goodbye alex and clay

For those of you who often read my blog, by now you may be familiar with two very good friends of mine by the names of Alexander Ferrando and Clayton Flynn. Both young men just received their undergraduate degrees here at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and will be leaving the city of Chicago to pursue their graduate degrees in Fine Art in the city of Vienna. Alex has been accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna while Clay is in the process of applying to another Viennese school. With great news comes sad news because these friends of mine will be leaving Chicago in the end of July.


Last night we had a going away party for them, which eventually turned into a mega dance party extravaganza in a space located in Wicker Park. For those of you who know these two fine artists send them good wishes and say "Auf Wiedersehen" as they begin their new life abroad in Austria. Bye Friends!



Armin, Esteban, Alex, Brendan, Natasha, Ghazal, Matt and Matthew are all enjoying their time at the goodbye party.





Choos**

House Warming at Maliea's

Tonight I went to my friend Maliea's home for a house warming party that she was throwing. Maliea just recently moved into the neighborhood of Humboldt Park on the west side of Chicago. We had a blast drinking lemonade and visiting a local taqueria. We spent the evening telling stories and playing with her cats while lounging on her front porch. The only downside was out of Maliea's control, and that is the HEAT that Chicago's summers often bear!



Esteban and a friend on Maliea's porch.



Maliea was obviously having a great time.

Milwaukee Art Museum: Gilbert & George

On Saturday I went on a road trip with a few friends of mine to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum. The special exhibition, Gilbert and George, consisted of approximately forty-five large-scale pictures and a selection of archival materials as well.


In addition to just seeing the show, we enjoyed the building itself designed by Santiago Calatrava and representing an image somewhat reminiscent of a large white sail boat that could potentially be made for outer space!


The Milwaukee Art Museum is just one of three museums in total to be hosting the exhibition which just traveled from San Francisco’s de Young Museum. For those of you not familiar with the work of Gilbert and George, a portion of the press release is attached below. For more info about the MAM or the exhibition alone please visit this link http://www.mam.org/gandg/.


"Gilbert & George have made art together since the 1970s to create startling and challenging images and pictures that confront the viewers with critical issues of our times. From the beginning, they wanted to communicate beyond the narrow confines of the art world, adopting the slogan “Art For All.” Almost all of the images they use are gathered within walking distance of their home in London’s East End. Yet, their pictures capture a broad human experience, encompassing an astonishing range of emotions and themes, from rural idylls to gritty images of a decaying city; from fantastical brightly colored panoramas to raw examinations of humanity stripped bare; from sex advertisements to religious fundamentalism."



A view of the inside of the museum.



Fingle-Fangle, 2004
Gilbert and George



A Barbara Hepworth sculpture was on view in their permanent collection standing elegantly before a window that looked out onto the lake.



Justin Polera and Esteban Schimpf pose in front of the famous Mars Cheese Castle which one passes while traveling between Chicago and Milwaukee often to buy cheese curds.

The Suburban: Cip Contreras/Matthew Rich

It was a beautiful Sunday and we decided to go to an opening at the Suburban in Oak Park late this afternoon. Many people showed up and there were bratwurst's galore for visitors to enjoy. The artist's in the show included Cip Contreras and Matthew Rich; with such a large variety of work between the two men, the show really was quite interesting.


I saw a lot of friends who have been out of town this summer which made the event even more enjoyable--some having traveled to Brazil while some were returning from a short out of town visit to Michigan. As always Michelle and Brad organized a wonderful Sunday afternoon.



Also having a good time are Claire Pentacost and Ken Fandell, both professors at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.



An installation by artist, Cip Contreras.

Nueva Austria: Work From Vienna

Last night I attended the opening of "Nueva Austria: Work From Vienna" at the Plaines Project. Curated by Alexander Ferrando and Armin Lorenz Gerold the show includes work by Anna Barfuss, Verena Dengler, Armin Lorenz Gerold, Manfred Hubmann, and Georg Petermichl, all artists from Vienna. As the press release states "The artists comprising 'Nueva Austria' are being shown together on the basis of the proximity of thier social position in Austria to that of the Plaines Project's proprietors here in Chicago. As young, newly emergent artists their work is defined more by impressions, inverstigation and interpretation than by statement and purpose,"


Overall, the show was exciting with works covering a variety of media, form, and sources. I had a great time, as is the usual outcome at any opening at the Plaines Project. Following the opening we enjoyed bratwurst's from Maxwell Street Market just down the street from the exhibition space.



