but also not study.

BP: Absolutely. You can tell when we were studying anatomy because I drew all of these [sketches] and copied them from Frank Netters. Anatomy is a lot of visualization, especially with muscles - they have a three-dimensional place in the body, as well as a Latin name that&rsquo;s confusing, and an origin, insertion, and action with relation to bones. I spent a lot of time sketching body parts from cadavers, and that really helped me.

&nbsp;

<h4>What are some of the struggles of being a medical student, and does art supply any form of relief?</h4>

FB: The lack of flexibility we have in our lives while in medical school can be depressing. We sell our souls in hopes of becoming a doctor. Art helps, since I don&rsquo;t ever want to be strictly defined as a medical student, which can be difficult while in medical school.

BP: The larger picture of medicine is very much about problem solving, but I find that the first two years of medical school are very much about learning, then applying that knowledge to a situation, then regurgitating it on a test. We can get a one track mind and&nbsp; end up losing focus. Exercising a different part of our cognitive ability helps us see more.

&nbsp;

<h4>Northwestern UNIVERSITY Medical School requires a humanities program that requires three hours one day a week for one month for one semester a year. Tell me your experiences with this program.</h4>

FB: We would visit the Art Institute and walk around with an ex-Pathologist who was really into art. I remember we were supposed to examine a detail in art to transfer it to a detail in medical school. I was able to see a lot more than I would have on my own.

BP: We sculpted facial muscles onto a skull with clay. The woman who taught us teaches plastic surgeons how to sculpt ears and other body parts. It gives a broader sense of community - physicians are working with the human body, and so are artists, so is everyone. The program exposes you to something that you wouldn&rsquo;t necessarily do, and you find a part of yourself that you didn&rsquo;t know. I didn&rsquo;t know that I would enjoy this, but I love it.

<o><img alt="" data-caption="Blake Platt's anatomy skull" data-rich-file-id="424" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/424/original/anatomy-skull.jpeg" /></o>
<o>
&nbsp;

<h4>Any final thoughts on art and medicine for yourselves?</h4>

FB: As a medical student everything we do is critiqued so hard, and you have to set really high standards for yourself. I think I really enjoy making art because I&rsquo;m such a novice. So little is expected of me; I get recognition just for trying. That&rsquo;s really refreshing. Painting and artwork are so deep and rich, and I get a whole new world to explore in a completely pressure free environment, which is exhilarating.

BP: It&rsquo;s a well-known fact that doctors don&rsquo;t wash their hands as much as they should. Since the 1900&rsquo;s, everyone who has tried zealously to change this has died insane and poor because they have been shunned from the medical community. Recently, the Royal London Hospital commissioned members of the Royal College of Art to ask why the doctors were not washing their hands enough. The designers walked in and said that of course no one is washing their hands enough; everything is filthy. The furniture was designed in a way that was difficult to clean. Say I wash my hands and I take care of a patient and I go type; then I have to wash my hands again. If you are taking together and putting apart an engine, you&rsquo;re not going to wash your hands after every bolt, but that&rsquo;s essentially what doctors have to do. Now the hospital has commissioned this school to design furniture that is easy to clean and does not collect as much dust and dirt. It&rsquo;s still early, but it seems to have a lot of success. This is what I was talking about when I said we can get one-track minded. You can lose a sense of what the problems are where you only see a concept of the problem, and then someone comes in and says, &ldquo;Of course this is wrong. This is terrible, and this is very easy to fix.&rdquo;

Top Image: Blake Platt, Excerpt from Sketchbook, 2014
</o>

Crossing Borders: Practicing Medicine and Art

BY LAURA MILLER

I first met James Mespl&eacute; one day several years ago, when he stopped into the Chicago Gallery News office after visiting Printworks Gallery. He dropped off a catalogue from his upcoming show and shared a first hand explanation of his conceptually loaded work. Since that visit, and on many others, I&rsquo;ve been pleased to gain knowledge and history from the congenial, insightful Chicago artist.&nbsp;

Mespl&eacute;&rsquo;s intricate paintings link the past to the present through portrayals of historical imagery, mythical figures, and surrealist landscapes; fine details and vibrant, saturated colors fill his canvases. References to pop culture and modern themes dot his work along with the occasional glimpse of the artist himself.&nbsp;

Mespl&eacute; studied painting at the University of Missouri in his home state, and following his move to Chicago in 1968, graduated with honors from Northeastern Illinois University in 1970. He has taught art at various Chicago institutions over the years, including Francis W. Parker School, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Mespl&eacute; lives and works in Chicago where he is represented by Printworks Gallery, and his work is included in numerous public and private collections. - LM

Image shown at top of page:&nbsp;James Mespl&eacute;, Calliop&eacute;, Muse of Epic Song and Poetry, multi-media collage on paper, 2013-14, 7 &frac12;&rdquo; x 9 &frac12;&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="James Mesplé, &lt;i&gt;Clio&lt;/i&gt;, Muse of History, multi-media collage on paper, 2013-14, 7 ½” x 9 ½”" data-rich-file-id="444" height="546" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/444/original/clio-web.jpg" width="682" />

