2015: Ryan Duggan @ Rational Park

Above: Ryan Duggan standing before his artwork within "Discipline & Drunk Animals," during the show's opening reception on January 23, 2015, at Rational Park, 2557 W. North Avenue, Chicago, IL.

Ryan Duggan
"Discipline & Drunk Animals"
52 Prints / 52 Weeks
Hosted by Johnny Sampson
Rational Park
2557 W. North Avenue
Chicago, IL

http://www.rational-park.com/

http://www.ryanduggan.com/

"The year-long 'Print of the Week' series is coming to an end! The last print (POTW #52) will make its debut at this opening on Friday, January 23rd, 2015. All 52 prints from the series will be on display. Remaining stock of the prints will be for sale as well a small number of framed artist proofs for posters that have sold out. It's been a crazy year, come have a beer and see what I've been doing..."

Quotation above from: https://www.facebook.com/events/646983575407750/

Above: "POTW #52" 2015, 16x20 inches, hand-printed ink on paper, edition of 15, a self-portrait, and the final object in Duggan's year-long print-a-week project.

Above: Duggan's self-portrait affixed to Rational Park's storefront window, found during the show's opening reception on January 23, 2015, at 2557 W. North Avenue, Chicago, IL.

See related post:

http://chicagoartworld.blogspot.com/2014/02/2008-ryan-duggan-people-projects.html

Above:
Images (1 & 3) January 23, 2015;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos
Image (2) Copyright Ryan Duggan, reproduced here for commentary, criticism, and archival purposes only.

2014: Mandy Cano @ Cobalt Studio

Above: The artist Mandy Cano in Cobalt Studio during the opening reception for "Pure Blood" on March 8, 2014.

Mandy Cano
"Pure Blood"
March 8 - 26, 2014
Cobalt Studio
1950 W. 21st Street
Chicago, IL

2013 ACRE Summer Residency Exhibition

http://www.mandycano.com/

http://cobaltartstudio.blogspot.com/

http://www.acreresidency.org/

"Following the mass expulsion of Jews and Muslims during the late 1400s, Spain instituted laws of Limpieza de sangre. These laws distinguished the Jews and Muslims who had converted to Christianity from those who could trace their religious affiliation through family lineage. Having more to do with politics and ancestry than faith, Limpieza de sangre provided the grounds for extreme prejudice against those of 'unclean blood'. During the colonization of the Americas, the ideas behind Limpieza de sangre were transferred to a caste system that further built upon discrimination.

With these reconfigured shirts I examine the present-day manifestations of such views. Each shirt, given to me by a Latin American immigrant, was once worn for daily work. I have then unstitched and torn apart each shirt, re-forming it into a fragmented quilt. Referencing the uncleanliness Judaic and Muslim traditions have associated with pigs (and in turn, the pig’s redemptive connotations within a Christian tradition), I then soaked the piece-meal shrouds in pig’s blood. Questions arise. What is clean and un-clean? Who designates these definitions, and who lives by them? How have our cultural, ethnic and historical identities formed our current prejudices? And, in light of the influx of immigrants to the United States, who is asking these questions, and to whom?" - Mandy Cano

Quotation above from: http://cobaltartstudio.blogspot.com/2014/02/pure-blood-new-work-by-mandy-cano.html

Quotation above from: http://www.mandycano.com/WIP/A1/A1.html

Above:An installation view showing work shirts from Latin American immigrants, thread, pig's blood, and black-painted wood frames.

Above: John Salhus, left; Duk Ju L. Kim, center; Antonio Martinez, right;  opening reception for "Pure Blood" on March 8, 2014.

Above: A "Pure Blood" installation overview, in Cobalt Studio, on March 8, 2014.

Above: A detail of Mandy Cano's fiber work, in Cobalt Studio, on March 8, 2014.

Above:
Images (1-5) March 8, 2014;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

2013: Dana DeGiulio @ The Suburban

Above: Dana DeGiulio exits the Buick LeSabre sedan which she drove, backwards, into Michelle Grabner's gallery: The Suburban.

Dana DeGiulio
New work: "Untitled," with book release.
November 17, 2013
The Suburban
125 N. Harvey Avenue
Oak Park, IL

http://danadegiulio.com/

http://www.thesuburban.org/

1996 Buick LeSabre: 3.8 L V6-cylinder, 205 hp @ 5200 rpm, 17/27 mpg, front wheel drive, 4-speed automatic transmission, sedan, white in color.

