Despite its advanced age of 115 years, the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art didn’t seriously get into the teaching business until about twenty years ago, when traditional art schools realized they could not survive without granting an academic degree (so young BFAs could get a salaried job somewhere). That put a lot of art teachers, as well as students, out on the street. Now this aging mansion on the Gold Coast offers a nice warm place for them to get together, and the annual faculty show, like a speed-dating party, provides an opportunity for un-institutionalized teachers and students to find each other. No degree, no curriculum, just classes teaching whatever style that enough students want to learn. What’s exceptional about this year’s show is the inclusion of a few bi-coastal artists who come to Chicago to teach for a week or so. Especially noteworthy is the appearance of three paintings by David Leffel from New York, who is at the forefront of the revival of Baroque painting. Can Leffel paint like Rembrandt, or at least like a very eccentric follower? Also noteworthy in this exhibit are the traditional Chinese brush paintings by Andy Chan, as well as a full-size portrait of him by Zhiwei Tu, whose hometown (Shaoguan, which is larger than Chicago) gave him his own museum. Indeed, more than a third of the artists shown in this exhibit were born in China, Korea, or the Philippines. Consider this a showcase for the wide world of styles that are more visually enjoyable than intellectually challenging, which is why they don’t especially fit into modern academia, but still are collected by people who enjoy looking at paintings. (Chris Miller)
Through February 24 at Palette and Chisel, 1012 N. Dearborn.
In Orbit: A Chicago Aesthetic Emerges in NYC Group Show As the kitchen appliance referenced in the exhibition title signals, these artists seem to share an interest in—and perhaps anxiety about—domestic spaces and the rituals that occur there.
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.
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