Chicago Art Map: Openings Nov 3-6, 2011

There will be drink specials!

The photographs in Structure examine the various ways in which we respond to physical structures and changes in their landscape, environment and city. Structural changes, while physical in nature often elicit emotional responses from mourners of a lost time. Whether these places be homes, places of entertainment or forgotten buildings, they are our connection to our history and past experiences. Each of the four photographers in the exhibition examines how a landscape can seem stagnant but can also be altered forever with the building up or tearing down of a place. In what ways do we hold onto our past through such tangible structures- and at what point does a place become a monument to a time that may soon be forgotten?

CHICAGO (West Loop) New York based ceramic artist and professor of art at Long Island University, Phyllis Kudder Sullivan, will exhibit a new body of work in a show entitled “Infinite Nests” at Dubhe Carre

The wrinkle of an aging hand; the piercing eyes of a young girl at the edge of puberty; the solitude of a young man resting his head along the water’s edge — these are some of the quiet moments captured by Gary Briechle, who makes Collodion wet-plate enlargements of his family, friends and strangers in the small towns and rugged terrain that hug the Maine coast. With great patience and care, Briechle photographs the details that make us unique, celebrating the beauty and imperfections of the human form. These are luscious photographs made with a 19th century process which forces an intimacy between the photographer and subject, to which the viewer is a privileged witness.

Adrift is a photographic journey that began as a technological exploration. In 2008 Weinberg completed his series Currents and Tides. With this series Weinberg utilized infrared digital technology for the first time to create a mood where the viewer perceives an altered state that is only an expansion of one’s true physical reality.

The exhibition will feature sculptural works and vessels by North American artists Malcolm Tibbetts, Molly Winton, Douglas J. Fisher, Stephen Hatcher, Carole Floate, Art Liestman, Cindy Drozda, Andy DiPietro, David Belser, Andi Wolfe, Geoffrey Ames, and Alan Carter. Woodturning has experienced an explosion of creativity and technical expertise over the past few decades. Advances in tool technology, machinery, and the sheer innovative power of truly thinking outside the box have made possible mind-boggling expressions of ingenuity and art. The exhibition, Masters of Contemporary Woodturning will focus on the sheer scope and stunning variety of work hewn from that most plentiful of raw materials.

Zg Gallery is pleased to present Jackie Tileston’s fourth solo show Parastrata. An American, born in the Philippines and raised in India, London and Paris, Tileston’s new series of paintings continue to incorporate the diverse elements from both eastern and western aesthetics, creating a visual metaphor for her multi-cultural upbringing. Through the use of oil, dry pigment, enamel, collage and transfer items, Tileston’s paintings are rich combinations of texture, tone, gesture and control.

“… to ask the night those questions as to what, and why, and wherefore…” Also on view: Two ceramic objects by Richard Notkin.

The exhibition includes new etchings of Paris by Michael Goro, photographs of Lake Michigan by Barry Wolf, and portraits by Cindy Bernhard.

Morpho Gallery proudly presents new work from artist Mays Mayhew in her solo exhibition FIND, opening Nov. 4. In new paintings Mayhew explores the question: how do we fall in and out of love? Mayhew works in conceptual narration, using the tradition of figurative oil painting to ask questions about contemporary life, and also adding contemporary components such as rhinestones to some of the paintings.

Closing Reception: Sunday, Nov 20, 2-5pm At 3pm.

The Mission is pleased to present Oye Chica!, an exhibition of the female form. The female figure is perhaps the most significant theme in art history. Throughout the ages, artists have poetically depicted the female form to express heartfelt and culturally universal concepts of love, beauty, femininity, sexuality and desire to metaphorically to represent abstracted concepts of nature, politics, and the issues of everyday life.

We anticipate another moving exhibition. You’ll hear more about these artists next week. Please mark your calendars now to attend their opening reception. Both artists will be present. Sensitive, rich art awaits viewership, and lovely appetizers will entice. The exhibition continues through December 3. http://www.ziagallery.net/meridian.html http://www.ziagallery.net/zawitkoski.html

You’re invited to the showcasing of Zeb Arrington, Jon Chacon, Alyssa Chappe, Julia Cuddy, Andrew Green, Angel Harrold, Carson Hoerz, Mira Ishii, Vivian Kvitka, Joan Laser, Elliott Mickleburgh, Sandra Nazz, Jannah Tate, Wei Hsinyen, and Marie Westoff’s works at Johalla Projects (1821 West Hubbard, Suite 110). Video screening from 8:00pm – 8:45pm Performance by Hsinyen Wei from 9:00pm – 11:00pm

With the constant proliferation of newer, faster, more sophisticated modern technology, communication is rapidly changing. The traditional forms of the written word have become less prevalent, often being overshadowed by images and slang. Symbols are used as signifiers in place of sentences in conversation. Strangely, the more advanced communication technology becomes, we are increasingly turning to ancient manners of communication and the formalities of written communication, such as grammar, are rendered archaic.

Influenced by the eyes of modern art, none of which is more powerful than the transfixing, mysterious gaze that holds the viewer to experience the human condition. The title EYES WIDE SHUT creates an illogical combination of perception, intending to express irony.

PERFORMANCES BEGIN AT 3PM ADMISSION: $5 Brian Labycz is an improviser hailing from Chicago primarily performing with electronics. Currently working with a modular synthesizer he has also utilized a range of sources such as acoustic instruments, digital manipulations, field recordings, and self-made devices to produce and explore various expressive forms. With a primary focus on improvisation his aim is to produce dynamic gestures with electronics in a live setting. The goal is to transcend gadgetry to arrive at a fully realized performance instrument. Working as a soloist and in various group settings he has performed and released work in the US and Japan. He has also organized events in Chicago and abroad and is actively hosting the Myopic Improvised Music Series as well as the Protest Series at Heaven Gallery. http://brianlabycz.com Ayako Kato, originally from Japan, works on interdisciplinary and experimental collaborations between dance artists, musicians, visual artists and video artists since 1998 as an individual dance artist as well as a production company Art Union Humanscape. Kato and the company received awards and honors for their choreographic works, improvisation works and Kato’s study on dance anatomy with Irene Dowd. Since fall 2010, she is an artist in residence at Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater as part of Chicago Moving Company’s Dance Shelter Program. Kato organizes a dance series, currently called Dance Union, in Chicago since fall 2008.

WAX / WANE is a collection of images exploring personal connection to the moon and its cyclical time. This body of work consists of photographs of the full moon with interpretive drawing on the surface and twelve drawings illustrating the artist’s association to each full moon that occurred this year, based on the Algonquin and Farmer’s Almanac moon calendars.