<h4>LM: How long have you lived in Chicago?&nbsp;</h4>

JM: I&rsquo;ve lived in Chicago since 1968. I was 19 when I moved here, and I&rsquo;m from a small town in the Ozarks called Nevada, Missouri. I had visited my brother in New York and my sister in Chicago in previous summers, so when I decided to leave the University of Missouri to finish my education, I chose Chicago.&nbsp;

<h4>Tell me about your recent summer exhibition, Mythic Faces &amp; Figures, at the Chicago Cultural Center and your upcoming fall show, Muse, at Printworks Gallery.&nbsp;</h4>

Mythic Faces and Figures at the Cultural Center included my larger canvases in egg tempera and oil, a mixed technique of painting that I originally learned from Thomas Hart Benton, whom I met through my teacher Fred Shane.&nbsp; This process gives luminous, brilliant color, which I very much like. &nbsp;

Muse, my Printworks exhibition, is a series of 33 new collages, made with a variety of water-soluble media, including ink, watercolor, gouache, casein, and acrylic painted over paper collages. Most of the works are small and intimate. The Muses inspire us in the diverse arts. Many people know about the nine Muses but few know their names or attributes. I hope everyone will stop by the gallery, see the exhibition, and pick up the free catalogue, which is really a small guide to the Muses. Once you know their names, you will see them pop up in works by writers as diverse as Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, and James Joyce. The Muses can take you on a journey to both the past and the future.

<h4>I always enjoy hearing your stories. Can you share a noteworthy memory about a triumph you&rsquo;ve encountered throughout your years as an artist?</h4>

In 1987, I was commissioned by Chicago City Ballet to create sets for Chicago!, a new ballet to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the city of Chicago. The premier was at the Chicago Theater on State Street. I couldn&rsquo;t miss the chance to put a monumental image of a golden Venus on the top of the Sears Tower (now Willis). It did not go unnoticed by the critics. This led me to produce a painting with similar images, which was included in my first international invitational exhibition at the Queens Museum in New York in 1988. The title of that exhibition was Classical Myth and Imagery in Contemporary Art. In the art world it is certainly true that &ldquo;one thing leads to another.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="James Mesplé, &lt;i&gt;Terpsichoré&lt;/i&gt;, Muse of Dance, multi-media collage on paper, 2013-14, 9 ½&quot; x 7 ½”" data-rich-file-id="445" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/445/original/terpsichore-web.jpg" />

<h4>Your work is loaded with vivid representations of classical figures, and nods to historic symbolism.&nbsp;Can you elaborate on your interest in mythology and historical subject matter?</h4>

I have always been interested in the narrative in my painting, and in my music as well. My preference is classical music. I like a beginning, a middle, and an ending. For me, it is rather like sex&mdash;the foreplay, the act of pleasure, and the climax. Remove any one of these three parts and something is definitely missing. Sometimes, in narrative painting, the story is only suggested and the viewers complete the action in their minds. These stories have as many different endings as there are viewers. We get out of a painting what we personally bring to it.&nbsp;

I love mythology because the narratives are always open to various interpretations. Often multiple meanings exist simultaneously, both mundane and profound; exoteric and esoteric. My interest in mythology began at an early age, encouraged by my grandfather, who shared with me the stories he learned from his father and grandmother. I find many similarities between his Osage (Native American) stories and the Greek Myths, since both deal with the forces of nature, the sky, the earth, and the creatures that live upon it. Carl Jung, of course, would claim archetypes exist in all cultures.

<h4>What do you find unique about Chicago&rsquo;s art community?&nbsp;</h4>

I find it a nurturing place to work because it is not market-driven. Art, whether a novel, a painting, or a symphony requires time, energy, and isolation in order to bring an artistic creation to completion.&nbsp;

Chicago provides a wonderful cocoon in which art can develop and mature before it emerges and takes its flight from the artist&rsquo;s studio. Other cities around the world have provided the same conditions for the development of art at different times, but the muse is fickle; she never stays in any one city forever. Chicago&rsquo;s location in the middle of the country was in the past a detriment, but it is now looking more like an asset, as people move away from the edges of the continent. For many Americans, the Great Lakes, the Prairie, and the Mississippi are still terra incognita, but in the new century, this is going to change. What will the art of the new century look like? Only one thing is certain. It won&rsquo;t look anything like work from the 20th century, which looked nothing like work from the 19th century, which looked nothing like work from the 18th century, etc., etc.

<h4>Are you in the middle of any big projects?&nbsp;</h4>

I am starting a new series of egg tempera and oil paintings on panels, which incorporate gesso relief in both the picture plane and the frames. The nature of the subjects and narratives are top secret at this time.&nbsp;

The twelve paintings will take me two years to complete. They should be ready for exhibition in the fall of 2016.

<img alt="" data-caption="James Mesplé, &lt;i&gt;Melpomené&lt;/i&gt;, Muse of Tragedy, multi-media collage on paper, 2013-14, 9 ½&quot; x 7 ½”" data-rich-file-id="446" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/446/original/melpomene-web.jpg" />

<h4>Do you have a favorite place in Chicago?</h4>

I love the conservatories at Garfield Park and Lincoln Park, and the Chicago Botanic Garden in Highland Park. I have been sketching plants in all these places since the early 1970s. At that time, when I was still teaching, I used to take my Francis Parker art students to the Lincoln Park conservatory to sketch.

