Claudine Ise: What interests you about artist’s multiples as an art form? Given your own focus on painting, how did you come to start a gallery that, in part, focuses on artist’s multiples?

Dan Devening: I guess my interest in editions and multiples probably grew out of a few particular experiences. Foremost is my undergraduate focus in printmaking at the University of Nebraska. I was drawn to the printmakers because they seemed to operate in this cool zone between a kind of macho, working class culture and this incredibly anal technical virtuosity. Plus they seemed to have the most fun; working late into the night, printing complicated multi-color lithos and etchings… and getting little high on all those chemicals that we learned later would probably take years off our lives. The printmaking area was led by Thomas Majeski and Gary Day, two artists who realized that the medium would change dramatically as technology advanced (this was the late 70s by the way) and as a result continually brought in non-printmakers as visiting artists to force us to work the potential of the medium. As students, we would assist or print for these artists, many of whom forced us to solve all kinds of crazy technical problems that may or may not be possible on the press. We aimed to please and were driven by this intense need to prove our worth by handing over an exquisitely printed edition at the end of their visit. Because most of these artists were not printmakers limited by some preconceived technical standard, they approached the process in a very innovative way that forced us to continually search for solutions. The experience was amazing, but I very quickly realized that ultimately, the goal was to produce an “edition;” a suite of absolutely identical prints that were flawlessly produced. My art practice at the time—both in printmaking and painting—had very little in common with the obsessive culture of technical perfection that was the normal standard in that discipline. I was more interested in using the medium to make work that was much more experimental—using the process to make monoprints, lithographs and relief prints had the same look and feel of my paintings…editioning those pieces was not so important. As a result, I went to grad school to study and make paintings and have yet to go back to making traditional prints.

About ten years ago, I started traveling regularly to Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. I have artist friends there who introduced me to a contemporary art culture that wasn’t found only in the larger cities, but also seemed to be very important part of just about every small town. Little collectives of interested community members would form “Kunstvereins,” open a small exhibition space and start showing contemporary art. These Kunstvereins could be large museum-like spaces or small rooms within other community cultural projects. In almost every case, these spaces show cutting edge contemporary projects and they inevitably feature editions of exhibiting artists. This is how I started getting interested in contemporary editions and multiples. In these spaces as well as in almost every museum featuring work by contemporary artists, an edition was produced to commemorate the exhibition and would be sold in the museum book store. I quickly became amazed at how affordable and unusual these multiples were. They were almost never a traditional print; instead you would unique photo-works, objects, digital media, video and just about any other medium that could possibly produce a multiple. As long as the work was in multiple form, it worked for this purpose and in most cases was under about $500 depending on the artist. I was immediately struck by this notion of highly accessible work by well established and emerging artists. I started going to museum stores to seek out the editions in their collections…and I started collecting them at the same time. I met several people who only collected editions and they hooked me up with this network of other collectors and sources. The list was incredible.

In 2002, I met a very ambitious young Dutch curator named Robert Meijer who started an edition project called En/Of (Dutch for “and/or”) that paired visual artists with experimental sound artists. The end result of each edition was a double-sleeve album with a 12” vinyl record featuring the sound work on one side and the visual artwork on the other. Remarkably, he was able to convince artists like Olafur Eliasson, Doug Aitken, Martin Boyce, Tobias Rehberger, Jonathan Monk, Thomas Demand, Monika Bonvincini, Simon Starling, Sarah Morris, Liam Gillick and many other very important contemporary artists to participate. Each En/Off edition was produced in 100 impressions and sold initially for about $125 each (now they’re up to about $200). For a collector to have access to an artwork by any of these artists for $125 was amazing and I quickly became a subscriber to the project. I was also invited, as an artist to produce one of these editions with a Chicago improv band called Tiny Hairs as my musical partner. Robert Meijer now has a gallery in Berlin called Luettgenmeijer; he still produces the En/Of series but they aren’t coming out as often as his collectors would like.

The En/Of edition series probably spurred my passion for editions more than anything else. I appreciated the experimental nature of the pairings and the precise parameters within the project. As long as the edition could be produced as a multiple and it fit in one side of the double album sleeve, it worked. Of course I was also amazed that work of this caliber by artists of such renown could be owned by the average Joe. It’s interesting because my context is primarily the the art world, I placed more weight on the renown of the visual artist. It quickly became clear, that Robert was curating and commissioning some significant compositions from important sound artists…he often told me that the some of the sound work was more rare and valuable than the art objects.

