A pair of denim jeans enhanced by acrylic paint, aerosol spray paint, permanent marker, and elbow grease. A lamp made out of tile, acrylic, and glass. A linen chore coat with flocked vinyl designs. Departing from the confines of traditional gallery settings, Anna Cerniglia and Kate Pollasch have united their decades-long curatorial and art programming […]
Author Archives: Vasia Rigou
The sacred and profound in Stephen Burks’s ‘Spirit Houses’
“Each morning I make my way to the large east-facing windows overlooking the Harlem River. Sage, photos of my Beloveds, candles, water and items too sacred to name adorn my makeshift altar—an antique wooden liquor stand turned ‘spirit house.’ . . . Imbued with the stories it holds and lives it has lived, my altar […]
Iridescent illusions
The minute you step into the gallery, the clock starts ticking: you only have 30 seconds to experience María Burundarena’s world—if you choose not to return, that is. The line outside the door says otherwise. People are lining up, eager to get back in for another half-minute solitary experience that is what you make it—a […]
Savoring culture
Celebrating the rich tapestry of Black and African identities, “Gumbo,” reveals the multifaceted narratives, cultural nuances, and poignant perspectives of the Black experience by bringing together 20 artists whose work spans mediums and scale. The works are carefully arranged within the Fulton Market gallery and rightfully so—each one demands a closer look so sufficient white […]
Sculpting unity
The sound of tens of thousands of tinkling bells fills Kavi Gupta. Marie Watt’s jingle clouds hang from the ceiling, creating an immersive experience. “I want people to walk through something, so their body will feel it and hear it,” says the artist, who pays special attention to the relationship that the dynamic sculptures, made […]
Build your own narrative
Exploring intimacy, memory, and human connection through personal experience, Brenda Draney employs a less-is-more approach to painting. Here, absence and presence don’t seem to matter. Born in Sawridge First Nation, by the town of Slave Lake in Alberta, Canada, the Edmonton-based artist uses thick brushstrokes to depict aspects of contemporary Indigenous life. “Drink from the […]
Unveiling the depths
Before even entering the gallery, “Somewhere between the eyes and the heart” pulls you in. Leasho Johnson’s densely textured paintings vary in scale. The dark color palette and shiny pitch-black silhouettes are interrupted by bright splashes of color: vivid pink, yellow, blue, and tangerine. The Jamaican-born, Chicago-based artist’s subjects are abstract enough for their facial […]
Finding meaning in abstraction
Carmen Neely’s large-scale abstract paintings fill Mariane Ibrahim gallery with energy—feminine, intimate, and sensual but also strong and purposeful. “Sometimes a painting is a prayer” is a very personal exhibition; it’s almost esoteric. Soothing hues—creamy beige, earthy maroon, and soft pink—blend with wine burgundy, dark plum, and intense black. Lines, scribbles, and symbols take on […]
‘Shift: Music, Meaning, Context’ reveals music’s multitudes
Can music be propaganda? Torture? How about a tool of manipulation, disorientation, and oppression? “Shift: Music, Meaning, Context” contemplates how music changes in form and interpretation as it moves across time, body, and place. Reflecting history and culture unlike any other medium, music has shaped the world at a micro, meso, and macro level. This […]
Battle royale
Nikko Washington grew up in a family of trained martial artists. Mastering discipline and control served him beyond the fact that he earned a black belt at a young age—harnessing the power of physical training and mental fortitude has elevated his practice to the next level. As Ciera McKissick writes in the exhibition text, painting […]
Transcending boundaries
In Roadworks (1985), Mona Hatoum walks barefoot through the streets of Brixton dragging a large pair of Dr. Martens boots (the same brand previously favored by the British police) attached to her ankles by their laces. The short video is edited from documentation of the artist’s hour-long performance of the same title. The Negotiating Table […]
Black culture as a force for change
“Things Well Worth Waiting For” is a small-scale, deeply comprehensive exhibition that transports you to a different time where women wore flamboyant dresses, men drove classic cars, segregation prevailed, and the power of soul music was palpable. Photojournalist and activist Kwame Brathwaite was there, documenting it all—in words and in photographs. Occupying two galleries at […]
Togetherness reevaluated
Chicago artists Dutes Miller and Stan Shellabarger have been doing everything together for decades—literally. The longtime partners in art and in life have been working with traditional American craft techniques—silhouette cutting, sewing, crocheting, and bookmaking—but they’re perhaps best known for their performative works: Untitled (Pink Tube), an ongoing nontheatrical performance they started 20 years ago […]