<h4>What books /authors /poetry do you find yourself re-reading every so often? Any classics or old favorites that have really influenced you or your work?</h4>

Shakespeare, Edith Hamilton on Mythology, and Harry Thurston Peck&rsquo;s Classical Literature and Antiquities. Elise Paschen commissioned me to create a painting for the cover of a book of poems entitled Bestiary (Red Hen Press). Her poems, which draw upon her Osage heritage, I found both provocative and powerful. I reread Bestiary recently and found that her poems release a torrent of emotions and images, which any artist could draw upon for ideas.

<h4>Tell me about your studio practice. What is the typical evolution of one of your paintings, for example? How long will you work on a piece, and do you have a set plan when you begin or do elements develop as you work?</h4>

My normal practice is to get up, have breakfast, go out for a good coffee, and get back to start work by 9:30am or so and I work until 6pm, with a 30 minute lunch break. Often I return to the studio after dinner and work until about 10pm. My works begin with small thumbnail sketches that get transposed into small drawings, which are then gridded up to canvas size. The large paintings usually take about two months from beginning to completion. As I work on the pieces, often my plans change and I add or take away elements in the composition. Sometimes, I move on to a new work, only to return to an older work.

<h4>Describe your studio. Is it Organized and tidy, or more of a hodgepodge?&nbsp;</h4>

My studio fluctuates from being organized and neat to a hodgepodge, as I move to the completion of a project.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="James Mesplé, &lt;i&gt;Erato&lt;/i&gt;, Muse of Erotic Poetry, multi-media collage on paper, 2013-14, 9 ½&quot; x 7 ½”" data-rich-file-id="447" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/447/original/erato-web.jpg" />

<h4>What inspires you to produce work? Do you have a long list of ideas ready to go, or do you wait for a spark of some kind?</h4>

I have dozens, probably a hundred, sketch books full of ideas, quick sketches done on my travels to museums and intriguing places here and abroad. I refer to these constantly, and one sketch may inspire several works. However, I have come to the conclusion that I would need several lifetimes to make use of all of my sketches. Sometimes, ideas happen in dreams, and I get up and sketch them down before I lose them. Daydreams are easier.&nbsp;

<h4>Are there artists, past or present, whose work you really admire?</h4>

An early influence was Ivan Albright, whose paintings I first encountered in the Art Institute when I visited as a grade school student. In Missouri, I gained much from two of my earliest teachers, Fred Shane and Thomas Hart Benton. In Chicago, I was inspired by the Imagists, especially the paintings of Ed Paschke, who later hired me to give egg tempera workshops to his students at Northwestern. And I studied under Karl Wirsum, at the SAIC. And, of course, I am influenced by numerous Old Masters, especially Botticelli, Piero di Cosimo, and Martin Schoengauer.

<h4>You have a history of teaching at various educational institutions. How was your experience with teaching? Any comments on how the landscape has changed in art education, or on the current state of art education?</h4>

I taught full time for ten years at the Francis Parker School, and part time at the studios in the School of the Art Institute.&nbsp; I enjoyed both, but teaching never left me with enough time for my work.&nbsp; I have been away from teaching for years, so I cannot speak authoritatively on the current situation.

CGN interviews artist James McNeil Mesple

Artist Insights: James McNeill Mesplé

This article appears in the September-December 2014 issue of Chicago Gallery News

In 1973 the Zhou Brothers launched their first artistic collaboration, Journey of Dreams. During the years and exhibitions that followed, the Zhou Brothers achieved global success as artists. In 2004, to share that success, they bought and renovated an abandoned warehouse building in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. Their mission was to build a creative community that would encourage and empower emerging artists who needed space in which to work, exhibit and collaborate. The Zhou B Art Center was born.&nbsp;

A decade later Bridgeport has become a dynamic Chicago art destination, monthly Third Friday open studios are must-attend events, and the center is affiliated with over&nbsp; 100 resident artists; it has exhibited the innovative art of more than 1,000 artists to date. 2014 is about celebrating the Zhou B Art Center at its 10th anniversary and looking ahead to the next 10 years. Everyone is invited to share the creative energy at the Zhou B Art Center this season.

Images at top: Left:&nbsp;ShanZuo Zhou and DaHuang Zhou, Zhou Brothers performance: Mike White Photography; Right:&nbsp;Exterior of the Zhou B Art Center: Erin Zhoushi, Chromacity Studios

<h4>Upcoming exhibitions and events:</h4>

&nbsp;

September 9-October 10

Snow City Arts, Group show

Gala September 12

&nbsp;

October 17-November 16

&bull; Feeling is Liberty, Zhou Brothers solo show

&bull; Centerline Ten, Zhou B Artsits group show

&nbsp;

October 18 and 19

&bull; Bridgeport Art Walk

&bull; Open House Chicago

&nbsp;

<h3>Zhou B Art Center</h3>

1029 W. 35th St., Chicago, IL 60609

Tel 773-523-0200 &bull; Gallery hours: M-Sa 10-5

<a href="mailto:info@zhoubartcenter.com?subject=Message%20about%20CGN%20On%20the%20Cover">info@zhoubartcenter.com</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.zhoubartcenter.com">www.zhoubartcenter.com</a>

ON THE COVER: Zhou B Art Center - A Dream Realized

BY FRANCK MERCURIO

In the history of Western art (and Western thought) there is a sense that we humans are separate from nature. Traditional landscape paintings provide prime examples of this perspective; from the frescoes of Classical antiquity to the romanticized paintings of the 19th century, Western artists have framed landscapes as picture windows with viewers safely distanced from the depicted &ldquo;wildness.&rdquo;

But as the environmental movements of the late 20th century gained momentum, artists began to reflect a different philosophy in their work: a growing awareness that humans are in fact an integral part of nature. Their subtext: the more we destroy ecological systems, the faster our own potential demise as a species.

