Joys of Chicago Re-visited

#38 – Tuesday December 6th

Having once lived and worked in Chicago for almost two decades, I have a great deal of affection for the city.  On this trip, besides spending time at the gallery prior to the opening of the exhibition of my new paintings, I took the opportunity to do a bit of roaming around, on train and by foot. So for this Tuesday’s missive a few of the highlights from those wanderings.

First off, one of the joys of visiting Chicago is catching up with few friends, and what’s happening in their studios. Lucy Slivinski is a sculptor who works in re-claimed metal, glass, plastic, and wire, weaving these dissimilar materials into lovely poetic and lyrical sculptures.

Catherine Jacobi recreates physical and psychological anatomies (human and from incidents of nature) that are beautifully crafted and profoundly affecting.

Robin Richman, designer, artist, collector of objects, and proprietor of the Robin Richman boutique. Robin mixes the exotic and curious with a truly extraordinary vision.

Gorden Matta-Clark at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Photographs of the project “Circus or The Caribbean Orange” that documented the deconstruction of a townhouse next-door to the original MCA site, by making cicular cuts in the walls and floors. These photographs were included in a retrospective of his work in 2008, which I attended, but I find his work remarkable, and well worth seeking out for another look.

I also made it down to check out the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago (it opened after my last visit to the city).  One of the surprise pleasures I stumbled upon, during my short visit, was this Robert Motherwell painting  from 1944, “Wall painting with Stripes” .

I know I’ve come dangerously close to wearing out the superlatives in this post, but it was fun to be back in the city!

Thanks for reading

Charles