The pow wow taking place in the rear of the house once the opening was coming to a close. In the foreground Matt Brennan is seen chuckling away, while Ben and Armin converse in the background.



An image taken outside the gallery space.


For more info about the show feel free to visit their website at http://www.myspace.com/plaineprojects

Oak Street Beach

For some reason the summer heat has made it hard to sleep through humid nights, for that exact reason I decided to invite many of my friends out to the beach today. However, I got their a bit early and encouraged everyone else to join me. I left the house at 6:30 am with about 3 hours of restless sleep under my belt, exhausted I called a taxi to come get me and drop me off at one of my favorite beaches in the gold coast, Oak street beach. Perhaps I was missing my traditional Hawaiian summers from home, but I sure did get out to the beach by 7am. Esteban joined me and we fell asleep at Oak street beach, you can be sure the weather was much cooler there than anywhere else in the city and of course if the sun got too hot the lake was at the tip of our toes!


So the day was long, crazy, and fun. One of the highlights of the afternoon occured when a boy jumped into the lake with his pet racoon sitting on his shoulder. It was a glorious site to see indeed, a tamed racoon that was just a tad bit larger than your average tea cup terrier, but soooooo much cooler of course! The sweet racoon had been rescued by the boy and he is currently raising it, he taught it to do tricks and to eat a variety of meals from cranberries to fruit loops. I had the opportunity to not only photograph the young coon-lad, but we became friends as he placed his paw upon my own with a friendship lick of approval.


We ordered Jimmy John's to be delivered directly to the beach, we watched people come and go. Two others joined us as the day continued on, Maliea and Ghazal who were in the area and caught the free trolley to our destination. Once they arrived we flipped through Us Weekly, enjoyed the final sunny moments, and then as a finale flipped our hair through the lake.


By the time it was 6pm we decided our bodies had endured enough sun and that getting home seemed much more appealing. It was one of the best summer days and the clouds didn't come out once.



Here the racoon scoops his Fruit Loops up one by one for lunch.



Ghazal, Maliea, and Esteban chilling at the beach.



The beach is located in the center of downtown.

Gilberto Gil

Last night Esteban and I were invited by a dear friend of his, Remy LeBoeuf, to attend a concert at Ravinia in Highland Park, Illinois where Remy is currently doing a residency.


Remy, a native of the bay area moved to New York at the age of 18 to play music and study with Dick Oatts, Steve Wilson, and Donny McCaslin. In 2007 he received his Bachelor's degree from the Manhattan School of Music and is currently working on his Master's there as well. This summer he was invited to attend a 2-week residency at Ravinia and will be playing alongside many of the musicians in concert throughout the next few days.


One of the musicians that we were delighted to hear was Gil Gilberto who is a singer, composer and guitar-player in the field of Brazilian popular music. The energy he exuded while performing was CRAAAZYYYY! The scene was terrific with tons of people of all ages jumping up and down as if at a rock concert, some holding their Brazilian flags while some held up a peace sign. Gil Gilberto sang a number of love songs, pop songs, and a few covers in which everyone joined in singing.



A view of the concert from the back of the pavillion.



Remy enjoying the performance.



Gilberto Gil raises his fist in the air as he performs his second "encore" song.



I enjoy the tunes being played.


Thank you Remy, we had a great time!

A day in the park

We've been having a few days of showers here in Chicago this summer. It seems to be a rather odd 3 months of summer because each time the weather heats up, the city seems to cool itself down with a series of thunderstorms and chilly nights. But today was beautiful, sunny, and clear and Esteban joined me on a bike ride through our neighborhood and then we spent the rest of the afternoon reading and having lunch in the park. I hope it stays sunny all week!





A clear day indeed, with only the trees above us.



The grass was so beautiful you didn't even need a blanket to rest on!