Currently, the devastating effects of climate change, dwindling biodiversity, and unprecedented levels of pollution, have lent a greater urgency to the voices of artists. Two Chicago group exhibitions in 2013 featured a range of international artists who explored the effects of environmental degradation in their art: Climate of Uncertainty at the DePaul Art Museum and Suicide Narcissus at the Renaissance Society. Other recent shows focused on the responses of local, individual artists to environmental issues including the journalistic photographs of Terry Evans in Fractured: The North Dakota Oil Fields at the Field Museum and the conceptual installations of Heidi Norton: Prismatic Nature at the Elmhurst Art Museum.

Through a partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), EXPO CHICAGO has been especially committed to exhibiting the works of contemporary artists concerned with human/nature relationships. In 2012 NRDC presented two installations at EXPO, drawing attention to the Chicago River and the challenges of fresh water ecology: Maya Lin&rsquo;s Chicago River and Gordon Matta-Clark&rsquo;s Garbage Wall. In 2013, NRDC and EXPO continued the partnership by bringing the works of Seattle artist and environmental advocate Vaughn Bell to Chicago.

This year at EXPO (held September 18-21), NRDC will present a large-scale installation by Chicago and Los Angeles-based artist Jenny Kendler. Titled Tell It To The Birds, the installation will be created within a typical 10 by 40 foot EXPO gallery booth and will feature photo-print wallpaper of lichens (with images sourced through lichenologists from the Field Museum) and shelves displaying some 25 of Kendler&rsquo;s signature porcelain bird sculptures. The centerpiece will be a dome-shaped structure that invites visitors to &ldquo;communicate with the birds&rdquo;&mdash;participants&rsquo; human voices will be &ldquo;translated&rdquo; into bird songs through a custom-made software application.

This whimsical piece has at its heart a serious message and a subtle call to action, encouraging visitors to consider their own personal ties to the natural environment. Explains Kendler, &ldquo;Cross species empathy is the first step in protecting nature.&rdquo;

Kendler is NRDC&rsquo;s first-ever artist-in-residence, a position that has allowed her to create larger and more public works, such as Tell It To The Birds. It has also enabled the artist to work with the organization&rsquo;s scientists to communicate facts about the environment to a wider audience through her art.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a great collaborative experience,&rdquo; says Kendler about her residency. &ldquo;The NRDC staff members are respectful of the artistic process.&rdquo;

Elizabeth Corr, the NRDC&rsquo;s manager of arts partnerships and events developed the residency program when NRDC was seeking to expand its audience and engage a new environmental audience beyond the organization&rsquo;s core constituency.

&ldquo;We were looking for ways to more effectively reach out to more diverse groups of people,&rdquo; says Corr. &ldquo;Artists bring a visual component to the discussion that is critical.&rdquo;

The Artist-in-Residence program has had unexpected results for NRDC. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s been a mutual back-and-forth between scientists and Jenny,&rdquo; explains Corr. &ldquo;Staff members now think about their work in different ways.&rdquo;

Case in point: a performative piece envisioned by Kendler to help distribute seeds of native milkweed plants, vital for the continued survival of monarch butterflies whose populations have plummeted in recent years. Titled Milkweed Dispersal Balloons, the piece includes performers giving away helium-filled balloons containing milkweed seeds to the general public.

Kendler describes Milkweed Dispersal Balloons as &ldquo;a beautiful gesture with a real, practical effect.&rdquo; The performance piece empowers the everyday person, who might not know about the monarch&rsquo;s plight, to be the agent of positive change through the distribution of milkweed plants. Funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Arts Foundation and the Rauschenberg Foundation, Milkweed Dispersal Balloons debuted in St. Louis at the end of July and in Chicago in early September.

Artists such as Kendler and organizations such as NRDC, are creating dialogues between contemporary artists, environmental scientists, and the art-viewing public.

Through the visual communication of art, they are encouraging all of us to contemplate and re-evaluate our relationships with and connections to nature.

&nbsp;

Top image: Artist Jenny Kendler distributing her Milkweed Dispersal Balloons. Photo: Carly Hilo for the Pulitzer Arts Foundation

Realizing Human Relationships with Nature through Art

By KEVIN NANCE

In 1986, two young brothers, ShanZuo and DaHuang Zhou, visited Chicago to attend an exhibition of paintings they had created together in their home country of China. The brothers&rsquo; unique partnership&mdash;they collaborated on large canvases on which their sensibilities melded into a cohesive, though not always seamless, whole&mdash;had already made them rising art stars in Beijing. In Chicago, it was an even greater curiosity, in part because Americans think of visual artists as the ultimate individualists working in isolation, chasing intensely personal visions that no one else, not even a sibling, could possibly share.&nbsp;

Two painters, one painting: How could that work?

