Flock You

Tonight!  Info from Beer Run Gallery...

The Beer Run Gallery presents “Flock You”: A collective group show of bird themed art from Chicago-based artists. Honoring the return of our feathered friends and the season change, we invite you to join us for the opening reception.

Artists:
Revise
Peter Kepha
Sofia Moreno
Joey Potts
Catalina Garcia
David Ali
Jon Mills
Ruben Aguirre Jr.
Ricardo Compean
CZR PRZ
Julian
Rich Marafioti
Jimmy V
Juan Compean
Nuco
Jova Durán

Installation by: Peter Kepha

Music by: DJ REVEL

Flock You
Opening reception: April 17, 2010
 7pm - midnight
The Beer Run Gallery
1104 W. 18th Street
Chicago, IL 60608

The show will be up through May 1, 2010

Printervention

This Friday is the opening reception for the massive Printervention show.  Featuring work by many local and national artists.  Info from their site...

We have asked artists from around the country to create works that raise awareness of social and political issues of our day. Printervention underscores the necessity for the support of artists and the idea of civic responsibility to the greater society. In addition to an exhibition of over 70 posters and prints, Printervention will feature a mobile silk screen cart for distributing work in parks and on the street, a window display at The Whistler in Logan Square, as well as workshops and demonstrations at the Chicago Tourism Center Gallery.

Printervention

Opening reception Friday, April 16, 2010

5 to 7 pm

Chicago Tourism Center Gallery

72 E Randolph St (between Michigan Ave and Wabash)

Chicago, IL

The Last Unicorn

An art show based on Peter S. Beagle's novel and film, "The Last Unicorn".  Info from their site...

The Tattoo Factory Gallery, along with Pabst Blue Ribbon, proudly present "THE LAST UNICORN ART SHOW".  A group art show celebrating the stunning, inspiring and legendary movie THE LAST UNICORN with very special guest Peter S. Beagle.

Peter S. Beagle's THE LAST UNICORN is a timeless fantasy story full of adventure and surprise, set within a poetic and humorous world of legend. The novel has been a cult classic since it was first published in 1968, selling over 6 million copies around the world in more than 20 languages. In 1982 the story was adapted by Peter S. Beagle and Rankin-Bass into an animated film.

To coincide with the gallery show, there will be screening of THE LAST UNICORN on Saturday, April 17th. at Gorilla Tango. A Q&A with Peter S. Beagle will be conducted after the movie.

The Last Unicorn Art Show
with special guest Peter S. Beagle
Friday April 16, 2010
7 to 11pm
The Tattoo Factory Gallery
4443 N Broadway
Chicago, IL

The Following of One Thing After Another

Chicago's The Post Family unveils another interesting show this Friday evening.  This time featuring work by German artist Ina Weise.  Info from The Post Family...

All the way from Dresden, Germany, Ina Weise came to Chicago eager to become what became the first intern at the design collaborative The Post Family. This opportunity rapidly evolved into a self-initiated artist residency. Over the past year Ina has created a large portfolio including screenprinted and letterpressed works, small scale sculptural objects, and artist books. THE FOLLOWING OF ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER is a multiplatform site-specific installation inspired by her time spent in Chicago.

In true Post Family form, Ina collaborates with Linsey Burritt of INDO. Riffing on the idea of a dodecahedron symbolizing the 5th element or the universe, they transform the formal gallery space into a mystical world of form, textures, and light (or lack thereof), using mostly salvaged and discarded materials from the studio and around the city. Ina will also be displaying other collaborative pieces like large scale letterpress prints executed with Letterform and a projected video installation created by Gus Gavino which utilizes some of Weise's early screenprint studies.
The Following of One Thing After Another

Opening reception, Friday April 16, 2010

7 pm to midnight

Family Room Gallery at The Post Family

1821 W Hubbard (2nd floor)

Chicago, IL

Even Odds

A graffiti art show featuring work by Rome, Flash, Chumbly, Statik, Teel, Uneek, KLTA, and Loveone.

Even Odds
Friday, April 16, 2010
Opening reception 6:00pm - 10:00pm
SPACE 900
1040 W Huron.
Chicago, IL

Byte This

Eric Nakamura, the publisher and one of the founders of Giant Robot magazine, will speak in Chicago Tuesday along with filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura, and S.F. area musician Goh Nakamura.  They'll be on a panel discussion titled, Byte This:  Surviving the Digital Age, talking about the "changing landscape of media arts in the digital age".  Sponsored by FAAIM, the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media and Columbia College Chicago.

