The 2018 EXPO Chicago art show

This year's EXPO Chicago art show was not quite as dynamic as it had been the past few years, though one new addition that I appreciated was having more events taking place concurrently around the city, extending its scope beyond a few days at Navy Pier to a full week around the city. EXPO Art Week programming even included one of my favorite places, The Smart Museum at The University of Chicago, with a dynamic celebration of a new show that just opened there about South Side artists.

I suppose I have high expectations for EXPO now because—if you're familiar with my blog you may recall—this was the show where I serendipitously met Olympic Medalist Tommie Smith right after I had just read about him in a book I was reading while studying for Jeopardy!, found a booth that coordinated perfectly with my outfit, and saw a painting that foretold our current national nightmare. Also, I had to rush through the show because I had an art show of my own to get to and didn't want to be late for the first day. So I didn't have time to visit the Justice Hotel installation that two artists I know, Maya Camille Broussard and Rhonda Wheatley, were a part of.

Here are photos of the art that caught my eye. As always, I try my best to include the names of the artists in the captions, but sometimes I miss a few.

Prune Nourry

Peter Williams

Forum Gallery

Benjamin Larose

Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga

Naudline Pierre

Guerilla Girls

 

AfriCOBRA

Basil Kincaid

Fu Xiaotong

Mario Moore

Clare Rojas

Jim Lambie

Andrea Galvani

David Gill Gallery

Hank Willis Thomas

Anna Kunz

Jon Rappleye

Shin Sung Hy

Whitfield Lovell

Stephané E. Conradie

Ann Agee

Karen Arm

Chun Kwang Young

Ger Van Elk

Oscar Murillo

John M. Armleder

Patrick Bongoy

Firelei Báez

James Rosenquist

Bisa Butler

Sculpture: Jesse Small; Bas-reliefs: Rupert Deese

Carlos Rolón

William LaChance

Esmaa Mohamoud

El Anatsui

Alexis Peskine

I also recorded a few short videos of live performances and video art that I liked. 

Video art by Gregory Scott

Live performances by ballerinas from The Joffrey Ballet Company

I'm glad I had the chance, though it was brief, to see all the art that was on view at EXPO this year and still hope that someday I will get to display my work there. But I'm getting closer since I was in a satellite fair this year. Click here to read about it.

Violet Verve

Purple is a complicated color. That's why I prefer to purchase it rather than mix my own variations. Maybe if I kept a measuring cup and measuring spoons or graduated cylinders at my studio I'd change my mind, because at least then I could follow a consistent recipe or formula to achieve the same results every time. But because I didn't have measuring tools at my studio (I do now!) when I started painting Violet Verve, I availed myself of all the brightest violets that the art supply stores I frequent had to offer, as well as some of my secret ingredients.

 It kept going back and forth between too pink and too blue every time I glazed it.

I tried a pigment that required a UV light to cure correctly. So I got a blacklight bulb.

 

Then I added a final coat of glaze. Little did I know that paintbrush bristles broke off and formed this number 7 in the paint before Violet Verve dried. 

It took a long time, but after all that glazing I was very pleased with the wide range of hues.

The painting has a chameleon-like quality. Its gloss and iridescence cause it to reflect its surroundings and take on a different color cast depending on where you are standing when you look at it.

I'm selling it for $600 on Etsy. If you happen upon this post after it's been sold, don't despair. I can make a similar custom painting for you. Click here to learn more about my commissioned art process.