Jul 9th 2011

People Don’t Like to Read Art

@ Western Exhibitions

119 N Peoria St, 2A, Chicago, IL 60607

Opening Saturday, July 9th, from 5PM - 8PM

On view through Saturday, August 13th

The title of the show takes its name from a 2009 drawing (not in this show) by Deb Sokolow that humorously reflects on some viewers’ aversion to reading text in visual art works. While the use of text in contemporary art is fairly commonplace, the artists in this show move beyond the use of single words and phrases by working with paragraphs, lists, fully-formed narratives and book formats, asking viewers to take the time to actively read the work.

The show includes works from several gallery artists: Nicholas Frank’s framed book pages, Adriane Herman’s printmaking and vinyl appliqué work, John Parot’s paintings, a collage from Mark Wagner, and drawings by both Joe Hardesty and Deb Sokolow.

Also included in this survey of works that incorporate the act of reading are several non-gallery artists who work in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, video, artists’ books, printmaking and collage, and hail from points in and outside of Chicago. We’ll be showing an artist book produced in collaboration with The Present Group from Rebecca Blakley (Oakland, CA); drawings and collages by Elijah Burgher (Chicago); sculpture by Simon Evans (Berlin); watercolors by Cat Glennon (Brooklyn); text drawings by Meg Hitchcock (New York); video and printmaking by Rachel Foster (San Francisco); drawings by David Leggett (Chicago); artist book/novel by Andy Moore (Chicago); collage/photos by Kirsten Stoltmann (Los Angeles); and artist books by Angie Waller (New York).

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