Displaying items by tag: art

Elmhurst Art Museum’s two new exhibitions feature a pair of artists with Midwestern roots whose outlooks and perceptions of the world lead in quite different directions.  Both of their creative paths are paved with output that prod our inquisitive instincts and ask our eyes to look a little closer.  One is unmatched in the way it provokes actual wonder. 

Jeannette Andrews was a young teenager from Wheaton and already enthralled with magic when she found herself in a contemporary art museum one day.  Her mind immediately saw parallels between what attracted her to the mystery and enchantment of magic and what was on the museum’s walls.   For her, the conceptual similarities between the two were so strong that she couldn’t fathom why no one was exploring their link.

The budding conjurer would go on to build a career that includes performative magic.  She also began seriously looking into the synergies and commonalities between contemporary visual art and the body of knowledge and practices that produce magic.  That interest and effort provide the foundation for Of Wonder, Mind and Magic, nine magic-focused installations that make up her first solo exhibition now running at the museum until late August.

All photos by Siegfried Mueller.

“Learning secret information that’s not easily found” is a powerful motivating force in Andrews’ life.  It’s led her to conduct exhaustive research into some of the most esoteric areas of magic.  A great deal of the work in her show also focuses on the physical sciences and deviations in how people believe they perceive the natural world and how they in fact do.  The magician/artist’s ruminations on a dense thicket of “what if” scenarios eventually culminate in either a performance piece or, in the case of Of Wonder, Mind and Magic, an art installation that focuses on what was once called the dark arts.

What is, remains is an example of how Andrews interweaves the properties of the physical world and that of magic.  An interactive or immersive piece that asks visitors to take specific actions while looking at a suspended sphere and its shadow, it’s a disappearing act that’s brought into an arts centric setting.  While following the instructions of a recorded voice, participating museum visitors will find the sphere disappears and reappears at will.

Awe inducing for its simplicity and the incredulity it triggers, Bottling the Impossible is, once you fully absorb its significance, a remarkable show of skill.  Riffing off the classic ship in a bottle conundrum, objects are displayed in a small Bulleit whiskey bottle with no obvious way for them to have gotten there.  A chess piece, a pocket mirror and a complete sealed deck of playing cards all sit benignly in their separate bottles; defying both logic and the natural order.  Andrews confessed it took more than two years of research and false steps before she was able to master this genuinely impressive challenge.    

Several of the other installations are more interactive with technology on hand to guide visitors on what to expect and do.   Andrews, who’s currently an artist in residence at Brown University, has enjoyed similar affiliations with other notable institutions including MIT and Harvard.  The breadth and penetrating quality of her work appeal to anyone who enjoys interacting with creatively unorthodox approaches to interesting and sometimes arcane concepts.

Near Eternity, the contributions of sculptor Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, is inspired by the way time and the changes it brings to our lives impact how we view the past, present, future and ourselves.

Life can be viewed as a series of transitions and the ways we respond to them are endless.  Artists react through their work.  In Near Eternity, Hulsebos-Spofford’s low carbon sculptures are widespread.  They can be found gracing the interiors of the museum’s prestigious adjunct building, outdoors among the greenery of Wilder Park adjoining the museum and just inside the main entrance.  Notions of loss and mortality, contemplations on human vulnerability due to infirmity or age and the silent confusion and unanticipated emotions that accompany some of life’s more poignant passages are all represented in wood or polyester resin.

Several examples are found in McCormick House directly adjacent to the museum’s main building.  In it, Hulsebos-Spofford reimagines either familiar or iconic items and overlays empathetic sensibilities onto them.  In Hyperplexia: Splint, he takes an object used to brace injuries and produces a “meditation on support structures” that take in the emotional and architectural as well as the physical. 

In another room, Mies van der Rohe’s timeless Barcelona chair gets a similar treatment.  Elegant perfection gets a redo that emphasizes what it feels like to be susceptible or exposed to harm or injury.  All for the purpose of highlighting the “tension between preservation and decay”.

Temperamentally lighter and more playful works are in the park where an artistic homage to Mr. Coffee can be found along with a radically chill Shark Cat cast in bronze, fashioned after the social media craze of the same name.   

Like most of us, artists have many facets to their sensibilities.  Along with encouraging us to think deeper through art, Mr. Hulsebos-Spofford also derives a great deal of pleasure knowing artwork in public spaces can instigate instant and random joy.  A balance that makes a show of any kind a more complete and gratifying experience.

Of Wonder, Mind and Magic

Near Eternity

Through August 23, 2026

Elmhurst Art Museum

150 South Cottage Grove Ave.

Elmhurst, IL   60126

For more information on both exhibits:  https://elmhurstartmuseum.org

A fool and their money are soon parted as the old expression goes, but what do you do when that fool is your best friend? Yasmina Reza’s 1996 Tony Award winning play ‘Art’ explores the balance of opinion, influence and friendship. Under Marti Lyons’ direction, Remy Bumppo’s revival is a madcap drawing room comedy that might even make you question your own sense of taste.

