Eye, 2010

I saw Tony Tasset at Pritzer Park, Chicago IL, July 2010

What inspired you to create a 30-foot-tall eyeball for Pritzker Park?
The CLA said, “We have this space we’re not doing anything with,” and I wanted to—in some ways—compete with the other big sculptures in the city, the “Bean,” the Flamingo or the Picasso. I have made other eyeballs. There’s a 12-foot one [at Laumeier Sculpture Park] in St. Louis. I was thinking of something that people would respond to, that was iconographic. A lot of my artwork takes things that are already somewhat familiar and recontextualizes them. People can project their own ideas onto [the eyeball], but I guess it’s a symbol of consciousness and being part of a community.

What about the banners you’re hanging along State Street, which have different images of a cardinal in flight?
I was thinking of nature against the backdrop of the city, and I [wanted] something really quiet and subtle. The cardinal’s the state bird, and the graphics will be red, white and blue, so all those things together seemed to make sense. Unless you’re driving quickly and there’s no traffic, it’s not exactly going to work like a movie. It’ll be an image that just changes as you drive down the street. The bird will be in the background and come forward into the frame.

How will pedestrians interact with the work?
Just slower. The other part is, it’s not advertising. It’s just nature. It’s supposed to be beautiful and simple. To put that against the backdrop of this very commercial, hustle-bustle city—I’m trying to create a little contrast, basically.

What is your favorite public art in Chicago?
I love the Calder Flamingo because it’s so modern and forward-thinking, yet also almost childlike. Not casual, but almost nonchalant.

From Interview with Tony Tasset in Time Out Chicago

Terra No. 60, 2010

I saw Keiko Nemeth at the Zhou Brothers Art Center, July 2010

My exploration with the oil painting process has been on-going for decades, and I find continuing fascination with the medium as new discoveries and understanding feed fresher and stronger expression. My images carry a geometric underpinning in relationship to the canvas, may it be figurative, still life, or complete abstraction. This is because of my absorbing interest in the spatial structure in painting, as well as the larger question of space that helps define and shape our existence. I find compelling the consideration of fundamental elements that imbue strong works of art, such as the functions of shape, form, line, material, texture, areas of harmony vs. tension, transcending merits derived from the narrative content. I christened a new series of my abstract painting “Terra,” reflecting my concerns relating to space and to mark the relocation of my studio to Zhou B Art Center south of the Chicago loop.

From Artist Statement

You're All Awesome, 2010

I saw Rory Coyne at the Zhou Brothers Art Center, July 2010

In a world run by technology and instant gratification, I am grounded by a tradition implemented by generations of Master Artists.  Using techniques influenced by Old Masters, such as Rembrandt, Whistler, and Sargent, I create allegories that speak to issues of private contemporary society.

The symbolisms created within my work, stem from personal experiences in day to day living, often using animals to signify emotions and reactions in relationships.  These ideas then begin their arduous evolution from my sketchbook to the final canvas.  Contemporary, yet timeless, myths expressed by emissaries of familiar faces of family members, friends, and colleagues.

From Artist Statement

Solar Flare I, 2008

I saw Ed Rudis at the Zhou Brothers Art Center, July 2010

Please let me know if you have any contact or additional information about this artist. This is all I know:

6/29/10, 2010

This is a drawing of mine from the works on paper series. The series is about spontaneous emotional and abstract representations of self.

Side-By-Side, 1988

I saw Ed Paschke at Russel Bowman Art Advisory, Chicago, May 2010

1998 Light can be generated by natural or artificial sources. The metaphorical implications of my light sources involve issues of spirituality, technology and the enlightenment both can provide. Illumination occurs within time, as does evolution. In this way they can record the trajectory of history. Our identity is woven into the fabric of surface information that we orchestrate and present to the world.