Twenty-eight years later, the Zhou Brothers are still in Chicago, still raising eyebrows with their seemingly counterintuitive process of making art as a team. The difference now is that piece after piece, exhibit after exhibit, they&rsquo;ve proved the wisdom and fertility of their collaboration. They are fixtures of the international contemporary art scene, their paintings fetching prices starting in the six figures in the United States and Asia. (They also create sculpture, the largest examples of which currently sell for up to $8 million.)&nbsp;

The brothers also loom large in realms beyond the art world, making paintings as a form of performance art in front of business and political leaders at gatherings such as the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in 2000. In 2011, President Obama commissioned the Zhou Brothers to create a painting that he presented to China&rsquo;s president, Hu Jintao, in a private ceremony attended by the brothers at the White House.

But even as the Zhou Brothers&rsquo; career has expanded into most corners of the globe, they have anchored themselves in Chicago, specifically in the South Side&rsquo;s Bridgeport neighborhood. They live and work in a former Polish social club, which now contains a vast, airy, light-filled studio where they create their paintings, often working on up to 15 large pieces at once. (Sometimes the brothers paint with the stretched canvases lying flat on the floor, sometimes standing up, sometimes both at different stages.) And two blocks away, the Zhou B Art Center, a sprawling complex of galleries, artist studios and event spaces established by the brothers at 1029 W. 35th Street, is preparing to celebrate its tenth anniversary this fall.

&ldquo;Chicago feels like home,&rdquo; ShanZuo says in a recent interview in the garden of their Bridgeport complex. (DaHuang is the younger of the pair, although both brothers, who keep themselves fit and favor stylish, form-fitting outfits and hipster hats, appear significantly younger than their actual ages, which they declined to reveal.) &ldquo;At first we didn&rsquo;t intend to remain in Chicago, but once we got here, we felt like we need to stay,&rdquo; DaHuang says. &ldquo;Chinese artists are a little shy, a little humble, singing very deep. In America, it&rsquo;s more powerful, more direct.&rdquo; He smiles. &ldquo;Here you show your muscle.&rdquo;

*

In their earliest artistic efforts in China, the Zhou brothers trained and painted separately, but they came together as a team in 1973. &ldquo;At first it was just for fun,&rdquo; ShanZuo says. &ldquo;Collaboration among scholars and calligraphers is a tradition in China, so we thought we would try.&rdquo;

But the brothers quickly realized two things. One was that their collaboration wasn&rsquo;t always fun. As part of the process, each brother has the freedom to cancel out&mdash;to &ldquo;destroy,&rdquo; in their blunt terminology&mdash;what the other has done by altering, augmenting or erasing it entirely. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s totally free to do anything,&rdquo; ShanZuo says, &ldquo;I am free to do anything, including to cover over what he&nbsp;did.&rdquo;

From the start, then, their collaboration was rooted at least as much in conflict as in harmony. When they paint, the brothers&rsquo; separate identities neither merge nor disappear; rather, they engage in a dialogue, one responding to the other, and sometimes the conversation can become a bit heated.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Sometimes he gives you a surprise,&rdquo; DaHuang says of his brother. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re working very smoothly, developing something, feeling very comfortable with it, and then he comes in and goes&nbsp;pah-pah-pah-pah-pah! And everything is destroyed. It&rsquo;s hard to take sometimes. You respect his talent, but it doesn&rsquo;t mean you don&rsquo;t get angry.&rdquo;

But out of that destruction and those sometimes raw emotions also came something unexpected: a new form of art-making that produced results that neither brother could have accomplished on his own.&nbsp; &ldquo;At the beginning, we knew it was interesting, but we didn&rsquo;t know how&nbsp;special it was, how important it was,&rdquo; DaHuang says. &ldquo;But more and more as we worked together, we realized the value&nbsp;of the collaboration. People think we have&nbsp;the same idea and bring harmony to it before coming to the canvas. That&rsquo;s wrong. The value of&nbsp;the collaboration is that it opens up things that couldn&rsquo;t happen any&nbsp;other way. When you paint by yourself, no matter how great a painter you are&mdash;Picasso, whatever&mdash;you won&rsquo;t have the courage to destroy your own painting. You&nbsp;think you are always right. But two people together, they don&rsquo;t care. You paint something amazing, but he destroys it, because he sees it differently. And with this kind of fighting, something comes out in the painting&nbsp;that&rsquo;s never happened before. It&rsquo;s a mystery, and it creates a new magic.&rdquo;

The greatest mystery, perhaps, is that for all the struggle implicit in their creation, the paintings often arrive at a place of harmony, or at least a balance of elements, however precarious. Sometimes the balance has the feeling of competitors battling each other to a draw; other times, a natural order is achieved, like planets threatening to collide but slipping, at the last moment, into alignment.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s quite unique, what they do,&rdquo; says Kuiyi Shen, Director of the Chinese Studies Program and Professor of Asian Art History, Theory and Criticism at the University of California, San Diego. Shen is also author of the introductory essay in Zhou Brothers: 30 Years of Collaboration, published in 2004 in connection with an exhibition mounted by the Chicago Cultural Center and the Elmhurst Art Museum. &ldquo;They start from differences, from their own places, and then there&rsquo;s a competition&mdash;a confrontation, actually. But gradually, the two sides get together, and that results eventually in harmony.&rdquo;

