Heaven Gallery
A not-for-profit arts organization
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pooper's blogI'm Blogging About the Timeout Chicago Blog - is that meta?
Heaven Gallery has been busy lately: TOC contributor Jonathan Kinkley was impressed by its previous show, “Means to an End,” which closed this week. Jonathan writes that the photography-heavy show, curated by Brad Troemel, revolved “around the theme of nature as both an end and a means” and “featured worthwhile works by some big local names, like Melanie Schiff and Jason Lazarus, as well as 17 other American, Dutch and German artists.” “Schiff’s photograph," Jonathan continues, “juxtaposed a mall with a graveyard at sunset, commenting on consumerism and mortality with her signature stylized, waning golden light. Troemel inserted one of his own works into the show [Mountain, pictured], which perhaps best illustrated the exhibition’s curatorial intent. He Photoshopped numerous parking lot snowdrifts (means) to create an illusion of a mountain (ends).” Jonathan also reports that Heaven was concurrently showing “Rerun,” a group show of “Boston-area artists who create their own wallpaper.” Although the artists’ “media and the dimensions [of their work]” were the same, the show “spotlighted a rich, diverse range of talents and styles quoting greater visual culture,” Jonathan concludes. It sounds so awesome, I could almost forgive Heaven for not sending me a press release. Link to full article here --> Pooper in Timeout ChicagoKind of weird to blog my own press on here, but I guess somebody's got to do it. By Gretchen Kalwinski
If you traverse Chicago’s North and Northwest Sides with an eagle eye, you’ll soon start seeing art where it doesn’t belong. On mailboxes, parking signs, abandoned buildings and windows, art ranging from a painting in the shape of a kiwi to a sticker proclaiming YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL to a paste-up of a swooping bird brightens the urban landscape. The artists installing this “guerilla” art (mostly in the warmer months and the dark of night) call themselves street artists and often hide their identities from cops by using nicknames. Most have jobs as designers, art directors or production artists and don’t consider their art vandalism because it’s usually not on private property; they favor surfaces they believe belong to all of us—signs, newspaper boxes, lampposts and construction sites. But don’t confuse their work with gang graffiti or tagging: It’s illegal, but there’s an altruistic mission to their madness. Kime Buzzelli - artist for "The Lost Ones"Kime Buzzelli, one of our artists showing in August worked on "The Lost Ones". Her book is available August 2nd at Quimby's! Saturday August 2nd 4:00PM till 6:00pm Steve Niles teams up with four visual artists to bring you a graphic novel that will challenge what you think about time and space travel. DR. REVOLT, an original member of the historic New York City graffiti crew The Rolling Thunder Writers, Gary Panter, an illustrator known for his surreal and raw style, Morning Breath, Brooklyn-based art and design duo, and emerging painter/fashion designer Kime Buzzelli - each bring a remarkable and unique drawing style to the project. Gary Panter and Dr. Revolt will be on hand to sign comics.
Justin B. Williams in Beautiful Decay
Justin B Williams’ strange image landscapes are at once familiar and foreign, nostalgic and alien, like a well-worn recurrent dream or a new favorite quilt at the thrift store. Populated with unknowable situations, projected desires and the like, they seemingly unearth subconscious thoughts, deja-vu sentiments or unknown anxieties. Justin’s works function like maps, organizing and reorganizing his own inner tangential philosophies, experiences, fever dream thoughts or esoteric rants. His work calls to mind the representational work of Philip Guston, infusing cartoonish imaginative interpretations of personal narratives with a sincere sense of wonder and a mild sense of irony. On a purely formalist level, Justin has an impeccable sense of color and composition—if Matisse were alive today and knew about rock n’ roll, Freudian theories, cartoons and Raymond Pettibon, this might be what his paintings look like. To read the Interview, go to Anthology Retard Riot Blog
C-O-L-L-A-G-EHeaven Gallery Call For Entries Heaven Gallery is having a collage show in April. We want your submissions! Artists of all types, walks of life, & career levels are invited to send us work. When we say collage, we are using the term somewhat loosely. We are looking for pieces that range from traditional to video and mixed media collage to new media! To submit work to us please visit http://www.heavengallery.com/contact and send us an email with a link to images of your work. Note: This collage show is a juried show by a panel of judges.
Jen Stark and Twenty Twenty gallery in the New York Times
"More thought-provoking work was found at Twenty Twenty, a scrappy gallery that opened near vacant lots where prostitutes and drug dealers ply their trade. It was started by Scott Murray, a 27-year-old with tousled hair and a sunburn who was wearing skinny jeans when he greeted me outside. Inside, scattered on the floor, was a piece called “How to Become A Millionaire in 100 Days.” The artist, a 24-year-old named Jen Stark, spent 100 days tearing a million scraps of colored paper — a not-so subtle statement about the hyper-commercialized art market. Hoping to see more, I accidentally pushed through a white curtain and ended up in Mr. Murray’s tiny bedroom." Read full article here --> Gutter Gums artwork on sale now!
Critic's Choice "Smile"!
Critic's Choice Smile The art world has forbidden touching for so long that the idea of interactivity, however tainted by the icky proselytizers of techno-topia, can seem like a door opening from a cold, stifling box onto a golden playground. Aay Preston-Myint has merged his work in fiber and printmaking to create the installation Smile, a gleeful array of ornate masks and interchangeable backdrops that lets visitors enter elaborate fantasy vignettes. You can try on a crocheted green beard with teeth made of miniature arms harvested from soccer trophies, an “inside-out face” made of yarn and shellac, or a giant knitted headpiece reminiscent of McDonaldland’s psychedelic purple Grimace. The silk-screened fabric backdrops include one with missiles shooting through the night, another featuring eyes and hairy nipples, and one showing condos built on cute but suspicious brown clouds. Preston-Myint’s installation is a fully realized, approachable example of young Chicago artists’ fusion of fashion, craft, and participatory performance. Photographer Jennifer Brandel documented last Friday’s opening; the closing event will include a slide show of those images and a mask-making workshop. If you drop by before then, bring a friend and a camera. Through 1/19, Sat 1-5 PM and by appointment, closing event 6-10 PM, Heaven Gallery, 1550 N. Milwaukee, second floor, 312-208-9228. —Bert Stabler 
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