Flesh Club by Rachel Niffenegger

Walking into Flesh Club is like entering the aftermath of a rave where the party detritus is both glamourous and haunting. This is the latest exhibition by Rachel Niffenegger at Western Exhibitions. Originally from Evanston, Niffenegger has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an MFA from Northwestern University, and currently practices in her Chicago studio. Niffenegger has also recently been a featured artist in the Chicago at Work lecture series.

Niffenegger, with an undeniable background in painting, explores the relationship between fabric and sculptural forms in Flesh Club. The bodily quality of her surfaces allows the artist to transform these inert materials into skin and skeleton. The show is divided into two rooms, what I would consider the show space, and the dressing room. In the front decaying skeletons crawl across a glass floor that is equal parts sparkle and danger. A backdrop is stretched beyond the dance floor that recalls a curious animal hide. I wonder what became of the beast this enormous pelt represents and what it means for the creatures dancing before it. In the ‘dressing room’ sheaths of fabric hang on three racks offering three different skins to inhabit. Imagine what sorts of wild identities each of these costumes would bring out in the wearer, and what sorts of fantastic rituals they have been participant in. All together these pieces conjure up an atmosphere of the club after the lights come on.

The show closes this weekend so hurry over to check it out and keep an eye out for future shows by listing the artist’s website at http://rachelniffenegger.com/.

Party Cut by Rebecca Morris

 

Rebecca Morris invites us on a journey through the inner workings of her studio in her latest show Party Cut, which is on view at Corbett vs. Dempsey until October 19^th. The exhibition showcases various fluid drawings ranging from this year back to her graduate work at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 90s. In these pieces Morris examines the interaction between color, pattern, and gesture.  Each exploration retains its own fresh personality among the cast of characters. 

Party Cut also features recent paintings that have incorporated bits and pieces of her drawings while also developing the relationship between them. Morris creates a space for the elements of her drawings to mingle on the picture plane, their interactions recorded in thick oil and spray paint. The work in Party Cut embodies the celebration of shapes rocking out through their own milieu.

Learn more about Party Cut at Corbett vs. Dempsey

Check out more of Rebecca Morris’ work at Rebecca Morris

Visit to the MCA

Sunny, clear skies, eighty degree weather...it was the perfect day to walk along Chicago Avenue to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art to view its current exhibitions (I put emphasis on ‘’perfect’’ because there’s free admission on Tuesdays).

BMO Harris Bank Chicago Works features art by mix media artist, José Lerma. José Lerma conveys the connections between painting and history. His installations presented nontraditional materials such as backdrop paper, carpet, and a mirror as a canvas. The usage of nontraditional materials support Lerma’s way of depicting forgotten historic figures by using ‘’forgotten’’ objects. Audible elements were also utilized created by canvases hitting keys of miniature keyboards in both his pieces Portrait of Norman and John and Midissage. The sound and usage of cool-colored light gave the show a dream-like effect.

MCA DNA: Chicago Conceptual Abstraction features artists Tony Tasset, Gregory Green, Dan Peterman, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, and Mike Kelley, and others. This exhibition helped me to comprehend the connection between abstract and nature. Tony Tasset’s Domestic Abstraction displays the imagery of cowhide, guiding the viewer to identify shapes and forms within the work. I also concluded this idea from Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle’s Twin. Gregory Green’s Thirty One Blade Wall Installation seems to focus on the idea of how humanity can be unaware or unmoved towards the presence of violence when presented in a particular form or manner. Focusing on the shape and arrangement of the saw blades dilutes the alert of danger.  The media is a prime example of this.

The Homebodies exhibition focuses on space within the home environment, featuring artists like George Segal, Frank Halmans, Alberto Aguilar, Adrian Piper, Alexandre da Cunha, Hurvin Anderson, Rachel Whiteread, Marina Abramović, Doug Aitken, Guy Ben-Ner, and Martha Rosler. Although this exhibition didn’t greatly strike my interests, there were some admirable works, such as Doug Aitken's HOUSE (i don't know). While viewing this piece, I developed conflicting ideas: ‘’is the house being destroyed or built? Is the chaos of the house being revived?’’ A viewer’s first assumption may be destruction, but the artist’s intentions may be otherwise.

Modern Cartoonist features the art of cartoonist, Daniel Clowes. Although I was unable to attend the exhibition tour with the Museum’s curator, Lynne Warren, this past Friday, I immediately understood the artist’s character and intentions through his work. Clowes is best known for his comic-series, graphic novels, screenplays, and magazine covers like Eight Ball, Death Ray, and Ghost World. His humorous approaches of modern scenarios are personal, dark, and relatable, like his one page comic series, Wilson. I admired how he used himself as the subject to create visual memorials of comical moments. It was enjoyable to hear viewers laughing and snickering around me. His hilarious comic, Pussey, also demonstrated relatable scenarios, though directed towards the challenges of the comic-book industry. All jokes aside, Clowes displays the chronology of Chicago’s comic history and the evolution of his sketches to a finish product.

These exhibitions were definitely worth traveling in the scorching heat to see. View all these exhibitions before they end! 

Alter Ego- Mixed Media Painting by Chandrika Marla

The Beverly Arts Center is currently presenting a show by painter Chandrika Marla. Marla is originally from India and her work explores ideas of self-image and relationships. Her background is originally in fashion design, a fact made very evident in the work in her show "Alter-Ego". Her paintings incorporate vibrant depictions of garments and dresses on neutral toned backgrounds to exemplify ideas of a loss of body or the loss of self. All of the images incorporate empty garments floating in a space signifying a loss of self. According to Marla, the importance and use of the clothes and fabrics are pay with the idea of putting on a "social skin" akin to the act of putting on clothes every morning. She uses the paintings to empress upon the audience the idea of people today, covered in what is not their real skin, continually impressed by outside world to make us into something that we wouldn't actually be. Her paintings incorporate the images of clothing which she creates using techniques gained during her fashion career but she also uses imagery of buildings and structures that she remembers from her time growing up in New Dehli, which can sometimes be scene in the background of the images.

"Alter Ego" will be up at The Beverly Arts Center through March 10th, 2013.

http://chandrikamarla.com/home.html

16th Annual Winter Bike Art Show

I encountered Galerie F in passing and promised myself to come back to check out the eclectic feel it gave from the outside. There is quite a bit of open floor and wall space to view the the newest show opening this Friday. My eye first went to the bike wheel display in the middle of the gallery, but quickly bounced around to the pieces on the walls. Every piece in the show has its own unique style using all types of mediums. One of my favorite pieces is a shadow box with some trinkets relative or not to biking that form the shape of a wheel. I also came across decorated hanging helmets, photography, sketches, and paintings on objects. Each artist successfully portrayed biking in their work with a freedom of expression and perhaps some happy accidents. The freedom felt from the show reminded me of street art. Another favorite piece was a painting of a dinosaur on a bike. The bright colors and comical feel was really enjoyable and striking. 

I do not ride a bike in Chicago but I see dedicated bikers throughout the year treading through snow or enjoying a ride along the lake front on a warm sunny day. I know how big the biking community is in Chicago and encourage these artists to continue to put their love of biking into their art. I think all of the artists involved have created a brilliant and cohesive show.