Fair Report: Art Chicago

Photo courtesy Landau Fine Arts

Wassily Kandinsky, "Pfeile (Arrows)" (1927). On view at the Landau Fine Arts booth

Photo courtesy Rhona Hoffman Gallery

Mickalene Thomas, "I Can't See You Without Me." On view at the Rhona Hoffman Gallery booth

Magdalena Abakanowicz Alexander Calder Pablo Picasso Jim Dine Henri Matisse Joan Miro Angela West New Space, New Focus at Art Miami

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In the intervening year, the Mart purchased the rights to Art Chicago and worked with the City of Chicago, leading cultural institutions and local restaurants and nightclubs to create an umbrella arts celebration called Artropolis. The organization bundled in four other independent art fairs—the International Antiques Fair, the Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art, the Artist Project Independent Artist Exhibition and Sale, and the Bridge Art Fair—and also arranged related performances, lectures, tours, parties, and more. The result was the first of what is intended to be an annual showcase of the city’s art and culture scene with Art Chicago as its centerpiece.

An Upbeat Mood

Art Chicago 2007 proved that the Mart has the infrastructure, the interest and the commitment (financial and otherwise, with a rumored $4 million to $6 million spent this year alone) to help America’s longest running international modern and contemporary art fair to once again be a go-to event for international collectors and prestigious galleries, as it was during its heyday in the late ’80s and early ’90s. But does the fair have the interest and support of the international art community?

“I’ve done the Art Chicago show since 1985 and I’ve never seen this level of excitement,” said Tom McCormick of the Tom McCormick Gallery, Chicago. “There are a lot of collectors I haven’t seen in years, along with quite a few high-profile dealers.”

Martin Weinstein of the Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, said he hadn’t seen many big collectors but is glad that the show is once again on solid ground. “It’s moving in the right direction and will be back on track in two to three years. It is important to have a Midwestern alternative to New York and Miami.”

Almost unanimously, gallery owners praised the Mart’s efforts. “They made an over-the-top marketing effort backed by over-the-top service,” noted McCormick. The problem of last year’s low ceilings was resolved with a switch to a different floor of the building. Better lighting, better floor plans, better food and amenities, along with dozens of staffers helping people navigate the fair, made the total experience truly enjoyable.

Enthusiasm and a sense that the fair was moving in the right direction seemed to be the general sentiment of exhibiters and attendees alike, who were generally impressed with the organizers’ professionalism and efficiency and were encouraged by the positive energy of the weekend. As one attendee was overheard saying, “It’s a good show—like a mellow Miami in a cool Midwestern way.”

Cautious Optimism

As for the art itself, galleries returned with an equal mix of caution and optimism, with 132 exhibitors representing more than 2,000 artists. True, there was a smaller international presence than in the past, but that was balanced by a large New York showing, strong Chicago gallery support and a wide range of Midwestern and West Coast dealers.

Last year, the Korean Pavilion, representing almost a dozen galleries, played a large role; this year, their presence was still felt, especially with Gallery ARTSIDE and Galerie Bhak, Seoul. If the fair featured any dominant art trend, it had to be large-format color photography—such as the lush Michael Eastman displayed at Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri; the Angela West portraits at Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago; and the African studies by Pieter Hugo at Yossi Milo Gallery, New York.

Perpetually crowded booths included Galerie St. Etienne, New York, with its display of Viennese Secessionists; the Richard Gray gallery, Chicago and New York, with a series by Magdalena Abakanowicz, as well as the Jim Dine bathrobes; Toronto’s Birch Libralato gallery’s eclectic collection; and the large-scale African-influenced aluminum and copper wire hanging by El Anatusui, shown by Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.