Through my contacts in Germany, I was also finding more interesting sources for contemporary editions. Magazines like Parkett and Texte Zur Kunst produced editions available to subscribers with each quarterly issue; there were galleries that focused on editions like Barbara Wien in Berlin and Galerie les Multiples in Paris; Griffelkunst is a group of members (German only) that produce new editions several times a year; and publishers like Schellman Editions out of Munich were offering amazing new work on a regular basis. I started keeping track of these projects and would acquire things when I could, often through the suggestions of edition-obsessed friends who would let me know about special things that came available.

To try to quickly get to what’s happening now, for the past ten years, I had been curating shows I initiated and proposed to various spaces; the curating came out of an interest in exercising an expression of ideas that didn’t fit comfortably inside my painting practice…and this was years before I opened the gallery. The curating also came out of a strong desire to collaborate with other artists on projects that I felt could be explored through group exhibitions. These curatorial projects were more complex and interesting than I ever expected and energized a certain conceptual/administrative/social side that was rarely satisfied when I was working alone in my studio. From sometime in the late 90’s, I did about 7 shows in venues like the Block Museum at Northwestern University, The Gahlberg Gallery at College of DuPage and a few commercial galleries. As my interest in editions grew more serious, I saw my pleasure working as a curator as a good foundation for what I wanted to do next, which was publishing editions. In 2006, I initiated my first serious edition project as a themed, curated suite called “Wherever.” I invited about 17 artists to create an edition in any reproducible medium in a run of 30 that would include 3 artists proofs (one would be for handling and showing, one was archived and the last would be available in the event that someone wanted to acquire the entire collection). The artists included Laura Letinsky, Judy Ledgerwood, Tony Tasset, William J. O’Brien, Mark Booth, Ken Fandell, Carol Jackson, Markus Linnenbrink, Julia Hechtman, New Catalog, Pamela Bannos and others. I would show the editions out of my studio and to curators, collectors and gallery folks on site. I was able to get some attention for the project and despite the fact that wasn’t featured as an exhibition, it was quite successful.

Soon after that project, I was offered the chance to lease a space across the hall from my current studio; that room later became the gallery that I called devening projects + editions. I spent about 6 months completing some necessary renovations, all the while thinking that the room would be a show-space for the editions I continued to show and publish. I needed a space separate from my studio to help clarify the the fact that I was operating both as an artist and a curator/publisher. The publishing was still about collaborating with artists and challenging them to come up with ways to solve a problem: how to make a work that was not a traditional print, that could express something about their work but also operate in this other world of editions. The results were always fantastic. For example, Tony Tasset made Mud Pie for Wherever. Mud Pie was a brown plaster mud pie in an aluminum pie pan (it looked exactly like a real mud pie) with an autumn leaf on top that was made from a sheet of very thin, cut brass and exquisitely painted with oil pigments. In this case, Tony didn’t produce 30 Mud Pies but made the edition available on request and it was produced when necessary. Another good example was a set of hand-tooled leather coasters, designed and produced by Carol Jackson. Carol normally works I leather, but she said when asked about doing this that she’d been thinking about leather coasters for a while and this project was a great way to move that idea to fruition. She made a couple of prototypes to figure out how the sleeve would fit over and hold the coasters and in the end came up with a really awesome edition for the suite. I think Tony and Carol’s editions are great examples of how there are no longer traditional limitations to how multiples are conceived or produced. I continue to encourage that kind of experimentation when I work with artist on new edition projects.

In 2007, I finished the gallery space and decided that instead of using the room exclusively for editions, I would use it as a gallery with editions supporting a broader exhibition concern. My first show was called Preview, a group exhibition featuring artists that would have upcoming solo projects…I also showed a few of the editions. There was work by Rodney Carswell, Zak Prekop, Susanne Doremus and others. The second show in the gallery was Go Between; this was also the second curated edition suite. In Go Between, each artist was asked to produce an edition made up of two parts; a sort of diptych that could work as a pair but also expressed some kind of tension between the two. I got amazing work from Joseph Grigely, Amy Vogel, Matt Stolle, Scott Fortino, Cody Hudson, Helen Maria Nugent and many others. I think there were about 15 artists in this project.

Today after four years as director of devening projects + editions, I probably put a greater focus on the nuts and bolts of running a commercial gallery project but still make it a point to try to get each artist featured in a solo exhibition to produce an edition. For example, Jered Sprecher just made Now & Not Yet, a 5-color silkscreen print on primed and stretched linen. The piece is relatively small—12” x 8”—but I love how Jered as a painter, produced a edition that was so closely tied to his discipline. The result integrates beautifully with the other work he showed in Kabinett 5.  There were also beautiful editions produced by both Richard Rezac and Gary Stephan for Kabinett 1 + 2. Richard used a new inkjet printing process to produce vinyl wallpaper from a recent drawing and Gary Stephan made a small suite of works on paper that were produced by carefully folding and spray-painting each sheet with acrylic enamel. Both of these editions came about as a result of the artists working in a way they had not before; I am particularly joyful when that happens.

