Rhona Hoffman's exhibition was entitled "COMMEMORATING 30 YEARS
1976 - 2006: PART TWO 1980-1990" This year marks 30 years for Rhona Hoffman as a gallerist in Chicago. It seems fitting to celebrate this significant anniversary with a series of exhibitions and installations that pay homage to the art and artists who have been the lifeblood and substance of the gallery's existence. The gallery is presenting many of the artists work in a roughly chronological fashion, according to the era they first exhibited.
Below is an image of the Franz West piece that the gallery had on display:
On March 16th Walsh Gallery presented photography and sculpture by Beijing-based artist duo the Gao Brothers. "From China with Love" is an investigation into the effects of Chinese urbanization on the spirit. The show ran from March 16 to April 28.
Below is an image of one of the photographs that were exhibited at Walsh Gallery:
After attending the open galleries and the brunches that were held there, we headed over to the Merchandise Mart for a final viewing of the shows. We got a chance to take a look at the New Insight Show which was an exhibition of artwork by promising young contemporary artists curated by Susanne Ghez, Director of the University of Chicago, Renaissance Society. New InSight was comprised of artwork from 24 graduate students at 12 of the country’s most influential Master of Fine Arts programs, which included the following:
California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts)
Carnegie Mellon University
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Hunter College (City University of New York)
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI)
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC)
Yale University
In the middle of our afternoon we quickly switched plans and location so that we could attend the opening of Dusseldorf-based artist Katharina Grosse (b. 1961, Germany) at the Renaissance Society located on the University of Chicago campus. Engaging a range of surfaces, including aluminum, canvas, paper, and existing architectural elements, the site-specific abstract paintings are executed in a manner that emphasizes color over brushwork, movement over stasis, and transience over permanence. This is the first one-person exhibition in the Midwest for the artist.
Here is an image of her installation:
At 6:30 pm that day we attended the Blanc International Fashion Show. Blanc is a contemporary runway presentation highlighting the worlds top designers and the citys most distinguished retailers who paint the canvas with a modernist approach to fashion. We were invited to experience the Spring/Summer 2007 collections brought to life through ten individual designer segments at the first ever International Fashion Event during Art Chicago.
Once the fashion show was over, we drove to the North end of Chicago on Lake Shore Drive to get a bite to eat in the Indian/Pakistani part of town called "Devon".
This was the drive:
and here we can see how happy Neil and Esteban are to have eaten quite a delicious meal:
Our last event of the weekend occurred at the home of Dr. Dan Berger and Mr. Matthew Piechowski. The two gentlemen, who are very fine collectors of art, opened their beautiful home located just outside of Chicago in the neighborhood of Roger's Park for a private viewing. Their collection includes but is not limited to works by Roger Brown, Rashid Johnson, Mr. Imagination, Bernard Williams, Kehinde Wiley, and William Hawkins. Dr. Berger served as the Chair of Collections and Acquisitions Committee for the Intuit Show here in Chicago.
In the photographs below you can see images taken of that joyous night with Dan Berger, Robert Cooper, Mr. Imagination, Robert MacNeill, Matthew Piechowski, Justin Polera, Esteban Schimpf, Bernard Williams, and myself. We are standing in front of one of their Roger Brown Paintings and holding in our hands the many sculptures done by none other than Mr. Imagination...
The night concluded with a fun car ride taking all our friends home, the weekend was long and exciting and we all needed a good night's sleep.
