Skip to main content

The Big, The Bold, The Beautiful


That's the title of a show that Patty and I went to see last Friday night, at a gallery a few blocks from our Chicago apartment. The venue is the Avram Eisen Gallery, owned and run by a friend of ours. We all met back in 2003, I think, when Avram attended one of Patty's aerobics classes.

(Yes, Patty used to teach aerobics. No, that is not why I married her.)

Anyway, Avram is a sterling chap, and we've been meaning to go to an opening at his gallery for a while. The occasion last Friday was the launch of a book called "Lather, Rinse, Repeat", by David Tabak, illustrated by Andy Finkle, who is one of Avram's artists. A lot of people crowded into the gallery to here Tabak read (click on any photo to display larger image):



Avram has kept his gallery and framing business going through the worst recession in 70 years. For that, and for his commitment to showing good quality art, he deserves every commendation.

I was particularly taken by the work of the other artist on display, Jimmy Wilnewic. The first notable fact is that the artist turned out to be taller even than Avram, in other words, somewhere north of 6 feet 5 inches. The paintings were these small  but dense collections of tiny shapes and forms, which reminded me of something like a cross between Surrealist art and cartoon imagery:




The show runs until the end of February, at 5204 North Damen Avenue, Chicago. If you're in the neighbourhood, it's worth stopping in to look.

Popular posts from this blog

Restoring my Printing Press

I've just finished restoring and assembling my large etching press -- a six week process involving lots of rust removal, scrubbing with steel wool, and repainting. Here is a photo of the same kind of press from the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative: And here is a short YouTube video of me testing the press, making sure the motor still works after nearly seven years of lying in storage:
Click here to read more

Brancusi in Plastic

Artist Mary Ellen Croteau is showing these columns made from recycled plastic cartons and lids in the window of the Columbia College bookstore on Michigan Avenue. They are a playful homage to Brancusi's "Endless Columns", with a serious environmental message for our times: Image copyright Inhabitat.com and Mary Ellen Croteau Mary Ellen also runs a wonderful experimental art gallery in a window space in west Chicago, called Art on Armitage . I will be exhibiting a mixed media piece there during August 2012.
Click here to read more

How to etch a linoleum block

Linoleum as a material for printmaking has been used for nearly a hundred years now. Normally, you cut an image out using special gouges similar to woodcut tools, cutting away the lino around the image you want to print. This is called relief printmaking, because if you look at the block from the side, the material that remains stands up in relief from the backing material. You then roll ink with a brayer over the surface of the block, place paper over it, and either print by hand or run it through a press. You can do complex things this way (for example, reduction linocuts), but the beauty of the process is that it is quick, simple, and direct. Incised lino block, from me.redith.com Etched lino block, from Steve Edwards A few years ago, I saw some prints that were classified as coming from etched linoleum blocks, and I loved the textures I saw in them. In the last few months, I've been trying to use this technique in my own studio, learning about it as one does these d...
Click here to read more