CI: How does your work with artist’s multiples feed into the side of your gallery that’s geared toward the exhibition of discrete objects? How do the two parts fit together?

DD: As I said, running the gallery is now the primary focus with the publication of new editions coming a close second. Finding and cultivating artists, scheduling shows, getting people to the space, dealing with press, etc. keeps me very busy. In addition to that I’m still teaching at the School of the Art Institute and making my own work. I guess I see the editions I’m publishing as becoming a sort of beautiful archive of the artists that have passed through the gallery over the years and which reflect something of what my curatorial vision is all about. I also work hard to bring attention to this side of the gallery project and recognize that there is much more that could be do to market the editions to become a more visible and special enterprise. Selling more of them is also a highly desirable goal for both the gallery and the artists, but unlike the culture surrounding editions in Europe, there are still some challenges to getting collectors to recognize how editions might fit comfortably into their acquisition strategy if they’re not already a focus. Maybe there are stigmas attached to work that is editioned; maybe those who might be interested are surprised that the prices are maybe more than expected. Also, I wouldn’t say that the editions I’m publishing financially supplement the gallery as much as one might think (or hope). Although my goal is to showcase this very strong work as affordable, accessible and unique, the reality is that like any luxury item in these tough times, whether or not to buy art—editions or otherwise—is not an easy decision for most people. I see the edition publishing part of my project as a long-term (love) affair to produce, show and promote really special objects by some very interesting artists.

CI: Tell me about the editions you’ll be unveiling at the end of the month by artists like editions by Sigmar Polke, Sarah Morris, Christopher Wool, Rosemarie Trockel, Candida Hofer, and Thomas Scheibitz. Are they new editions? Did you work with these particular artists to create them?

DD: Multiplemix is the show in the off space opening on January 30^th featuring new editions to the gallery. It’ll open with the 5^th Kabinett exhibition with Andreas Fischer and Melissa Pokorny; there will editions by well-established artists and some very young folks who are making editions for the first time. I was the publisher of only a few of these pieces; the rest were either self-published or are editions I acquired from other sources. The Sigmar Polke, called Oase, is a silkscreen from 1998 and the Rosemarie Trockel etching is called Artist 2000; I just acquired both from Schellmann Editions out of Munich. There are several editions from En/Of with work by David Lieske, Liam Gillick and Jonathan Monk; the Candida Höfer photograph comes from a recent museum show at Museum Morsbroich Leverkusen in Germany; the Sarah Morris is a 23-color silkscreen print that was published by the Whitechapel Gallery in London; the Christopher Wool was printed in 2006 by Brand X Projects/Neptune Fine Art in New York; the Thomas Scheibitz was just released from Texte Zur Kunst; and some fantastic new editions by gallery artists Cody Hudson, Heiner Blumenthal, Nathaniel Robinson, Michael Pfisterer and Dorothee Joachim. This show will also be the premiere for some really exciting new work by young artists Alexander Valentine, Andrew Blackley, Aay Preston, Sterling Lawrence and Dan Leudtke. Finally, I am very pleased to feature a suite of four new lithographs by Dianna Frid that were just published by Sharks, Ink. The studio work was done in December with master printer Bud Shark in Lyons, Colorado; the print is being editioned as we speak. This is the very first time they’ll be shown. If that’s not enough, there’ll be even more new work by well-known and soon to be well-known artists.

CI: Can you take us through the process – both the creative and production sides—of creating an edition/multiple.  To what degree is there collaboration between the dealer and the artist in terms of deciding on the form the multiple will take? And if there is, how does that collaboration/back and forth discussion take place?

DD: In most cases when I propose the publication of an edition with an artist, I’ll show them a bunch of examples of recent work and use those examples to open a door to what’s possible within the project. Mostly, I’m hoping that they’ll take up the challenge and approach the process as an experience that can expose their practice to something new. Because there is the necessity that the work be an edition, the requirement that there be multiple copies of the work sets up a nice set of parameters from which to step  one of the same thing. The artist may have some ideas about how they might proceed and if that’s the case, we’ll start talking about production methods or options. The great thing about doing editions with artists is that they’re artists; they’re trained to be creative problem solvers so I’ve never been disappointed with the editions that have come out of these conversations. For example, a recent piece from Nathaniel Robinson called Dreg is a resin-cast styrofoam cup. It’s a one-to-one replica of the real thing—including teeth marks near the rim—that also includes a set of greasy fingerprints on the inside of the cup. I don’t know how Nathaniel made this edition of three and I don’t think I ever want to know. The mystery of this modest little object is its beauty. My only fear with Dreg is that someone will mistakenly through it in the trash.

