Monday, April 25, 2011

Pictorial: UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition 3 @ Gallery 400

UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition 3 @ Gallery 400

UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition 3 @ Gallery 400

UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition 3 @ Gallery 400

Featuring: Rebecca Beachy, Mike Gibisser, Chris Meerdo, and Joe Pankowski

April 19 - 23, 2011
Gallery 400
Art and Design Hall, First Floor
400 S. Peoria Street (at Van Buren Street)
Chicago IL, 60607
http://www.uic.edu/aa/college/gallery400

*Exhibition 4 opening April 29, 2011*

- Paul Germanos

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Review: Juan Angel Chávez @ Linda Warren

More often than not, Juan Angel Chávez works with plywood.

Along with an understanding of solid wood's hygroscopic character and corresponding dimensional instability, the (traditional) woodworker's foremost concern--fiber orientation--has disappeared from the art offered by Chávez.

The pieces on display at Linda Warren Gallery are not born of any refined craft; they're as raw as they are fragile.  And by virtue of the means and material of their fabrication they're almost wholly disconnected from the history of woodwork prior to WWII.  Whether in the final analysis determined to be helpful or harmful to the artwork, such things ought to be considered as noteworthy in every preliminary estimation.

Juan Angel Chávez @ Linda Warren

Plywood is an engineered material; it's designed to "overcome" the natural behavior of its chief component.  Plywood consists of veneer (ply) stacked upon veneer; each layer's fibers are set perpendicular to the fibers of the layer immediately preceding; the whole affair is held together (laminated) with synthetic resin.  Only recent developments in "glue" technology have made plywood an affordable, stable and popular choice across a broad spectrum of applications.

Looking closely, Chávez tends to produce wood-colored and wood-textured objects which are not made of "real" wood; rather, they are simulacra thereof. Chávez creates sometimes fanciful and sometimes ominous structures which are surreal and abstract. In many cases, without question, the incorporation of found objects predetermines the scale and proportion of the finished piece.

Juan Angel Chávez @ Linda Warren

Chávez  is a builder, not a carver.  "Wood," i.e., lumber, is produced by cutting trees; it's formed through a subtractive process. "Plywood" is built from lumber; it's the end result of an additive process. Tree trunks are irregular, three-dimensional (roughly conical) shapes; plywood is uniform, and nearly two-dimensional. As a practical matter, the use of plywood and not wood might be thought to make the task of fabrication easier and faster for Chávez .

Essentially, in his most recognizable idiom, Chávez "draws" geometric and quasi-organic figures with the aid of "contour lines" cut from plywood.  Fabric stretched across said plywood framing conveys a potential volume; the mechanical fasteners used therein hold not canvas or linen but rather (often) Lycra panels. Like plywood, Lycra is a relatively modern innovation--in this case an innovation producing cloth with a flexibility greater than natural fibers would otherwise impart.

Juan Angel Chávez @ Linda Warren

Chávez isn't (manifestly) interested in Nature, or in natural limitations. Rather, his work--sculpture, collage, installation, whatever form it takes--tends to incorporate and resemble things made by the imagination of Man. In a formal sense, the strongest of the pieces (shown by Chávez over time in Chicago) draw near to Richard Deacon. Chávez is distinctive in his ability to work along a vertical axis. At his best, Chávez is playful and his artworks rise lightly: like a child's bubbling laughter.

Whether the recreation of American urban decay, a tendency also found across the body of work attributable to Chávez, should in time prove more prescient is unpleasant to consider.

Juan Angel Chavez @ Linda Warren
Above: Juan Angel Chávez @ Linda Warren, December 11, 2009 - January 16, 2010

Juan Angel Chávez @ Hyde Park Art Center
Above: Juan Angel Chávez @ Hyde Park Art Center, November 8, 2009 - January 24, 2010

Juan Angel Chávez
April 15 – May 14, 2011
Linda Warren Gallery: Project Space
1052 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL 60607
http://www.lindawarrengallery.com

- Paul Germanos

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Pictorial: Pedro Vélez

Pedro Vélez
Above: Pedro Vélez working the 2011 UIUC MFA show.

Miguel Cortez and Pedro Vélez
Above: Miguel Cortez (left) and Pedro Vélez (right) in Pilsen, after hours.

