OnTheCusp.org

Road Trip: Destination, Chi'town

[art work by Gedi Sibony, image is from Paul Klein's "Art Letter" site]

This past Friday, I borrowed a more reliable vehicle and hit the road solo for a trip up I-65 to Chicago. Destination, the grand opening of Rowley Kennerk Gallery. Rowley is an Indiana native and brother of local artist Emily Kennerk (well, actually she currently resides both here and in Chicago). The gallery is located in the current Chicago hotspot, the West Loop, along with Wendy Cooper Gallery, Bodybulider Sportsman, 40,000, Bucket Rider, Three Walls, and more. And might I add, those are all in the same building. I love that about other art districts, proximity.

The first show titled, THE SUBTLETY OF _______ AND THE FORTITUDE OF _______; includes a single work each by Gedi Sibony, David Lieske, Florian Morlat, and Jordan Wolfson. A strong grouping for this first exhibition and a wonderful use of the small gallery space. What the gallery lacks in size it makes up in its presentation. What can people expect from this show and perhaps future shows, well Paul Klein had this to say in his Art Letter:

"Rowley Kennerk is a recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute with a degree in Art History and he has a point of view favoring minimal conceptual art. Like when we see a quality new artist for the first time, this is but an introduction. It'll take a bit of time to understand his vocabulary to grasp the essence and to appreciate the subtitles. ThereÂ’s good work here, thoughtful, serious, yet with a touch of humor. It is not easy art. Give it time. The reward is worth the effort."

I could not have said it any better than that, so thanks Paul. During the short time I was in the space there was a continuous flow of people checking out the show. I even saw one of the top MCA people making the rounds their. Not bad. I am now interested to see what other artists he has lined up but I forgot to ask Rowley what is next up this fall. I guess time will tell as I made sure to sign the guest book for future updates.

Before I left Rowley's space I ran into Emily who then introduced me to large segment of the Kennerk family. Then we all proceeded to go gallery hopping where I was introduced to several other Chicago artists, gallerists, etc. I had a blast and saw some wonderful work with some bad but most importantly, I had fun. And I must say that Emily's other brothers were making me laugh most of the night as we walked from space to space and just for them, check out this link. Oh, it was quite worth the trip to Chicago even though I was only there about the same amount of time it took me to drive up but hey, I thought I would go up and support one of the Indiana natives who decided to try elsewhere.

Good Luck Rowley.