Another favorite edition came from Helen Maria Nugent who heads the Design Objects department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I asked her to do an edition for the Go Between project and her solution was really brilliant. She had been gather data from a clinical psychologist at Northwestern University who was tracking eye movements between subject pairs who sat facing each other. He instruments followed eye movements as the pairs looked at each other. Helen Maria took some of these data sets and created computer renderings that were then used to etch both sides of 20” x 16” mirrored plexiglas. The work called Strangers Mirrors, has this beautiful filigree on the surface that allows you to experience the object as both an aesthetic object and a functional mirror—and the viewer becomes a third set of eyes in the cycle.

In almost every case, there are regular conversations between me and the artist when and edition is in process. Usually the artist handles the production and when proofs or trials are available, we’ll usually meet to discuss the results and the next steps. If adjustments need to be made, we’ll often make those decisions together. This isn’t always the case; just as often, an artist will simply deliver the final work. Ultimately the artist makes all the final decisions; I’m only there to offer support and encouragement.

CI: Conceptually speaking, how does the artist settle on a form that he/she thinks would work well as an edition? Should the form of the object strive in some way to be representative of the artist’s larger body of work?

DD: How artists come up with  produce an edition is always different. Some pull from material or ideas contiguous to their regular practice and others see this as an opportunity to move into some new terrain. An example of someone whose editions are close to their other studio work is Jin Lee who’s made several photo editions for the gallery; they almost always come out of a current on-going series. Others, like Julia Hechtman might do something really surprising. For her last solo exhibition, Julia produced Webs, a set of three, 12” square laser-etched mirrors. The etched image comes from a very delicate drawing of spiderwebs that Julia produced from photographs. The web reads a bit like a cracks in the mirror so it has a wonderful dual reading when looking into the reflection. That piece is currently featured in a group show at dok25a in Dusseldorf.

Even if an edition doesn’t “look” like something from an artist’s regular body of work, I’m convinced that conceptually, the edition is inevitably still rooted there.

CI: The development of high-end 3-D printing technology seems like an exciting new possibility for artists – what are your thoughts on this? Have any of the artists you’ve worked with used 3-D printers to create editions/multiples?

DD: None of the artists with whom I’m working have been using this new technology, but I know there are artists who have accessed this area for their work. Karin Sander is an artist living in Berlin who as early as 1998, has been making tiny portrait sculptures using 3-d body scanning. The objects are made of ABS plastic and aluminum and generated using 3-d printing techniques that come directly from the scanned data. She sometimes carefully paints the portraits, but more recently, the material has been left undisturbed. In the early days of her process, the body scanning was said to take about 10 hours; I expect that those times have improved as the technology advanced. It’s not clear if she’s use this project to generate editions. I think that although there is a lot of potential here to produce hundreds of each portrait, she seems instead to subvert that option to produce a single unique example.

I think it’s inevitable that artists will begin using some of the same technologies that product designers are using to produce computer-rendered 3-d objects as editoned works. In fact, I’m sure it’s happening already.

CI: Some people argue that the production of multiples dilutes the power of an artist’s originals. What do you think of this argument?

I can certainly see this as an argument, but for me, editions are simply one of many creative avenues available to an artist. Multiples have their own culture, traditions, audience and possibilities for innovation. I think that for those artists interested in that potential they’ll use it as an avenue to make something new and interesting; maybe even build it as a viable part of their practice. I think Jasper Johns is a really good example of a contemporary artist who throughout his career has fully embraced printmaking as an extension of his oeuvre. He’s been working with the printers and publishers like ULAE for decades and it’s obvious from the way he approaches this work that the medium his offering a material quality that can’t be achieved within other mediums. For example, the effects generated from etching or lithography can only come from the transfer process of ink to paper through a press.

I think for many well-established artists, the decision to make editions may have obvious financial considerations. To offer more studio work to a wider audience just makes sense and many artists will take that opportunity if it’s offered. I would also say that in most cases the work produced by these artists is of such a high caliber, that it does absolutely nothing to diminish their output. There are other artists who work in modes that might be considered edition-related—Zine publishers, poster printers, sound artists—that use the medium to build  larger audiences, demographics that aren’t limited to gallery/museum contexts. This work is often very affordable, usually produced inexpensively using all kinds of ingenious production methods, but still has the weight and resonance of so-called “serious” work. I have a strong interest in just about any kind of work that can have wider distribution as a result of editioning. One good example is The Thing, a quarterly subscription edition project, I think out of San Francisco. One can subscribe to a year-long series of four editions for just $200 and get a wonderful surprise in the mail every few months. The series features both recognized artists like Trisha Donnelly, Chris Johanson, Allora & Calzadilla and Ryan Gander as well as emerging artists like Trevor Paglen and Starlee Kine. This is a great project and artist list and the editions are always very cool…in fact one of the upcoming editions will be by James Franco.

