“This is No Quiet City,” the new book from Dont Fret, a mixed-media artist born and raised in Chicago, plays with the relationship between image and text.
His first self-published collection of poems, vignettes and paintings (and the fifth book in his oeuvre) is paired with his sixth solo exhibition of the same name, through August 4.
Dont Fret deftly weaves stories—all written between 2020-2023—of growing up in Wicker Park, with paintings of everyday Chicagoans and the minutiae of their lives. It makes for a unique reading experience, putting a spotlight on the unsung heroes of our city while also positioning himself as just one of us.
Image courtesy of Dont Fret
In his introduction to “This is No Quiet City,” Chicago poet Kevin Coval writes, “The artists here are just like every other worker, trying to keep their head down, toiling to pay rent, and have enough leftover for something cold to drink.”
While this new work might seem like a departure for the “vaguely anonymous” artist known for his signature wheat-pasting, Dont Fret had been thinking about “This is No Quiet City” for quite a while. “It felt like the right time,” he says. “I wanted to merge some ideas I had and see what happened. You’re never gonna hit perfection, but you’re gonna get pretty close.”
The book zigzags through anecdotes that are moving, lighthearted, whimsical and nostalgic. We meet the “sausage king” and are reminded of blizzards, legendary freezing Lake Michigan plunges, bike chains, and bars that no longer exist. (RIP Danny’s!) This neatly couples with visual motifs and vignettes meant to portray inner thoughts that are woefully relatable. A man thinks, “A lot of life seems to be a lesson in self-control.” A woman remarks, “Big journeys begin with little to no plan.” A baby thinks in inner turmoil, “For the love of god, no more yogurt!” You see their reflections coarsely drawn out in thought bubbles, some cut off by the edge of the painting, lost to the humdrum chatter of the city.
Image courtesy of Dont Fret
Image courtesy of Dont Fret
Though not quite a retrospective, the exhibition mixes new pieces and unearthed works from the archives.
In addition to his wheat-pasting, Dont Fret’s work includes painting, drawing, sculpting, performance and installation-based work both on the streets and in gallery spaces. He loves toggling between new ideas, functional items such as ceramics and reimagining older pieces.
Coval writes that Dont Fret has a madman quality to him and a “prolific, undeniable excellence” that results in “humor, beauty and heartbreak spread across the city one wheat paste or mural or DIY show at a time.”
Image courtesy of Dont Fret
Don’t Fret admits that he’s coming to a place of being most interested in new compositions. “That’s a joy as well because the work can change,” he says. “I think change is important. I’m not, for lack of a better word, sentimental.”
His hope is that “This is No Quiet City” helps Chicagoans reflect on what makes the city special. “It’s my home, and it’s never not going to be my home,” Dont Fret says. “I want to fight to make it better.”
Visit the uniquely curated exhibitions by location at:
Home Away from Home, 1141 North Damen Penelope’s Annex, 1917 West Division Gemini, 1911 West Division All Star Press, 2775 North Milwaukee Marz Brewing Taproom, 3630 South Iron Pizza Lobo (Andersonville), 5457 North Clark Pour Souls Chicago, 1740 West Division
The Craft of Reparations: DePaul Art Museum Connects Local and International State Violence “Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture, and Reparations | Chicago to Guantánamo” at the DePaul Art Museum examines the question of reparations by tackling two cases: the well-documented tragedy of Chicago police torture and the ongoing international scandal of Guantánamo Bay.
Sounding the City: How Experimental Sound Studio Reaches New Audiences Newcity spoke with Olivia Junell, development and outreach director of ESS, about accessibility of sound art, plans for future iterations of the festival and how the main mission of ESS has shifted to accommodate the needs of artists today.
Symbols of Life: A Review of Theaster Gates at the New Museum in New York City Gates unites his artistic beginnings as a ceramics sculptor with the impressive amount of objects that he has acquired as an archivist. Titled “Young Lords and Their Traces” it follows the lineage of his artistic and archival practice through multiple times and histories.