Sergio Gomez, curator and director of exhibitions at the Zhou B Art Center, often finds himself awed by how the brothers repeatedly manage to find equilibrium. &ldquo;What makes it work for them is their culture of trust,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Sometimes when you see them together, you have a sense that they&rsquo;re connecting in a language besides the verbal. Many times they fight, but at the end, the whole comes together and it turns out to be incredibly beautiful.&rdquo;

As ShanZuo puts it, &ldquo;Sometimes after a while, you both see something, and it&rsquo;s good. You stop right there. The painting is done.&rdquo;

*

The Zhou Brothers&rsquo; work has evolved considerably over the decades. &ldquo;As artists, when you start to feel like you satisfy yourself, you always pursue a different thing,&rdquo; DaHuang says. &ldquo;You always look for the best way to make your art go further, go beyond.&rdquo;

&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re young, you think you can do everything,&rdquo; his brother adds. &ldquo;But it takes a long time to find your own style.&rdquo; DaHuang nods. &ldquo;The most important thing is what kind of artistic language you create for yourself.&rdquo;

Their first collaborations in the 1970s were often representational and narrative-based, inspired by Chinese folklore&mdash;one early painting, currently on display in their dining room, shows a mythical beast being slain&mdash;and primitive cave drawings. In the &rsquo;80s, the brothers pushed their engagement with 5,000 years of Chinese art history into the realms of modern art, producing work that, while grounded in tradition, increasingly responded to the international art world in a way that combined the ancient and the cutting-edge.

After settling in Chicago, the brothers spent the &rsquo;90s soaking up influences from their new environment, producing a body of work that was both heavier in texture and more abstract. In those paintings&mdash;several of which remain on view through Oct. 4 at the Zhou B Art Center as part of an exhibit called Zhou Brothers: American Period&mdash;minimalist figures (often secret self-portraits) are prominent, strolling through somber color fields illuminated by lightning flashes of vibrant red.

Since the turn of the millennium, the Zhou Brothers&rsquo; paintings have become almost entirely abstract, decorative and free-flowing, most traces of narrative and the figure having been eliminated. Texture is more important than ever, the canvases rougher, the paint thicker and more three-dimensional. The paintings are more gestural, more intuitive and more concerned with a fluid kind of movement, than before&mdash;a fluidity not of things but of emotions, reflecting their philosophy that &ldquo;feeling is liberty.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Our work is not about thinking, it&rsquo;s about feeling,&rdquo; ShanZuo says. &ldquo;When we paint, something is flowing there, you just have to feel it. It&rsquo;s like tai chi [a Chinese self-defense discipline now used primarily as exercise and stress reduction]. It doesn&rsquo;t look powerful, but the power is there.&rdquo;

Accordingly, the brothers engage in a minimum of chatter when they paint. &ldquo;Originally we talked and planned,&rdquo; DaHuang says. &ldquo;Later we realized we don&rsquo;t have to talk too much.&rdquo;

ShanZuo nods. &ldquo;The painting itself,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;is the conversation.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

Image shown at top of page:&nbsp;The Zhou Brothers, DaHuang Zhou and ShanZuo Zhou, in their Bridgeport studio. Photo: Kevin Nance, 2014

&nbsp;

Kevin Nance is a Chicago-based freelance writer and photographer. Twitter @KevinNance1

&nbsp;

The Zhou Brothers: Four Decades of Collaboration

SOFA, Chicago&rsquo;s art fair fixture, (it has 21 years to EXPO&rsquo;s 3), brings a unique experience to Navy Pier each November. Its focus on sculpture, fiber, glass, jewelry, wood and more 3-dimensional art is eye-opening to even the most seasoned visitor. Design has also been making a logical and welcome mark on the fair in recent years, since the ties between art and function are so visible at SOFA.

Watch for museum-style presentations by renowned institutions and organizations, including Cranbook Academy of Art, Pittsburg Glass Center, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and Collectors of Wood Art.

SOFA Selects, which features favorites of designers, curators and critics, includes Suzanne Lovell, Kara Mann, Emily Zilber and Davira Taragin, and James Yood.

Dates, details and info at <a href="http://sofaexpo.com">sofaexpo.com</a>

&nbsp;