1997 Dualities in life are omnipresent in my work. Natural versus artificial, night versus day, underwater versus sky, television technology versus the intelligence of a chicken and life versus metaphor. The identity of my subjects exists in relation to their opposites. These relationships comprise a pulse or inner spirit through which tensions and rhythms reveal themselves. Elements taken out of context have a different potential when freed from the constraints of their origins.

From Commentaries

Dive, 2005

I saw Injung Oh at the Zhou Brothers Art Center, July 2010

In my art I explore power relationships expressed through dynamic symbolism. Through the juxtaposition of constantly clashing pictorial systems, I am able to find answers to questions about the dichotomy of my dual cultural condition.

My work is inspired by tension between the opposing energies I feel within societies, cultures and gender.

The modern woman faces greater opportunitues than in times past for positions of power in government, business, and within family structures. Mywork attemprs to celebrate her growing achievements beyond resistance and “glass ceilings.”

In searching for topics of my art, I paid close attention to European fashions, such as large hoop skirt and corsets, from the age of monarchs. These apparels were particularly ornate, elegant and showy, like wondrous architectural structures that draw tourists, while continaing strong pieces of culture and history.

This era was a time when women were expected to be publically visible and presentable, but mute in decision-making and policy. Only through generations of attempts for social chages, have women acquired a greater voice in society.

By abstracting the images of these apparels, I intended to create series of paintings for a show that I hope can initiate intellectual conversation about the condition of woman.

From Artist Statement

His Leg, 2009

HARMONY-DISCORD, 2008

I saw Connie Noyes at the Zhou Brothers Art Center, July 2010

Standing next to the brick wall the music from the stage vibrated her body like gelatin. Her internal organs competed with the beat for their own rhythm. The drums and bass were loud- body loud. The ears could not hear this. Only the body was listening – moving fluids, flesh and bone.

From Artwork Description

HUMAN STEPS
HUMAN: adjective, have, or relating, to characteristics of people. STEPS: noun, plural, the act of putting one foot in front of the other.

HUMAN STEPS is a dialog, which references the many disparate elements encountered in daily urban life – a metaphor for the way in which dark affects light and vice versa, how the sweet can become sickly if overdone and how close proximity to millions of people, diverse cultures and visual images can both inspire and overwhelm. It is a metaphor for tight quarters, pleasant or not so pleasant meetings and vibrant energy of the city in contrast to shadowy and emotionally difficult places.

For HUMAN STEPS, I use what most people consider garbage as a jumping off place in the work. The materials at one point might have been utilitarian, but were never considered beautiful. The hard, shiny, plastic surfaces often synonymous to commercial objects, would never pass inspection as such. Dirt falls onto the canvases, scratches, cracks, marks occur and there are no straight lines, only the illusion of such. Through the act of turning detritus into “works of art”, or elevating the prestige of garbage, I aim to question the status quo of beauty, worthiness and usability.

–Connie Noyes
2009

From Artist Statement

not a single word, anna, 2010

I saw Kate Stone at Images Gallery‘s Ravenshood show, July 2010

From series: at the seams
For this series I used photographs of domestic interiors and common architecture to construct impossible, uncanny spaces that evoke a feeling of hesitant curiosity, a nervous desire to explore the room, to peek around the bend or to see what lies behind the door at the end of the hall. Our acceptance of photography as reality makes these images hard to understand, especially for those who know the original place. At first glance the rooms and buildings in these photographs appear real. Upon closer examination, however, something is clearly wrong. Doorways are misplaced and once rigid walls are twisted and torn. Distorted perspective creates incongruent angles and improbable shadows. These spaces are literally falling apart at the seams.

From Artist Statement

Little Movements on Canvas, 2010

I saw Clarisse Perrette at the Zhou Brothers Art Center, July 2010

My paintings explore the random, hectic movements in the day-to-day — one action bumps into another — one thought suddenly leads you to a very different one — one shapre leans into the next. We move fast and disconnectedly. Sometimes it adds up to a whole — and sometimes it remains in pieces.

From Artwork Description