Analysis
Must-See Booths at Expo Chicago
Works by Ramiro Gonzalez and Faile are among the outstanding offerings on the Navy Pier.
Eileen Kinsella
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The third edition of Expo Chicago at Navy Pier was already abuzz by mid-afternoon on VIP preview day (September 18), hours before the evening opening reception when the champagne and wine started flowing. Exhibitors seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the energy and organization of the fair under the leadership of Tony Karman, while observers agreed that the selection of galleries and quality of works on offer—from blue chip modern masters to cutting-edge contemporary art—was outstanding.
Miami gallery owner Fredric Snitzer, a first-time exhibitor here, told artnet News he scoped out the fair last year and and was impressed by what he was seeing. “We’re always looking to find the best fairs to show at. Every time you looked, this got better and better. We decided to give it a shot.” Snitzer’s debut booth selection here includes eye-catching paintings by Enrique Martinez Celaya and Hernan Bas, as well as a sculpture of Jon Pylypchuck’s over-size standing cigarette butts wielding signs (sample message: “No one really loves you”).
Nearby at the booth of Toronto gallery Nicholas Metivier, William Fisk’s large-scale black-and-white oil paintings stand out, as do Lucian Freud etchings, and a major large-scale work by Edward Burtynsky.
Vienna gallerist Ernst Hilger—who recently launched a new space in Jersey City at Mana Contemporary—has a strong showing of works by Faile (see “artnet Asks: FAILE“), Cameron Platter, and Russian photographer Anastasia Khoroshilova.
Chicago dealer Stephen Daiter has a booth featuring an eclectic mix of vintage photography by masters of the genre. Artists represented include Robert Frank, André Kertész, and Weegee alongside works by the late Lynne Cohen and recent Whitney Biennial standout Dawoud Bey. Bey, whom artnet News critic Christian Viveros-Fauné wrote about in May (see “Portraits by Dawoud Bey Look American History Squarely in the Eye,” is debuting a newly published portfolio titled “Birmingham: Four Girls, Two Boys” at an opening reception tonight at Stephen Daiter gallery).
New York’s PPOW is showing a fantastic selection of contemporary work by Jessica Stoller, an artist whose work has strong ties to feminist art, alongside more historic work by Dottie Attie and Martha Wilson.
Cernuda Arte, of Coral Gables, Florida, has mounted an extensive museum-quality show of historic Cuban art, including work by Wifredo Lam and Irina Elén González. Contemporary offering include works by Dayron González and Miguel Florido, the latter two of whom were on hand in the booth to meet viewers.
London-based Hales Gallery, which curated its selection under the title “Afro-Pop and Its Legacy,” is showing Guyanese artist Frank Bowling alongside Trenton Doyle Hancock, Derrick Adamsm,and Tom Price.
And in the “Exposure” section of younger galleries, Los Angeles gallery Charlie James is piquing interest with a solo show of works by Ramiro Gomez, including Gomez’s 2014 homage to David Hockney, American Gardeners (after David Hockney’s American Collectors (Fred and Marcia Weisman, 1968). For those interested in seeing the original that inspired it, Hockney’s original Weisman portrait hangs at the nearby Art Institute of Chicago.
Expo Chicago, the International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, runs until September 21.
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