I had the privilege of visiting the Douglas Dawson Gallery in Chicago a few years ago and was completely blown away.  The Gallery is not to be missed if you are traveling anywhere near Chicago.  These images are from his booth at Art Chicago in May.  I couldn’t get over how successfully Douglas created an atmosphere of tranquility and calm out of a what would have been a traditional blank gallery space.  The use of industrial bases to display the artifacts is a refreshing change from the traditional white plinths.

The gallery has been in Chicago since 1982, and more recently moved to this location.   As you can see by the images the gallery specializes in ancient and historic non-Western art.

These Parson-like tables have been made out from reclaimed rusted iron.  They make for a great “stage” for the objects.

This African piece is life size….as in, as large as a real water buffalo…Big.

Great industrial base.  The artifacts aren’t so bad either.

I believe this is a form of ancient currency.  The sculptural qualities of this piece give it such a contemporary feel that it could be by Picasso or Calder.

The lighting in this image is a bit brighter than the gallery seemed to be.  The space had a very Zen-like, calming quality unlike many of Art Chicago’s galleries.

Mexican Kalima Dog and more currency.

Obviously the Gallery was an easy space to photograph.

Huge industrial table with large bronze Buddha.