Originally posted on Chicago Art Magazine by Robin Dluzen.
A lot has already been said and written on the topic of this year’s Art Chicago/NEXT fairs: the notable absences, the drastic decrease in size, the business practices, and so on. However, I found it was still possible, amongst all the showiness and gimmickry that the fairs inevitably attract, to narrow down a few booths containing works by artists, in my opinion, deserving of recognition for managing to uphold quality amidst the circumstances.
Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago
Walter Hamady, "Box 113/ The Mormon Tabernacle/ not everything is possible at every time."
Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery not surprisingly presents the works of Walter Hamady as straddling the line between the high art market of Chicago, and its roots in the everyday and the tradition of craftsmanship. The artist’s works become more delightful with the accompanying background narratives, however, outside of those stories, Hamady’s works so clearly stand on their own formally, conceptually and aesthetically as art objects.
The artist books and book-like assemblages employ pleasingly patina-ed found objects, sheaves of paper and expended cigar boxes, highlighting their deliberate oddness, and their material narrative. Continue reading