The Suburban- Shana Lutker / Stephen Berens

Today was the opening of the first summer show at The Suburban. Included in this exhibition are two artist's from L.A., Shana Lutker and Stephen Berens. Stephen's photographs which documented a posting for a lost dog throughout a neighborhood in Los Angeles, lined the walls of one of the exhibition spaces. He also had some of his books on display of courtyards and plazas, a trip to Italy, and more imagery similar to that of the documented dog poster. In the other gallery space Shana Lutker's large books lay opened on a table for viewers to peruse for a single minute or all day if desired. Many of the books were part of her craigslist ad collection while a large red book seemed to be a collection of her dreams for the past 2 years all laid out as if they were individual newspaper articles.


The opening (as always) was an enjoyable social event on the lawn of Ms. Grabner and Mr. Killam's home. The show is not to be missed and I highly encourage anyone in Chicago to try to make it out to Oak Park to see these compiled collections of books and photographs.


For those of you not familiar with the independently run artist exhibition space in Oak Park, IL I have included a bit of their statement below:
"The Suburban is an independently run artist exhibition space in Oak Park, IL. We give complete control to the artists in regards to what they choose to produce and exhibit. Thus it's a pro artist and anti curator site. The Suburban is not driven by commercial interests. It is funded within the economy of our household. Its success is not grounded in sales, press or the conventional measures set forth by the international art apparatus, but by the individual criteria set forth by the artists and their exhibitions. In this, The Suburban is more closely aligned with the idea of studio practice than that of the site of distribution."
-Michelle Grabner & Brad Killam



Shana Lutker stands beside her book at The Suburban.



Stephen Berens is photographed here beside his installation.


For more information about The Suburban please visit http://www.thesuburban.org

Black Is, Black Ain't

Today I visited the Renaissance Society of Chicago, located in Hyde Park on the University of Chicago's campus. "The Society presents art seldom seen
in the midwest, giving the public opportunities to investigate the most recent developments in contemporary art. At the same time, the museum is equally committed to fostering the development of Chicago's own rich artistic resources".


The current show , curated by Hamza Walker, is entitled Black Is, Black Ain't. I was very impressed by the work included in the show from artist's throughout the country, the show was powerful and many pieces have stuck with me. I enjoyed the works by William Pope L. particularly his cupped-flour sculptures which were scattered throughout the gallery on small make-shift shelves. The video pieces were interesting and very peculiar especially Joanna Rytel's monologue-based performance/video work about a mixed-race relationship.


Artist's included in the exhibition are as follows:
Terry Adkins | Edgar Arceneaux | Elizabeth Axtman | Jonathan Calm | Paul D'Amato | Deborah Grant | Todd Gray | Shannon Jackson | Thomas Johnson | Jason Lazarus | David Levinthal | Glenn Ligon | David McKenzie | Rodney McMillian | Jerome Mosley | Virginia Nimarkoh | Demetrius Oliver | Sze Lin Pang | Carl Pope | William Pope.L | Robert A. Pruitt | Randy Regier | Daniel Roth | Joanna Rytel | Andres Serrano | Hank Willis Thomas | Mickalene Thomas



Glenn Ligon, Warm Broad Glow, 2005
Neon, 39 x 192 inches (Courtesy of Sender Collection, courtesy of Levin Art Group)




Jonathan Calm, Baruch Runoff #2,2008
Pigment print, 40 x 50 inches (Courtesy of the artist and Caren Golden Fine Art, New York)


***********************************************************************************
(portion of press release)
"Taking its title from Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, this exhibition will explore a shift in the rhetoric of race from an earlier emphasis on inclusion to a present moment where racial identity is being simultaneously rejected and retained. The exhibition will bring together works by 26 black and non-black artists whose work together examines a moment where the cultural production of so-called 'blackness' is concurrent with efforts to make race socially and politically irrelevant."


For more information about the Renaissance Society please visit http://www.renaissancesociety.org/site/

the contemporary arts coucil presents...Shape-Shifters

On Friday, May 23rd, Alfedena Gallery was pleased to host the Contemporary Arts Council's 14th annual show of emerging artists, Shape-shifters, curated by critic Jason Foumberg.