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Group show at the new location.

Rotofugi is located at 2780 N Lincoln Ave. Reception Friday, from 7-10pm.

2. Beach Party at The Hills Esthetic Center

Work by Caitlin Arnold, Michael Boles, Jessica Taylor Caponigro, Olivia Ciummo, Sarica Douglas, Deep Earth, Ron Ewert, Michael Hunter, Leo Kaplan, Katy Keefe, Nicole Kita, Michael Kloss, Ben Marcus, Joseph Mohan, Sara Mosk, DJ Rad Pitt, Dustin Ruegger, Margaret Taylor, Frank Van Duerm, Kate Walsh and Lauren Walsh.

The Hills Esthetic Center is located at 128 N. Campbell Ave., Unit G. Reception Saturday, from 8-11pm.

3. Uncrumpling This Much Crumpled Thing at The Exhibition Agency

Work by Gina Beavers, Chris Bradley, Andrew Guenther, Anna Krachey, Elisa Lendvay, Tim Louis Graham, and Eliza Myrie.

The Exhibition Agency is located at 2351 N. Milwaukee Ave., 2nd fl. Reception Saturday, from 7-10pm.

4. Kabinett 1 + 2 at devening projects + editions

Work by Richard Rezac and Gary Stephan.

devening projects + editions is located at 3039 W Carroll Ave. Reception Sunday, from 4-7pm.

5. The Chromatic number of objects in a room at What It Is

Work by Susan Garguilo and Troy Hagenbart.

What It Is is located at 1155 S Lyman Ave, Oak Park. Reception Sunday, from 3-8pm.

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Untitled (09-01) 2009 cast bronze and aluminum 18 x 28 x 6.5 inches

Richard Rezac has a wonderful exhibition up right now at Rhona Hoffman Gallery (through February 2, 2010). In addition, the Modern Wing of the Art Institute is currently displaying six Rezac sculptures (spanning the years 1985-2008) from its Collection — they’ll be on view through early May. Rezac had a survey exhibition at the Gahlberg Gallery of the College of DuPage last year (the exhibition’s catalogue, which contains an enlightening essay by James Yood, is available for download on the Gahlberg Gallery’s website; just click on the link above to go there).

Richard generously agreed to answer a few questions about his latest works via email. I’m very grateful to him for taking the time to provide such illuminating and thoughtful responses.

You won the Rome Prize fellowship in 2006, which enabled you to travel to Italy to study Roman architecture in greater depth. To what extent did having a more sustained, daily interaction with Roman architecture impact your work?

That 11 month experience in Rome and in numerous parts of Italy has had a strong, and I trust, lasting effect, though because it was so substantive, I still do not know the extent of the influence. My purpose was to study the Baroque architecture of Francesco Borromini, whose 11 or so buildings are all in Rome. My approach in taking this in was naturally one of an artist, not an historian, though I certainly read what I could about his work and that of his immediate predecessors and those he influenced, especially Juvarra and Guarini in Turin.

Untitled (08-02), 2008. Cast bronze and aluminum. 22.5 x 10 x 9.5 inches.

The great pleasure was in seeing Borromini’s architecture (and eventually a large group of drawings in Vienna) on a near weekly basis, allowing me to feel aspects of his accomplishment and study many details. I was also privileged, by the American Academy’s offices, to gain entry to parts of his buildings normally off-limits.
The effect on my sculpture is not so clear to me, other than a continuation of some complexity – several materials or layers or juxtaposed forms within one work resulting in a, perhaps, more broad, gently argumentative, dynamic. In the long arc, though, of my sculptural language from the past 25 years, there has been an evolution from simple and concrete form to more extended, thin, linear and colored form, so the desire to be around Borromini’s architecture was in some sense anticipated by my work before I went there.

Along with architecture, I often think of interior design when viewing your sculptures. Some of them, for me, bring to mind things as mundane as contemporary kitchen and bathroom fixtures! After coming home from viewing your show, the kitchen faucets, towel racks, and cabinet knobs in my house–the particular geometries of their placement and their relationship to my body–all of a sudden stood out for me. Even the old-fashioned diamond tile in my bathroom floor started to “dance” for me in new ways. Am I being overly-specific here, or do you yourself ever draw inspiration from commonplace domestic interiors?

There is certainly a resemblance to ornament, facets of interior design objects, furniture, and architectural detail, such as moldings, in my sculpture of the past 6-8 years. I attribute this mainly to geometric form – the basic language in which my sculpture originates. Perhaps most manufactured applied design objects rely on the ease of elemental, efficient geometric forms. So there is an overlap, to be sure, between the common domestic accessories often handled or those elements produced in multiples as in tile flooring and the appearance of some of my forms or combinations.

