Category: Expo Chicago 2015 - Mapanare.us Constantly.Consuming.Culture.

Southern Guild (Cape Town) Showed This Piece By Porky Hefer--A Killer Whale Swing

12/3/2015

Southern Guild (Cape Town) showed this piece, a killer whale swing, by Porky Hefer. The folks at the gallery said that Hefer originally began creating works based on the nests of weaver birds.

These are quite intricate nests that, even as the artist expands the actual shape, still are reminiscent of the original form. When you see the more "nest-like" forms the killer whale, crocodiles and other creatures come into focus. Also not threat there is not a great deal of detail here; Hefer wants you to fill those in yourself.

See more by the artist HERE.

Rodrigo Lara Zendejas "Chapel" Shown As Special Exhibition By 6018North At Expo Chicago 2015

10/28/2015

Rodrigo Lara Zendejas' installation, Chapel, was perhaps the most compelling Special Exhibition. It was shown by 6018North at Expo Chicago 2015. It was inspired, in part, by the chapel in his grandparent's home. This chapel, however, is a secular one. In these images it is difficult to tell but the faces on the statuary are iconic artists (the piece to the right is Andy Warhol with a prone Jean-Michel Basquiat).

Zendejas discusses his work below.

Another series by the artist, Deportable Aliens, is currently on display at the National Museum of Mexican Art (1852 W. 19th St., Chicago, IL). This exhibit deals with the illegal "repatration" of Mexicans during the 1930s. Many of these people were born U.S Citizens. It is an interesting and provocative exhibition and will be on display until February 28, 2015. Find out more HERE.

Tandem Press Showed Work By Jim Dine, Dan Rizzle And Jennifer Angus At Expo Chicago 2015

10/17/2015

Empty Chair by Dan Rizzle

Tandem Press, part of the University of Wisconsin (Madison) showed work by Jim Dine, Dan Rizzle and Jennifer Angus (among others) at Expo Chicago 2015.

You can check out videos discussing both the press and the printmaking process below. Jason Ruhl, master printer at Tandem discusses a piece by the great Dine and Paula Panczenko discusses the particulars about Tandem, one of the handful of commercial presses run by a university.

Find out more about Rizzle at danrizziestudio.com and about Angus at www.jenniferangus.com.

The Treasure and The Yellow Wallpaper by Jennifer Angus

Little Tantric Bird and I Wish You Well by Dan Rizzle

Hackett Mill (San Francisco) Showed Work By Conrad Marca-Relli And Howard Hodkin At Expo Chicago 2015

10/16/2015

The Passage by Conrad Marca-Relli

Hackett Mill (San Francisco) showed work by Conrad Marca-Relli and Howard Hodgkin at Expo Chicago 2015.

Marca-Relli was a graduate of Cooper Union before World War II. He began his career painting landscapes but following his service in Italy during the war he moved in a different direction. He was a founding member of the Eighth Street Club that also included Willem de Kooning.

Hodgkin studied at Camberwell and Bath Academy of Art in England. Very often when artists try to explain their work they use jargon or they try to be deep and profound and wind up saying what every other artist says about their work. On the Hackett Mill website they note that Hodgkin said that he painted "representational pictures of emotional situations." This seems both succinct and apt.

In The Bedroom, In The Public Garden, Naples And Lit De Marriage by Howard Hodgkin

John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco) Showed Work By Julie Mehretu At Expo Chicago 2015

10/16/2015

Myriads, Only By Dark

John Berggruen Gallery (San Francisco) showed work by Julie Mehretu at Expo Chicago 2015.

Mehretu creates large acrylic works that then are overlaid with pencil, pen and ink (and sometimes more paint). They are often abstract but are equally likely to have architectural and figurative elements. These pieces are a little different.

Myriads, Only By Dark is a four panel aquatint and spit bite (spit bite is the painting of acid onto the aquatint ground of a plate). The untitled piece is watercolor and ink on paper.

Untitled

Base Gallery (Tokyo) Showed Work By Toshio Miyaoka And Rikuji Makabe At Expo Chicago 2015

10/16/2015

the forgotten myth-BW by Rikuji Makabe

Base Gallery (Tokyo) showed work by Toshio Miyaoka and Rikuji Makabe at Expo Chicago 2015.

Miyaoka was born in Shimane, Japan and currently lives in Kyoto. He is a graduate of Tama Art University. The tranquil, domestic work below are oil on canvas.

Makabe was born, and still lives in, Kanazawa, Japan. Tama Art University. This piece is acrylic and aluminum leaf on canvas.

Landscape -pool- and Landscape by Toshio Miyaoka

Roberto Paradise (San Juan) Showed Work by Caroline Wells Chandler At Expo Chicago 2015

10/7/2015

Roberto Paradise (San Juan, Puerto Rico) showed work by Caroline Wells Chandler at Expo Chicago 2015. His work stood out for a variety of reasons. One of these is, of course, that they are macrame.

These playful pieces were among the most memorable at Expo. There is a cheerful profanity here that is far to cute to really be "profane."

The artist attended RISD for foundation studies and received a BFA from Southern Methodist University. He holds an MFA from Yale. Chandler lives in New York City.

Rena Bransten Projects (San Francisco) Showed "Album: Over There" By Vik Muniz At Expo Chicago 2015

10/6/2015

Rene Bransten Projects (San Francisco) showed Album: Over There by Vik Muniz at Expo Chicago 2015. We've written about Muniz before but he, and his work, are well worth revisiting. This piece is a c-print and is limited to six copies. Find out more at vikmuniz.net.

Claire Oliver Gallery (New York) Showed "Apon Another Shore" By Matt Bahen At Expo Chicago 2015

10/6/2015

Claire Oliver Gallery showed Apon Another Shore by Matt Bahen at Expo Chicago 2015.

Born in Ontario Bahen's paintings often show landscapes with fire. There is the calm and in that calm sits the maelstrom. Sometimes there is just the calm after the flames.

He has been exhibited extensively in Canada. His first solo exhibition with Claire Oliver Gallery took place in the Spring of 2015.

A Fire Burned

Forum Gallery (New York) Showed Work By Brian Rutenberg, Alyssa Monks And Sean Henry At Expo Chicago 2015

10/5/2015

Deference by Alyssa Monks

Forum Gallery (New York) showed work by Brian Rutenberg, Alyssa Monks and Sean Henry at Expo Chicago 2015.

These three artists show the wide variety of work shown by Forum--Monks dreamlike quasi-realism next to Rutenberg's abstraction and realism from Henry that, were it life-sized, you might try to bum a cigarette from.

The gallery has been around for 15 years and represents over 30 artists and/or estates. They also maintain a collection of 20th Century art with a focus on American and European modernism.

Twist by Brian Rutenberg

The Way It Will Be by Sean Henry

photos by Boyd Ogle II