Image at top:&nbsp;SOFA CHICAGO 2013, Photo by Cheri Eisenberg

SOFA at 21

<h3>Passings</h3>Ruth Horwich was a spirited, devoted collector of art and a passionate patron of cultural institutions. She died July 21, 2014 at the age of 94. Ruth collected art with her late husband, Leonard, and she continued to actively collect after his death over 30 years ago. Some of Ruth’s most notable contributions to the Chicago cultural community were a collection of Alexander Calder mobiles and stabiles to the Museum of Contemporary Art (which she and her husband helped found) and the now iconic black and white Jean Dubuffet sculpture, Monument with a Standing Beast, installed outside the James R. Thompson Center. Ruth was chair of the Hyde Park Art Center for 40 years and a board member of Poetry magazine and the Art Institute of Chicago.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>Anniversaries: 40, 25 and 10</h3>The University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art celebrates its 40th season in 2014–15 with two museum-wide exhibitions. Launching September 27, Carved, Cast, Crumpled: Sculpture All Ways takes over the entirety of the Museum. Following, Objects and Voices: A Collection of Stories (opening February 12, 2015) will showcase 17 micro-exhibitions by guest curators with a relationship to the Smart.&nbsp;Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, the city’s longest-running independent print&nbsp;workshop, is&nbsp;celebrating&nbsp;its 25th year with a retrospective, sponsored by The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, at Expo 72, opening November 14. The exhibition will feature over 50 CPC-affiliated artists and a mini workshop. A complimentary exhibit at&nbsp;Prairie State College will run November 17-December 11.The Golden Triangle, one of Chicago’s largest home furnishings stores and a national resource for fine Asian and European antiques, turns 25 this October. Established in 1989 by Douglas Van Tress and Chauwarin Tuntisak, The Golden Triangle originally sold artifacts and antiques from Thailand. Today the store includes collectables from all over Asia and Europe, and, since 2006, modern furnishings made from reclaimed exotic hardwoods as well as contemporary Chicago-made case goods and upholstered sofas and chairs.Western Exhibitions marked its 10th anniversary this past summer. The gallery started out as a nomadic enterprise but opened as a West Loop brick and mortar space in 2004.&nbsp;The Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport will host The 10 Years of Art Innovation, a three-day event October 15-17. Brothers and artistic collaborators&nbsp;DaHuang and ShanZuo Zhou opened the center in 2004&nbsp;to create an art community to empower and mentor emerging artists. Events include an artist’s lunch, The Zhou B Gala, and Crossing Borders Third Friday.&nbsp;<h3>Moves and Changes</h3>Bert Green Fine Art has relocated to a new suite (#620) at 8 S. Michigan Ave.Pagoda Red Winnetka moved to 911 Green Bay Rd., just down from its previous location.KM Fine Arts moved from the John Hancock Center to 43 E. Oak Street, Suite B.&nbsp;Lawyers for the Creative Arts named Jan Feldman as Executive Director, following the retirement on May 1, 2014 of William Rattner. Rattner led the organization for 14 years.David Weinberg Gallery has a new mission: to provide an engaging environment for discourse on critical contemporary issues that concern our community. Joining artists with organizations in support and solidarity of their cause, the gallery will work to produce tangible change and cultivate a culture of consciousness.&nbsp;<h3>Welcome to CGN</h3>We are pleased to welcome Alan Koppel Gallery, 806 N. Dearborn, just off Chicago Ave. between River North and Michigan Ave. Moberg Gallery at deAurora in the Merchandise Mart, Ste. 1499, features contemporary painting and sculpture paired with the finest quality furnishings and accessories.&nbsp;In the West Loop Western Exhibitions, 845 W. Washington, represents a varied roster of conceptually-minded, visually innovative artists. The gallery also maintains an inventory of artist books and multiples, gathered as a sister entity and website, WesternXeditions.com. Aspect/Ratio, run by owner Jefferson Godard at 119 N. Peoria, is unique in Chicago, specializing in contemporary video art by emerging and established artists.&nbsp;In Pilsen Colby Gallery, 1626 W. 18th St., showcases avant-garde international artists.&nbsp;Regards is a brand new space at 2216 W. Chicago in Ukrainian Village run by wife-and-husband Natalie Popovic Schuh and Mike Schuh.&nbsp;In Joliet Bullet Fine Art specializes in the “Graphic Fine Art” works of artist/designer/photographer “Bullet.” Gallery Seven is a fine art photography gallery located in historic downtown Joliet, featuring work by nine participating co-op photographers.The Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion at University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign is the second largest general fine art museum in Illinois and cares for the University of Illinois art collection. The museum is affiliated with the School of Art + Design at Illinois and the College of Fine + Applied Arts.Ayla’s Originals is a bead and jewelry boutique on the North Shore in Evanston.&nbsp;Bardo Consulting Group, Inc. helps clients acquire, maintain and disperse valuables through a network of specialists in appraisal, estate planning, conservation, framing, finance, insurance, law, security and taxation.Cynthia Noble Private Art Tours and Events offers private guided visits to art museums, galleries, private collections and public sculpture and architecture in Chicago and beyond.&nbsp;

News: Anniversaries, Moves and Welcomes

Metropolitan Capital has been a local champion of Chicago art for several years now. The bank&rsquo;s ongoing quarterly series, Chicago Works, showcases local stars in its decidedly un-bank-like space in the former Tree Studios in River North. This fall they feature the colorful art of Richard Hull.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="438" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/438/original/hull-three-dreams-2003-72x60-copy.jpg" />

Hull&rsquo;s work is recognized as an abstraction of architecture, landscape, and the figure. Over the years his work has evolved from deconstructed and imagined maps of interior spaces, featuring bright, contrasting colors which animate the interacting forms, to more lyrical, organic compositions of looser, swirling shapes. Hull&rsquo;s most recent work explores the abstraction of the figure, using the composition of a traditional portrait as a base for his animated exploration of surface and form.