I consider most of my sculpture, and all of those that are untitled, to be abstract and they may only arrive at some suggestiveness or association to domestic elements when completed and then exist in our space. I have rarely begun a work with the intention of representing another existing form, if anything it is in pursuit of a persona or complex phenomena. I am most interested, in as much as is possible for me, in starting with nothing and finding a satisfying form or arrangement.

Unititled (08-06) Painted cherry wood and aluminum 25 x 25 x 1.25 in.

Your sculptures are typically scaled to the human body. The size, scale, and the perceptual shifts they offer makes them especially suitable for installation in domestic spaces; living with an artwork allows for a very personal and yet ever-changing relationship with it over time. I’m curious to know if you are interested in making large-scale public sculptures?

"Frame," 2006 Glazed terracotta, brick and limestone Governor's State University, Illinois

Over the past 20 years I have been engaged in public work proposals and completed commissions: sculpture, urban plazas, landscaping and applied design (fencing and transit shelters). There were three temporary outdoor site works (Atlanta, Amsterdam and Chicago), but the only permanent work is “Frame,” 2006, at Governors State University in Illinois.

It is true, though, that the primary focus for me has been studio work, and also true that human scale tends to be my measure for sizing, and to some extent, the forms themselves. The obvious advantage to making studio work is the open-ended time and control that I can exercise – the greater personal nature that can be embedded because excessive engineering, material restriction, the near-necessity for outside fabrication and public input are not involved.

"Frame," 2006 Glazed terracotta, brick and limestone Governor's State University, Illinois.

The advantage and satisfaction that comes with a realized public project, though, is the challenge in answering it appropriately by tailoring the work to a specific place and history, its permanence, and the wide audience that can experience it.  Even in the public works that I have made or that reached a final proposal stage, in every instance they rely on human scale: low to the ground and spread out, as in a garden, or in reference to domestic architecture space, or as in the example of “Frame,” the horizontal row of mid-sized windows which are set at my eye-level and represent a picture wall, as in Victorian oval frames, directed toward the prairie landscape in two directions. (This wall is situated along the main path from the Metra station to campus, so commuters walk past and in a parallel orientation to the sculpture).

Can you tell me a bit about the floor piece titled “Aesop,” 2009, that’s currently on view in your show at Rhona Hoffman Gallery? In the gallery press release you mention that it is an abstraction of a portrait of Aesop you encountered while in Rome.

I had the privilege of visiting the Albani Villa in Rome and its private collection of antiquities on two occasions. In one room was this figure, found at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli during the Renaissance period (this family collection dates to the Renaissance, and supplied the Louvre, British Museum and Glyptoteck in Munich with many of their Roman marbles). We were told by the guide/gardener of the estate that this hunchbacked figure was a court entertainer at Hadrian’s Villa, but it seems more likely, as posited by Historians, to be a portrait of Aesop, who in the literature was reportedly severely distorted physically. This sculpture’s face was calm and noble, with full beard, and his limbs were shortened and tucked in front with an original fig-leaf exposed. His back side was arched, collapsed and visually abstract, resembling an Arp sculpture. When I saw it first I was thrown off-balance, and when given the opportunity to make a second visit (and we were only given about 10 – 20 seconds in each room before being coaxed out), this sculpture was the one work that I most wanted to see again.

"Aesop," 2009. Cast hydrocal, silk and aluminum. 17.25 x 24 x 20.5 in.

So much of the impact was with the circumstance: surreal in some respects, and the very brief time allowed (strictly no photography, but I did make a brief sketch on the second trip). The sculpture’s compression and sheer beauty and seeming contradiction was profound to me, so when I embarked on my sculpture, it was only at mid-course that I felt a kinship – nothing literally descriptive was involved. For several months it only included versions of the lower hydrocal forms, then later took on the aluminum restatement of its orientation along with the cutting of one hydrocal element, and lastly the silk as a connector between the two initial materials and forms. As much as anything, “Aesop” now conveys to me a sympathy to the Roman period of sculpture.

I noticed that in the show at Rhona Hoffman, the orientation of the sculpture Untitled (09-08), 2009 was different than indicated on the drawing study (Study for Untitled 09-08), 2009. Do drawing and sculpture offer two different, and equally acceptable, possibilities? Are your drawing studies ultimately meant to exist independently from their corresponding sculptures?

The two drawings for sculpture that you cite are somewhat unusual by their disorientation. The sculptures did turn at an angle before their completion, and in resolving their particulars, the sheets also were hung at the same diagonal to guide the way. Similarly, some drawings become stitched with a second sheet, as the placement migrates or the size grows during its formation. I have always made one or several drawings as studies for every sculpture over the past 30 years, so drawings always function as the lead in defining the sculpture. As they are working drawings, I try not to compromise their purpose by making them more acceptable as two-dimensional compositions, either during or at the end of their use, so many are not interesting enough to present publicly.

