RECOMMENDED In a tour de force of wall photography, Christopher Hauck has documented in 350 clear and contiguous color images the entire mile-long section of the east side of the Berlin Wall that was given over to artists from around the world after the fall of Communism in 1989. Over the years, the original works have weathered and been marked with graffiti and supplemented with text and images by visitors, providing an involving and seductive set of subjects. Working in the straight tradition of his genre pioneered by Aaron Siskind, Hauck is unassuming, letting his subjects body forth in their own rights. The effect is an overload of sheer visual pleasure as the viewer follows the kaleidoscopic display as it snakes around the gallery space, offering one splash of color and meaning after the other, from the sublime to the ridiculous, and—as Siskind put it—redeeming the ruins. (Michael Weinstein)
Christopher Hauck shows at Inspire Fine Art, 425 East Illinois, (312)595-9475, through September 7.
The Whole Package: Looking at the Art Matchmaking of “Not Just Another Pretty Face” at the Hyde Park Art Center Expect an especially exciting moment when the bell rings on the evening of September 14. White cloth that covers up all the artworks shall be pulled from the gallery walls inside the Hyde Park Art Center, unveiling some eighty commissioned works culminating from the latest two iterations—2021 and 2023—of the famed Chicago art matchmaker program.
