The Zhou B Art Center opens its doors for viewers to experience their latest show of poetry and art this Friday, February 15, coinciding with this month’s 3^rd Friday openings. Sergio Gomez collaborated with Poets and Artists Magazine’s Didi Menendez to curate the exhibition, From Motion to Stillness, bringing together over 40 artists and poets. The show explores representations of stillness, quietness, reflection, meditation, inner-peace, solitude and calmness. From Motion to Stillness calls the viewer and reader to step away from the fast-paced and constantly changing world to pause and experience the stillness brought about by these artworks and poems.

Enjoy a night of peace and reflection this Friday at the opening reception from 7-10pm. Visitors can also visit the open studios of all the in-residence artists, interact with many of the artists and mingle with other collectors and aficionados. After viewing some art and the open studios (including 4Art Inc. Gallery and Yale Factor Gallery), visitors can relax in the Zhou B Café and Art Lounge and enjoy other entertainment throughout the building.

Zhou B Art Center

1029 W. 35th Street

Chicago, IL 60609

773.523.0200

www.zhoubartcenter.com

We made it to a few openings on Friday night - this week we'll be visiting more and catching up with those we didn't see on Friday.  

We hope you enjoyed the balmy opening to the winter season.  More exhibitons open all month in every neighborhood - click here for details.

CGN

 David Weinberg

 The newly opened Rangefinder Gallery

 Zg

 Perimeter

 Jean Albano

 Jean Albano

 Hilton | Asmus 

 Zolla/Lieberman

2013 is off and running.  We’re eleven days into the new year, and tonight we’ll celebrate the opening of the winter gallery season along with a few dozen local galleries.  Have you seen the openings list yet?  If not, check it out and make a list of places to go and people (and art) to see.  Exhibition details can be found on our site and in individual gallery listings; here are a few highlights opening tonight…

Our January – April 2013 cover feature gallery, Thomas Masters Gallery presents Melody Saraniti, Drips+Grids.  The gallery is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year; read more about Thomas’ memories and the history of the gallery here.

Melody Saraniti, Drag Oh La, acrylic on panel, 54" x 56"

River North’s Roy Boyd Gallery opens tonight with a refreshing display of paintings by Andrew Graham. 

Andrew Graham, D15, 2012, oil on linen over wood panel, 26” x 46”

The Art Center Highland Park will showcase work by over 150 teachers and members of the Art Center community with In View: Annual Member & Faculty Exhibition.; opening tonight from 6:30-9pm. 

Packer Schopf Gallery has four separate exhibitions opening tonight: Andrea Stanislav’s Wilderness of Mirrors (sculpture, glitter constructions and video);  Bruce Riley’s Psychedelic (mixed media paintings);  Lauren Levato’s Wunderkammer (drawings);  and Deborah Baker’s Zodiac (embroidery).  Pictured below is a drawing from Lauren Levato’s exhibition Wunderkammer.  Levato’s new collection of work delicately combines wonder and the artist’s memory, elaborating on the idea of how the body can become a Wunderkammer (a place where a collection of curiosities and rarities is exhibited).

Drawing by Lauren Levato

Tonight is just the start of a full, fresh season of art to look forward to.  New openings and events are added to our site each week, so be sure to visit us often – and enjoy!

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

22 is an art and design gallery just west of downtown Chicago, located on 6910 Cermak Road in Berwyn, IL.  The multi-use space is dedicated to exploring the overlap between art and design, highlighting the work of emerging and established artists and designers. Modular22 is the gallery’s most ambitious project to date, a large-scale installation featuring work from over one hundred artists, designers, and architects.
  
The entire structure measures 8 feet tall and 25 feet long, with the artwork displayed on interlocking wooden panels. The artists included in the show are from Chicago, the U.S., as well as internationally. The color palette for the artwork, done only in black and white, is intended to keep the project visually cohesive while featuring work by such a variety of artists and styles. A participatory component of the work is evident on the chalkboard panels that ask for visitors to leave their own mark. The gallery is considered new and upcoming, and the directors believe that art and design are inseparable, as evidenced by Modular22. “The project brings the infrastructure of a gallery display system to the foreground, treating it as equal to the artwork it’s used to display,” stated Calek.
                       
The gallery owners are recent MFA graduates from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Jessica Calek, architect and director of 22, designed the Modular22 Project. Dan Streeting, graphic designer, painter, and creative director of 22 built the infrastructure with Calek, and their intern Erin McGuire, a recent graduate & painter from SAIC. The Modular22 project was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign over the past summer. The wooden panels were lasercut by Advanced Laser Cutting Technologies in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
 
MODULAR22 opened on Saturday, October 13, and the work is on display until December 22, which is also the closing reception. Make sure to check out this exciting, innovative installation! The gallery is open to the public six days a week. Check 22’s website for more details. Note: the gallery is also accessible via the CTA.

View from the entrance of the Modular22 installation , photographer: Dan Streeting

View of the Modular22 installation from the back of 22's gallery space, photographer: Dan Streeting

close-up of a lasercut panel, and some artwork in Modular22, photographer: Dan Streeting

close-up of some artwork in Modular22 installation, photographer: Dan Streeting