Chicago Gallery News relocated to a bright new office at the end of 2012, and since then, we have been packing, unpacking, hanging loads of covers and art, organizing and reorganizing – dealing with all the necessary evils of moving.  With each cover and artwork that went up on our walls, we felt more at home, and we’re happy with our new space.  Recently, our last empty wall was adorned with perhaps our final decorative touch (for now anyway…) when artist Elizabeth Burke-Dain completed her latest installation.
 
When we left our old office space, we unfortunately also had to leave the large blue-threaded installation that Elizabeth installed for us back in 2011.  These unique installations are comprised of a series of plotted shapes, set nails and colored thread that ultimately end up forming meticulous geometric wall weavings.  I enjoyed seeing this piece come to life over the span of three days – from the initial circular markings, to the nail settings (our neighbors did not enjoy that as much), to the final weaving that brought the whole thing together.

"I see these wall weaving installations as existing in the 'design-as-art' realm," says Burke-Dain about her work. "I have a number of different wall treatments using thread and I'm anxious to get started on another project".
 
The new installation stretches nearly fifteen feet across and nearly three feet high.  The bright yellow thread sharply contrasts the grey paint behind it and appears to almost bounce off the wall.  This work, like the older blue piece, is formed from a series of intersecting thread lines that stem from the circular shapes and nail anchors that the thread is wrapped around.  The weaving causes a dense overlapping of thread in some areas, creating the ‘X’ shapes and more saturated fields of color.
 
Elizabeth enjoys curating art exhibitions, creating PR strategies for art organizations and making things. She has a background in the humanities, arts, and art administration, and has been creating installations like these for several years.  CGN’s is the most recent addition to her repertoire, but she’s also installed her work in businesses including an advertising agency office, as well as in several other homes and residences.
 
Elizabeth would love to make many of these installations so solicitations and commissions for custom installations are welcome. These wall weavings are a great addition to business offices, design showrooms, restaurants, salons, boutiques, personal homes, etc.
 
Email Elizabeth with inquiries about a custom installation for your space, and to learn more about her work and see other samples, visit her Facebook page.

MDW Fair 2012 is back and happening all weekend starting off with the Vernissage Opening Party tonight, Friday November 9 from 7pm-12am.

MDW Fair first debuted in spring 2011 as a gathering of independent art initiatives, spaces, galleries and artist groups from the Chicago area.  This year’s fair is a collaborative project between the Public Media Institute, Document, Roots & Culture, and threewalls featuring more than 75 exhibitors, publishers, and performers. MDW Fair highlights artist-run activities as well as grassroots and independent culture.

The Friday Vernissage Event invites the public to join in celebrating with food, drinks and music. From 7– 8:30pm tonight the Propellor Fund Award Ceremony is honoring the 15 winners of the 2012 Propeller Funds award. Propeller Fund is a grant for self-organized, public, and collaborative projects and is administered by threewalls and Gallery 400 at UIC. Also from 7pm until midnight tonight on the second floor of Mana Contemporary Chicago will be opening night festivities, including performance programs and libations.

For a detailed list of performances, events, and a complete list of participants throughout the weekend please check out MDW Fair 2012’s website.

When:

Saturday, November 10: 12-6pm

Sunday, November 11: 12-6pm

Where:

Mana Contemporary

2233 South Throop Street, Chicago

Photo by Kevin Shelton / Chicago Loop Alliance

The Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA) is at it again.  The organization behind Tony Tasset’s memorable EYE and CARDINAL (2010) and Kay Rosen’s interactive GO DO GOOD (2011) is bringing a whole lot of color to Chicago this summer.  Chicagoans have been watching the initial phases of Jessica Stockholder’s Color Jam installation slowly start to transform the loop during the install process for the past few weeks, and tomorrow, June 5 is the official opening date for the third installment in the CLA’s award-winning Art Loop series.

Visitors will be immersed in the bright, new installation at State and Adams as they walk on, in, and through the canvas of renowned multi-media artist Jessica Stockholder.  Commissioned by CLA, Color Jam saturates building façades, sidewalks, and crosswalks in bold colors in Chicago’s largest art installation.  Color Jam is also the largest contiguous vinyl project in the U.S., composed of over 76,000 square feet of colored vinyl – think the equivalent of 50,000 vinyl records, or enough material to wrap 130+ city buses or cover 1.5 football fields!

Photo by Kevin Shelton / Chicago Loop Alliance

In creating Color Jam, Stockholder envisioned a “three-dimensional painting”, spilling out of windows, through doors, and into the surrounding landscape.

