It’s that time again. This was another week full of many worthy options for viewing. I’ll be going to quite a bit more than just these five, but these looked particularly interesting:

1. You Can Lose Your Balance at 65 Grand

I’ve been a fan of 65Grand for quite a while. I am not terribly familiar with Scott Wolniak, but I took a trot over to his website, and it looked like interesting stuff.  Corbett vs Dempsey or Noble and Superior are both close by, so why not go for a two- or three-for-one? See ya’ll at the top of the stairs.

65Grand is located at 1378 W. Grand Ave. Reception is Friday from 7-10pm.

2. Sarah Best: Daily Photos at Antena

There are two shows opening at Antena this Friday, and this is actually the smaller of the two. The premise involves cell phone pictures, a medium that I still find dubious, but which I need to see more of, so as to fully form my opinion. The one image available is beautiful, as you can see.

Antena is located at 1765 S. Laflin St. Reception is Friday from 6-10pm.

3. UnCommon Territories at Heaven Gallery

A group show of (primarily) SAIC sculpture kids, including: Marissa Benedict, Christopher Bradley, Scott Carter, Lauren Carter, Younghwan Choi, Colleen Coleman, Allison Fall, Elise Goldstein, Katya Grokhovsky, Samantha Hill, Holly Holmes, Scott Jarrett, Selena Jones, Maya Mackrandilal, Lisa Nonken, Luis Palacios, Ben Stagl, Stephanie Victa, Andrew Norm Wilson. Come spend an evening in Heaven.

Heaven Gallery is located at 1550 N Milwaukee Ave. Reception is Friday from 7-11pm.

4. Duncan R. Anderson at Kasia Kay Gallery

The best exhibition I ever saw at Kasia’s place was Anderson’s previous exhibition. I’m super excited to see that he’s back, and I can’t wait to see what new craziness he has on display. This dude’s work is friggin’ awesome.

Kasia Kay Gallery is located at 1044 W. Fulton Market. Reception is Friday from 6-8pm.

5. Room-a-Loom at Swimming Pool Project Space

Come see the spectacular culmination of the Room-A-Loom! People have ween donating their blue weaveable material for almost a month now. It is time now to experience what a giant loom and a giant room can make together! It’s gonna be fort-tastic!

Swimming Pool Project Space is located at 2858 W Montrose Ave.Reception is Saturday from 6-10pm.

Ok, so for those of you who don’t know yet, CAA (College Art Association) has dubbed Chicago worthy for it’s pedagogical adventures, and has settled in our fair city for the weekend. As a member of CAA, I’ll be cruising from lecture to lecture the next few days, trying to suck up as much strange knowledge as I can while the circus is in town. But I’m not the only one excited about the CAA crew. As a result of the conference, just about everyone else in town is trotting out something or other, much of which is AWESOME! As a result, I bring you The Biggest Top 5 You’ve Ever Seen! Rather than picking individual galleries for the Top 5, I’ve corralled a Top 5 of places (in no particular order) you should go this weekend. Hope ya’ll enjoy.

1. Pilsen

The self-proclaimed Chicago Arts District is holding it’s monthly 2nd Fridays round of openings. Here’s the places I’d go if I were you:

Chicago Art Department – 1837 S. Halsted. Cultural Excavation, work by Christopher Piatt, Ben Valentine, Wayne Bertola, Virginia Broersma, Allison Rae Butkus, Seth Gershberg, Jennifer Hines, Jennifer Jackson, Sarah Leitten, Amanda Paulson, Aaron Wooten and others. Reception Friday, from 6-10pm.

ROOMS Gallery – 645 W 18th St. ORACLE:CHANNELING, with Marrakesh & Todd Frugia. Performance Friday, from 8-10pm.

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Hooray!

1. Dialogue: Presented by IRUS art (an intercultural collaborative art show between artists in Iran and the U.S.) at Co-Prosperity Sphere -

The crew down at Co-Pro are always working hard to put on events that are relevant withing AND beyond our little world of art. This is obviously no exception. And I quote, “Two teams of artists, one in Tehran and another in Denver have assembled under one name: IRUS (Iran – United States). Starting with our mutual respect for art, we have established collaborative projects between our groups.” Friday night is the show reception, and Saturday is the discussion panel.

Co-Prosperity Sphere is located at 3219 S Morgan St. Reception is Friday from 7-10pm. Discussion is Saturday from 5-7pm.

2. M155 4m3r1c4 at Noble & Superior Projects –

Now, I will admit, I am rather partial to Noble and Superior Projects already, but that said, this show absolutely deserves a place in this weekend’s Top 5, regardless of my previous experience with ‘em. This show is a double whammy with Patrick Bobilin and Cara Anne Greene. Patrick’s work, and I quote, “M155 4m3r1c4 (Miss America), is a loose narrative which uses documentation and fiction together to create a broad self-portrait doubling as cultural commentary,” and involves video, photographs, and documents relating to the M155 4m3r1c4 narrative. And Cara Anne Greene, beautiful, beautiful Cara Anne Greene will be serving up cullinary complements to the story of M155 4m3r1c4. AWESOME!

