Publisher's Note: I met Susan Gescheidle when I first moved to Chicago and started working at Chicago Gallery News in 2002. At the time the CGN office was located around the corner from the River North gallery, called gescheidle, Susan had just opened after working at Lyons Wier Gallery for a time. Susan eventually relocated her gallery to Peoria Street in the burgeoning West Loop, then relocated to Lake Street before closing in the fall of 2008.

Last fall I ran into Susan again after many years. We chatted about CGN, as well as how Susan had recently found her way back to being immersed in Chicago's gallery scene, in particular visiting the city's smaller, newer spaces. After following her art outings on Instagram for a couple months, I asked Susan if she'd ever consider sharing her personal and informal dispatches with CGN readers in order to help spotlight and support these spaces, and she graciously accepted. 

– Ginny Van Alyea

By SUSAN GESCHEIDLE

Imperfectly Perfect: 4 paintings, a photograph, and a video 

Review of Smuggle: Milo Christie, Ludwig Siegele, and John Smith.

Let’s talk about Letters to Nora, a small artist-run gallery on the fourth floor of the Midland Building. Smuggle, their current exhibition featuring work by Milo Christie, Ludwig Siegele, and John Smith, is set in the serene gallery space, and the contemplative atmosphere around the art combines to make the viewing experience even more pleasing.

Christie, who is just 24, is an avid reader, poet, and co-director of Weatherproof. For Smuggle Christie teamed up with gallerists Julian Van der Moere and Megan Foy to frame his engaging artist statement that sets the scene for the exhibition. Foy chose references from Jean-Luc Nancy’s book The Fall of Sleep, focusing on memory and dreamland, while Van der Moere steals lines from books that have a relationship to the show in some way, or which Christie simply likes, embellishing with intentional misspellings and substitutions. Christie says he then “played demonic editor in the margins.” 

Milo Christie, 1781 Personen, 2024, acrylic, charcoal, chalk pastel, gouache, fermented latex paint, wax crayon, india ink,, graphite, conté and plastic trophy part on paper, canvas and linen, 26 x 28 in. 

Milo Christie, 2100 Personen, 2024, acrylic, charcoal, chalk pastel, empty tape on linen, 10 x 8 in.

The exhibit primarily consists of four of Christie's paintings, which are joined by two pieces serving as responses to his work. Christie chose one response–a photograph created by his father, Ludwig Siegele, a journalist, and photographer. A video by British avant-garde filmmaker, John Smith, was the second response, selected by the gallerists. The photo and video are quiet, meditative pieces and work well in conjunction with Christie’s calm muted-palette paintings.

Christie’s mixed media paintings on canvas and linen are beautifully rendered, and imperfect by design. 1781 Personen, the focal point of the show, has tufts of linen visible on the corners, in Untitled (field) Christie leaves a sliver of unpainted linen around the edges, and Untitled has several nails protruding from the side of the painting. The piece is installed strategically in the front room so you can’t miss seeing the raw side when exiting the main gallery. Christie’s intentional scruffiness brings perfection.

Milo Christie, Untitled (field), 2024, acrylic, charcoal, fermented latex paint, aluminum tape on linen, 18 x 20 in.

John Smith, Leading Light, 1975, 11 mins.

There are unexpected elements in Christie’s smart paintings that are pleasant surprises. The nursery rhyme and children’s book, I Spy With My Little Eye, comes to mind as I explore each piece. Christie paints tiny peepholes, embeds nails, and in 1781 Personen incorporates a plastic gold trophy on paper, unifying his fondness for sculpture and painting. 

It's worth noting that Christie is a curator as well, and that influence is evident in the way he and the gallerists present the works. 1781 Personen is intentionally placed off center on a large wall, while the smallest painting, 2100 Personen, is tucked into a back corner like a precious easter egg to be hunted. Then, the monitor for John Smith’s video is hung low to the floor. Each perfect, imperfect installation decision adds interest to Smuggle as a whole and to each work that is part of it, resulting in a curated collaboration best viewed leisurely to explore the numerous complexities the show offers.

Smuggle, Milo Christie, Ludwig Siegele, and John Smith is on view at Letters to Nora, 1500 S. Western Ave, Ste. 407, through April 5, 2025