Thomas Masters Gallery turns 20 this year, and to celebrate this spring, they are having a very special exhibit at their space in Old Town through March 29. The gallery says it has been fortunate to work with so many talented artists over the years, and many of these artists have prepared special works just for this exhibit, including Tim Anderson, who is unveiling a special portrait of Thomas Masters himself, Brenda Barnum, Rory Burke and many more; some newer artists have also unveiled their latest projects for the show. At a special time for the gallery, owners Thomas and Agnieszka are inviting many others to celebrate with them. 

Thomas Masters says his gallery’s 20-year journey began as a “grass roots” space into which he put all of his money, knowing that he did not have anyone who could bail him out if he failed. He started slowly focusing only on succeeding day by day, but after 20 years of success, it is evident that his patience, hard work and passion paid off. Masters acknowledges that there are Chicago galleries that have been around longer than he has, so far, but he is thankful for the twenty years he has been able to experience the business and the lifestyle for which he has such a strong passion.

This is a time for Thomas Masters Gallery to celebrate the gift of 20 years in the Chicago art world, and what a better way to do so than to offer to the public a very special exhibit. Visit Thomas Master Gallery this weekend and enjoy the excitement and the new art created just for this event.

Thomas Masters Gallery

245 W. North Ave.

Chicago, IL 60610

312-440-2322

thomasmastersgallery.com 

The view of the front window featuring Tim Anderson’s Thomas Masters,” 2013, oil on canvas

Thomas Robertello Gallery recently opened a show this past Friday featuring two artist: ceramicist Sarah Hicks’s show Pop Garden shows concurrently with Hilder Asgeirsdóttir Jóhnsson’s Strata. As both artists are exhibiting together in the gallery’s space, their rather unique works of art find ways to complement each other.

Chicago-based Hicks offers a variety of ceramic sculptures of imagined morphologies rendering her minimalist pop-surreal sensibilities. Hicks’s eccentric pieces are created from reassembled molds of mass produced and found objects. As Hicks wishes to investigate ornamental and highly stylized forms, she uncovers abstract as well as obvious correlations between their origins and knick-knack toys. She creates these hybrid works by a method known as slip trailing, in which she pours ceramic slip into a plaster slab where shapes are then drawn. This gives Hicks the chance to craft a two-dimensional form in a fluid method. She then treats the surfaces with intense colors, patterns, textures and glazing techniques to give the pieces a whimsical yet chic feel. These works demonstrate Hicks’s interest in the connection of the familiar and foreign pushing back on one another.

The Cleveland-based Icelandic artist Hilder Asgeirsdóttir Jóhnsson creates abstract and textile art that removes the detailed, vivid points in her photographs from her journeys to Iceland to simple and abstract hand–woven works. Jóhnsson documents her travel through Iceland, and uses the photographs of this stark landscape as the beginning point of her studio practice. She sorts through photos of trips to her native country, editing and then selecting images that really captivate her. She then distils the images to their most fundamental forms creating almost topographical studies. She then paints the drawings onto two separated silk threads that she weaves together to form a single woven piece. The abstract forms she creates are hard to recognize as the original Icelandic landscapes, but there is still a glimpse into this natural place and memory with which Jóhnsson first started.

This show seems to reveal a connection between Hicks and Jóhnsson though they are two very different artists. Both call for their original subjects to be minimized to the point of unrecognized form. In this form is where the viewer may then begin to understand the artists’ goal in their work.

Visit the exhibition to discover the connection between the two unique artists. The show runs through April 6.

Thomas Robertello Gallery

27 N. Morgan St.

Chicago, IL 60607

812-345-1886

www.thomasrobertello.com

Hicks

Johnsson

“I feel that in art there are no limits for the creator among any kind of expression. For me, what I am asking in my world is to bring the deepest elements of my existence up to the surface and transfer all the hidden personal codes to bring my personal signature to the universal and global world. As the Ancient Greek philosopher, Heraklitos said, everything is fluid, and as a subscriber to this philosophy, I believe in global logos. It is very important for me to jump from painting to sculpture and from sculpture to music and to any other kind of art in order to find the traces, which will drive me to the global truth. I think that this is a very fundamental reason for someone to live, to exist.”               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 -Kostis Georgiou

In the latest exhibition at Hilton|Asmus Contemporary, Greek sculptor and painter Kostis Georgiou presents Pixels.  The show opened Friday, February 15, welcoming over 200 visitors excited to see some of Georgiou’s work. A pixel is the smallest element of an image that can be illuminated or darkened, and Georgiou’s works fill the gallery with brightly colored paintings and sculptures of simple detail and beautiful forms that boast a vitality that is very welcome in the dreary days of this Chicago February.

