Darryl Jensen

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Twenty-two artists, all alumni of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from the mid-late eighties, have come together for “End of the 80s,” a ‘reunion’ show, at the Avram Eisen Gallery. The exhibition is primarily curated by Laura Olear and Bruce Linn, both class of ‘88, with the group collectively dedicating the show to Ray Yoshida, a recently deceased professor and mentor to many participating artists.

A co-mingling of diverse styles can be expected in group shows of this proportion, and “End of the 80s” holds to that. There is unusual grace and also chatter. No obvious Yoshida ‘style’ is identifiable in the exhibition. “It was more a thing of his teaching, his demanding, his aggressiveness,” said Olear of his pedagogical approach. “Few of his students didn’t feel he’d a profound impact on them,” added Linn. Read the rest of this entry »

Vincent van Gogh, The Drinkers, 1890

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The Art Institute bills its exhibition “A Case for Wine: From King Tut to Today” as one way to continue celebrating the new Modern Wing. The celebratory angle taken in this exhibition is drink; the burgundy gallery wall at its entrance underscores the variety: wine. Throughout the exhibition, the curatorial team has brought together wine and art objects from across their collections.

The effect is eclectic, cute and puzzling. Each of the ten galleries foregrounds the presence of the wine theme across media as varied as video, glassware and print patterns.  It’s sort of like visiting a very elegant rummage sale, one that’s full of items in glass boxes: Greek pottery, tapestries, 400-year-old wine glasses, Impressionist painting, stained-glass from Scottish churches, Chinese silk, English wine bottles, Daumier lithographs, Chiluly glasswork, Tavern signs, Dutch still lifes, contemporary photography and, for the wine-enthusiast with gallery endurance, there’s even some pixelated, postmodern video art. Read the rest of this entry »

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In a genial postmodern romp through familiar fairy tales, Sabina Cosic creates color photo-narratives with sometimes surprising and always happy effect. Relieved of fear and vulnerability, though still a waif, Little Red Riding Hood sets off to grandma’s house, encounters a horrific fanged wolf in the bed who stares at her quizzically through wide plastic yellow-rimmed glasses, sits down and greets him with a warm smile, and ends up carrying away a delightful bowl of fruit as the wolf takes a peaceful snooze. Dull rays of light shoot through Cosic’s muted scenes, giving them a comfortable sense of the fantastic that excludes any hint of threat or the bizarre. Even Cinderella evokes a chuckle as she bears her crowned head proudly and stands sublimely and imperiously in front of a skull on the ground in the final scene from her story. (Michael Weinstein)

Through August 22 at Mars Gallery, 1139 W. Fulton Market

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There’s a gee-whiz element in the art of Anna Joelsdottir. Her current exhibition, “The Dandelions Are Over,” takes a step beyond previous works, which have evolved in series and often develop around negative space. Now, here, we  find explosions of color, activated and covering entire canvases with mystical landscapes and abstractions.

Joelsdottir’s centerpiece, a quasi-sculpture installation, “Flood,” is a lurching, plunging avalanche of mixed media on joined pieces of mylar. Its intense splashes of yellows, tangerines and grays are unpredictable, and the work, with its stained-glass effect, refuses to lie at ease. Twenty-four-by-eleven feet from ceiling to floor, it drapes, gathers at points, and rolls across the upper wall, living dragon-like on the edge of chaos, while another disconnected, daring nine-foot work leaps and hangs across the room.

“When I came to Zg to install, I had decided to use the mylar in the front gallery and somehow work from the windows and ceiling making use of the changing light,” Joelsdottir recalls. Alone to fit mood and space into her system she “pushed a pin into the first sheet between the two windows. As the piece grew and began to take shape, I began to understand what it was I was trying to get at, and the title became ‘Flood.’”

A fairytale appears at work here among four canvases, each medium-sized in acrylic, ink and pencil. An additional six small mylar pieces borrow from “Flood,” capturing its translucent effect and color. Those works meet Joelsdottir’s ambitious efforts at transcending language and cultures via her paints, yet they are best served by their copious notes of the complex main piece. (Jeffery McNary)

Through August 15 at ZG Gallery, 300 W. Superior

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To the passing eye, the black and white drawings currently hanging in the Ogilvie/Pertl Gallery appear at first erratic and unfinished, reminiscent of a trip through an artist’s workspace. There are sketchy lines and metaphorical figures. But upon entering the gallery space, the abstract pieces by Chicago artist Ginny Sykes begin to reveal quite familiar forms and experiences. The show has much to say and more to evoke.

As indicated by the show’s title, “Alchemy and Archetype,” Sykes’ works seek to discern the substance and value within the simpler elements of life. In translating these basic aspects as a viewer, patterns and prototypes emerge.

Pieces such as “Untitled in 25 Parts” and “Homage to Oriana Fallaci” suggest moments in a life through a series of windows. Both invoke visions of faces, movement, genitals and exploration. Fallaci, an author, journalist and political interviewer, was a strong female figure. Sykes seemingly enjoys exploring the assumptions of femininity and does so through such pieces. Imagery of fetuses are suggestive in works like “Triptych: Homage to Ellsworth Kelly” and “Float 4/#2.” Ellsworth Kelly’s art emphasizes simplicity and the unadorned, kidney-like figures within many of Sykes’ works do just this. “Bulbed Urn 2” guides the eye across overlapping lines portraying a curvaceous urn. The continuity of the lines proposes the continuous cycle of life and death, with the urn as a final a resting place for a nameless member of this sequence.

Much of “Alchemy and Archetype” is meant to stimulate creative reflection and initiate a dialogue regarding the female understanding. The gender symbols found within Sykes’ pieces are subtle, yet powerful, and are accessible through several viewpoints, causing the visitor to successfully contemplate rudiments from their own lives. Be them sexuality, creativity, delight, authority, fear and, ultimately, life and death. (Stephanie Larkin)

Through September 1 at Ogilvie Pertl Gallery, 435 E. Illinois St. Ste. 151.