July 10-11: The Return of Gallery Openings
By GINNY VAN ALYEA
This weekend there will be some shoots of green coming up – signs of spring, so to speak, in the middle of summer. I don't think we've ever gone so long without a round of weekend gallery openings, and this coming weekend feels as hopeful as it does necessary. These are first steps. We're not running yet, but this is where we start. Traditionally, the weekend around, or soon after, the Fourth of July heralds the summer group show gallery stroll, where lazy crowds gather in the heat for art, mobile socializing and free drinks. This weekend galleries are opening serious, resonant shows that invite people to come back for the art most of all.
Naturally, the following practices will be in place:
- Gallery openings are running on extended hours during the day to encourage social distancing
- Masks are required
- Crowding will be limited/monitored
- Reach out directly to galleries if you have any questions or would like to set up a private appointment
As we have learned from the past few months, things are always subject to change, but here is hopefully when we being to emerge safely so that we do not have to stay inside again. Congratulations to all the dealers and artists who are putting themselves and their art out there for you.
Our overview of highlights for this coming weekend is below, and our full calendar may be viewed here. Of course several virtual exhibitions also continue to "open", so please take note of these no matter where you are.
See you in the galleries (behind our mask).
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Opening: Friday, Jul 10, 2020 12 – 8 pm
Catherine Edelman Gallery
To avoid crowds, the opening reception will be from noon – 8:00 pm on Friday, July 10. Many artists will be in attendance throughout the day.
Most art making is a solitary process, void of outside voices, as a blank piece of paper or canvas is transformed into a work of art. But there has always been a rich history of art collectives: a group of artists who collaborate to create work. In the spirit of these collectives, Catherine Edelman Gallery presents “Photography & _____,” an exhibition that brings together photographers and other creatives to create one-of-a-kind pieces. CEG invited artists familiar to the gallery, including painters, writers and photographers, and asked each participant to reach out to a fellow artist to create a collaborative piece. There were no limitations placed on the work, except that photography must be incorporated into each piece.
Also opening at the gallery on July 10 is Michael Koerner's exhibition.
Anne Wilson: If We Asked about the Sky
Beginning July 10. No more than five guests will be admitted simultaneously. Face coverings required. To schedule your visit please email the gallery
Rhona Hoffman Gallery
The gallery presents their fifth solo exhibition with Chicago-based artist Anne Wilson. Oscillating between the macro- and microcosmic, Wilson’s new textile-based works set the immediacy of human labor and encounter against the infinitude of space and time. In a moment of unprecedented global transformation, the exhibition offers an opportunity to “meditate on living in and through loss,” as the artist describes.
The exhibition is anchored by Wilson’s suite of 21 Material Drawings (2018-20). Each work begins with the chance operation of throwing ink onto a fragment of white damask cloth; through capillary action, the ink absorbs into the fibers of the cloth, expanding outward to form circular shapes with irregular fractal-like edges. Wilson then develops the results of her immediate gestures with a deliberate, slow stitch of hand embroidery with silk thread and hair. The image associations shift between everyday phenomena—a pin prick, a spill, or a splatter—and a celestial idiom, evoking planets, craters, and galaxy clusters. “The work proposes both smallness and vastness,” Wilson says, “and inhabits a space of contemplation between the mortal world and a celestial universe that is infinite and unknowable.”
Opening: Friday, Jul 10, 2020 5 – 10 pm
Oliva Gallery
Photography exhibition with Kevin Byrne, Pauline Kochanski, Doug Boehm, Jon Randolph, Akira, Daphne Walsh, Kate Roth and Matt Tuteur.
Opening: Friday, Jul 10, 2020 12 – 6 pm
Addington Gallery
Group show featuring Joan Holleb, Brooks Anderson, and Robin Denevan.
Collin van der Sluijs A Garden of Trust Solo Exhibition
Opening: Saturday, Jul 11, 2020 11 am – 6 pm
Vertical Gallery
In his third solo show at Vertical, the category-defying artist’s most ambitious and immersive collection to date, brings together paintings and works on paper that reveal profound new depth and dimension in his dreamlike, deeply personal approach.
Chase Hall: Half Note and February James: We Laugh Loud So The Spirits Can Hear
Opening: Saturday, Jul 11, 2020 11 am – 6 pm
Monique Meloche Gallery
This will be the debut exhibition for both artists with Monique Meloche Gallery.
No appointment necessary. Limited capacity, masks required. For the remaining duration of the exhibition, please contact the gallery to schedule an appointment.
John Santoro: Let’s Talk About the Weather
Beginning July 11. The artist will be welcoming small groups of visitors on the first day of the show, July 11, 11am-5pm.
McCormick Gallery
Two years ago Chicago painter John Santoro began working on what was to have been his solo show in March, which was of course put on hold.
"When I conceived of this show two years ago, I was drawn to the duality in the phrase “Let's talk about the weather.” At the time, I thought of it as the simplest conservation starter and yet also a politically charged invitation to examine our impact on the Earth’s weather patterns. Now, the phrase also suggests to me a respite from the turmoil of the crucial current events that are re-shaping our country.
With these new paintings, I continue to draw inspiration from landscapes with a focus on the weather patterns that drive them. Thunder Snow, Polar Vortex and El Nino -- all intense forces of nature, not to mention cool band names -- continue to feed my imagination."