Wednesday in New York--Walk in the Park and Union Pool

We arrived in New York on Wednesday.


The day was beautiful and bright and we took a cab to meet our friend who we would be staying with, Maximillian Schubert. Max has a live/work space in Bushwick where he works amongst other artists like Rashid Johnson, Siebren Versteeg, Rob Davis, Mike Langlois and many others. Upon our hungry arrival Max took us to a local pizzeria called Robertas. Robertas was fantastic, with delicious calzones and thin crust pizzas as well as a setting that was perfect--it was cabinesque with just an oven for firing. After Robertas we went to Williamsburg to meet a dear friend of ours, Caroline Askew. With Caroline we got Italian Gelato and spent dusk in the park before heading over to Union Pool. At Union Pool we met up with many of our friends who are former SAIC graduates, Bless Tive, Andres Laracuente, Nate, and the Onion's Caroline! Union pool was great, we stayed there for awhile and then headed back to Max's place to for a good night's sleep.



A walk in the park--Max, Caroline and Esteban.



Nate, Max, and Caroline II, at Union Pool.

Art Chicago, and Fogo de Chao

Today I reported to the Columbus building at 10am to assist in an admissions event revolving around Art Bash which is a culminating exhibition put on by the First Year Program that consists of work by selected First Year Students throughout the galleries of the school.


After the event some my friends Alex, Julius, Chloe, Marquise and Haseeb headed over to Art Chicago for one last viewing before the event was over. I made sure to see the New Insight show on view at NEXT. New Insight is a curated show comprised of works by MFA students throughout the country. Amongst all the works in the show, I was most impressed by the work of SAIC's MFA student Angel Otero who had two paintings on display, the paintings were beautiful.



A painting by Angel Otero on view at the New Insight exhibition.


After running through the show we all headed over to Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian Meat-Age Restaurant in which 14 kinds of meat are served to each person as long as they flag the waiter down with a Green coaster-like signal. Fogo de Chao was amazing and I have never had quite a wild experience while feasting. The dinner lasted from 6pm till 11pm, it was a great moment for all of the graduating admissions students to get together and enjoy one of our last meals together. The food was amazing, the conversations were great; laughter filled the room.



Chloe, Julius, Alex and I yell at the top of our lungs in celebration for FOGO!



From (top left to bottom right) Myself, Chloe and Haseeb; Alex, Jamilee, and Ghazal; Michael, Gracen Hong, and Rob; Andres and Marquise--all having a wonderful time dining.



At the end of the night you can be sure that our stomachs were full.

MCA Breakfast, MCA Warehouse Party, and Roots & Culture

I woke up early this morning to attend a special breakfast at the MCA. Chris Kennedy opened up the morning with a speech in which he discussed the new "Art Chicago", as well as addressing the new director of the MCA. To follow Mr. Kennedy's speech was the director herself, Madeleine Grynsztejn. As the Chicago Tribune states, "This has been an exhilarating month for Madeleine Grynsztejn. The 46-year-old former curator in the department of 20th Century art at the Art Institute of Chicago has returned from San Francisco to become the first female director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the retrospective she organized for celebrated artist Olafur Eliasson—which will come to the MCA next spring—has just opened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York." Overall the morning was rather exciting, after breakfast we were all encouraged to take a look at the museum's various exhibitions on display. We walked through and saw the Metta-Matta Clark exhibition and the Karen Kilimnik works on display. I must say that my favorite section of the museum this morning was the 12x12 emerging artist section by Irena Knezevic. Irena brought together historical and contemporary figures who have made a Faustian pact with the devil in an installation titled The Summit (2007).



Breakfast hosted by the MCA and catered by Wolfgang Puck.



Installation by Irena Knezevic comprised of overhead projections and related objects.


After breakfast I realized I needed a few hours of rest since the days have been jam packed with things to do. I went home to take a nap and later in the night Esteban and I headed over to the MCA Warehouse for an Art Chicago Party. The evening was great with tons of h'orderves and spring mojitos. We mingled with a number of artists, gallerists, and collectors. Once the Warehouse party came to an end we headed over to La Pasadita for burritos with Dan Berger and Justin Polera where we met up with Rob Davis, Mike Langlois, Rashid Johnson, Cheri, Steve Turner, Binyon, and Todd Gray. After burritos we went to Roots and Culture where a silent auction was being held as a benefit for the independent gallery space. I met up with my friends Alex and Maliea and the night soon became a beautiful dance party!


What a long long day.



Todd, Binyon, Dan, Rashid, Esteban, Mike and I pose for a photo at the Warehouse party.

Jack Shainman, Calatrava Spire, Leslie Hindman, and the MFA Show!

