June Art Picks
As the temperature rises, so do your options for performances, exhibitions, talks, film screenings, and more throughout the city.
All posts tagged: Millennium Park
Inferno, Purgatory, or Paradise: An Interview with Sabina Ott
I call Sabina Ott “my eyes and ears to the Chicago art scene.” Her endless ability to wow with her art, which was on view from August 30 to January 4 in the huge-scale “here and there pink melon joy” at the Chicago Cultural Center, is matched by her commitment to present and support artists. She is intellectually and materially ambitious, and over the years I’ve developed a deeper understanding of her sensibility. Profoundly influenced by her mother, her work as an artist, teacher, and presenter is informed by a feminist ethic and explores the complicated, and at times ecstatic, space of transformation. Melissa Potter: What inspired you to become an artist? I know your mother was a big influence on your work. Sabina Ott: I was always aware of my position as a woman artist—even if my response to cultural bias against women was sometimes confused. As a child, I wanted to have what I now call the privilege of the authoritative I: the privilege to access my subjectivity with the freedom that men seemed …
EXPO CHICAGO // An Interview with Tony Karman
This week, the art world’s glitterati will descend upon Chicago for a new contemporary art fair: Expo Chicago, The International Exposition of Contemporary/Modern Art & Design. Occupying Navy Pier’s colossal Festival Hall, the fair showcases a selection of top tier galleries—capped at 100—from around the globe. Also included are EXPOSURE, a section comprising younger galleries; IN/SITU, a presentation of large-scale installations and site-specific and performative works; the conclusion of /Dialogues, a series of panel discussions and conversations; and a VIP Program. Designed by the architecture studio of luminary Jeanne Gang, the fair’s floor plan mimics Chicago’s grid system, boasting gallery-lined streets that allow visitors to view everything in sequence without losing their way, as well as a diagonal avenue on which visitors can view select exhibits and installations. Hanging from the hall’s high ceilings are mammoth mirrored cones. While many may be curious as to whether Chicago can live up to the challenge of hosting such an event, some involved in the lively local art scene have a separate concern: Can the fair get out-of-town …
Abraham Ritchie: One Piece of the Pie
MEET ABRAHAM RITCHIE, CONTEMPORARY ART CRITIC IN CHICAGO A few weeks ago Abraham Ritchie set an hour aside during his lunch break at the Art Institute (in the Manet room) to sit and talk about his career as a contemporary art critic in Chicago. Abraham elaborated on how he established his career as an art critic and what his role as a contemporary art critic should be. Moreover, he provided an incredibly coherent, sincere and well-informed perspective about the condition of art in Chicago and some solutions that may help remedy some of the shortcomings that art has had in Chicago over the last few years. Abraham Ritchie is unapologetic and speaks eloquently about his critical opinions. Perhaps this is the reason why his writing is well received. Below is the shortened version of a larger transcript from the interview. Because of the depth and breadth of the interview each segment is categorized with a broad heading instead of the original questions. INTRODUCTION My name is Abraham Ritchie I am the senior editor for ArtSlant …