Amoako Boafo
(MARIANE IBRAHIM Gallery , 437 N. Paulina St)
The 2019 edition of Expo Chicago is different -- and better ! -- than the previous seven editions of Tony Karman's international art fairs.
There were some disappointments - like very few landscapes, cityscapes, or still lifes. And Forum Gallery - often my favorite for mimetic representation - had nothing for me this year.
But overall, the show felt calmer -- more like an art gallery and less like a street fair. Maybe that's because visitors now enter from the end of the long hall instead of from the hectic middle.
It didn't humiliate the younger, smaller galleries by putting them in a distinctive "children's table" section.
It accommodated cyclists like myself by giving us a parking area right next to the entrance. Hurrah!
(last year, security personnel were stationed there to keep bicycles from being chained to a railing)
But most importantly -- this show seems to announce the arrival of a new mainstream in American painting: the depiction of black people by black artists (mostly).
There have, of course, been black figure superstars like Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, and mostly recently, Kerry Marshall. But until this year, black figuration has been rare at Chicago's annual art exhibition.
This year is different - and not just at Navy Pier. Black artists and black figuration have recently been much more visible throughout Chicago's galleries and museum spaces. The Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, which just moved here from Seattle, is one, quite promising example.
And since the subject matter is more about life than art theory, I am one happy viewer.
Below are my favorites.
Many others were on display, however. Some I didn't like -- and some I probably never saw. ( after about an hour of wandering about in this huge hall, I always become disoriented and may well miss a gallery or two )
Mala Cruz Palileo
Mario Moore
David Antonio Cruz
Cheryl Pope
(this is a kind of tapestry)
Charles DuBack, 1960
Shadi Al-Atallah
the U.K. artist is an Arab from Saudi Arabia
Pat Phillips
Love this dramatically skewed sense of space -- reminds me of Philip Guston
Devan Shimoyama
Many materials went into this confection -- including a real piece of carpet.
Paritosh Sen (1918-2008)
Marcus Brutus
I really like this self taught artist who was discovered after someone posted his work on Instagram
Marcus Brutus
Matthew Stone
(this is a wall-size digital print)
Alex Gardner
Stephane Conradie
John Sonsini
Elizabeth Catlett (1915 - 2012)
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Now, we move on the depictions of white people:
Celeste Rapone, "Corner Office"
Sandro Chia
It would be hard to imagine this kind of figuration coming from anywhere but Italy or maybe France.
The artist was born in Florence.
Sandro Chia
Danuel Mendez (Cuban)
Nathan Oliveira (1928-2010) , 1966
Always a thrill to see good life drawing in these shows.
It's quite rare.
Tom Wesselmann (1931 - 2004)
Cayce Zavaglia , embroidery
Gina Pellon, 2011
Dae Hun Kwon, cast resin
Milton Avery, 1930
King Rhee
This was the only landscape that I saw --- it uses two layers of plexiglass to deepen pictorial space.
Mark Innerst
There were only a few cityscapes -- and these are the only ones that I liked.
Mendes Wood Gallery
(couldn't find the name of the artist)
Michael Reafsnyder
Jim Lutes
So far, this is my favorite painting by this local artist.
Alexandria Smith
Rashid Johnson
Similar to the banged and burned panels of Cleveland Dean -- but this one seems more related to abstract painting.
Mary Abbott. 1957
A huge and wonderful piece - the best of her's I've yet to see.
Jeff Kowatch
Quite large, quite goofy, and quite different from the blurry shapes that he painted below.
(it was executed with oil sticks)
Jeff Kowatch
detail
Paul Jenkins
Federico Herrero
Carrie Moyer.
John Santoro
Always one of my favorites in these shows.
Angelina Gualdoni
Andrew Holmquist
Andrew Holmquist
Sean Scully
Ad Minoliti
Chung Sang-Hwa
A Go board ? The ruins of an ancient city?
William Dalziel
A self taught Chicago artist whose work only came out of his basement after his death. The subject matter relates to his experience as a ball turret gunner in the Army Air Corps in WWII.
It's anxiety reminds me of the paintings of Vietnam veteran Richard Olsen who showed at
the Zhou B Art Center in 2017.
Vidvuds Zviedris
A monumental, and quite different, piece by one of my favorite local painters.
Scott Anderson
Giorgio Cavallon, 1964
Dexter Dalwood
Dexter Dalwood
(Alan Koppel Gallery)
Freidel Dzubas, 1982
Yvonne Thomas, 1949
the views from the windows of Navy Pier
are usually better than most of the paintings in the show.
***************
Mary Qian
but this painting would have fit quite well
into the predominant theme of this year's show.
Labels: Art expo
