John Himmelfarb Unveils "Conversion"

John Himmelfarb will be celebrated this Friday, May 1st for his completion of a new sculpture "Conversion". Vector Custom Fabricating and Ruschman Gallery invite you to what may be your only chance to see this amazing work, because it will soon be shipped off and installed in the sculpture garden of Marc and Kathy LeBaron of Lincoln, Nebraska.

John was making truck sculptures for a long time before this piece started to form, but “Conversion” breaks away from those original models, not least by using an actual truck as its armature. Working within the limitations of found-object sculpture, John "finds" this piece one object at a time. Buckets, mufflers, pipes, odds and ends, big and small; like the world around us, everything has its place.

I interviewed John for ChicagoArts about this piece last year, as he was still working on how he thought it needed to be completed. The unveiling of "Conversion" will be at Vector's service yard; just east of their 2128 West Fulton Street offices from 5-7pm.


Reception with Artist:
Friday, May 1, 2009,
5pm - 7pm
Vector's service yard
just east of their 2128 West Fulton Street map

ChicagoArts Interviews at Version Fest

I had the pleasure of hosting a ChicagoArts Live Stream this past weekend at Version '09. Check out the videos below to see the interviews that were conducted.

Golden Age


Shelter Corps


Mark Arcuri


Dave "The Light Bulb Man"


Chad of Post Family


Alan Moore


Simeon Nikolov

Adi and Edmar of Version Fest

Click here for more info on Version fest

NFO XPO

Version festival presents:
The NFO XPO

April 25 & 26 , 2009
1pm to 8pm

Benton House Gymnasium
3052 S Gratten Avenue
Bridgeport (off Bosley Park)
(a few doors north of the Benton House)

The NFO XPO (pronounced "info expo") brings art groups and community orgs together to exchange information and ideas as well as provide a public platform for each group to present themselves. It's a trade show for experimental art, emerging spaces, and radical exchange. It's our version of what an art fair should be. It is a fantastic opportunity to view emerging art, to network and make shit happen.

( Link to Last years XPO : http://www.flickr.com/photos/versionfest/sets/72157605676428359/

Participants include:
Albert Stabler and Paul Nudd ($heart), Green Lantern, Institute of Socioæsthetic Research ( Daniel Mellis), Alan Moore, Spoke, Antenna, The Space LIC, Reuben Kincaid, Art Shanty Projects, Hui-min Tsen, Marc Arcuri and Ellicott, Joe Baldwin, Laura Miller, Casey Smallwood, Marc Moscato, Hale Ekinci, Michael Coolidge, Andi Sutton and Anne Elizabeth Moore, Amanda Lichtenstein, Evan Plummer and Maritza Mosquera (Letter Writing Revivalists), Grant Newman, Sarah Kenny, Ashly Metcalf, Ray Emerick Studios, Trendbeheer, ChicagoArts, Threewalls, Hungry Brain, Aaron Delehanty, Birdhouse Museum, Jeriah Robert Hildwine, Doug Smithenry, James Jankowiak, Nicholas Schutzenhofer, Stephanie Burke and others.

The Free University happens simultaneously to the NFO XPO downstairs in the classroom facility of the Gymnasium.

http://www.versionfest.org

ABOUT VERSION:
VERSION>09 IMMODEST PROPOSALS :: April 23 to May 2, 2009

An art parade, temporary housing structures, independent contemporary art space networking, one day only exhibition formats, video sweat lodges, an artist run art fair, a reincarnation of the depression era Public Works of Art Project, a social networked free public school, impressive musical performances, boring theoretical nonsense, the revamping of a local community center, mapping projects, a design agency for social movements, and korean polish bar-b-qing are just a few of the projects and phenomena we will present during Version>09 : Immodest Proposals.

From April 23-May2 (for 10 days), we are gathering to celebrate, identify, and discuss our Immodest Proposals to change and improve our social, political and cultural ecologies. Version>09 will showcase emerging, progressive trends in art, politics, technology and music. We’ll gather and see how our peers live and work in a rebooted 21st century.

Join Us.

Julia Katz at Addington Gallery

Addington Gallery has a great show opening tonight, Friday April 17th 2009. I suggest getting there early because Addington is not only a lover of art, but also of delicious food, both of which will be in attendance this evening.

Dan Addington loves paint, and he has a special place in his heart for the figure. That being said, within the Addington Gallery walls the paint, or whatever medium the artist uses, almost always trumps the subject matter. I must admit though, this new show featuring Julia Katz, makes me question if the paintings are more about paint, or the figures.

Julia Katz’s, Making a Splash, consists of paintings of beachgoers and inner-city summer water seekers, just in time, I would say. With the final chill in the air from winter, we need to see work like this. Reminding us how nice it is to feel the warmth of the sun on our face, and what it means to find relief in the water.

Julia’s work floats on the gallery walls offering you space and air as well as the warmth that escapes the surface, reminding you that summer is coming, and not a moment to soon. That oddly sounds to me like the paintings are about the subject matter, but wait; Julia is painting these with a thick and chunky style. Dinty Moore has got nothin’ on her. I stood in front of these, astounded that from three feet away the paint took over as it folded and clung to itself, but if I were to take a step back these works would glow and pulsate with light, warmth and air.

I would like to thank Julia Katz, whose work made me remember what summer felt like over twenty years ago.

Exhibition Opening Reception:
Friday, April 17, 5-8pm
Exhibition continues through June 3, 2009

Version Fest

Well, it’s that time of year again. Spring is a delightful time, when flowers are in bloom and trees begin to come out of their long winter sleep. For Chicago though, it is also a time for artists to leave the studio, for one final art season social.

Chicago’s Art season ebbs and flows with the school year. In April and May, most artists and art students are looking to “get involved” because after their long winter bout with depression. Well, the sun is back (and finals are due) so out of the woodwork they come, with tools and technology, paint, performance music and more. Fuelled by steady stream of Pabst Blue Ribbon, these students have the energy to build a community from the ground up (and document it in order to get credit for that final that’s due next week). Their plans are extensive, and the attitudes they bring with them just might get all those plans realized. It is not so astounding then, that this is the eighth year of Version Fest. What is astounding about Version is its organization.

When you add an organizer like Edmar, founder and main visionary of Version, to the awesome renewable energy of art students in spring, well, the sky is the limit. On a shoestring budget, Edmar and the dedicated organizers behind all of this, bring Version back year after year with the help of local and international artists, neighbors, and volunteers. How they do it is a mystery, and that is probably all for the best.

Do your part to help Ed produce the 09 Version Fest, by attending a fundraising auction/raffle on April 17th at Country Club Chicago, 1100 N Damen, from 7pm to midnight.

Click here for more information on Version 09

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