Praeterita

1 . This is the fifth year that the giant exhibition hall at the end of Chicago's Navy Pier has hosted the Expo Chicago art fair, and according to its organizers and PR people, it was the biggest and most successful of all, in terms of participating galleries, attendance, and sales. 2 . I could not tell whether the impressive, shiny, well-produced art on display was any different from what I saw on the walls last year, or the year before that, or the year before that, or the year before that. But a couple of things with lots of texture and loose execution caught my eye, nevertheless: Rose , Donald Baechler Mica Painting (Sunflowers) , Catherine Howe 3 . The special projects, ranged around the sides of the hall, were dedicated to more experimental works created by exhibiting artists. I liked this piece by Cody Hudson: Hold It Up to the Light , 2016 4 . Why does anyone go to art fairs? It's about as much fun as going to Walmart. Yes, there is a lot of contemp...

I just filed my report about this year's Chicago art fair for Hyperallergic.com, and have a few photos left over from the ones that I submitted for the article. My overall impression in a nutshell: Expo Chicago looks like a streamlined version of one of the big art fairs in New York, Miami, or Basel, which means that it's not particularly a place to go and take the pulse of contemporary art, but rather a place to see what the contemporary gallery world think will sell to contemporary collectors. To my eye, that means lots of painting (mostly in very recognizable styles or by very recognizable artists, living and dead), some sculpture, and a very little video. That is not at all necessarily a bad thing. On the other hand, I didn't come away filled with huge inspiration or with my mind blown. Here are some of the works that I liked (click on an image to embiggen): Judy Pfaff Paul Nutt Tameka Norris Phillip Taaffe Byron Kim Wangechi Mutu W...

Chicago has a new art fair, Expo Chicago, which I reviewed for the online art magazine Hyperallergic . It was a smaller affair than the big art fairs like the Armory show in New York, or Art Miami (sorry, I forget where that one is held). But it's still tiring to walk around and see so much art in only one afternoon. Here are some pictures that I didn't include in the Hyperallergic article: Tony Tassett, fibreglass and acrylic, at Kavi Gupta A visit to the art doctors from Berlin Stephan Balkenhol at Galerie Forsblom/Helsinki Specially designed something hanging from the ceiling - architectural/design feature, not art, but still impressive Georgia Russell, cut paper, at Galerie Karsten Greve AG Zilvinas Kempinas, Lemniscate, magnetic tape and fans, at Yvon Lambert/Paris. The fans kept the tape whirling around in the air at precisely the same location each time - very clever.