Installation view of Miniotics at Weatherproof

By SUSAN GESCHEIDLE

WEATHERPROOF – Miniotics

Whatever you do between now and April 13th, visit Weatherproof to see Miniotics! It’s a wackadoodle group exhibition of roughly 140 artists. The gallery is jammed floor to ceiling (literally art is hung on the ceiling!) with Minion-inspired pieces of all sizes and mediums. It will be worth your time to check it out. I promise. A show like this strikes me as representative of Chicago’s young galleries / curatorial spaces right now–showing art by friends and peers without really giving a damn about making money, though of course they need it, and they still should be taken seriously. Young gallerists are trying fresh new things as the mood strikes, and it’s exciting to encounter. 

Weatherproof is a gallery and curatorial space founded in 2022 and run by Milo Christie and Sam Dybeck. Miniotics is presented by Pop Gun, an artist-run project space in New York City and curated by the New York City duo of Gunner Dongieux and Trinity Bavaria. Dongieux is an artist and Founder and Co-Director of Pop Gun. Bavaria, also an artist, lives and works in New York City and has exhibited at Pop Gun, as well as Cleaner Gallery + Projects here in Chicago. 

Dongieux and Bavaria invited artists from around the world to participate. As the curatorial statement says, it’s “a synaptic mapping of Pop Gun’s art-world.” It’s heavy on New York City and Chicago representation, understandably so. But I spied San Francisco, Los Angeles, Stockholm and beyond. The work runs the gamut from serious to cheesy, good to less good, and large to small. The artists took their Minion assignments semi-seriously and brought their A-games (or at least their B-games.) It’s a fun and dizzying experience of yellow and blue, bananas and Minion references. 

Installation view of Miniotics at Weatherproof. Courtesy Weatherproof.

Installation view of Miniotics at Weatherproof. Courtesy Weatherproof.

It’s nearly impossible to pick a favorite piece, because they’re all so different. The three largest pieces warrant a shoutout, however. You can’t miss Tyler Dobson’s giant Minion, a Rothko-esque painting in yellow and blue. Hanging on the ceiling is, American Minion, a vinyl banner with painted Minions and flags by Trinity Bavaria. And then there’s Eve, a bright yellow sculpture of a reclining nude female by New York City artist, and Co-Director of Pop Gun, Karla Zurita. “All materials were found or bought on West Lawrence Ave,” she reveals, “It’s my love letter to Chicago.”

Other interesting pieces, in no particular order, are: CJ Shaw’s BANANA FISH, a small oil, graphite, and inkjet print on canvas. David Colosi’s, The Return, a luscious colored pencil drawing of a large group of water-Minions hard at work. Ari Norris’s tiny, understated yellow and blue outlet cover, Minion Outlet. Braden Skelton’s, The Crisis of Nihilism, a Minion cushion holding a plaster face of Nietzsche. The list of hits goes on and on. The gallery is a literal candy store of art. The range of talent is impressive, including the likes of Allegra Harvard, Reece Francis Perkins, and heavy-hitters like Richard Hull and Scott Reeder. There’s something for everyone in this show: video to sculpture to toys to mosaics, and even to…urine. 

The curators say the artists ‘speak to common experience in Minionese.’ With around 140 artists exhibiting together in such a small space, that’s one loud conversation. So, pop in, and find out how Miniotics speaks to you. 

Miniotics, on view thru April 13 

Weatherproof

3336 W. Lawrence Ave, Ste. 303, 60625

Open Saturdays 1–4pm during shows.

weatherproof.zone

Instagram @weather_proof 

Karla Zurita, Eve (detail), loofah, latex, fruit, photographs, mannequin, Ecuador flag, pikachu, goggles, laserprints. Courtesy Weatherproof.

Installation view of Miniotics at Weatherproof. Courtesy Weatherproof.

David Colosi, The Return

This article appears in the Spring/Summer 2025 issue of CGN. Click here to subscribe and receive the print edition in early April. Subscriptions help support independent print media and Chicago's art community.

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.

In fall 2024 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