Most recent (April, 2011) contribution from Pedro Vélez to artnet.com magazine: http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/reviews/velez/art-cologne-2011-4-15-11.asp

On "Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll since 1967," from 2007: http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/reviews/velez/velez12-5-07.asp

- Paul Germanos

Pictorial: UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition 2 @ Gallery 400

UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition 2 @ Gallery 400

UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition 2 @ Gallery 400

UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition 2 @ Gallery 400

Featuring: Jesus Duran, Raquel Ladensack, Paul Nelson, Min Song and Latham Zearfoss

April 12 - 16, 2011
Gallery 400
Art and Design Hall, First Floor
400 S. Peoria Street (at Van Buren Street)
Chicago IL, 60607
http://www.uic.edu/aa/college/gallery400

* Exhibition 3 opening April 22, 2011 *

* Exhibition 4 opening April 29, 2011 *

- Paul Germanos

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Pictorial: Ian Pedigo @ 65GRAND

Ian Pedigo @ 65GRAND

Ian Pedigo in:
A Mouth Which Shouts is a Cave for the Hand
April 8 - May 7, 2011
65GRAND
1369 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
http://www.65grand.com

- Paul Germanos

Pictorial: Sheila Pepe @ he said she said

Sheila Pepe @ he said she said

Sheila Pepe @ he said she said

Sheila Pepe @ he said she said

Sheila Pepe in:
Common Sense (Chicago)
April 9 - May 14, 2011
he said she said
216 N. Harvey
Oak Park, IL 60304
http://www.hesaid-shesaid.us

"...a large-scale special crochet drawing–informed by compositional ideas of mid-20th Century abstraction and late 20th century notions of construction,"

- Paul Germanos

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Pictorial: Irritable Abstraction @ Julius Caesar

Irritable Abstraction @ Julius Caesar
Above: Dan Devening

Irritable Abstraction @ Julius Caesar
Above: Jim Lutes at left; José Lerma at right

Irritable Abstraction @ Julius Caesar

Irritable Abstraction
April 3 - April 24, 2011
Julius Caesar
3311 W. Carroll Ave.
Chicago, IL 60624
http://juliuscaesarchicago.com

Curator: Susanne Doremus

Artists: Joe Baldwin, Timothy Bergstrom, Brian Calvin, Federico Cattaneo, Edmund Chia, Dana DeGiulio, Dan Devening, Cheryl Donegan, Judith Geichman, Andrew Greene, Magalie Guérin, Antonia Gurkovska, Seth Hunter, Michiko Itatani, Eric Lebofsky, Diego Leclery, José Lerma, Jim Lutes, Yahya Moosavi, Rebecca Morris, Sabina Ott, Noah Rorem, Erin Washington, and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung

- Paul Germanos

Review: Rinus Van de Velde @ Monique Meloche

Immediately, the exhibition suggests a visual precedent: the work of Raymond Pettibon. The young artist (aged 27 years) is familiar with, but not overly fatigued by, the reference. And rather than rejecting the comparison outright, he strives in English to suggest a nuanced distinction between himself and the Black Flag conspirator. "Pettibon," says Rinus, "really is more of a painter."

Rinus Van de Velde @ Monique Meloche
Above: Rinus Van de Velde, candid.

Rinus Van de Velde draws. And where Pettibon is often found dripping in his wet work, Van de Velde's charcoal and papers are dry.  So, it seems at first easy to nod in agreement with Rinus' self-assessment. But, Pettibon is (usually) remarkable in his use of line, while in contrast Van de Velde produces value studies almost exclusively through skillful shading and blending. The former artist is actually the more "graphic" of the two.

Rinus Van de Velde @ Monique Meloche

Van de Velde, if not a painter, is deeply connected to the illusion of volume at which painters once aimed; especially noteworthy is the concomitant use of chiaroscuro. Yet again, though he begins with two-dimensional (digital) source material, Van de Velde is manifestly preoccupied with the rendition of a three-dimensional presence in a two-dimensional space. Towards that end, like a "real" painter, Van de Velde relies upon gradients and not linear work, e.g., cross-hatching or outlining, in order to suggest a given form. It's easy to believe that he began his training as a sculptor.

Rinus Van de Velde @ Monique Meloche

All of this omits the text. Rinus is given pause when asked about Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer. "I'll need to think about that," he responds. Kruger in particular seems good to mention as she furiously packs (virtually) all of the space between her images with text; like Van de Velde, both women (Kruger and Holzer) "write" directly upon architectural surfaces.

Rinus Van de Velde @ Monique Meloche

Returning to the beginning, it's the indication of the artist's own hand which not only draws Van de Velde close to Pettibon but which also distances him from Kruger's bold italic, and Holzer's electric, font. There's his hatching: in the writing. Different than any of them, Van de Velde's textual "ground" manifests as a fantastic sort of "stream of consciousness" monologue which, maybe akin to Joyce's "commodius vicus of recirculation," really goes nowhere.