Today we went to Art Chicago once again. I spent the whole afternoon looking at more booths that I didn't get a chance to see last night. My friends Dan Berger, Justin Polera and Esteban Schimpf joined me in surveying all of the works on display. We spent quite awhile mingling with a good friend and New York gallery owner Jack Shainman. As always, Jack Shaiman's gallery had a great collection of works on display by Nick Cave, Nir Hod, Jonathan Seliger, Carrie Mae Weems and more.


After looking through the various fairs going on in the Merchandise Mart's Artropolis extravaganza, Esteban and I decided to attend one of the events hosted by the Chicago Spire Development group. The Chicago Spire is a supertall skyscraper under construction in Chicago, Illinois. The building was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and is being developed by Garrett Kelleher of Shelbourne Development Group, Inc. At 2,000 feet and with 150 floors, the building is likely to be the second tallest in the world when completed in 2011. During the event we enjoyed h'orderves, and a walk through the architectural firm where various renditions and sketches were on display as well as examples of many of the Spire's rooms.


After visiting the Spire we headed over to the Leslie Hindman Auction House at 1338 W. Lake St. "Founded in 1982, sold to Sotheby’s in 1997 and reopened in 2003, Leslie Hindman has remained a constant force behind high profile auctions of everything from contemporary paintings and fine jewelry to French furniture and rare books and manuscripts and always maintains a practice of achieving the highest prices while maintaining the highest levels of integrity and customer service." The collection on view was impressive; with a number of works from the 20th Century Decorative Arts, English & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts, American & European Works of Art, as well as Post War and Contemporary Art pieces. Amongst the many favorites was a painting by Roger Brown which sold for $38,400 tonight!


After going to the Leslie Hindman Auction House we headed over to the MFA Show with works on view by the class of 2008 Graduate students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago at Gallery 2 and Project Space. As I entered the gallery space, a thunderous sound emitted from the first floor gallery which is usually closed off and unused. A set-up by artists Ben Fain and Leon Reeves consisted of a number of parade items like giant paper-mache pizza faces, streamers, balloons, and individual performances by a number of the school's performance artists. The thunderous sound, as I soon learned was a choir comprised of voodoo-like, monstrous, fantastical performers singing their hearts out and stomping their feet while singing and calling upon all gods of the Sky. It was amazing. The works upstairs were also very interesting to see.


I need to get as much rest as I can now because tomorrow morning we have to wake up early for a breakfast at the MCA! It's been a long and exhausting day and the weekend has only just begun...



Dan Berger, Esteban Schimpf, Jack Shainman, Justin Polera and I pose for a photo in front of NIck Cave's elaborately decorated sound suits on display at Art Chicago.



Robert MacNeil is seen standing in front of a Roger Brown painting at the Leslie Hindman Auction House.




A display case contained a number of ceramic plates by Kerry James Marshall at the LH Auction House.



Kaylee Rae Wyant stands to the side of a collaboration between artist Jerome Acks and herself at the 2008 MFA Exhibition at 847 W. Jackson.




Robbie and Esteban standing in front of the parade setup by Ben Fain and Leon Reeves.

ART CHICAGO ::Opening Night::

Tonight was the opening of Art Chicago...an event that Chicago's art community looks forward to every year. Art Chicago and the accompying fairs always appear at the end of our cold winter and usher in the beautiful spring that we enjoy here in this city. Everyone is in a great mood and art is blooming everywhere! : )


Esteban and I attended the opening reception of Art Chicago and NEXT which is a fair of young and emerging artists. A close friend of ours provided us with VIP black cards which will allow us entry into many events over the course of the weekend including exclusive trips to collectors homes, auction preview parties, and early morning breakfasts at various Chicago cultural institutions. As long as Esteban can wake up early we will be sure to do as much as we can!


Overall both fairs were excellent and diverse in their presentations. My favorite piece in the entire fair was a beautiful yellow Keith Haring painting of "Mr. Softee" that he made in 1985 which was presented at Max Lang's booth. Another great piece was "Face of God" by Robert Davis/Michael Langlois at Steve Turner Contemporary.


After Art Chicago some friends and I headed over to Sonotheque for the NEXT fair after party.



Esteban, Robbie, Dan, and I look at some of the drawings by John Parot at Western Exhibitions.




Mr. Softee, Keith Haring 1985

Justin Cooper- Gallery 400

I just returned from the opening of an installation/performace by artist, Justin Cooper, entitled Thread. The performance was held at UIC's gallery 400 located at 400 S. Peoria. The gallery was filled with more than 100 garden hoses all tangled up to form an obstacle-course-type setup. The performance was intriguing as are many of Justin's performances with common collaborators like Ross Moreno, Ben Bellas, and Noelle Mason. After the performance many of us headed over to Jacks Tap for drinks and dinner.


Congratulations Justin!

Throughout the performance Justin and Noelle yelled at a fellow audience member, Elizabeth Jaeger, to snap their photo at all desired photo op moments.



