In a project of photographic outreach, the Center offers works by eight artists who are clients of social service agencies and are passionate about what the camera can do. Luminous beauty in bright colors, often accompanied by inspirational text, dominate the images here, but a more somber and meditative note is struck by Diane’s muted color studies of Chicago in winter—captured by song titles—that emphasize solitude and sometimes abandonment. In “Lonely (Akon),” we see the North Pond restaurant at the Lincoln Park lagoon backgrounded by steel-and-glass high rises through a finely spun veil of snowflakes. In an untitled shot, Diane presents a forlorn park bench shot from behind surrounded by mounds and swathes of snow, and a pile of dead leaves. In all her works, Diane reminds us of the times when we were out alone and quietly came upon scenes that elicit the pathos of a wanderer. (Michael Weinstein)
Home Is Where the Family Is: A Review of Chicago Chiquito at Bridgeport Art Center This small but significant exhibition shows the history of Chicago Chiquito, or little Chicago, the nickname given to La Hacienda, a small town in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Its families have migrated north to find work for over one hundred years.
Fleeing Desperation: A Review of Ada Trillo at Chicago Center for Photojournalism In this heartbreaking yet visually beautiful exhibition, Ada Trillo implicates herself within her subjects to shine a light on both the hope and the hopelessness of their lives. If you are not moved by these images, surely your heart is made of stone.
The Roots of Pride: A Review of Jerry Pritikin at The Chicago Center for Photojournalism The show “When Then Was Now” gives a glimpse of early LGBTQ+ life in San Francisco—Harvey Milk became mayor and gay activism was gaining momentum. Pritikin, a legend of reportage, takes us back to a time before AIDS reared its ugly head and shows us how the movement looked all those decades ago.
The Divine Feminine: A Review of Ruschwoman's Inaugural Exhibition Ruschwoman as laboratory, site of free exchange, sewing circle, playground, honky-tonk and witches’ salon brings a desired breath of levity, critical engagement and radical vision to Chicago’s artist-run spaces.