The Suburban (gallery 1): 8 feet wide, 8 feet deep, ~9 feet high, concrete block walls, concrete floor, one steel door and one window; operated by Michelle Grabner and Brad Killam.

Dana DeGiulio: b. 1978, Chicago Heights, IL; BFA, 2001 and MFA, 2007, School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Instructor of Painting and Drawing at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2008).

Above: Dana DeGiulio exits her Buick LeSabre sedan, closing her opening reception on Sunday, November 17, 2013.

Above: The white, 1996, Buick LeSabre sedan which Dana DeGiulio crushed against The Suburban gallery.

Above: Evidence of the damage done, by Dana DeGiulio and her Buick, to the concrete block walls of The Suburban.

Above: Dana DeGiulio, right, with her Buick LeSabre sedan, after her opening reception on Sunday, November 17, 2013.

Above: Dana DeGiulio, right, with Buick, indicating the scale of The Suburban, gallery 1; note gallery 2, in background.

Read more:

Nick Bastis, Chicago Artist Writers, December 11, 2013:
http://chicagoartistwriters.blogspot.com/2013/12/dana-degiulio-at-suburban.html

Lise Haller Baggesen, Bad at Sports, December 20, 2013:
http://badatsports.com/2013/year-of-the-scavenger/

Matt Morris, Artforum, January 3, 2014:
http://artforum.com/archive/id=44566 (must register to view Artforum archive on-line)

Matt Morris:
http://mattmorriswerks.tumblr.com/post/67473012664/dana-degiulio-untitled-2013-suburban-oak-park

Above:
Images (1-6) November 17, 2013;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

2014: Sebastian Black & India Donaldson @ Queer Thoughts

Above: India Donaldson, left, Sebastian Black, right, at Queer Thoughts for their opening reception on March 1, 2014.

Sebastian Black and India Donaldson
March 1 - April 1, 2014
Queer Thoughts
1640 W. 18th Street
Chicago, IL

http://qtgallery.net/

http://malrauxsplace.com/

"Someone told me that the really good knockoff designer handbags are so good because they are made in the same factory as their authentic counterparts. You see for a short period of each workday, a drowsy seeming functionary in an office perched above the factory floor reaches across his desk, past his tidy little lunch items, and presses a button which quite literally stops the clock. Down below everything goes on as before. The tailors sew. The foremen pace. The floor manager hums an indiscernible melody. But none of this activity is inscribed or noted anywhere, except in the newly alert eyes of the functionary, which dart to and fro and miss nothing.

It is important to note that this process produces not two, but three species of handbag: the authentic made on the clock, the knockoff made off the clock, and the curious hybrid which is begun on one side of this critical schism and finished on the other. Though it is general practice to incinerate this mutant category, sometimes a bag is rescued and smuggled out of the factory. This bag is called a synthetic, not because it mimics an authentic bag, like the knockoff, but because it constitutes the rare physical example of sublation (aufeheben), a kind of calcified hyphen in the real-knockoff dialectic. In so doing, the synthetic undermines the atomistic nature of the categories real and knockoff, and illuminates how the meaning of each is predicated on the existence of its opposite. Obvi then they are the most expensive of the three bags, and I even saw a guy selling ashes that he claimed were scraped from one of the factory incinerators.

Me and India own a few of these bags but we prefer to call them Authentix, a term we feel more concisely captures their peculiar ontological vibe. We like to sit and look at them, for occasionally they come to life and they sing to us. At these moments we listen and understand that what we are hearing is some strange new hymn emanating from the vibrating nothing between the tuning fork prongs of use-value and exchange." - Sebastian Black

Quotation above from: http://qtgallery.net/pages/Exhibitions/Black_Donaldson.html

Above: "Authentix Sportsbra" left, "Authentix Parka" right, at Queer Thoughts on March 1, 2014.

Above: 18th Street in Pilsen, Chicago, on March 1, 2014, as seen while driving to the opening reception at Queer Thoughts.

Above: "Saudade" digital video at Queer Thoughts on March 1, 2014.

Above: The mostly young, mostly dark-clad crowd at Queer Thoughts on March 1, 2014, in spite of the weather.

Above:  "Authentix Parka" silk organza and cotton batting from Sebastian Black and India Donaldson at Queer Thoughts.

Above: Queer Thoughts, a/k/a QT, gallery exterior window on March 1, 2014.

Above:  "Authentix Sportsbra" wool felt, from Sebastian Black and India Donaldson at Queer Thoughts.