Noble & Superior Projects is located at 1418 W Superior St 2R. Reception is Friday 6-10pm.

3. Closing Reception for Byron Roche –

Byron was one of the first gallerists I met in Chicago, and he set the bar high. He is endlessly knowledgeable and endlessly kind. It is, therefore,with a sad heart, that I make this addition to the Top 5. After 16 years with a public gallery, Byron is closing his space. He will continue to operate as a private art consultant, but no longer will there be that comforting island of Byron Roche Gallery in River North. No more box wine, no more Sweetheart Jewelry. So come down and say goodbye, this is your last chance.

Byron Roche is located 750 N. Franklin. Closing reception is Saturday from 11am-6pm.

4. Artist Talk with Adam Ekberg at Thomas Robertello Gallery –

The first of two not-to-be-missed artists’ lectures happening this weekend. The be-bearded countenance of Mr. Ekberg will be discussing his work at Thomas Robertello Gallery, amid his wall mounted work. And I quote, “continuing with the use of lens-based phenomena, humble celebratory gestures, and primitive constructs, Ekberg further develops two distinct bodies of work; images created in the woods or nature, and images using his apartment as stage set.” Be there or be square!

Thomas Robertello Gallery is located at 939 West Randolph St. The artist talk begins at 3pm.

5. Artist Talk with Aspen Mays at HPAC

The second not-to-be-missed artists’ lecture this weekend. Aspen Mays will be discussing works from her From the Office of Scientists exhibition currently on display at HPAC. And I quote, “Mays activates the office cubicle as a site for information production and general inquiry where “big ideas” are generated.” Sweet!

Hyde Park Art Center is located at 5020 S. Cornell Ave. The artist talk begins at 2pm.

Hello again, my lovelies. So, as I was sayin’ on my gallery crawl blog, I was a little worried Monday when I started putting the listing together. At that point it was looking a little bleak. Thankfully that situation has remedied itself. It’s always nice when the weekend picks are relatively easy, and this weekend there is so much good stuff that picking was easy, it was whittling down that was hard. Here are a few places that still look awesome, but didn’t make it to the Top 5: Visions from a Foxhole at Pritzker Military Library, Rune at Ben Russell (dude, get a website, please! or if you have one, tell me where it is), We Are the World at Roots and Culture, and Ethan Greenbaum and Katrin Sigurdardottir at The Suburban. This is seriously the Alt. Space Weekend! As an odd testament, not one opening (that I could find) in River North. So go out, support your local project spaces, alternative spaces, apartment galleries, garage galleries, corners-of-living-rooms-with-art-badly-hung-in-them places, and enjoy the (inevitable and awesome) cheap beer.  SALLY FOURTH!

1. ChicagoLand at PeregrineProgram

So I saw Daniel Lavitt out in the streets last weekend and asked him about the show. I’d seen the announcement card around (you’ve probably seen it too, him staring Godzilla-style through a tiny window), but wasn’t sure exactly what the hell was going on. Well, my friends, this stuff looks like a whole pile of awesome! I love miniaturized work, it’s always a bit creepy and awkward.  For this work, Lavitt is not only miniaturizing Chicago, he’s doing it to culturally and personally significant places AND wiring them along an economic gradient. I’ve never been to this space, so I’m super stoked on seeing a new venue and Lavitt’s new work.

PeregrineProgram is located at 500 W Cermak Rd, #727. Reception is Friday from 6-9pm. [Read more]

Ahoy again, me mateys! Thar be arts in them thar  waters. Yarg! And for this week’s briny picks, we’ll be casting broad our ores…or something. Ok, enough of that. But really, we are a bit scattered about for this weekend’s picks. I’ll be driving my trusty Jeep round, dashing through the snow and such. Perhaps, I’ll see yo ass out there? And now…

The True and Trusty Top 5:

1. Matters at Golden

Golden Gallery has impressed me with their selection of work since they opened about a year and a half ago with my buddy Jill Frank’s work. This round looks like more of the same, in the good way. Opening this week is a solo show of Joseph Cassan. And really, anyone who can take Kleenex and a bloody Band Aid, put it together, and make me think of Caravaggio is worth a look in by book. Rock on, dear Golden Gallery.

Golden Gallery is located at 816 W. Newport. Opening reception is Friday from 6-9pm.

2. The Dog and the Wolf at Monique Meloche

I friggin’ love Laura Letinsky. ‘Nuff said. She’s having a solo show at Meloche’s joint. Go see the show.

Monique Meloche is located at 2154 W. Division St. Opening reception is Saturday from 4-7pm.

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