The Chicago-based The Art Fair Company produced two art fairs under one roof at Navy Pier Nov. 5 -7: The Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art and the 17th Annual International Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair: SOFA CHICAGO 2010.
The Intuit Fair brought together leading dealers and galleries presenting self-taught art, outsider art, art brut, ethnographic art, non-traditional folk art and visionary art. SOFA CHICAGO 2010, the city's longest continually running art fair, featured 80 art galleries and dealers from 10 countries.
With so many unique pieces of art, it's impossible to say what truly stood out from the restespecially since there seemed to be an emphasis on glasswork this year. However, here a few notables:
NUDE in Chicago was a curated group exhibition of ceramic sculpture,
photography and drawing from 30 established and emerging artists who challenge the "canon," according to a press release. The exhibit continues to run at Perimeter Gallery, 210 W. Superior, through Thursday, Dec. 30. See www.perimetergallery.com/home.html .
The Illinois Artisans Program focuses national attention on the rich heritage of the fine crafting that exists in Illinois. The program markets crafts through artisans' shops located in the James R. Thompson Center, Chicago; the Museum Store at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield; the Museum Shop at the Dickson Mounds Museum; and the Southern Illinois Artisans Shop at Rend Lake.. See www.museum.state.il.us/programs/illinois-artisans/ .
Nathan Bennett specializes in patina paintings, which begin as very thin sheets of silica bronze and involve paints that are mixtures of chemicals, acids, oxides and nitrates. The final products were beyond gorgeous. See www.patinapaintings.com .
David Samplonius ( www.option-art.ca ) brought back images of people's childhoods with rolling drawers that resembled soap-box derby cars.
The Glass Art Society ( www.glassart.org ) is an international non-profit organization founded in 1971 whose purpose is to encourage excellence, to advance education, to promote the appreciation and development of the glass arts and to support the worldwide community of artists who work with glass. The group is representative of a movement that is mushrooming.
Niso Maman's work garnered a lot of attention, and it could have been because of the theme of the subjects: the female form. Maman, whose work can be viewed at Miami's Adamar Gallery, showcased torsos made of nails, keys and other objects. See www.popnart.com .
Detlef Gotzens, who teaches art in Canada, exhibited striking works of glass art, putting a spin on things by combining glass with other materials such as wood, stone and metal. See www.galerieelenalee.com .
Aldo Castillo was among those attending. Castillo, who was recently the subject of a Windy City Times profile as he prepared to move to Miami from Chicago. Castill is now a director at International Fine Art Expositions.
Andrew Davis