Michael Hunter, Justin Cooper, and Dave laugh over the thought that reptiles could have been a super human conglomerate.

Don't Put It Past Me

Last night I attended an opening at Koscielak Gallery in Wickerpark. The exhibition entitled, “Don’t put it past me” was a group exhibition that I participated in which featured the work of young sculptors from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The work encompassed a variety of media. Some of the work revolved around fantastical, mythological and dream like scenarios. Other work in the exhibition addressed social issues like race, exploitation and the impact of the media.


The exhibition will be up from April 18-26, 2008 and I highly encourage people to go check it out! I have included some images below of the opening night event:



Don't Put it Past Me



Koscielak Gallery view from the outdoors.



Artist, Dori Scherer, and I pose in front of a sculpture by artist, Justin Swinburne.



Artist, Evan Apodaca, shows fellow artist, Esteban Schimpf, how to manuever his sound/sculpture installation by guiding a metal rod across pre-recorded strings.



On the far left in a plexiglass box is a piece of mine entitled "Sketch for giant cat piss clump", in the center is a piece by Juan Carlos Fuentes, "The tallest tree in the world", and on the far right is a piece of mine entitled, "I've always wanted your nose, Dad"


for more information in regards to this exhibition or the gallery please refer below:
KOSCIELAK GALLERY
1646 N. Bosworth Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
773.252.9921
847.858.1540
http://www.gosiakoscielak.com

Sunny days, Beethoven, and Hair Cuts!

Today was a beautiful day, the sun was shining without a cloud in the sky. It was seventy degrees for Chicago and people walking the streets were sporting tank-tops, shorts, and sundresses! Esteban and I decided to have lunch at Millennium Park which is right next door to SAIC. We stopped by Oasis Cafe to pick up some kifta kabob sandwiches and baklava for lunch. The park was filled with people lounging and napping on the lawn, having lunch during their afternoon break, and of course looking at their reflections within Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate" sculpture also known as THE BEAN.



A view of Millenium Park on a warm spring day.


Later in the day we went to Orchestra Hall to hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Esa Pekka Salonen's Piano Concerto arranged for pianist virtuoso, Yefim Bronfman. Esa-Pekka Salonen is originally from Helsinki, Finland and is both a conductor and composer. He is currently the Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Tonight's performance was very special because Salonen, conducted a piano concerto in which he had written particularly for Yefim Bronfman, and the two were present tonight to perform it at Orchestra Hall. We had been waiting for so long to hear the Piano Concerto and especially Beethoven's 7th, it was truly magnificent! Thank you Esteban.





After a long day of school, a lunch in the park, and a symphony, one would not expect for much more to occur in this loooong day. However, just an hour ago, I was at the home of my two buddies, Alex and Clay, and Alex was conducting an activity himself...Hair Cuts! Alexander Ferrando is one of the best stylists I have ever known and he did such a fantastic job cutting Esteban and Clayton's hair. It has been a long day indeed and it's only Wednesday!



Esteban, Clay, and Alex pose for a moment in the middle of a styling session.


Adios!

Lucky 13: 13th Annual Asian American Showcase

"LUCKY 13" is an exhibition which opened tonight in conjunction with the 13th Annual Asian American Showcase at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The art exhibition curated by Larry Lee is showcased in the Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Gallery. Mr. Lee curated an exhibit that features the work of 13 artists from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, both current and alumni, who have interpreted and drawn inspiration from the number 13 in an ostentatious celebration for the 13th anniversary of the Asian American Showcase. The Showcase this year coincides specifically with the Association for Asian American Studies Conference being held in Chicago at the same time.


There was a great turn out at the opening tonight. I was surprised to see that the "Aloha Grill", a local drive-inn here in Chicago that serves authentic Hawaiian food from my home state, Hawaii provided the food at the reception. Some other surprises included a Ping Pong table which was donated by a local ping pong company in honor of our event this month as well as the debut of Ping Pong Playa which debuted tonight at the theater as well. It was a long night filled with interesting conversations. I had a great time!


The show runs from April 11 to May 25th and is located at 164 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60601. Artists included in the exhibition are:


Frances Ahn
You Ni Chae
Yu Ling Chiu
Hsuan Hsiu Hung
Marquise Johnson
Nancy Kim
Cheng Yung Kuo
Alex Lee
Samia Mirza
Mitsu Okubo
Chae Eun Rhee
Esteban Schimpf
Mat Tom



A group picture of the curator, Larry Lee (center), standing alongside ten of the thirteen artists included in the show. Behind the group of artists is the work of Chae Eun Rhee and You Ni Chae.



The work of Esteban Schimpf, Nancy Kim, and Mat Tom.



A series of photographs by Alex M. Lee, entitled Smoke and Mirrors.



An image of curator Larry Lee and myself standing beside one of my pieces entitled, "Karate & Dolphins (Made in 13 minutes)"