10 Highlights from the EXPO Art Fair

by Paddy Johnson and Robin Dluzen on September 19, 2015 Art Fair

Inside the Borg ship

Inside the Borg ship

With more than 140 galleries exhibiting at the fourth annual EXPO Chicago, there’s no shortage of art to see. The show, which runs through Sunday, has plenty of highlights. Paddy Johnson and Robin Dluzen each chose five booths that stood out below. (For the full report on the fair, click here.)

Installation view

Paul Anthony Smith at Zieher Smith and Horton, New York. What a stand out booth. These photographs were all taken in Jamaica, and often capture friends of Anthony Smith, who grew up there himself. He then works into the photograph, plucking away at the surface until a pattern drawn from popular masks emerges.  The result is the anonymization of very personal photographs—a poetic opposition to our social media laden lives.  – Paddy Johnson

andre kertesz martinique jan 1, 1972

Andre Kertesz, Martinique, Jan 1, 1972 at Stephen Dalter Gallery, Chicago.  An incredible photograph in which the leaning figure resembles cloud of vapor. The piece suggests that nothing is permanent, except perhaps, the photograph itself. Paddy Johnson

Patron, installation view

Patron, Chicago, installation view. Kadar Brock and Alex Chitty. Are contemporary artists turning to Modernism as a touchstone? You definitely start to wonder that in this booth by the brand new Chicago gallery, Patron. In particular the sculptural works of Alex Chitty stand out for their aesthetic resolve.  Close inspection of the white tips of these squareish wire structures brings to mind cocoons, and wheat grass. Founding Partner Emanual Aguilar tells me Chitty has a background in biology that informs the work. – Paddy Johnson

Lisson

Sergio Camargo, Untitled (#504) 1970 Lisson Gallery, London. A minimal and elegant Brancusi-esque sculpture.- Paddy Johnson

Video program

Jeremy Blake, Winchester Redux, 2004, 5 min from the EXPO video program. I wasn’t able to watch as much of the video program as I wanted, but there sure was some good stuff on view; this dreamy Jereme Blake video vacillates between abstraction and figuration. Other artist videos include: Carolee Schneemann, Sue de Beer, Runa Islam, Marlerie Marder, Ciprian Muresan, Christian Jankowski, Chris Burden and Luis Gispert and Jeff Reed. Impressive. -Paddy Johnson

Caroline Wells Chandler at Roberto Paradise, San Juan This booth seemed to be everyone’s favorite, especially for a half dozen of my art writer colleagues. Roberto Paradise made the best of their tiny space in the Exposure section for young galleries with enormous 2-D crocheted cowboys by Caroline Wells Chandler. There’s a simplicity to the imagery, as if they were drawn in crayon before blown up and masterfully crafted. Chandler’s cowboys are smart, fun and a little bawdy, which is a welcome relief from all the cool, serious, tongue-in-cheek offerings that much of the exhibitors bring.

Caroline Wells Chandler at Roberto Paradise, San Juan
This booth seemed to be everyone’s favorite, especially for a half dozen of my art writer colleagues. (AFC has mentioned the gallery virtually every time it shows at NADA). Roberto Paradise made the best of their tiny space in the Exposure section for young galleries with enormous 2-D crocheted cowboys by Caroline Wells Chandler. There’s a simplicity to the imagery, as if they were drawn in crayon before blown up and masterfully crafted. Chandler’s cowboys are smart, fun and a little bawdy, which is a welcome relief from all the cool, serious, tongue-in-cheek offerings that much of the exhibitors bring. -Robin Dluzen

In their first time testing the waters of the Chicago market, MA2’s gallerist fretted that the works in their booth might be “too quiet” for this atmosphere. I was inclined to agree with her until she directed my attention towards a water glass that set upon a wooden platform: “Look in the cup,” she said. While it’s the least noticeable piece when perusing from the aisle, the work by Ken Matsubara features a video screen at the bottom of the glass, playing a loop of flatware shattering on the floor. Peering into the glass creates a bizarre sensation of tunneling downward into a different, tiny world.