 Georgiou, known for his sculptural work in which he creates small figures – on view now at Hilton|Asmus Contemporary – as well as large works that can be up to 9 meters tall- as seen in France’s Peyrassol Vineyards. These simple form sculptures have a fluidity that can only come from the aforementioned global logos- this plan that governs all, passing from one form to another, just as his sculptures pass from one shape to another. With a focus on the simplistic shape Georgiou attempts to represent deep elements of his human existence, while creating works that boast beauty in both movement and form.

 Though known for his sculptures, it was Georgiou’s paintings that first caught my eye. They are brightly colored, with a very surreal and dreamlike sense to them. With thick, quick brushstrokes, moving around the canvas like a dance or song, each painting causes the viewing to travel around the work quickly, still understanding what is represented. Each one tells its own story and calls the viewer to stop and contemplate what the subject is thinking, doing or believing.

 It takes a talented artist to find success in representing his own existence in both painting and sculpture, and Georgiou does so with flair. From his 9 meter tall sculptures, which could easily be found in a large open space such as Millennium Park, to his colorful paintings of subjects swimming under the night moon, Georgiou’s work was able to take me into the artist’s world and I hope you will be able to stop by Hilton|Asmus Contemporary so his work may sweep you up as well.

Hilton|Asmus 

716 N. Wells St.

Chicago, IL 60654

312-475-1788

www.hilton-asmus.com

Below are some photos of Georgiou's work as the gallery.

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is upon us.  If you’re on the “love it” side, you might be interested in some appropriate art and special deals from some of our CGN friends.  Check out this work if you’re feeling festive this week, and keep it in mind if you’re looking for a special gift - for yourself, or for your Valentine.  

Poster Plus has a wide array of vintage and reproduction posters.  Since 1969 they have offered an extensive selection of original posters from the 19^th and 20^th centuries, in addition to Chicago-related posters, Giclées and gifts. 

Left: Andy Warhol, Heart with Bow, 1983 (petite), 8.5” x 11”;  Right: Robert Indiana, Love Documenta, c. 1968, silkscreen 24.5” x 33.5”

The Leigh Gallery offers new original artwork and handcrafted art objects perfect for a one-of-a-kind gift.  Contact the gallery for more information about their current exhibiting artists.   

Artwork from Leigh Gallery

Zygman Voss Gallery features a lovely collection of work - small to large scale - that makes an impressive statement this Valentine’s Day or any day.

Left: Jules Cheret, Programme, watercolors;  Right: Alfredo Muller, Peacock Panel, lithograph

Mars Gallery has some limited edition prints that were originally created for the gallery’s 15^th anniversary.  Edition size 10, pencil signed by the artist; matting and custom framing available.

Julie Gittinger, artwork on rag art paper, 6” x 8”

Galleries Maurice Sternberg is featuring work by British artist Inge Clayton that is executed in her sensuous, painterly style. 

Left: Inge Clayton, On the Bridal Path, oil on aluminum, 55” x 31.5”;  Right: Inge Clayton, Where Cows Graze, oil on aluminum, 55” x 31.5”

Last week I had the chance to visit Paul Rinaldi's latest exhibit at Perimeter Gallery. Though tricky to find, because the exhibit is in the basement of the gallery, I am so glad the gallery directed me down the stairs to this intriguing show. Rinaldi's works at Perimeter are paintings that call for contemplation and nostalgia the moment you enter the room. The works are painted on various sized blocks of wood. The paint used is not oil or watercolor, but Rinaldi's own mixture of raw pigments, beeswax and small portions of other materials to make a thick but flexible waxy substance. Rinaldi controls the pigment in order to make the wax more opaque or more translucent, and in this he creates ethereal works, which take a hold of time and create a sacred space on the walls where they are hung. By painting certain sides of the blocks with bright colors, the blocks cast a glow on the white walls causing the blocks to hover in front of a world of thoughts and memories.

This exhibit is showing until February 23, so there is time to stop by this gallery and experience Rinaldi's work for yourself. You can see if you experience the same sense of contemplation and nostalgia as I did when I went to visit. Below, are some pictures of Rinaldi's work.

Perimeter Gallery

210 W. Superior St.

Chicago, IL 60654

(312) 266-7984

www.paulrinaldi.net

www.perimetergallery.com