Art Chicago is an annual event held at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, Illinois during the Artropolis event.  I exhibited at the International Antiques Fair at the Mart that is held concurrently with the art fair, this past May.  Click on images to enlarge.

These large scale prints are composed of tiny images of other “personalities,” such as the Madonna image might be made up of tiny pixel images of Marilyn Monroe.  The artist is Alex Guofeng Cao.

The gallery had cards in the form of small boxes with photos on two sides.  Greg and I were disappointed that the boxes didn’t have any treats  inside of them, it would’ve been a nice touch.

This artist’s work has a jewel-like quality to it.  Click on images to enlarge.

The imagery of this piece of artwork is haunting and rather mysterious.

The “boy with a bird” looks like it was drawn using gunpowder that has been burned.

She is in such a relaxed state after her refreshing swim, still dripping with water.  I’ve always enjoyed watching the reactions people have to life-size super-realism figures.  I find this sculpture more calming than most of the life-size figures, especially those of Duane Hanson.

I will never get tired of looking Deborah Butterfield’s Horses.  This polychrome over bronze example has such an elegance and looks effortless.

Richard Wright Gallery had two really fine Harry Bertoia “bush” sculptures on a low coffee table.  Click on images to enlarge.

Packer Schopf Gallery never disappoints.  Aron has an amazing eye that I like to think has been influenced by his years in the antiques trade.

The “beast” has been composed out of many, many books; most likely encyclopedias.

This cut work on books at  Aron’s gallery is by Brian Dettmer.

This artwork is by Diem Chau.  The artist has stretched very fine “fabric” over ordinary household china plates and stitched these curious images of people or parts of people.  You can check out the Packer Schopf Gallery here.

This life-sized sculpture was covered entirely in puzzle pieces put on end, thousands and thousands.

Now that could be Duane Hansen sculpture on the right, but he is actually a Merchandise Mart employee.  Click on images to enlarge.

This paper and cotton sculpture was so delicate and so beautifully crafted I was fascinated by the workmanship as well as the concept.

There were about seven or eight of these “smoking aircraft”  sculptures along the back wall of the gallery booth, they were so clean and white and yet so tragic. I loved them.

Odd little creatures their bodies covered in shells.

This humming bird is just a little larger than life size and is made from cast lead, it and following snake sculpture is by the artist Mark Calderon.

The snake sculpture has a sinuous sleekness about it.  It would look great displayed on a large table as well as it does hanging on the wall.

I rarely see contemporary photography that I find fresh.  If a  photographer’s work makes you take a second glance than you might stand a chance at a show like Art Chicago.  This photographer has challenged the viewer to stop and question the refection in the puddle and what it is telling us about the reality of the street scene.

As far as I am concerned William Edmondson was one of Americas most important sculptors of the 20th century.  This totemic as well as whimsical sculpture by Edmondson was shown by Fleisher/Ollman Gallery at Art Chicago.

Both of these labor intensive drawings are by Joan Linder who uses very tradition materials in her work.  The dandelion drawing is over six feet tall and was drawn entirely with a ball point pen.  Joan is represented by Mixed Greens Gallery in New York City.  Click on images to enlarge.

Carl Hammer Gallery always has great contemporary fine art as well as an amazing inventory of antique folk art.  These polychromed “jiggers” date from the 1930s and have great appeal en masse.

This piece of artwork by California artist Cameron Gray was one of my favorite pieces at Art Chicago.  The artist uses tiny paintings to create his large scale artworks.

The smaller scale paintings are all from the history of art.  Many of the greats from the Renaissance to post impressionist are used in his work.   Gray doesn’t actually paint the smaller panels but has other artist do these pieces and then he assembles them into a larger cohesive image .  Cameron Gray’s website is here.

I rather think Vincent Van Gogh would have been fascinated by many of his paintings being used to help form a much larger piece of artwork completely unrelated to his original work.  Or maybe not.  Art begs questions sometimes more than it makes statements.  This is the joy and the challenge of going to shows like Art Chicago.  Make plans to attend the 2011 Art Chicago show now, all of the info is here.  Click on images to enlarge.

This skeleton at the Packer Schopf Gallery is made entirely out of plastic cassette tapes.

This shows more of the detail of the construction.

The Gallery had some of this artist’s work last year at the Fair.   The attention to detail is amazing.   I  like the concept of a book pulling you through it, taking you on a journey as you read it and this artist doing the same thing in a very unique visual way.

Another cut-out book at the Packer Gallery.

Also at Packer Gallery are these white mac lap-tops that have been inked in a technique that looks like scrimshaw.

“Beware the tendency to become the things you covet, it’s unsustainable & will only disappoint you in the end.”

I am drawn to the beauty of wood, especially carved sculptural pieces.  This piece has such an elegance and strength about it.  This skull is by Laurel Roth also at the Packer Gallery.  Laurel Roth has described this new series as, “..based on the bones of food animals using  finely polished wood, crystal, and gold to highlight the sacred and the profane aspects of food in an age of industrial agriculture.”