Mike Nourse’s show at Salvage One is a match made in heaven: the store’s alluring warehouse space, filled with architectural and furniture treasures, is a gold mine both for would-be decorators and the artists who will get to display their art amongst the ever-changing mash-up collection of designs (the store expresses a hope that Nourse’s show will be the first of many). This is to say that Nourse’s work benefits from Salvage One’s aura of authenticity, eclecticism and DIY ethic; half the fun of the show is discovering one of Nourse’s pieces almost hidden amongst antique chandeliers and gritty filing cabinets. Somewhere else, his pieces would be digested much more quickly, and with reason; unfortunately, the artists’ project—juxtaposing what he calls the old and the new in a world transforming from analog into digital—is not actually apparent in his pieces. Nourse transfers digital images using gel to a number of different surfaces, mostly glass, with the intention to create a kind of visual commentary about changes in mediation, but because the color palette is in single tones of sepia and purple, and the images themselves seem antique or merely old-fashioned in theme (men on bicycles, a group of orphans in kerchiefs), the final prints simply call to mind old glass photographic plates, with a purposely vintage finish resulting from the smears of gel. Because the images themselves are difficult to discern as digital, Nourse’s commentary and mission get lost in the context; the pieces fit a little too well in a storage area for retro and antiquated decorations. (Monica Westin)
Rethinking Exhibition Making: A Review of Mike Lopez at Material In “Dealer’s Choice,” the deceptively simple new exhibition from Mike Lopez at Material (as part of the 2021 Terrain Biennial), the artist uses the occasion as a solo show, complete with (mostly) new work, almost as a pretense to highlight the liminal space of art handlers and preparators in exhibition making.
For Us: A Review of "Something from Something" at Engage Projects Kushala Vora and Adia Sykes’ collaboration "Something from Something" tells us as viewers that knowledge, art, creation, inspiration, love—really anything you can think of—has a place of origin.
Women Behind the Lens: A Review of "From Her to Eternity" Courtney Love curates on the street. Just west of Wabash on the corner of Eighth Street, there is a wall of stellar rock star images that includes a special collection made by women photographers over the years.
Microcosm: A Review of “Dialogues” at Patron Through each artist-relationship, "Dialogues" offers the viewer a rare opportunity to witness the direct connections that flow through the electric nervous system that both infiltrates and generates Chicago's art world.
Looking Down: A Review of Bob Tanner at Perspective After the loss of his wife, Bob Tanner made two photography series, “At Ocean’s Edge” and “At Winter’s Edge,” that are shown in this meditative show filled with graceful visual poetry.
Mike Nourse’s show at Salvage One is a match made in heaven: the store’s alluring warehouse space, filled with architectural and furniture treasures, is a gold mine both for would-be decorators and the artists who will get to display their art amongst the ever-changing mash-up collection of designs (the store expresses a hope that Nourse’s show will be the first of many). This is to say that Nourse’s work benefits from Salvage One’s aura of authenticity, eclecticism and DIY ethic; half the fun of the show is discovering one of Nourse’s pieces almost hidden amongst antique chandeliers and gritty filing cabinets. Somewhere else, his pieces would be digested much more quickly, and with reason; unfortunately, the artists’ project—juxtaposing what he calls the old and the new in a world transforming from analog into digital—is not actually apparent in his pieces. Nourse transfers digital images using gel to a number of different surfaces, mostly glass, with the intention to create a kind of visual commentary about changes in mediation, but because the color palette is in single tones of sepia and purple, and the images themselves seem antique or merely old-fashioned in theme (men on bicycles, a group of orphans in kerchiefs), the final prints simply call to mind old glass photographic plates, with a purposely vintage finish resulting from the smears of gel. Because the images themselves are difficult to discern as digital, Nourse’s commentary and mission get lost in the context; the pieces fit a little too well in a storage area for retro and antiquated decorations. (Monica Westin)