Untitled (09-08) Painted wood and aluminum 24.5 x 18.25 x 2.5 in.

Those that I do frame and exhibit, by some element of chance, do offer, I think, an acceptable two-dimensional composition and can add an instructive entry to the sculpture and my process.

Do you listen to music in your studio? If so, may I ask what kind?
I do, but rarely when I am in need of concentration. The music I listen to is almost entirely classical, stretching from Early Music to mid- twentieth century,  inclusive of many composers. I am an enthusiast in this area, but not knowledgeable. And I do attend concerts regularly, and this is one reason why I so appreciate being in Chicago with its access to great music performance.

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So in an art world filled with talent the Driehaus Foundation has announced this years Chicago award winners.

Rumor has it this year was extra tough and all nominees and winners should be proud.

The answers as to who they are after the jump.

Driehaus Foundation Unveils Winners of 2008 Artist Awards

Driehaus Individual Artist Awards are the only unrestricted, annual awards for Chicago artists

CHICAGO – The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation is thrilled to announce this year’s winners of the Individual Artist Awards: Jason Lazarus, Anne Wilson and Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle.

“This year’s entries proved that Chicago artists are always innovating. I am extremely proud of the thriving artists’ community we have in the Chicago area,” said Sunny Fischer, executive director of the Foundation. “The Foundation supports local working artists, allowing their work to continue to enrich our communities.”

The awards are given in recognition of the artists’ past works, talent, commitment to the field and promise. This year the Foundation increased the amount of the cash awards. Each artist will receive $15,000 to use as they see fit. There are no restrictions on how the artists can use their cash awards.

Here is a brief introduction to the winning artists:

• Jason Lazarus is the winner in the emerging artist category. Lazarus’ photography has earned him a slot in the Museum of Contemporary Art’s 12 x 12 New Artists/New Work series and he has appeared in group shows in New York, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Lazarus lives and works in Chicago. He teaches photography to undergraduates at Columbia College Chicago, Robert Morris College, and Saint Xavier University. To see some of Lazarus’ work, please visit http://jasonlazarus.com/.

• Anne Wilson is a Chicago-based visual artist who creates sculpture, drawings, Internet projects, and DVD stop-motion animations that explore themes of time, loss, private and social rituals. She uses found materials that are familiar and rich with cultural meanings. Wilson’s art is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Art Institute of Chicago; and Museum of Contemporary Art, among others. She is a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wilson’s work can be seen at http://www.annewilsonartist.com/.

• Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle investigates diverse subjects such as climate, immigration and the global impact of social, political, environmental and scientific systems. Often working with technical experts across multiple disciplines, Manglano-Ovalle produces objects that are technically complex, yet engaging. His early work focused on collaborative explorations with young people in Chicago, which led to the founding of Street-Level Youth Media, a community arts organization for youth. Manglano-Ovalle has exhibited his work at acclaimed institutions both nationally and internationally. To learn more about Manglano-Ovalle and his work, visit http://inigomanglano-ovalle.com/.

“We’re always awed by the depth of creativity shown by the submitting artists,” said Britton Bertran, Individual Artist Awards coordinator for the Foundation. “The jury committee never has an easy choice, but I think they, like the Driehaus Foundation staff and supporters, really enjoy the process and celebrating the winners.”

The Foundation asks more than a dozen arts professionals to serve as anonymous nominators; five more are chosen as jurors who review all artists’ works. Nominators and jurors are local arts experts. The list includes:

• Susanne Ghez, director of the Renaissance Society;
• Lane Relyea, art critic and professor at Northwestern University;
• Lisa Dorin, assistant curator of contemporary art at the Art Institute of Chicago;
• Carol Ehlers, independant curator; and
• Nick Cave, artist and past winner of the Individual Artist Awards.

Eligible artists must have lived in the Chicago metropolitan area for at least one year. They must be currently practicing their art, have spent some years as working artists, and have exceptional talent and commitment.

Past winners of the Individual Artist Awards include: Brett Bloom, Nyame O. Brown, Paola Cabal (emerging category), Nick Cave, Juan Angel Chávez, Julia Fish, Gaylen Gerber, Vanalyne Green, Gisela Insuaste (emerging category), Judy Ledgerwood, Laura Letinsky, Brennan McGaffey, Helen Mirra, Darrel Morris, Laurie Palmer, Dan Peterman, David Philpot, Karen Reimer and Richard Rezac, Sumakshi Singh (emerging category), Christine Tarkowski and Philip von Zweck (emerging category).