Three works of mine are included in the show Scratching Peace Symbols on Your Eyes, Shiva, and Something I saw in the desert. All are constructed out of paper and finished with paper mache and enamel paint; some are coated with shark teeth while others are mounted with marbled orange rocks collected from Arizona. The opening reception was really exciting and a great number of individuals made it out to see the show. I decided to keep what I have to say to a minimum and I have included a portion of the press release below for you to enjoy! If you can make it out to the opening there are a lot of great artists involved in the show and it is not to be missed.


Artist's included in the show:
Mike Andrews
Reed Barrow
Brian Getnick
Sarah Hicks
Chris Kerr
Elliot Layda
Josh Mannis
Samia Mirza
Melissa Pokorny
Mindy Rose Schwartz



Samia Mirza, Scratching Peace Symbols on Your Eyes.



Reed Barrow I Believe I Can Walk through Walls, 2006 and Sarah Hicks, objects from Things Lasting No More than a Day, 2008



An image of Shiva



After the opening we went to Zocalo for the post-opening dinner.



Curator, Jason Foumberg and catalog designer, Ryan Swanson.


**************************************************************************************
Remnants of Digested Culture Re-Purposed in: Shape Shifters
Presented by the Contemporary Arts Council
Curated by Jason Foumberg
May 23-July 3, 2008
Opening reception May 23, 5pm-8pm. Performance at 7pm.


Chicago --- Alfedena Gallery is pleased to host the Contemporary Arts Council’s 14th annual show of emerging artists, Shape-shifters, curated by critic Jason Foumberg. There will be an opening reception for the artists on Friday, May 23rd from 5-8 pm. A performance to be held in the gallery by artist Brian Getnick the evening of the reception will start at 7 pm. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
Like a whale’s vacuum-suck mouth that efficiently consumes the ocean, we too devour our surrounds. The art objects in Shape-shifters are remnants of digested culture, re-shaped and re-purposed. Olympiad bodies, zombies, household gods, and urban myths: by holding many pieces of culture in balance inside us, we become a conglomerate body—an animate spawn of the culture that nourishes us.


This is the Contemporary Arts Council’s 14th annual exhibition of new and emerging Chicago-based artists. In order to support contemporary art and artists in Chicago, to seek out the new and valuable, and to foster the insight and enjoyment that good art provides, the Contemporary Arts Council works each year with an independent curator to flesh out his or her idea. A catalog in the form of an exquisite corpse game is available with essays by Jesse Ball, Reed Barrow, Elijah Burgher, Jason Foumberg, Brian Getnick, and Dan Gleason.

Summer BBQ

Now that summer has begun, every meal has been made with the bbq. Esteban and I have access to our rooftop where we have been hosting a number of summer feasts. Today we enjoyed bratwursts, macaroni salad, squash and mushrooms with our dear friends Alex and Clay, it was our first celebration together since graduation. The sun shone brightly and the food was delicious!



Alex and Esteban enjoy the summer heat while waiting for lunch to be ready.

Lincoln Park Zoo

Since my mom and brother have been in town I have been spending a lot of time with them. Today we decided to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo since it has been a pretty chilly week until today that is. The zoo was packed to the brim but we managed to see everything we set out to look for and the animals were not a tad bit shy. The tiger roared and the gorillas napped and did things that gorillas often do. We spent the entire day over at the zoo and upon exiting our attention was caught by the various peddle boats in the river nearby. Amir and I decided to give it a go and we had so much fun peddling our passenger, otherwise known as Mom :) a ride around the river. It was a great day!



Ice cream, boat rides, and the sea lion tank.



The gorilla sleeps in its world.



A view of the angry tiger who roared for several minutes as spectators gathered around to see him.

Kite Flying

Esteban came over to the Gold Coast today to fly kites with Amir. It was a very cold day but the wind blew beautifully and we could not help but fly our kites. We decided to go to the park near the MCA. I spent some time chatting with my mom while the two of them ran across the park with their kites in the sky.



Amir and Esteban flying kites.

Graduation

At 10 am this morning I participated in the 2008 Graduation ceremony for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago at the Millenium Park Pritzker Pavilion where I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree as well as a Fellowship.



Tony Jones introduces our guests for the morning.


