Like so many Chinese who came to North America over the past hundred years, Andy Chan was born in the coastal city of Taishan. In 1955, his family moved to nearby Hong Kong, where he attended university and studied traditional Chinese painting. But the tradition that he joined, the Lignan school, was perhaps the least traditional of all, having begun in the early twentieth century as an attempt to modernize Chinese culture, following the lead of progressive artists in Japan. As Gao Qifeng (1889-1933) explained it: “I took up the study of Western art, paying particular attention to portrait painting, light and shade, perspective, etc. I then picked out the finest points of Western art and applied them to my Chinese techniques that included masterful strokes of the pen, composition, inking, coloring, inspiring background, poetic romance, etc.” And that is basically what Andy Chan, and thousands of other Lignan painters, have been doing ever since. The aristocratic Chinese sense of quiet, timeless majesty has been replaced by the dynamic hustle and bustle of the modern world. Following the lead of his master, Chao Shao-an (1905–1998), Andy Chan has developed an especially explosive sense of form, and used it with great success to make a variety of large animals (especially tigers) come to life. This kind of work is mostly shown and sold in Taipei and Hong Kong, so this is a rare opportunity in Chicago to see the mastery of this contemporary pictorial style. (Chris Miller)
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.
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.
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.
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.
All Too Real: A Review of “Not All Realisms” at The Smart Museum In the compelling exhibition currently on display at the Smart Museum, photographs tell the story of the sixties in Africa. It was a decade of change, resistance, revolution and hard-won independence in many African countries.
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