Biking to galleries : 7-15-2023

 

Susan Alforque Silvano, Intimazzy -  Swiss Train Ride, 12 x 15

This trip began at a new venue, Epiphany Center for the Arts, a re-purposed Anglican Church on Ashland near Adams - now a venue for concerts, parties, and art exhibitions. 

My first stop was "The Happiness Show" on the second floor, sponsored by the Chicago Alliance for Visual Arts, an organization of artists over 50.

The above piece was the only one that appealed to me. 

Sentimental?  No doubt.

But there’s nothing wrong with loving people, and this artist developed spatial design simultaneously with telling a story ( an affectionate elderly couple sleeping through the spectacular sights on a scenic train ride through the Alps)

Here are some  stained glass windows prominently displayed in the the church’s de-sanctified nave. 

They were designed by Chicago’s  iconic Edgar Miller - but I was not especially enthralled. The central figure is so stiff and boring - while the figures on each side are so wimpy.  All that’s invigorating are the patches of color - and they feel better suited to an athletic facility than a place of worship.

Laura Myntti, after Milton Avery

Milton Avery, Red Rock Falls, 1947

Vera Scekic's review in New City alerted me to this show. When was the last time you saw an exhibit of one artist paying this kind of tribute to another?  I have never seen one -   yet   - it certainly can be fascinating for the viewer, and probably useful for the artist.  Remember all those "copies" that Rubens made of Titian?  They’re not really copies - they‘re just pieces that began where the earlier artist left off.

I've written more about her here.

Omar Velazquez, vocetero,  90" x 62"

Then I biked west on Fulton to Corbett Vs. Dempsey.

The small Kapsalis retrospective did indeed span nine decades,

but not with any Kapsalis that I want to look at.

I  did, however, really like the bizarre pieces by the much younger Puerto Rican artist, Omar Velazquez.

The large, actual paintings are so much more engaging than the small online reproductions.

 

 I have written about this show here  

Molly Zuckerman-Hartung,The Covalent Bonding of Satire & Whimsy 

in the Oeuvre of Paul Klee Before, Between, and After the War (s), 14.5 x 11  

I was hoping to buy something small by Magalie Guerin or Molly Z-H, 

but the inventory that John Corbett offered me was only one piece by each,

even though several other  small pieces were up on the website.

The above piece is indeed interesting .

Molly Z-H thinks and writes about modern painting with her own blend of satire and whimsy.

It is not, however, typical of her intense inventiveness with paint and fabric.

It’s beginning to make more sense to look harder for local artists not found in major galleries - though it is difficult to like a new artist on first viewing.  I’ve seen many pieces by M.Z.H. and Guerin over the past decade - allowing me to grow quite fond of them.

And - I am running out of wall space  - so maybe I should reserve some for dazzling artists yet to be found.  New ones are always popping up.

Yulia Gasio, Escaping Violence, 60 x 72, 2019

Then it was off to the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art.

It’s hard not to constantly think about the unfolding tragedy of the Russian invasion, so it’s quite appropriate for UIMA, or really, any museum, to present this kind of show.  The artist is a young woman who came to the US from Donbas just before Russian paramilitaries began violating the border.

Fear and despair permeate her recent work. I have written about this show here

Yevhen Prokopov, Leda and Swan, 1985

Concurrently, the museum is presenting a bit of its permanent collection as selected by current staff.

I collect images of Leda , so this piece  fascinated me.  It’s also got that intriguing figurative elongation often found in Ukrainian art. It’s like they’re always trying to stretch the edge of  possibility.

The sculptor typifies the versatile professionalism of USSR artists, though he was only about 30 when Ukraine became independent.  Online, you can see that he is quite good at portraits, religious statuary and public monuments.  

I don’t see much Leda here -

but there certainly is plenty of Brancusi.

Tyler Bernard Anthony, Melting Lake Michigan

The Very Serious Gallery opened last year on Milwaukee south of Chicago.

The young gallerist  sells the work of young local artists

who focus on themselves rather than art theory or social justice.

Which is to say,

you will not find newly minted MFA’s. 

  I wrote about this show here

Zack Sanyour, Tallulah, 38" x 31"

Zolla-Lieberman’s summer potpourri looked to be a good opportunity to discover artists I’d never seen before, and indeed it was.

I’d love to see a solo show by Zack Sanyour, a recent graduate of RISD.

I’ve got no idea what the above image might have meant to him,

but often art cultivates mysteries.

Frank Paluch

Frank owned Perimeter Gallery - a regular stop on my gallery tours until it closed seven years ago.  

I really appreciate his East-Asian aesthetic - though my own will have to mature before I can really enjoy the above  thumb-sized wabi-sabi miniature.