Get out your scissors and glue: Chad Kouri of the Post Family and Ed Marszewski of Co-Prosperity Sphere are unveiling a new incarnation of last summer’s “Get It Together” exhibition – it opens this Friday, March 19 from 5-7 and it sounds like so much fun! Full details below; make sure to scroll down to the bottom for a really beautiful video of last summer’s “Get It Together” event. I love all the Chicago art hipsters sitting around, totally engrossed in their cutting and pasting, just like scrapbookin’ mamas!! Super sweet.

After the success of “Get It Together” in July 2009 at Co-Prosperity Sphere we are running the show again at Chicago Tourism Center Gallery with an extended lineup as well as new work from our old friends.

“Get it Together Again,” is an exhibition of assemblage, collage, and collaborative work by local, national, and international artists. Organized by Chad Kouri of the Post Family and Ed Marszewski of Co-Prosperity Sphere, the exhibition includes over 25 works on paper, mixed media, and installations including a grocery store with hand drawn products made out of paper. Gallery visitors of all ages can sit down at a collage table and create their own work. Materials such as magazines, scissors and glue will be provided or bring your own.

The Show includes works by: Adrianne Goodrich, Alex Valentine, Anthony Zinonos, Ben Speckmann, Chris Roberson, Chris Schreck, Doug Shaeffer, Emily Clayton, Greg Lamarche, Hisham Akira Bharoocha, James Harry Ewert Jr, Joe Tallarico, Jordan Martins, Mario Wagner, Matt Nichols, Matthew Rich, Michael Pajon, Netherland, Peter Skvara, Richard Smith, Rod Hunting, Ron Ewert, Ryan Duggan, Sarah Jeziorski, Scott Massey, Stephen Eichhorn, and Tom Torluemke.

Chicago Tourism Center Gallery
72 E. Randolph Street
Opening reception March 19th, 5 – 7pm

Show runs March 19 – April 6, 2010
Thursday, March 25 at 12:15pm, artist talk
Thursday, April 1 at 12:15pm, hands on collage workshop

HOURS: Monday to Thursday, 8am – 7pm; Friday, 8am to 6pm; Saturday, 9am -6pm;
and Sunday, 10am – 6pm. Admission to the gallery and exhibition events is free.

Get It Together from LanjersOaken on Vimeo.

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]

Hey ya’ll. There are quite a few shows I’m interested in the weekend, not all of which are getting dropped into the Top 5, but which still bear a mention: Bob Jones at 65 Grand, Ann and Maria Ponce at Packer Schopf, Joe Hardesty at Western Exhibitions, Creator/Curator at HungryMAN Gallery, and New Blood 3 at the Chicago Cultural Center. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it to everything, but you’ll be happy with any of the above mentioned selections along side any or all the shows listed in the Top 5 (which, by the way, are listed in no particular order). That’s it for now, get your ass out there and see some art!

Top 5 for 11/20-11/22:

1. Technically, It’s Art at Abryant Gallery

Abryant Gallery, run by Angela Bryant, is one of those spaces that Chicago is so good at producing, a space run by people just out of school, showing people just out of school, but actually doing it relatively well. For this round, Bryant is featuring the work of Eric Ashcraft, Madeleine Bailey, Mark Beasley, Rebecca Berman, GROUP CABIN, Andy Cahill, Lauren Gregory, Maxon Higbee, Aaron Hoffman, Nadia Hotait, Mik Kastner, Lisa MAjer, Gary Pennock, Sarah Perez, Micah Schippa, Briana Schweizer, Alan Strathmann and Synica Whitney in Technically, It’s Art.

Opening Reception: Friday 7-10pm. Abryant Gallery is located at 1842 N. Damen Ave., 4th Fl.

2. IN(DI)VISIBLE at Noble & Superior Projects

For their second exhibition, Noble & Superior Projects, a new apartment gallery space, is putting up the work of TW Li’ and Whitney Faile called IN(DI)VISIBLE. I am really impressed by N&S P, the couple who run it are damn professional, and though the work isn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen in Chicago (a bit of a tall order), they show some goos stuff for an apartment gallery. I am particularly interested int TW Li’s work (have a look at his website), but I’m a fan of their paring strategy, so I bet the dialog between Li and Faile’s work will be worth seeing.

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

[Read more]

GUEST POST BY DAMIEN JAMES

The Yes Men, hoaxsters who have elevated civil disobedience to an art form by taking on the biggest, most socially irresponsible corporations and the government that allows those corporations to screw the people, will be making appearances in Chicago this week for the local premier of their new film, The Yes Men Fix the World.

On Thursday, October 29th at 7:30pm, they’ll be hosted by Lumpen Magazine at Co-Prosperity Sphere, where The Yes Men will present their recent projects and hold a workshop to plan an action for Friday, October 30th, after the premier of their new film at the Music Box Theater.

If you haven’t seen their work, you should. If you have, you probably understand how important it is. The Yes Men might just have the right amount of courage, conviction, and insanity (think Ralph Nader meets Philippe Petit) to truly enact some kind of positive social change, but they can’t continue to do it without public support. In fact, they can barely afford to pull off their stunts, much less share them with us through their films.

The Yes Men recently posted a project on kickstarter.com to raise $30,000 for prints of their new film, which is in danger of not being seen by enough people. Through kickstarter, anyone can pledge from $30 to thousands, and pledges are only collected if the project gets completely funded. If not, no one loses a cent. If you can only pledge $10, convince two of your friends to do the same. If you can pledge more, you might just win a Survivaball! The project ends December 31st at 4:39pm EST.

Watch them pose as Dow and take responsibility for Bhopal, or reverse the Chamber of Commerce position on climate change! If you like what you see, help them do more.

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