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Art Fri Dec 11 2009
Scavenging Chicago's Urban Jungle
It's been described as reading like "poetic time capsules," remnants of societal cast-offs.
Juan Angel Chavez's "Dragging the Leash," at Linda Warren Fine Art Gallery, 1052 W. Fulton Market, opened Dec. 4 and will run through Jan. 16, 2010. This is the first solo exhibition of an artist so thoroughly invested in Chicago's community art scene you'd be hard-pressed not to have seen his work.
The exhibition is Chavez's personal representation of the "urban jungle of Chicago" comprised of collages made from carefully foraged "rescued artifacts." The objects, sculptures, assemblages, light boxes and instillations were cultivated by the Mexican-born, local artist and former School of the Art Institute student.
Chavez, as a member of the Chicago Public Art Group, has been commissioned by the city to paint murals for the Chicago Park District, the CTA, the Sun-Times, and the Toman Branch Library, among many others and has been exhibited at the MCA, the Mexican Fine Art Center Museum (where he was once an intern) and the Hyde Park Art Center.
An opening reception with Chavez and artist, Shannon Kerrigan--also represented at the gallery--will be on Friday, Dec. 11 from 6- 9pm.