Friday, April 27, 2018 - 6:00pm to Thursday, May 17, 2018 - 5:00pm
Opening Reception: Friday, April 27, from 6-9 pm

The Chicago Artists Coalition is pleased to present, Dot your i’s with Hearts, an installation by BOLT Artist-in-Residence, Benjamin Larose.

n November 1992, I received my first letter from Frédéric, my second cousin. We had met the previous summer and since his village was a twelve-hour drive away, we had agreed to write each other through the year. I immediately started drafting my response. A simple letter: reminiscing about summer days, commenting on day-to- day school stuff, and praising our beloved Montreal Canadiens. Before I sealed the envelope, I asked my dad to proofread. He said: “Why did you dot your i’s with hearts? … Seems a bit much.” I already had the feeling that might be the case. I went ahead and erased them.

Five years later, Frédéric lost a lifelong battle to leukemia.
I never went back to his village.
I never did tell him how I felt.

Dot your i’s with hearts.

Benjamin Larose uses everyday objects and the language of material culture to question our assumptions on what it means to be “normal”. His work transports viewers to a place where difference is depicted as epic and triumphant and ultimately, inspires compassion and dignity. Dot your i’s with Hearts presents a new body of sculpture work that explores boyhood and family using tens of thousands of puzzle pieces.

Image by Benjamin Larose