Art Shorts
Good morning to those of you who aren't skiing at the moment. Forgot that it's President's Day weekend, which explains where everyone is -- somewhere even colder and more snowy, or someplace far, far warmer.

Before I forget everything, I wanted to go thru the rest of the galleries I visited on Saturday.

Susan Giles at Kavi Gupta -- a site specific construction like buttresses and a video (didn't see how they went together, but still...). Sat through the video for a little while -- of bikes racing and dipping and swirling down forest paths -- a bit like ESPN "xtreme sports" video -- then realized it would be great to see on a big Omnimax screen. She should consider it.

Nothing interesting except big chicken drawings at Kraft Lieberman/Belloc Lowndes by Mary Sprague. (Not sure which gallery since both names on door).

Tom Huck at Aron Packer: since I'm back to doing printmaking, this was the first show I aimed at once I made it down Peoria to the 119/120 buildings. They are giant woodcuts, cartoony, very male-bonding, flat, and did I mention HUGE? A bit R. Crumb-ish. There is nowhere to rest in these drawings. No where. Everywhere is flat and crowded with stuff, generally people or guy things. I appreciate the huge skill and vast amount of time it takes to do these things, but the imagery just doesn't appeal, in the same way that most graphic novels simply don't appeal. And wouldn't it be a terrible world if we were forced to like everything?

I was disappointed in the tiny David Gracie paintings, since I generally like his work a lot -- he's done some wonderful faces -- 19 identical paintings of what looks like the end of a plumb line done in his usual realistic style. Yeah, so? If he insisted that all be sold together I might buy it, since you could then spend hours looking at the subtle differences, but he'll sell you one of them for 400 bucks. Sorry, David.

Liked the Christopher Skura drawings (geometric marker, colored pencil, black sharpie) the best of the show. Had been relying on Aron putting images up on the web site, but they're not up yet, and didn't take my own pix, unfortunately.

Moving across the hall to Walsh are some big faces, and also about 500 Michael Miller layered drawings/prints/multiples, whatever. I really liked them, and they are very very affordable if you're in the art-buying mood. The big faces are by Won-Chul Jung hung from the ceiling on banners, black on translucent, wrinkly polyvinyl (I asked), each minute wrinkle in the skin of these old people lovingly traced. Prints on paper also available. Quite nice, somewhat psychedelic, as you get lost in the markings.

Heading up the stairs to Peter Miller, who just has gallery artists up, but with a really great new Jonathan Gitelson poster, "The Quitter," or "My Last Cigarette Ever," as he details hour by hour the smoking of each cigarette. If the guy decides to stop doing art he can always go into acting. Have seen them before, but also like the Stas Orlovski drawings hung in a bunch. Should stop now. They have one of the the strongest stable of artists in Chicago these days.

Except maybe (continuing up the stairs) Gescheidle. But that's the next post.
- posted by Cynthia @ 10:20 AM | | | Link |