Above: The 1700 block of 18th Street at 10:00 PM on March 1, 2014.

Read more:

"The 15 Hottest Artists of the Summer" by Rozalia Jovanovic, Michael H. Miller, Andrew Russeth and Dan Duray, Gallerist, July 27, 2012:
http://galleristny.com/2012/07/the-15-hottest-artists-of-the-summer/

"10 Chicago Art Exhibitions to See This Winter" by Alicia Eler, Hyperallergic, January 14, 2014:
http://hyperallergic.com/102901/10-chicago-art-exhibitions-to-see-this-winter/

Above:
Images (1-9) March 1, 2014;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

2014: Ryan Peter Miller @ Chicago Artists Coalition

Above: Ryan Peter Miller with his artwork on January 10, 2014, during the opening of "Release Show" at Chicago Artists Coalition.

Ryan Peter Miller
"Release Show"
January 10-30, 2014
Chicago Artists Coalition
217 N. Carpenter Street
Chicago, IL

http://chicagoartistscoalition.org/

http://ryanpetermiller.com/

"'Release Show' presents new and recent works by six artists for their final HATCH Projects exhibition. Jesse Butcher's installation serves as memorial and altar to objects and text works that act as magic cards. James T. Green continues to wield cultural critique as a mode of investigation into his screen-based images. Kasia Houlihan weaves together the aesthetics and meanings of relationships as friendship bracelets that push size and scale. Christopher Meerdo's suite of prints are bright interventions that obfuscate and create new manifestations in the Icelandic landscape. Ryan Peter Miller's painthings go further as they expand into space and take on an architectonic quality. Rebecca Parker's videos are glimpses at the way family holiday rituals are performed from an uncanny perspective."

Quotation above from: http://chicagoartistscoalition.org/programs/hatch-projects/release-show

Above:
Image (1) January 10, 2014;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

2014: Carrie Schneider @ Monique Meloche

Above: Carrie Schneider with her single-channel video projection “Reading Women,” on January 11, 2014.

Carrie Schneider
"Reading Women"
January 11 – February 1, 2014
moniquemeloche gallery
2154 W. Division Street
Chicago, IL

http://carrieschneider.net/

http://moniquemeloche.com/

"To create “Reading Women,” I asked 70 female friends – mostly artists, writers and musicians – to each sit while reading a book of her choice, written by a female author, in her own home or studio for the duration of two hours using side-by-side photographic and video cameras. There is something rare about the depth of concentration experienced while reading, and it’s this moment I’m after: when the sitter loses awareness of the camera – and any semblance of a pose – forgetting her cultural performance.

Whether she chose to read the hardcover first edition autographed copy of Angela Davis’ 'An Autobiography,' (1974) borrowed from her late grandmother, or chose to read (for the eighth time) the dog-eared, used paperback version of Virginia Woolf’s 'To the Lighthouse,' (1927) – the sitter, her choice of book and its author, become linked. To underscore the importance of this connection, each photograph is titled after the sitter, the author, and the title and publication year of the book itself. Cumulatively, the archive reveals a constellation of influences and knowledge among my creative peers." - Carrie Schneider

Quotation above from: http://moniquemeloche.com/carrie-schneider-reading-women/

Above: "Dana reading Virginia Woolf (To the Lighthouse, 1927) from the series Reading Women (2012-2013)" (C) Carrie Schneider.

Above:
Image (1) January 11, 2014;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.
Image (2) Press image, moniquemeloche gallery, illustrating still photography in exhibition;
Copyright Carrie Schneider.

2014: Hope Esser & Daviel Shy @ The Hills

Above: Daviel Shy, left, and Hope Esser, right, following their performance at The Hills on February 14, 2014.

Hope Esser & Daviel Shy
"Take Aim"
February 14 - March 21, 2014
The Hills Esthetic Center
128 N. Campbell Avenue
Chicago, IL

Esser & Shy's first performance and opening reception, available on February 14, 2014, is documented here.