Whether there is (ever) a progression towards meaning, this artist's "found" JPEG reinterpretations are buoyed along in a manner which is pleasing to behold...

Rinus Van de Velde in:
Dear David Johnson,
April 2 – May 14, 2011
moniquemeloche
2154 W. Division
Chicago IL 60622
http://moniquemeloche.com

- Paul Germanos

Monday, April 4, 2011

Pictorial: No Joke @ LVL3

No Joke @ LVL3
Above: Marissa Perel

No Joke @ LVL3
Above: Alan & Michael Fleming

No Joke @ LVL3
Above: Yasi Ghanbari

No Joke
April 2 – April 30, 2011
LVL3
1542 N. Milwaukee Ave., third floor
Chicago, Illinois 60622
http://lvl3gallery.com

"...recent MFA graduates from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago pay tribute to Kathryn (Hixson) and her influence on the latest generation of emerging artists."

Artists: Andy Cahill, Alan & Michael Fleming, Yasi Ghanbari, Danny Greene, Joe Grimm, Marissa Perel, Aaron David Ross, Michael Vallera.

See also: Bert Stabler's review as published in Newcity Art, http://art.newcity.com/2011/04/04/review-no-jokelvl3/

- Paul Germanos

Pictorial: Ryan McGinness @ Andrew Rafacz

Ryan McGinness @ Andrew Rafacz

Ryan McGinness @ Andrew Rafacz

Ryan McGinness @ Andrew Rafacz

Ryan McGinness in:
Abstract Location
April 2 - May 14, 2011
Andrew Rafacz
835 W. Washington Blvd.
Chicago IL 60607
http://www.andrewrafacz.com

Above: Untitled (Black Hole, Pearl White) 2
Layers of acrylic screened on canvas over wood panel; 72 inches diameter.

- Paul Germanos

Pictorial: UIUC MFA artsplosia @ Co-Prosperity Sphere

UIUC MFA artsplosia @ Co-Prosperity Sphere

UIUC MFA artsplosia @ Co-Prosperity Sphere

UIUC MFA artsplosia @ Co-Prosperity Sphere

Participating MFA candidates from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign stage a presence in Chicago: Michael Woody, Sarah Beth Woods, Nicki Werner, Laura Tanner, Paul Shortt, Michael Smith, Kerianne Quick, Nick Mullins, Maria Lux, Erica Leohner, Katie Latona, Dan Krueger, Ben Hatcher, Ben Grosser, Dan Gratz, Jim Graham, Amy Gilles, Motoko Furuhashi, Karri Anne Fischer, Justin Farkas, Jung Eun Chang, and Will Arnold.

artsplosia
25 March - 3 April, 2011
3219 S. Morgan St.
Chicago, IL 60608
http://artsplosia.com

- Paul Germanos

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Pictorial: Peter Allen Hoffmann & Jason Robert Bell @ Thomas Robertello

Peter Allen Hoffmann @ Thomas Robertello

Peter Allen Hoffmann @ Thomas Robertello

Peter Allen Hoffmann (above) in:
When the Cathedrals Were White
April 1 - May 21, 2011
Thomas Robertello
27 N. Morgan St.
Chicago, IL 60607
http://www.thomasrobertello.com

See also: Jeffery McNary's review at Neoteric Art,
http://neotericart.com/2011/04/19/art-review-%E2%80%94-peter-allen-hoffman-when-the-cathedrals-were-white-by-jeffery-mcnary/ 

Jason Robert Bell @ Thomas Robertello

Jason Robert Bell @ Thomas Robertello

Jason Robert Bell (above) in:
The Tetragrammatron Archive
April 1 - May 21, 2011
Thomas Robertello
27 N. Morgan St.
Chicago, IL 60607
http://www.thomasrobertello.com

- Paul Germanos

Pictorial: Duk Ju L. Kim @ antena

Duk Ju L. Kim @ antena

Duk Ju L. Kim @ antena

Duk Ju L. Kim @ antena

Duk Ju L. Kim in:
Vicissitude
April 1 - April 30, 2011
antena
1765 S. Laflin, St.
Chicago, IL 60608
http://www.antenapilsen.com

- Paul Germanos

Pictorial: Huma Bhabha @ Rhona Hoffman

Huma Bhabha @ Rhona Hoffman

Huma Bhabha @ Rhona Hoffman

Huma Bhabha @ Rhona Hoffman

Huma Bhabha
April 1 - May 14, 2011
Rhona Hoffman
118 N. Peoria St.
Chicago, IL 60607
http://www.rhoffmangallery.com

- Paul Germanos