Revise’s recent solo exhibition, Barely Here, at Modest Skate Shop in Forest Park, Illinois, explores what it means to try to maintain a relationship with an artistic community that measures visibility based on productivity and intense presence.  Such a relationship is complicated when the realities of multiple jobs, and the experience of growing into adulthood mitigate the possibility of maintaining... 

Western Exhibitions opened two corresponding exhibits this month– Looker, a collection of Geoffrey Todd Smith’s intricate geometric paintings, and Fashion, a hypnotic video installation by Josh Mannis. Smith painstakingly works acrylic, gouache, and ink into colorful optical candy reminiscent of spirograph drawings and beadwork. Whimsical titles like Indecent Docent and The Flirtation Station... 

“Objectify This” Show at Design Cloud, Photo Courtesy of Vanessa Ruiz Design Cloud’s current exhibition Objectify This, curated by Vanessa Ruiz, displays a concentrated emphasis on the feminine body (specifically female anatomy) to issue a pointed, yet refined overview of how women have been reduced to pieces of meat in art and since have transcended the confines of these patriarchal... 

Drawing from his experience as a college football player, Ethan Gill, approaches painting actively with honest expressive marks. He received his BFA from Northern Illinois University and is a current MFA candidate at SAIC. My fascination with his paintings began with a show entitled, “My Idea of Fun.” A couple of weeks afterwards, I got the opportunity to interview him for the site. We spoke... 

In 2011, as an intern at Illinois State University Galleries, I was introduced to husband- and-husband artists, Dutes Miller & Stan Shellabarger. Over the course of a week, I got to observe their performance Seed Drawings and document another performance Sewn Together. I conversed with the artists about life, and watched them transform the bare white walls of the gallery space into an amazingly... 

I have been aware of Harry Sudman’s paintings for several years but routinely missed opportunities to view his pieces in person.  After getting in touch with Sudman, we scheduled to meet at his studio in early May to view his paintings and discuss his process.  What I had anticipated to be a brief display of paintings and a quick chat morphed into a three hour, in-depth discussion about the Chicago... 

Larger-than-life mannequins collaged in hip hop paraphernalia greet me as I enter Project Onward, a Chicago studio and gallery dedicated to artists with mental and developmental disabilities. Bright colors sparkle in a refreshingly free aesthetic that characterizes the pieces found within, a sensory overload ranging from altered dolls to custom portraiture.  On a partially divided side of the room,... 

"Pretty Please" (www.hammergallery.com) As I self-consciously entered North Wells Street’s Carl Hammer Gallery last Tuesday afternoon, a woman seated behind a small enclosure informed me that I appeared frightened of something.  Perhaps surprised to have a visitor at this particular hour, the woman couldn’t help but suspect that something was askew.  It’s easy, though, to understand... 

Jason Hawk is a self-proclaimed “dirty sculptor” who works extensively in metal.  Two years ago, Hawk cofounded Red Gate Studios, a live-work space near Logan Square which he shares with artists Salvador Dominguez, Eric Gushee, Llyod Mandelbaum, and Amy Helber. Hawk’s aesthetic is a combination of sci-fi and classical elements, often with an emphasis on technological decay. I had the opportunity... 

Currently on display at The Tony Wight Gallery are two exhibitions. Nazafarin Lotfi’s exhibition entitled, Circles, includes recent paintings, sculptures and drawings. The Motive Power Series is a four-segment film by Mike Gibisser. Nazafarin Lotfi’s most recent work employs a minimized color palette and uses everyday structural materials such as staples, fishing line, vinyl, and fencing....