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Chicago gallerist and legend Rhona Hoffman recorded live in a discussion with Bad at Sports at Three-Walls, on November 7, 2006, election day… when happy days arrived again.

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Rhona Hoffman
Donald Young
Sol LeWitt
Richard Tuttle
Fred Sandback
Barbara Kruger
Cindy Sherman
Lorna Simpson
Allan McCollum
Gordon Matta Clark
Vito Acconci
Museum of Contemporary Art
Shannon Stratton
ThreeWalls
Michelle Grabner
Paul Klein
Lisa Dorin
Hamza Walker
Tony Tasset
Judy Ledgerwood
Richard Rezac
Adam Brooks
Gerald S. Elliott
Art Institute of Chicago
Donald Judd
Dan Flavin
Robert Ryman
Leon Golub
Jenny Holzer
Brice Marden
P.T. Barnum
Alan Artner
Maria Rilke
Roy Lichtenstein
Spencer Finch
Richard M. Daley
Claude Monet
Susanne Ghez
Art Basel Miami Beach
Frieze Art Fair
Wayne Newton
Mickalene Thomas
Barbra Streisand
Direct download: Bad_at_Sports_Episode_63_Rhona_Hoffman.mp3

• Episode 72: Reviews with Velliquette
• Brian and Marc review Tony Lebat’s “Bulk”
• Miami Beach news report [or] why I am not going to Art Basel this year.
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• Episode 88: Art Fair Part Deux!

Duncan and Amanda interview Dan Devening about his current “editions project”, what printmaking is today, and his new exhibition space.

Everyone talks to Chris Walla, all around kickass guy and professor at Moorhead State University in Moorehead Minnesota.

And Duncan and Richard have a show that opens Saturday at the Suburban and an open Bad at Sports mic WTF?

The Suburban is Located at 244 West Lake Street, Oak Park, IL.
On the “El” it is the Ridge Land Stop on the Green Line.

You should check it out.

Chris Walla
Dan Devening
devening projects + editions
UIC
Robert Meijer Curator of En/Of Editions
Infra-Thin Catalog from College of DuPage
Northwestern
SAIC
Art Chicago
Mark Booth
Laura Letinsky
Pamela Bannos
Ken Fandell
Peggy Casey Friedman
Julia Hechtman
Carol Jackson
Judy Ledgerwood
Markus Linnenbrink
New Catalogue
William O’Brien
Michael Pfisterer
Joe Pflieger
Jason Pickleman
Christine Tarkowski
Tony Tasset
Philip Vanderhyden
Block Museum
Richard Rezac
David Mickenberg
Marcel Duchamp
Whitney Biennial
Randolph Street Gallery
Olafur Eliasson
Tacita Dean
Thomas Demand
Julia Friedman Gallery
Printed Matter
Pamela Bannos
Minnesota State University Moorhead
MCAD Art Museum
Annie Sprinkle
Glen Williams
Studio Iolo
David Bartley
gladys beltran

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BAT Magazine: Blunt Art Text. Like ninjas of art journalism, these evil doers sneak around and do smart, thoughtful reviews and publish them in their journal. We thought we had the drop on them, but nope the lights when out and Richard and I found ourselves tied together, laying on train tracks.

Who knew Richard was born with a prehensile tail?

It was a close one. Enjoy.

Oh Yeah, BAT is Elijah Burgher, Julia Marsh and William Staples.

Richard would like to note next to them, “[we] seem even dumber than usual.”

DON’T FORGET:

We are being auctioned off at Phyllis’s Musical Inn on
Thursday the 29th to benefit 40000.

AND TOTALLY, OH MY GOD!!! Duncan and Richard are announcing the first
annual art-world Kickball Tournament July 1st at Noon in Wicker Park.
Watch the blog for details.

BAT
40000 Gallery
James Rondeau
Raymond Pettibon
Lane Relyea
Michelle Grabner
Philip VonZweck
Scott Speh
Richard Rezac
Rhona Hoffman
Monique Meloche Gallery
Brice Marden
Alegon Gallery
Maxmilian Schubert
Banks Violette
David Altmejd
Butcher Shop Dogmatic Gallery
Luis Gispert
Bucket Rider Gallery
Jon Beasley
Alison Ruttan
Wendy Cooper Gallery
Zo�« Charlton
Kara Walker
Lisa Yuskavage
John Currin
David Hockney
Julia Marsh
Elijah Burgher
William Staples
Robert Rainey
Chicago Cultural Center
Shannon Stratton and Lisa Boumstein-Smalley
Booster and Seven
Jeremy Boyle
Bodybuilder and Sportsman Gallery
Quimby’s Bookstore
Museum of Contemporary Art Bookstore
ThreeWalls
Jeff Ward
Marc Fischer
Gregg Perkins
Kelly Shi
Brandon Larson

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