Art Chicago 2009

Apr. 30 - May 1, 2009

While the art fair of the past is changing with our economic times it is certainly moving in a positive direction. While many of the expectant favorites that we saw in years past (Galerie Lelong, Sampson Projects) did not attend this year there are certainly a myriad of exhibitors who have brought their best and have chosen to curate it well within their allotted spaces. Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts at the main fair took care in placing the artists works in a comfortable proximity to one another, allowing the droves of visitors to experience one artist at a time but also recognize Ms. Lowenstein's own aesthetic sensibilities. I found several exhibitors participating in much the same fashion and it works. People end up wanting more if you don't give it to them all at once.

P.P.O.W. had a great collection of contemporary photographs by collaborative artists Walter Martin & Paloma Munoz. Ranging in size from 24x20 in. to 50x40 in. c-prints, these winter snow globe scenes are photographed at various stages of disruption at the precise moments when a miniature tableau is revealed to us. Hidden among the flurries are odd little vignettes like "Traveler 155" which has a petite woman hoisting her male companion vertically above her head. These scenes take on a life of their own and in many cases the familiarity of the nostalgic snow globe tricks our minds into feeling comfortable with the oddly stages tableaux unfolding.

Another pleasant surprise or rather gem was a work by Gregory Coates which hung on the outside portion of the G.R. N'Namdi Gallery. I didn't catch the name of the piece but it looked like his 4x3=1 but vertical. It was so beautiful and even more beautiful because it snuck up on me. These very methodically placed wooden beams thickly wrapped with strips of fabric, tied where they meet. Coates then paints directly onto the fabric with very intense Yves Klein-like radiant blue, canary yellow and white. It was something about the saturation of the color which really allowed all of the overlapping of the fabrics and the repetition of the wrapping really become an intense focus of the work.

The panel discussions and conversations components were very well attended. There were some interesting topics from "One on One: A Creative Conversation between Cynthia Rowley and Nick Cave" to "Tania Bruguera and The Weather Underground in Conversation." Isolde Brelmaier Ph.D. did a wonderful job setting up these panels this year. The only thing I would have to say is that some of them took place in the NEXT Talk Shop and other periphery fair locations that tended to be a bit noisy and the volume and amount of speakers set up was not sufficient. More later.

I do have to say that there was a noticeably smaller crowd this year overall. I suppose it is a sign of the times. Cynthia Rowley even stated in her panel that she don't want to sound negative but thought that the recession has done wonders for the increased level of creativity. I have to agree. More to come.