Free admission.

Byte This: Surviving the Digital Age
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
6PM
Film Row Cinema of Columbia College Chicago
8th Floor
1104 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago IL
312-369-6815

The Light Years

Chicago musician and painter Justus Roe has a show of new paintings opening tomorrow Friday at Andersonville's In Fine Spirits.

Justus Roe:  The Light Years
Opening Friday, April 9, 2010
7 to 11 pm
In Fine Spirits
5418 N Clark St
Chicago, IL

Casey McGonagle at HungryMan

Logan Square's HungryMan Gallery has a photography show opening Saturday by Casey McGonagle.

Casey McGonagle:  Halfsleep
Opening Saturday, April 10, 2010
6 to 11 pm
HungryMan Gallery
2135 N Rockwell
Chicago, IL

The show runs through April 24, 2010.

Thirty Days NY

Absolut Vodka is sponsoring a month long art space/pop up gallery in NYC begining tonight.  Featuring a great roster of artists, musicians, and film makers from around the country, like Gary Panter, Ben Jones of Paper Rad, Art Spiegelman, Fred Armisen, and Andrew Jeffrey Wright.

Gary Panter

Ben Jones

The full schedule is posted below and there's more info at the Thirty Days NY site.

Thirty Days NY

70 Franklin St

Between Church and Broadway

New York City, NY

Twin Formation

Noble & Superior Projects has a show opening tonight.  This is an apartment gallery in West Town that has a great exhibition program.  It should be good.

Info from their site...

Eric Veit's installation COMMUNAL LIVING features new digital paintings, abstract sculpture and light installation combined to investigate the complexity of human relationships, specifically his interest in the "poetic beauty" of conjoined twins. Veit explores concepts outside of the restrictions of media specificity in order to create complex and wide ranging installations that transform the gallery into a sublime territory.

Jon Satrom's TRENDS is a collection of images generated from inquiries using the data platform Google Trends. These often humorous and seemingly innocuous queries reveal more about the environment of ubiquitous databases than one might initially infer. Satrom's work consistently illustrates the innumerable possibilities and faults of digital media, positioning both user and viewer to be enveloped by the infinite body of knowledge found in contemporary information systems.

Eric Veit and Jon Satrom
Opening reception, Friday April 2, 2010
6 to 10 pm
Noble & Superior Projects
1418 W Superior (2R - In the rear coachhouse)
Chicago, IL

On view through May 4, 2010

Casual Object Garden and Other Material Matters

Carson Fisk-Vittori and Michael Hunter have a show opening tonight at Roots & Culture.

Carson Fisk-Vittori and Michael Hunter: Casual Object Garden and Other Material Matters
Opening reception, Friday, April 2, 2010
6 to 9 pm
Roots & Culture
1034 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL

On view through April 30, 2010

Ted Halkin at Corbett vs Dempsey

Wicker Park Gallery Corbett vs Dempsey has a show opening tonight by Ted Halkin.  Info from their site...

For his second solo exhibition at Corbett vs. Dempsey, Ted Halkin returns to a feature of his early work: relief.


In his signal works of the 1950s and early 1960s, when he first emerged as one of the most important artists in Chicago, Halkin created fantastic figurative scenes painted atop topographic surfaces made of modeling paste and papier-mache, facial features and body parts poking out from the canvases in a vivid 3-D tableaux. In his most recent body of paintings, he extends the abstract elements of recent years, exploring a bright, rich, hard-hitting palette, sometimes tempered with greys and greens, featuring his virtuoso handling of multi-layered totemic and hieroglyphic forms. In many of the paintings made over the last two years, Halkin introduces papier-mache and carefully placed cotton twine as both dimensionality and image, creating yet another layer and heightening the funky energy of these brilliant new works.

Ted Halkin: Relief
Opening reception Friday, April 2, 2010
5 to 9 pm
On display April 2 - May 8, 2010
Corbett vs. Dempsey
1120 N Ashland Ave (3rd floor)
Chicago, IL

SARO rocks

New Work by Saro!, originally uploaded by Mirian Vz.

Prolific Chicago street artist SARO, has a show of new work up now at Kitchen Sink in Edgewater. He'll have photographs on display, as well as some of his intricate stencils.

