Expo Chicago 2016
THE INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION OF CONTEMPORARY & MODERN ART
CHICAGO | NAVY PIER
September 13-16, 2016
A Reflection & Couple Questions
Art fairs in most cases tend to reside in a similar space. The focus is upon commerce, being seen, wining and dining, and other related activities that I tend to lack interest in or the ability to excel at. I have journeyed to or participated in these ephemeral events in London, New York, and Paris. And, I have not missed one of Chicago’s annual international art festivals since arriving in the city in 1993. I have encountered masterworks in a tent plopped in an insect infested field west of Wacker Drive flanked by skyscrapers, aimlessly trudged through the Merchandise Mart in stifling circumstance, and regularly struggled to understand the necessity of supporting this capitalist model that diligently works against my personal aesthetic practice (I’ve spent over 20 years creating works that I leave for the random passerby to find, keep, and respond to…free of charge).
Alfredo Jaar, “Be Afraid of the Enormity of the Possible”, 2015, @ Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin, Germany
One recurrent conversation that surfaces each year centers upon the impact this event has upon the city’s artists and local galleries. So, just what makes Chicago’s annual art exposition such a polarizing item for the city’s visual arts community? In conversation with many artists, the annual Chicago art fair tends to be that strange aberration that incites vitriolic response. There is the obvious elitist hierarchy being fully supported with city funds. The cost for a booth runs into the thousands of dollars. Therefore, eliminating the majority of the innovative dialogues occurring in alternative spaces found in East Garfield Park, Pilsen, Little Village, and other obscure locals. Yes, one could encounter new voices in the EXPOSURE galleries in this year’s iteration. I was introduced to new works by Anuar Maauad at Efrain Lopez Gallery (Chicago) and Genieve Figgis at the Half Gallery (NYC) that piqued my interest enough to further investigate. There was also the satellite stARTup Fair that left me wandering what happened to the more provocative days of Bridge, MDW, and Stray. However, as the weekend developed, I still kept returning to the aforementioned question and the query of what can be introduced to note the importance of Chicago art on a broader stage in international dialogues.
Chicago’s Efrain Lopez @ EXPOSURE
In reflection, I still feel that we lack a couple key foundations. Chicago has not had a serious visual arts paper in print since the demise of the New Art Examiner in 2002, nor a regular comprehensive exhibition that highlights various contemporary aesthetic strategies that specifically focuses upon artistic investigation in Chicagoland equivalent to that found at other cultural hubs. Our artists have had influential solo exhibitions (e.g., Kerry James Marshall: Mastry @ the Met in NYC) that have transcended solely regional viewing. And, a curios online presence can be found at Bad at Sports, Inside/Within and other locally ran websites. However, the tactile 1st person experience of reading an article that stirs the pot a bit is missing. In all honesty, the city’s critical coverage is a bit dull. This is due in large part to the fact there is no real money in the game and the obvious noted void. At best, the reviews I’ve encountered are dryly academic and at worst, little more than feeble attempts to blow a little smoke up the artist’s derrière. What can one expect when our visual arts critics are paid $15 a pop?! The art community truly needs to address these glaring omissions. At the very least, we should identify if these items are even worthy of conversation.
Genieve Figgis, “Gentleman with horse and dog”, 2016, @ Half Gallery,
New York, New York
When I do studio visits to make portraits, the dialogue often centers upon the artist’s connection to the city and its’ art community. With well over 100 portraits, I can state that the manner our artists see the city and their relationship to their peers and institutions is certainly diverse. Nevertheless, there are common conversation pieces and trends that surface in our encounter. Here are a couple questions I’ve pulled from my journals compiled after these interviews:
1. What makes Chicago distinct? Are there specific or unique aesthetic investigations being addressed in chorus that are worthy of international recognition?
2. Can the city even support a critical arts paper in print? Is there a real interest? Are there any realistic financial supports?
3. What will it take to make the major institutions and collectors to take more note of area artists?
4. Is the notation of ‘Chicago Artist’ even relevant? Does this merely denote a sense of regionalism that eliminates a wider audience?
Photobooks by Daido Moriyama @ Only Photography, Berlin, Germany
In recent time, the city’s artistic community appears to be gaining substantial footing. There are certainly Chicago voices being heard beyond city borders by a number of area artists and curators (e.g., Theaster Gates, Michelle Grabner, Tony Tasset), yet I believe these acknowledgements are not truly enough. Is there a possibility to elevate the city’s profile (beyond the singular) to the level of that seen in the likes of Moholy-Nagy and the New Bauhaus, Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind’s I.D., and the Harry Who and Chicago Imagists? Perhaps not in this age where the focus is upon dividing the city’s artists into stereotypes and securing individual sales. However, through looking at innovative options via presenting new exhibition strategies and a paper to echo these activities may be an avenue to consider.
René Schmitt with Art & Language prints @ Druckgraphik, Westoverledingen, Germany
My call to artists, musicians, and arts professionals is to regularly question how arts funding is being used. Specifically, in cases where the central focus is upon elevating the already lofty through more sales using a system supported by public $$$ should be diligently questioned. We really need some facts when it comes to how taxpayer’s dollars are being used on the arts. I am curious to know what percentage of the city’s arts budget is allocated to support this commercial enterprise? Is this the best way to use funds? Who’s benefitting from this support? Perhaps, we need to request that a portion of this money be utilized for developing new exhibition systems, something different and fresh.
Takashi Murakami, “Flowerball (Red)”, 2007 @ Galerie Perrotin, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, and Seoul
When I first moved to the city, the “Art in Chicago: 1945-1995” was under development at the MCA. Though there were positive reviews, the exhibition was attacked from numerous quarters. Some selections appeared purely political. Some worthy practitioners were left out. And, a number of artist’s egos were hurt. Overall, I felt the exhibit was somewhat uneven, but people were offering critical opinion about an art exhibition, rather than trivial unmemorable praise. There was a healthy badinage swirling around this exhibition. There was a real sense of tension in the city’s arts community. Some will certainly disagree, but I saw this event on par with what occurs in other major arts cities. This likelihood for controversy and an edginess feels long forgotten now. I truly miss that banter, those exchanges where one feels there is something really at stake. Something that does not merely feel like a sale for a single individual or gallery. Something that does not feel like it is solely defined by its monetary value.
Additional images from EXPO Chicago 2016.
Artist Edra Soto and Susan Friel of the Department of Cultural Affairs at the School of the Art Institute’s booth
Katharina Fritsch, “4. Postkarte (Chicago)”, 2001/2002 @ Mathew Marks Gallery,
New York, New York
Portrait of Roy Lichtenstein at the Ferus Gallery, L.A., CA, 1964, and announcement for exhibition at Irving Blum Gallery, L.A., CA, 1969, @ Alden Projects, New York, New York
Photographs and review by Chester Alamo-Costello