MA2 Gallery, Tokyo. In their first time testing the waters of the Chicago market, MA2’s gallerist fretted that the works in their booth might be “too quiet” for this atmosphere. I was inclined to agree with her until she directed my attention towards a water glass that set upon a wooden platform: “Look in the cup,” she said. While it’s the least noticeable piece when perusing from the aisle, the work by Ken Matsubara features a video screen at the bottom of the glass, playing a loop of flatware shattering on the floor. Peering into the glass creates a bizarre sensation of tunneling downward into a different, tiny world.

Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago Established over 35 years ago, the gallery is known for representing now-famous outsider artists, though the roster does have a number of traditionally trained artists, as well. At the EXPO booth, works by two of my favorite regional artists are side by side. In Aristotle Georgiades’ Extension, an aluminum ladder leaning against the wall, curling down upon itself; this fragmented linearity is echoed in the strips of collage that break up the stressed figure in Mary Lou Zelazny’s Material Matters. Both Georgiades and Zelazny look to the vernacular and reference the body in contemporary takes on the characteristics embraced by the Chicago artists of the 60s and 70s. -Robin

Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago. Established over 35 years ago, the gallery is known for representing now-famous outsider artists, though the roster does have a number of traditionally trained artists, as well. At the EXPO booth, works by two of my favorite regional artists are side by side. In Aristotle Georgiades’ Extension, an aluminum ladder leaning against the wall, curling down upon itself; this fragmented linearity is echoed in the strips of collage that break up the stressed figure in Mary Lou Zelazny’s Material Matters. Both Georgiades and Zelazny look to the vernacular and reference the body in contemporary takes on the characteristics embraced by the Chicago artists of the 60s and 70s. -Robin Dluzen

Inman Gallery, Houston - After over a decade-long absence from Chicago fairs, Inman Gallery brings a tactile, materially diverse group of gallery artists to EXPO. Shaun O’Dell’s prints of classical sculptures on slabs of marble are a sleek update of art history. Linarejos Moreno’s natural pigment prints on handcrafted burlap depict anonymous interiors that bear the physical aftermath of the performative side of her memory-based practice. With the layering of these different aspects of her practice, we get a fuller picture of the artist as a maker, while retaining the enigmatic nature of her content.

Inman Gallery, Houston – After over a decade-long absence from Chicago fairs, Inman Gallery brings a tactile, materially diverse group of gallery artists to EXPO. Shaun O’Dell’s prints of classical sculptures on slabs of marble are a sleek update of art history. Linarejos Moreno’s natural pigment prints on handcrafted burlap depict anonymous interiors that bear the physical aftermath of the performative side of her memory-based practice. With the layering of these different aspects of her practice, we get a fuller picture of the artist as a maker, while retaining the enigmatic nature of her content. – Robin Dluzen

Jos De Gruyter & Harald Thys at Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi/Galerie Micheline Szwajcer, Berlin/Brussels This Belgian artist duo has a very dark practice, and the booth here is filled with their burlap “puppets”: hay-stuffed, life-sized dolls in tattered outfits, hung from the wall by their necks. With ski jackets, logo hoodies, tshirts and jeans, these objects feel like effigies or full-scale voodoo dolls meant to represent any of us. They’re freaky and unsettling, especially within the context of the art fair where works are typically competing to be the most pleasing.

Jos De Gruyter & Harald Thys at Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi/Galerie Micheline Szwajcer, Berlin/Brussels
This Belgian artist duo has a very dark practice, and the booth here is filled with their burlap “puppets”: hay-stuffed, life-sized dolls in tattered outfits, hung from the wall by their necks. With ski jackets, logo hoodies, tshirts and jeans, these objects feel like effigies or full-scale voodoo dolls meant to represent any of us. They’re freaky and unsettling, especially within the context of the art fair where works are typically competing to be the most pleasing. – Robin Dluzen

 

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