CHICAGO—The devilishness of Matthew Rich’s large, abstract, painted-paper collages is in the details: an imperfect seam; a smudge of color; a corner curled up, creating a hint of shadow. These finer points are easy to miss and yet should not be missed. “They make you aware of this thing as an object,” says Rich. “I’m trying to make paint exist as sculptural material.”

Over the past 10 years, the 32-year-old artist has moved from painting to sculpture to collage, and from Providence to Chicago to Boston, where he teaches visual arts at Northeastern University. This month he returns to the windy city with an exhibition at The Suburban, a storage shed–cum–project space adjacent to the Oak Park home of artists and art professors Michelle Grabner and Brad Killam. The highlight of the show is Stacks (2008), an accordion-like grid composed of interlocking blocks of jewel-colored paper. Also on view are Spin (2008) and Clump (2008), two circular compositions characterized by organic forms and vivid, contrasting colors.

Visible throughout is the influence of Rich’s stated inspiration, Richard Tuttle, whose banal assemblages are also all about the “whispering details,” as New York Times critic Michael Kimmelman called them in his review of Tuttle’s 2005 Whitney retrospective.

“They are easy, colorful things,” Rich says of his own work. “They exist in the tradition of abstract painting that I love to look at and love to get lost in.”

Other shows in Chicago where Rich got lost this summer:

1. All Around Us: The Dances of Sybil Shearer on Film at Julius Cæsar, through August 24

“Located at the end of the second floor of a warehouse populated with artists and art-related activities, Julius Cæsar is an exciting addition to the collection of non-commercial Chicago galleries. The space is operated by local artists Annie Anderson, Dana DeGuilio, Diego Leclery, Colby Shaft, Hans Peter Sundquist, and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung. Having spent grad school in Chicago benefiting on a near daily basis from the ground-level efforts and activities of my colleagues and peers, I prized seeing this renewal of energy.”

2. Roger Brown Study Collection, ongoing

“Run by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Roger Brown Study Collection (RBSC), established in 1997, is an incredible and overwhelming look into the collection (and mind) of the late Chicago Imagist artist and SAIC alum Roger Brown (1941–97). According to the Web site, it is an ‘artists’ study collection and archive, preserved intact in a historic house museum setting’ and includes works by fellow Chicago Imagists, self-taught artists, and other contemporary artists, as well as folk and tribal art from many cultures, objects from material and popular culture, costumes, textiles, furniture, travel souvenirs, and ‘other things Brown surrounded himself with for artistic inspiration.’ I loved having a chance to see some of the background and context for his clean and sharp aesthetic.”

3. Jeff Koons at the Museum of Contemporary Art, through September 21

“On the other end of the spectrum from the modest Julius Cæsar, there is the Jeff Koons retrospective at the MCA. Drawn from the museum’s own collection and supplemented by new works from the artist, this is the only venue for the show and an excellent chance to see the highest of the high end, the slickest of the slick. Also on view, through March 1, 2009, is the first installment in a three-part ‘Artist in Depth’ series, this part dedicated to William Kentridge.


4. Howard Henry Chen at the Museum of Contemporary Art, through August 31

“While the MCA is one of the largest and most glamorous art venues in town it makes an institutional effort to highlight local emerging artists from Chicago with its ‘12 X 12’ series, which comprises 12 month-long, one-room exhibitions every year of local artists. Currently on view is the work of Howard Henry Chen.”


5. Cip Contreras and Jeffrey Wells at The Suburban, through August 28

“The Suburban shows an array of artists from near and far, two at a time, in two small galleries. The spaces are formal, with smooth concrete floors and clean white walls, but the minute you exit you are in a suburban backyard complete with children, barbeque, and recycling bins. It is a juxtaposition that I find thrilling.

“In the gallery adjacent to the one where I am exhibiting, Cip Contreras, who lives and works in Nashville, is showing a mixed-media installation, and in Shane Campbell’s satellite space, also housed in the Suburban complex, is a video installation by Jeffrey Wells. Visit now and consider this a recommendation for the future, as this is a completely unique and incredible place to form or refresh your love of art community. The Suburban is open by appointment. Do not miss their Sunday 2 p.m. openings with cheap beer and delicious bratwursts.”