***A second performance, "Beware, Beloved: Ides of March Release Party," featuring a reading of poetry from "Letters Unsent" by Daviel Shy, and a mixtape entitled "That Were never Ours" by Hope Esser, is scheduled for 7:00 PM, March 15, 2014.***

http://hopeesser.com/

http://davielshy.com/

http://thehillsestheticcenter.com/

"'Take Aim' is an exhibition by Chicago artists Hope Esser and Daviel Shy at The Hills Esthetic Center. Esser and Shy, who were lovers from 2005-2011, have had parallel practices, running often extremely close but never intersecting. In 'Take Aim,' they negotiate the back and forth of collaboration, competition and cross-examination in a field of play. Drawing from the imagery of St. Valentine, the exhibition contains letter correspondence, interpretations of Man Ray’s Object to be Destroyed, and an altered game of badminton. The artists combine their tools of writing, film, sculpture, and performance into a Valentine’s Day jubilee of brokenheartedness. Ouch."

Quotation above from: http://www.thevisualist.org/2014/02/hope-esser-daviel-shy-take-aim/

Above: Artifacts in the gallery following the performance of "Take Aim" on February 14, 2014.

Above: The Hills' Michael Kloss, foreground, and Bad at Sports' Dana Bassett, background.

Above: Chelsea Culp, left, Leo Kaplan, center, and Ben Foch, right.

Above: Mia, left, with Chloe, right.

Above: Hope Esser on the badminton court during the performance of  "Volley" in "Take Aim" on February 14, 2014.

Above: Gonzalo, left, Sarah, center, and Alex Chitty at right, behind The Hills' tiki bar. 

Above: The Hills Esthetic Center live/work space, foreground, tiki bar, background.

Above: The Hills' Leo Kaplan.

Above: The Hills' Michael Kloss, left, and Bad at Sports' Dana Bassett, right.

Above: The Hills Esthetic Center gallery following the performance of "Volley" in "Take Aim" on February 14, 2014.

Above:
Images (1-16) February 14, 2014;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

2014: Craig Yu @ Devening Projects

Above: Craig Yu, foreground, "The Town Centers," background, at Devening Projects + Editions on January 26, 2014.

Craig Yu
"Phantom Limb"
January 26 - March 1, 2014
Devening Projects + Editions
3039 W. Carroll Street
Chicago, IL

http://craigyu.com/

http://deveningprojects.com/

Like some large format film cameras, 4x5 is the aspect ratio of the paintings in Craig Yu's current show.  Playing on that photographic reference, Yu favors the landscape over the portrait orientation.  And, not surprisingly, that's his chief subject here: the landscape, whether real, or imagined, or a surreal combination of the two.  With regard to rendering, if some colors have been called "loud," Yu's palette seems good to call "quiet."  Too, the works are not large.  In combination, the subtle tonal variations, the small scale, and the ambiguity of the subject matter, coax a slow, close approach.  As a regular viewer of contemporary art in Chicago, it's sort of rare not to be visually pummeled by an artist who aims to deprecate painting, and especially the commodity value thereof.  Pleasantly, the artist himself presents in a manner like unto the artworks; and that reinforces the rather genuine nature of the undertaking.

Above: "The Town Centers," 16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas over panel, 2013

Above: Craig Yu's "Phantom Limb" installed at Devening Projects + Editions, January 26 - March 1, 2014

Above: "Samples," 16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas over panel, 2010–2013

Above: "The Mountain," 16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas over panel, 2013, in foreground

Above: At Yu's opening, January 26, 2014, Wes Charles speaks to Nick Lippert in the lobby of 3039 W. Carroll Street.

Above: At Yu's opening reception, January 26, 2014, Nick Lippert at the door of 3039 W. Carroll Street.

Above:
Images (1-7) January 24, 2014;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.

2014: Sarah & Joseph Belknap @ Heaven Gallery

Above: Sarah and Joseph Belknap in their installation at Heaven Gallery on January 17, 2014.

Sarah and Joseph Belknap
"Center of the Circle"
January 17- February 16, 2014
Heaven Gallery
1550 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL

Presented by the Chicago Artists’ Coalition: A BOLT Residency Alumni Show at Heaven Gallery

http://sarahandjoseph.com/

http://www.heavengallery.com/

http://chicagoartistscoalition.org/

"The first meteorite we physically encountered was at the Hayden Planetarium. It was the Willamette meteorite--steeped in history, controversy and legend. We hugged it and it felt like magic and our hearts were won over and we started making work that looked at the cosmos. In this new body of video, photography and sculpture we try recreate that magic- we are looking at the moon, meteorites, comets, the myths and romance they produce, and our love of the wild." - Sarah and Joseph Belknap

Quotation above from: http://www.chicagoartistsresource.org/events/center-circle-sarah-belknap-and-joseph-belknap

Above:
Image (1) January 17, 2014;
Copyright Paul E. Germanos.