For more information about Richard Hull, his work and the Metropolitan Capital exhibition, please visit <a href="http://metcapbank.com">metcapbank.com</a> or contact Western Exhibitions at 312-480-8390 or visit <a href="http://westernexhibitions.com">westernexhibitions.com</a>

Richard Hull at Metropolitan Capital

The Midwest may not have steep mountain ranges to brag about, nor deep oceans to swim in, but our own subtle natural assets are certainly stunning. Our lakes, prairies, forests and beaches provide locals and visitors a sense of place and offer inspiration to everyone, including artists.

One local organization that helps encourage us to slow down, engage our senses, and experience our natural environment is northshore-based Openlands. As part of Openlands&rsquo; mission to establish a connection between people and nature, it integrates a multitude of art forms into open spaces, ranging from installations at the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve to murals that grace area schools and community gardens.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Terry Evans, Oak Street Beach, Chicago, April 27, 2004" data-rich-file-id="435" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/435/original/evans43-copy.jpg" />&nbsp;

This fall, the charity will highlight critical links between nature and art, going beyond the usual vehicles of outdoor sculpture and landscape paintings. The Openlands 2014 Annual Luncheon on October 30 will focus on the capacity of public art to invite people into the natural landscape, inspiring and educating along the way. Openlands will honor photographer Terry Evans with its 2014 Conservation Leadership Award. Evans has photographed the prairies and plains of North America as well as the urban prairie of Chicago. Combining both aerial and ground photography, she delves into the intricate and complex relationships between land and people. Her work explores the virgin prairie, working steel mills, Greenland ice sheets, a small town in the Kansas Flint Hills and the oil boom in North Dakota. Evans collaborated with Openlands on two major projects, Disarming the Prairie about the former Joliet Arsenal, now Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, and Revealing Chicago: An Aerial Portrait, about the Chicago eco-region, which became both a book and an exhibition at Millennium Park. Evans is represented in Chicago by Catherine Edelman Gallery.

For more information visit <a href="http://openlands.org">openlands.org</a> and <a href="http://edelmangallery.com">edelmangallery.com</a>

&nbsp;

Openlands: Engaging Art + Nature

The Merchandise Mart, an Art Deco landmark towering 25 stories and occupying four million square feet, rests along the Chicago River as the epicenter of downtown Chicago life, culture, media, and business. Finished in 1930 The Merchandise Mart today serves as a monument to early 20th century merchandising and architecture.&nbsp;

The next time you visit the Mart, look up: the building&rsquo;s lavish riverside entrance features a 17-panel mural created by Jules Guerin (1866&ndash;1946), one of America&rsquo;s most important muralists of the 20th century. Titled Merchandise Around the World (1930), the mural is visible, way up towards the high ceiling, between square marble pillars that form a colonnade in the main atrium. The delicately colored panels with metal leaf background details each feature a market scene from a different country. Pictured scenes include Turkish rugs and textiles being sold in a bazaar next to a mosque; silk and pottery markets near Japan&rsquo;s Mount Fuji; sleighs carrying furs in Russia, and a caravan of camels carrying Egyptian cotton past a pyramid.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Pictured at work on the Merchandise Mart’s mural: Amber Smith, The Conservation Center’s Senior Painting Conservator. The mural grime was first eliminated with cotton swabs dipped in an aqueous solution, followed by organic solvents to remove the varnish. Amber elaborates: “Each cotton swab—measuring two-inches tall by half inch wide—took care of a 3” x 3” square surface." data-rich-file-id="436" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/436/original/amber-cleaning-copy.jpg" />

After 80 years, 38,000 daily visitors, and few previous cleaning attempts, Merchandise Around the World needed expert TLC. The Conservation Center dispatched four technicians who worked over night using just delicate cotton swabs for more than 630 hours. Says Amber Smith, The Center&rsquo;s Senior Painting Conservator, &ldquo;Once the panels were cleaned, the lobby immediately became brighter. We hope visitors to the Mart will again appreciate Guerin&rsquo;s masterpiece for Chicago.&rdquo;

Conserving a Mart Treasure

Soho House has come to Chicago, opening in the West Loop on August 11&nbsp;in a former belting manufacturing warehouse from 1907.&nbsp;

A London social club and hotel import, known as a chic meeting place for members of the creative industry, every Soho House takes on a distinct look and feel that celebrates and draws inspiration from its local area. In addition to the many early 20th century features native to the building, there are over 250 works by nearly 200 artists on display. Francesca Gavin, curator for Soho House, worked closely with local talent to build the group&rsquo;s largest collection to date, which includes art by renowned Chicago talents Michelle Grabner, Jos&eacute; Lerma, Enoc Perez, David Schutter, Theaster Gates, Molly Hartung Zuckerman, Ryan Travis Christian, Sheree Hovsepian, Jan Tichy and countless others. Five large canvas pieces are also featured on the ground floor by two artists originally from Chicago &mdash; Rashid Johnson and Angel Otero &mdash; as well as pieces by Damien Hirst, Harland Miller and Noble and Webster, all from Britain.

<img alt="" data-caption="Art by artist Michelle Grabner is part of the Soho House collection" data-rich-file-id="434" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/434/original/michelle-grabner-copy.jpg" />&nbsp;

113-125 N. Green St., Chicago (60607)

<a href="http://sohohousechicago.com">sohohousechicago.com</a>