Following an introduction by artist, Michelle Grabner, our commencement speaker, art critic, Jerry Salz, gave an entertaining and interesting speech in regards to our future as artist's as well as the difference between cats and dogs. The list of degree recipients included 800+ students, it was a very lengthy list of names and individuals who WITH CHEER :), crossed the stage. Other notable figures present today were Jeff Koons, Herb Kane, Carol Becker, and Jerry Salz of whom all received honorary doctorates for their fine contributions and accomplishments in the realm of Art.


It was a warm and sunny morning. The audience was filled with proud family members and friends of all the graduates. Both my mom and my youngest brother flew in from Hawaii to the ceremony bearing the most gorgeous ti leaf leis, as it is a tradition in Hawaiian culture upon any congratulatory occasion to present these to one another. I am so happy to have my family here.


After the ceremony I met with one of the honorary doctorate recipients, Herb Kane. Mr. Kane is originally from Hilo, Hawaii and he has been a role model for me throughout my life. He is a very important man to Hawaiians throughout the world. It was a special day for Mr. Kane as he celebrated his birthday as well I greeted him with a ti leaf lei and was reminded of the paintings of his that lined the library of my elementary and high schools throughout my life back home. It was an honor to have met him today.

Mr. Kane and Myself after the graduation ceremony dressed in ti leaf leis.



Mrs. Schimpf, Myself, Esteban, My mom, and my brother, Amir, pose for a photo after the ceremony.


Thank you to my family for their love and support, and thank you to my instructors for all that I have learned from you. To all my friends...thank you for making everything possible!


CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!

SUNDAY--Brunch, Murakami, and Mister Softee

It seems as if everyday we had a late start due to the events from the day before. Caroline, Max, Esteban and I headed over to Bushwick's Life Cafe where the wait for a table for brunch lasted over an hour. I think the only thing that pulled us through our long wait was the warmth of the bright sun and the glasses of ice water that the waitress kindly refilled every 10 minutes. Once we sat down to brunch the wait had been worth it. At brunch we talked about all the work we had seen while Caroline shared with us stories from her weekend spent in Providence as she attended the BFA Furniture show that a friend of hers at RISD participated in.



Waiting for Brunch--Esteban under his sweater, Caroline under her sweater, and Max antagonizing poor Caroline.



Finally Eating Breakfast.


After brunch Caroline decided to join Esteban and I to the Brooklyn Museum to see Murakami's retrospective which traveled from Los Angeles to New York. The show was packed. There was so much work on display including a Louis Vuitton store bridging two galleries together. I was impressed by the perfection of all the paintings and enjoyed Murakami's older work a lot more than some of the new stuff. We also saw the large collection of works from Oceania and Africa as well as the Ghada Amer show.



Murakami at the Brooklyn Museum


Sunday must have been the warmest of our days in New York because as we exited the museum everyone was playing in the fountain and enjoying ice creams provided by Mister Softee the Ice cream truck man. We couldn't resist even though this meant one more line to wait in.



Ice Creams...


And that was it, our trip to New York for four days consisting of everything we could possibly fit into our schedule. It was a lovely vacation and as always those friends are some of the best we have. Thank you Max. Goodbye NYC!

SATURDAY-- A day in Chelsea

We committed our Satuday to Chelsea. Max joined us for the entire day as we stopped everywhere between David Zwirner on 19th street to Greene Naftali Gallery on 26th. It was a long day and we surprisingly saw it all. Katharina Fritsch's show at Mathew Marks was very intriguing. The exhibition included over twenty new sculptures alongside silkscreens. Her latest figure, Giant, was an all-gray cave man holding a large club. In each installation of her sculptures, an icon is surrounded by three silkscreens of courtyards, bushes, and fountains. Another exhibition which had just opened was David Altmejd at the Andrea Rosen Gallery.



A sculpture of St. Catherine by Katharina Fritsch at Matthew Marks.



Work by David Altmejd at Andrea Rosen Gallery


After the galleries Max took us to eat at the Half King. We were given the prime seat at the restaurant right at the front window with two soft leather couches to sit back and recline on. The Half King is known best for it's variety of burgers which is why Esteban ordered the Buffalo Burger, Max enjoyed his Venison and I decided on the Turkey. Dinner was great but it was hard to leave since we were so comfortable. As we left we passed by the Hotel Chelsea and hopped on the nearest train. Unfortunately our train was not running that day so it took us about 3 hours to get back to Bushwick as we transfered and attempted to find a cabbie. None of it was successful and our route frustrated us all except for Esteban. After returning to Bushwick we took a nap and then had Nate and Caroline join us. We had a slumber party and stayed up telling myths to one another while Nate corrected us all with the facts he would retrieve via google through his iphone.