Parisians Marc, Serge and Yvan are close friends until Serge (Chad Bay) purchases an absurdly expensive, but terrible piece of art. While Serge beams over his new acquisition, Marc (Justin Albinder) is shocked at how bad the piece is and struggles to comprehend how his friend could possibly like it. Meanwhile people-pleasing Yvan (Eduardo Curley), is stuck in the middle trying to play both sides.

Similar to Reza’s most acclaimed play ‘God of Carnage’, ‘Art’ is confined to one chic set, but finds theatricality in richly dense dialog and the over-the-top slapstick humor. Though, none of that would work without the strong chemistry on stage.

There’s a certain sitcom style humor to ‘Art’ that harkens back to the best episodes of ‘Seinfeld’. This 80 minute play is about a splintered friendship that’s been chipped away through petty, unspoken grievances. The three-way friendship dynamic is having a moment right now on the heels of this past season of ‘The White Lotus’. Though, perhaps unlike ‘White Lotus’ Yasmina Reza was wise to set her friendship triad in circumstances that don’t rely on gender stereotypes to explore the uncomfortable truths about triangular relationships.

‘Art’ is also a statement on the very idea of opinion: when to have one, when to express one and ultimately how to process someone else's. In the social media era, there’s a kind of pressure to have a strong opinion about everything, even topics on which you’re not informed. Reza suggests that those with the strongest opinions, may not always be the most confident about them. Hence, Marc’s intense desire to convert Yvan to his point of view.

In a three character play, it’s hard to say who the main character is but really either character could be seen as the character on which the play hinges. Eduardo Curley brings Yvan to life in neurotic perfection. Maybe the reason he doesn’t have a strong opinion about the work is that he’s mostly concerned with the anxiety of living. Yvan’s long, animated and silly monologues help cut the tension between Marc and Serge, but both friends are trying to prove themselves right based on whether Yvan agrees.

Yasmina Reza’s play remains timeless in its contemporary allegory. While it may be named ‘Art’ this play is about more than just a silly painting. Lyons’ production at Remy Bumppo is stylish and funny thanks to the intimate cast and Liz Gomez’s gorgeous set. The short play packs a gag-a-minute but leaves you wondering what is the best way to politely disagree with someone you respect?

Through June 1 at Remy Bumppo at Theatre Wit. 1229 W Belmont Ave. 773-975-8150

*This review is also featured on https://www.theatreinchicago.com/!

Five years ago, anonymous graffiti artists caused quite the hubub at the Modern Wing of the Chicago Art Institute when they "bombed" a major wall of the wing. Their message was clear: THIS is modern art. While a clever, powerful statement, and seemingly jabbing at the art that resides within the walls of the modern art wing, it presents a paradox: Isn't graffiti, by definition, a rebellious art? Would graffiti still be as powerful and compelling if it were inside the museum rather than outside?

This Is Modern Art, written by Kevin Coval, attempts to answer these and hundreds of other questions regarding high art versus common art versus street art and so on. The play, while neither a knuckle-whitening drama nor a belly-clenching comedy, merely seeks to educate the viewer on this commonplace, yet mysterious, art form. You'll learn the differences between "tags," "stickers," "throw-ups," and "pieces," short for "masterpieces." You'll learn the names of dozens of Chicago graffiti artists, or "writers" as they're called. You'll see what goes into "bombing" -- spray painting an urban canvas as much as possible without getting caught -- a city location, the preparation that needs to be done, the items to have, the backup plan, the lookout, the logistics... it practically gives you a how-to guide.

We pass by graffiti every day in this city. Some of us may see it as an eye sore that should be scrubbed away, as vandalism, as criminal activity. Conversely, some of us may see it as art that makes the city more vibrant and beautiful, as spontaneous creativity, as colorful accents on a gray urban backdrop.

But what does this art say? What does it do? It wants to be respected and appreciated, surely. It wants recognition from those who decide what belongs in a museum and snub it as low art. But does graffiti even want to be in a museum? In and of itself, graffiti is rebellion. It's anti-establishment. It's instant social/political commentary. And it's fleeting, temporary. If the Art Institute commissioned a graffiti writer to fill a wall inside the museum, could this still be considered graffiti? Or would it lose the essential qualities that make it graffiti art?

Maybe the point isn't to be in a museum; maybe graffiti seeks to dismantle these labels and present the notion that art should be free and accessible to everyone. Maybe, and most likely, it just wants to get us talking, and if we are, then it has done its job.

This Is Modern Art (based on true events) is playing at Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre through March 14th. Tickets may be purchased at the box office or by calling 312-335-1650.