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Martin Garcia's Blog (21)

Fallin gInto Place

At The Nightingale Gallery last night I saw something that I have been waiting to see for a long time, a

one person show featuring Celeste Neuhaus. Celeste is, if you don't

already know, an artist that is wholly in touch with her experience and

lives her life honestly to that end. This show, which also has a few

video pieces,…

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Added by Martin Garcia on July 10, 2010 at 11:55am — No Comments

Language, Math and Fire

I finally got away to look at some art this weekend, and what a weekend it was, at least at David Weinberg Gallery where they opened "Wheatley, Kaiser-Smith & Glink".…

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Added by Martin Garcia on June 6, 2010 at 9:30am — No Comments

Immigrant Nation, at the Chicago Latino Film Festival

The upcoming Chicago Latino Film Festival is going to be filled with

great works from around the world, but one of the most anticipated

Chicago debuts will be very local. Esaú Meléndez, a local filmmaker, is

making waves with his documentary "Immigrant Nation: A Battle for the

Dream". He is excited to make the films local debut after recently

winning the Cine Latino Award at the 2010 DC International Film Fest.

It all started when Esaú found himself…

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Added by Martin Garcia on April 13, 2010 at 11:31am — No Comments

The Ooey Gooey Aesthetics of Artist Paul Nudd

As most of you already know I love a good studio visit, and doing ChicagoArts allows me to visit some of the

most interesting studios in the area. I recently met with Paul Nudd who many of you may already be familiar with, due to his prolific showings over the past few years.

Paul is a drawer, he also paints and makes collages, but…

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Added by Martin Garcia on March 22, 2010 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Farther Where Art Thou: The Depletion of a National Resource at Blanc

Farther Where Art Thou: The Depletion of a National Resource

at Blanc

My first visit to Blanc, on S Martin Luther King Dr was for the photography of Bryant

Johnson. If it is true that nobody… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on February 28, 2010 at 1:03pm — No Comments

Moby D***

Timothy Vermeulen's new paintings are based on specific texts from Moby D***, and currently showing at Packer Schopf Gallery. Tim's figures, and his use of perspective that is just off enough to keep you just unsettled, is reminiscent of the early Northern Renaissance painters, think… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on February 3, 2010 at 7:59pm — No Comments

Opportunity for the Arts

The directors of Home Gallery, in Hyde Park, have an exciting and interesting pilot event coming up called the Op Shop. The name refers to Opportunity Shop, and the idea here is to open a temporary space where artists can bring their work, as well as services and ideas, in order to barter, sell and openly exchange. I don't want to give the impression that this is a just retail space, although that is one aspect of what will happen within this space. Artists… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on November 16, 2009 at 10:26am — 1 Comment

The Calumet Region, An American Place: Photographs by Gary Cialdella

A collection of Gary Cialdella's photographs of an area that begins in southern Chicago, and ends somewhere in Northwest Indiana, has just been published in a new book. This book of photographs took me a long time to digest, mainly because I know the Calumet region and was not very familiar with this sort of documentary photography. I don't know the area quite as well as Gregg Hertzlieb, editor and contributing essayist for this book, but I have spent… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on November 2, 2009 at 3:35pm — No Comments

Th!nkArt, Not Just Another Gallery

went to my first Th!nkArt event this past Friday, and for the event Laurie Glenn, founder of Th!nkArt, hosted an "Aparté," which in French means "something that is apart." This event seemed to have no primary focus, the large scale paintings by local artist Larry Roberts, did not have any more significance than did the opportunity to talk to others, or the ability to hear a brief speech by Senate hopeful Cheryle… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on October 21, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

If I Can Do It, You Can Do It Too

During September in West Chicago, Berit Nørgaard of Copenhagen, is performing a social project as part of the West Chicago Museum's Artist in Residence program. If I Can Do It, You Can Do It Too asks individuals of the West Chicago community to tell Berit what they would like to learn, and then she goes out and tries to find others who, not only have the… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on September 19, 2009 at 8:45am — No Comments

Taveling at Home

I got the opportunity to preview the next show at Home Gallery in Hyde Park. Patrick Fitzgerald's one person show Traveling, opens on Saturday and is primarily a collection of sculptures, which are reminiscent of drawings done in the margins of 7th grade math books. Vehicles of all sorts, sleek racers, ominous surveillance vans and odd creations. These sculptures are made from recycled… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on September 19, 2009 at 8:43am — No Comments

Is there Magic in Art (or) A Simple Portrait

I think that most people would agree, in theory at least, that there is some sort of magic in the arts. Somewhere between the artist and their canvas, script, lens, or myriad of other mediums, lies something that is hard to grasp. Why is it that music is a class I never here about from high school students? Why is being an artist so damn novel to so many people? What the hell do I care that your cousin is a… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on September 6, 2009 at 9:43pm — No Comments

Pimpin' Ain't Easy: The Photography of Theresa Edmonds

Theresa Edmonds is a young photographer who recently completed her MFA from the International Center of Photography-Bard. Theresa was born and raised in New York; this is somehow very obvious in her photography. I think it’s mainly the claustrophobic compositions and gritty quality of her work since the east cost is an old, cramped and gritty place.

Theresa's… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on August 17, 2009 at 9:19pm — No Comments

The Studio Visit Challenge for Artists

Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing a studio visit with artist Paul Sierra. I have admired Paul as an artist for over a decade, and we met for the first time just then. Other artist friends of mine have suggested I meet with Paul over the past year or so and, I am very glad I did.

Visiting an artist's… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on August 17, 2009 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment

Coalition Gallery

The Chicago Artists' Coalition opened its new gallery location this past Friday August 7, 2009 with a group show. Typical of the CAC there was a significant lack of continuity and organization. Its no wonder they don't call themselves the Chicago Artists Organization, because there is obviously none of that going into this show.

With 22 artists showing one or two… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on August 9, 2009 at 1:49pm — No Comments

14o Hours of Fame

In this crazy new world, where innovation and imagination are winning out over the old standard business models, the director of Gallerie St. George, Gary Brant, recently announced 140 Hours of Fame. This is and online auction hosted by Gallerie St. George… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on August 7, 2009 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Home Gallery :The Diorama Show:

Last Saturday I did the unthinkable—I went to Hyde Park to look at some art that wasn't at the south side holy trinity (Hyde Park Art Center, Renaissance Society, Smart Museum). Sure, I could have headed over to the West Loop or River North art districts, but I… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on July 21, 2009 at 2:52pm — No Comments

Chicago Cultural Center's New Awsome Shows

I headed over to the Cultural Center yesterday, to hopefully get a sneak peek at what is opening on Friday. When I arrived, I was greeted by two roped-off Michigan galleries and a dire need for some artwork set in. I reached the southernmost gallery and began to hear people in the space saying, “This is pretty,” and “So colorful.” Now, one doesn’t expect to see ground breaking, or even very challenging work in a room where these words are uttered so readily. The whole time I was in the Gallery,… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on July 10, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

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… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on April 17, 2009 at 1:30am — 1 Comment

Five Open Source Programs Every Artist Should Know About

First off, let’s get this straight: Microsoft Word is great, but it isn’t cheap. The same thing goes for Photoshop, Illustrator and Adobe Acrobat. This software can put you back hundreds of dollars, yet everyone seems to get their hands on some of these programs one way or another. If you’re looking to save money, most of your options are illegal. I am not judging, but I would like to offer you a guilt free alternative – Open Source and Freeware.

For those of you that don’t know,… Continue

Added by Martin Garcia on April 6, 2009 at 10:25am — 2 Comments