Esteban and I happily fed at The Half King.



Max exhaustedly fed at The Half King.



Hotel Chelsea

FRIDAY-- MOMA, Whitney Biennial, and Robertas

Now Friday may have been the craziest of all our days in New York. We woke up at 11 yet planned a day filled with museum hopping since everything stayed open late that night. Esteban and I met Max at the MOMA where we all thoroughly enjoyed an exhibition entitled, Take Your Time, by the Danish-Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliason. The work was elegant, magical, and gleaming with light of all sorts ;). One piece in particular which stretched across a large portion of the second floor of the museum was Room for one Colour, in which monochromatic bulbs emitted light at such a narrow frequency that they affected the normal color perception of the viewers, therefore the contents of the room appeared in yellow or shades of black.



Room for one Colour, Olafur Eliason
Museum of Modern Art, New York


We saw the newly acquired pieces of the museum which consisted of a "Rock Head" by David Hammonds, works by Chris Ofili, Rachel Harrison and many more.



Esteban stands beside a piece by Rachel Harrison.


And of course we spent most of our time looking at the permanent collection of the museum where we saw a number of masterpieces. Our experiences of such masterpieces were not as we had desired since hundred and hundred of people filtered through the museum all trying to get a shot of themselves beside Picasso's and of course, Van Gogh's Starry Night.



Esteban catches me in a moment while admiring Claes Oldenburg's soft ice cream cone.


By the time we were done at the MOMA, Max realized he needed a nap so he headed home for some rest while we continued on to the Whitney to see the 2008 Biennial. I enjoyed the Biennial a lot. The halls of the Whitney were flooded with works from top to bottom. I really enjoyed the installation by Amanda Ross-Ho, Walead Beshty and a film by Omer Fast. Before leaving the MOMA Esteban bought a book about the artist's Fischli & Weiss which would be our shared reading source for the remainder of our stay in New York.


You can be assured that when all this was over, we were hungry and exhausted. Esteban and I headed back to Bushwick where we met up with Nate, Wyatt, Max, Caroline, Brian, and Natalie Labriola at Robertas again. Dinner was delicious, and it was nice spending the evening alongside our friends. After dinner we could not continue with them to the concert they all planned on attending because falling asleep seemed much more appropriate.

THURSDAY--Cafe Habana, The New Museum, an Opening and Tea with Bless

We got a late start on Thursday waking up at about noon time. Luckily our plan for the day consisted of a short trip to Soho. We ate lunch at a cute cafe called Cafe Habana where we enjoyed delicious barbecued chicken burritos and corn "cuban style". Cafe Habana is just around the corner from the New Museum which was our planned location for the day...just as we were turning the corner toward the Museum we passed a bright orange mural by one of my favorite artists, Keith Haring. Esteban and I spent quite a while admiring the beaming colored mural of three-eyed faces and Haring's token forms.



Esteban and I in front of Keith Haring's mural.


As we neared the New Museum we were blown away by the architecture of the building itself, which appears as if boxes are stacked one on top of the other in a teetering yet elegant manner. There were several exhibitions on view one of my favorite's being a show of Daniel Guzman and Steven Scherer's work in one of the museum's galleries. On the top floor of the museum we saw quite an array of work by the 2006 Turner Prize recipient Tomma Abts.



New Museum
235 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
212.219.1222


After spending many hours at the museum Esteban and I decided to visit the Kartell furniture store in Soho as well as Deitch Projects. While visiting those locations we got side tracked by the boutiques and shopping centers around the area. Once finished with our treck through Soho we headed back to Bushwick to join Max and Bless to an opening of our fellow friends Andres and Wyatt. The opening was packed with young artists and hipster kids of all shapes and sizes. After spending some time there we headed back to Max's place and spent the evening chilling with him and Bless as we reminisced about life in Chicago and the new lives we all have ahead of us while sipping on a variety of chamomile and cinnamon teas brewed by Max.