“The fictive potential of surface, so thoroughly cultivated through the history of painting, is always ready to burst, spilling forth imagined richness, full of emotional, subjective resonance, and wandering focus is here woven together with the more mundane everyday surface of the street corner. [“Color Jam”] celebrates and demands that the evocative surface of this Chicago street corner be expanded. The corner is canvas, stage, pedestal, and frame against which the public can view a parade of shifting color relationships.”

Photo by Kevin Shelton / Chicago Loop Alliance

On display through September 30, Color Jam invites the public to participate in a series of programs - or “jams” - taking the form of concerts, talks, and happenings throughout the Loop.  In addition, several Loop businesses are offering Color Jam-themed specials, ranging from color-tinis to hotel discounts.  For more information about the artwork, public programs, and special offers from Loop restaurants, retailers, and cultural institutions, visit www.ColorJamChicago.com.

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The CLA also coordinates monthly First Thursdays Gallery Walks.  For the third summer, Pop-Up Art Loop galleries stay open late and invite the public to their spaces for open houses and receptions on the first Thursday of each month.  Walks are free and open to the public, running from 5-8pm.  Mark your calendar for upcoming walks this summer on June 7, July 12, August 2, September 6 + October 4.  For more details and a list of participating spaces, visit popupartloop.com.

Photo by Kevin Shelton / Chicago Loop Alliance

Marc Bamuthi Joseph/Living Word Project and Theaster Gates present: red, black, and GREEN: a blues—a multimedia collaborative project that addresses sustainability in urban neighborhoods.
Oakland native, spoken word artist and dancer, Bamuthi, founder of Youth Speaks and artistic director of Russell Simmons’ Brave New Voices an HBO documentary on youth poetry, poses the question: “What sustains life in YOUR community?” red, black, and GREEN: a blues (rbGb) includes the voices of people who are often neglected and excluded from the conversation surrounding “green thinking.” The performance rbGb is a manifestation of the project Life Is Living, a nation-wide series of festivals held in urban parks that emphasize art-making, radical activism, and education. Together Bamuthi and Gates, (Chicago-based performance and installation artist) combined their expertise in dance, text, and visual imagery to portray the extensive research pulled from the Life Is Living project, focusing on community and environmental awareness. rbGb will set the MCA stage April 12-14 along with a visual installation titled, Colored Museum, highlighting Theaster’s experience with repurposed material, urban planning, and design.
Tickets cost  $28 Non-members, $22 members, $10 students

Other related events include:
Dinner and a Show: Marc Bamuthi Joseph/The Living Word Project with Theaster Gates gives the audience a chance to eat and converse with the artists and MCA colleagues. Tickets cost $50

SHareOUT: comprises of a group of young people who combine text, rhythm, media, and conversation to communicate and articulate various realities on the MCA stage. Participating speakers will include: Young Chicago Authors, Kuumba Lynx, YOUmedia, and the MCA Creative Agency. This event is free.

For more information visit:
http://mcachicago.org
or http://mcachicago.org/upclose/ to follow the blog

Last night was thankfully not like our dreary day today. It was mild and pleasant for the unveiling of SAIC grad Robert Indiana's HOPE sculpture that will be placed outside of the John Hancock Center, on the northeast corner of Michigan and Delaware until about Valentine's Day 2012.  KM Fine Arts directors Anna Hollinger and Tom Kivisto welcomed the group and celebrated the fact that this sculpture will no doubt become a fixture of the public's art engagement during the next few months. Crowds of visitors will be taking pictures with and around this uplifting installation. 

The artist could not attend the opening after all, as he has been ill the past few months.  The 2,000 lb + installation was there in his place.  HOPE has travelled to other art institutions and destinations around the country so far, and the 'hope' is that some day it will end up in the Smithsonian.  So just in case you're wondering, it's also not for sale. 

Following the unveiling, there was a lovely reception for the gallery's Eyes Wide Shut exhibition on the 25th floor of the Hancock.  The exhibition features European Masters, as well as work by contemporary Spanish artist Lita Cabellut, whose large-scale portraits crackle with drama and intensity. 

The gallery is hosting a second reception this Saturday evening in honor of SOFA.  The public is invited to attend to enjoy drinks and food from 6-9pm.  Free trolleys will take you there from SOFA (Entrance 2 at Navy Pier) and the MCA (220 E Chicago) from 5-7pm.