*RHONA HOFFMAN GALLERY 118 N. Peoria. (312)455-1990. BRIAN ULRICH. “Thrift.” See Eye Exam and Art Break. Having explored the mindless hypnotic states of shoppers in big-box stores in his pathbreaking “Copia” series, Brian Ulrich has expanded his project of documenting American consumerism in his new “Thrift” series of large-format color photographs that take us into the aisles and back rooms of thrift stores where the detritus and excess of production are thrown together in messy jumbles that reveal the utter purposelessness at the end of our perpetual binge. Evincing a remorseless skepticism that flirts with cynicism but never gets there, Ulrich’s dead-on formally composed series accentuates the messiness of his subjects just because his images are so tight and precise. The sheer disorder of scads of plastic clothes hangers spilling out of blue plastic baskets onto a concrete floor of a storeroom symbolizes the absurdity on the far side of the neat suburban household. (Michael Weinstein) Through January 6, 2006.
*GESCHEIDLE GALLERY 118 N. Peoria. (312)226-3500. CHRIS SCARBOROUGH. “Living on Cloud Nine.” See Tip of the Week. (Michael Weinstein) Through December 16, 2006.
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART. THE ART OF RICHARD TUTTLE, mixed media. During the 1970s, artist Richard Tuttle was a minimalist to a fault. His tiny plywood cutouts and one-inch strips of rope, which were all nailed to the wall well below eye level, were hardly enough to fill one of the massive gallery spaces at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Tuttle’s latest exhibit, “The Art of Richard Tuttle,” displays the artist’s work over four decades, with one room dedicated to each. If the tour is taken in chronological order—from the 1960s to the 1990s—it is easy to understand Tuttle’s process and view the outcome of his forty-year experimentation. But if you happen to wander into a gallery out of sequence, you’ll be bombarded by the aforementioned white space or a collection of sloppily painted trash sculptures. (Sarah Dahnke) Through Feb 4.