SARO
On view throughout the month of April, 2010
Kitchen Sink Cafe
1107 W. Berwyn Ave
Chicago, IL

Cafe Hours:
Monday-Friday 6:30 AM-8:30 PM,
Saturday-Sunday 7:30 AM-8:30 PM

50 Aldermen/50 Artists Closing Party

This Friday, April 2nd is the closing party for the 50 Aldermen/50 Artists exhibition.  Curated by Lauri Apple and Jeremy Scheuch, this show has a great mix of art styles representing every aldermen in the city of Chicago.  Over 800 people and 17 aldermen attended the opening a few weeks ago at Johalla Projects.  I talked to some of the artists who participated and were disappointed that the alderman they chose to depict would not return their calls or e-mails.  Other artworks in the show were obviously done in collaboration with the person portrayed.  I thought these two situtations helped diversify the resulting images.  There was a range of moods and styles displayed ranging from humorous to hideous to honorific.

4th Ward, Toni Preckwinkle by Christa Lohman

6th Ward, Freddrenna Lyle by Timothy Pigott

10th Ward, John Pope by Derek Erdman

27th Ward, Walter Burnett by Lucas Blair Simpson

35th Ward, Rey Colon by Craighton Berman

36th Ward, John Rice by Eric Lebofsky

The Chicago Reader has posted images of all 50 artworks here.

Info from the exhibition site...
The Chicago Aldermen Project is having a closing party for the 50 Aldermen/50 Artists group portrait show THIS FRIDAY, April 2, from 7-11 PM at Johalla Projects, 1561 N. Milwaukee. This will be the last time you can see the exhibit at Johalla — before it moves (more on that coming soon). Come to the party to win prizes!!


PRIZES??? Yes: The Chicago Reader has published a pop quiz, and attempting it will make you eligible for a drawing to win a Four Star commuter bike by KHS Bicycles from Roscoe Village Bikes. (We have some other prizes as well.) Turn in your answers at the closing party (or mail them to Alderquiz, c/o Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, 60611, or take the quiz online at chicagoreader.com/50aldermen) to become eligible for the drawing. Answers must be received by the end of Tue 4/6.

50 Alderman/50 Artists Closing Party
Friday, April 2, 2010
7 to 11 pm
Johalla Projects
1561 N Milwaukee Ave (2nd floor above Earwax)
Chicago, IL

Getting ready for Version 10

This month marks the 10th edition of Version, the annual multimedia arts festival put on by the good folks behind Select Fest and Lumpen and Proximity magazines.  Their annual fundraiser is always a good place to pick up some great art.  Info from the Co-Prosperity Sphere site...

VERSION 10 SILENT AUCTION & RAFFLE
Saturday April 3, 2010
7pm to 1am
Co-Prosperity Sphere
3219 S Morgan St
Chicago, IL

$10 admission (you get two raffle tickets)

Please join us at our only fundraiser for the year which helps fund the projects, publications and exhibitions that are part of our annual arts convergence, Version Festival. There will be extraordinary work on display generously donated by friends of the festival.
Art works and services will be offered for silent auction and can also be won via raffle.
Many of the works may be purchased at “Buy it Now” prices!


Raffle tickets are one for $5 and three for $10

Winners will be announced at 11am. You can wait for the results or be text messaged that night.

WORKS BY:
Lora Fosberg
Anna Shteynshleyger
Tom Torluemke
Tyson Reeder
Cody Hudson
Aron Gent
Stephen Eichhorn
Juan Chavez
Mathew Hoffman
Dayton Castleman
Jeff Zimmerman
Jordan Martins
Peter Skvara
Seripop
Le Dernier Cri
Gunsho
Chris Roberson
Emily Clayton
Rod Hunting
Chad Kouri
Se Young
Nathan Baker
Scott Cowan
Caitlin Arnold
Ian Whitmore
Scott Fortino
Nick Wylie
Tom Burtonwood
Nate Lee
Zachary Abubeker
Aaron Delehanty
James Jankowiak
Erik Debat
+ others

Services:
A Pocket Guide to Hell Tour by Paul Durica
A Chicago Pedway Tour by Hui-Min Tsen
NFO XPO Booth for Version
Reuben Kincaid Project Window Installation for one month
Advertisement in Lumpen
Advertisement in Proximity
A Set of Bridgeport WPA posters

ALSO PART OF THE EVENING:
Performances by: MR 666 and Deep Earth.
The Hornswagglers will be slinging their specialty drinks.