Just returned from a brisk walk through several West Loop Galleries. Started the fun at EC gallery for a show I will likely review so I’ll pass on that for now. Then on to Carrie Seacrest for Dietrich Wegner. Wegner’s photographs were pretty and well-printed, his sculpture adequately gross. The concept however was so one-note as to make unnecessary all but one or two of the pieces. A scan of the card:
A sculpture:
Next was Melville Price at McCormick Gallery and I swear, when we walked in and looked at the first painting I said, "That's a very Roll Tide painting." Imagine my surprise then to discover that the painting in question was painted in Tuscaloosa during the artist's years as a teacher at the University of Alabama (where I attended grad school). Nice show. Roll Tide. Nuff said. Excuse the phone picture.
Then to Three Walls for Armita Raafat, the most visually arresting of the work of the day. The installation was something like a decrepit honeycomb seeping from the walls in the form of an Islamic mosaic, complete with glass shards and Mohammad-sparing designs. Interesting stuff:
Western Exhibitions for a group show in the front and a group show in the back (this one video). Mike Rea's Tsavo Manhunters is very impressive:
Some nice drawings and ceramics too. The back room had a looong video loop that I didn't watch a ton of though more on that later (I believe I will be working on a long piece for Chicago Art Magazine about one of the artists shortly). Finished up with a hodgepodge midinstallation look at Peter Miller Gallery. My fave piece being the Steven Lack painting towards the back. I just discovered on wikipedia that he played Cameron Vale, the main guy, in Scanners, which makes it that much cooler. Neat piece.
Cameron Vale:
That's it. More on a couple of these artists to come.
