Michael Workman

Attendance numbers at the opening night of any exhibition serve as no more an indicator of the success of the art on display than prowess at the game of Scrabble functions as a measure of literary talent.

But a celebratory atmosphere can also be the foundation of the (unfortunately) rare enthusiasm for experimentation that can lead to successful attempts at art production. Off the beaten path from the West Loop neighborhood cluster of galleries and known for opening its doors only intermittently to the public, the Butcher Shop gallery caters to a definitive community-based program of art exhibition as social outing. Usually accompanied by a musical performance and a keg or two of beer, regular patrons of this hybrid exhibition space and performance venue aren't the crowd you're likely to encounter at other openings.

Founded by Mike Lavery, Kerri Sandcomb and Jeff Mueller, the gallery is now operated by Lavery and Tom Colley, who also rent out the approximately twenty-two rooms on the fourth floor as artist's studios and band practice spaces. Sandcomb and Mueller, no longer involved with operating the Butcher Shop, now run a letterpress operation called Dexterity Press upstairs where, with Dan McAdam, Colley also runs a screen-printing business called Crosshair. At one time or another, all involved have lived in the space, but were eventually kicked out by the city. "What we do in the space comes out of [our experience of] when we were all living there," explains Colley. "We were thinking about this idea of an `art party,' and trying to bring people in, to cater to the art world and indie rock, to get people together who are doing similar things." This audience diversity is perhaps one of the Butcher Shop's primary strengths, enhancing the experience of attending an opening-night event. Anybody who has ever attended the Butcher Shop's now-legendary annual Christmas party can attest to this. Add a history of exhibiting predominately local, occasionally tepid, though mostly stellar art and the benefit of the multi-use strategy snaps into focus.

The Butcher Shop's latest offering is "Processed," a group show of painting and drawings organized by and showcasing the work of Ryan Quigley, Karl Koett and Nelson Kahikina, who each rent studios upstairs. Colley describes Quigley's work as "large paintings of heavily applied acrylic, forming dark, dreamlike, and browned-out images," that include the outline of a "flooded city or a rabbit in a tree." There will also be musical performances by Milkbaby Primative and Spitshine.

Another space that embraces the multi-use approach is the Fulton Corridor neighborhood's Open End Gallery. A sprawling space with towering ceilings and room for sizable crowds, Open End accepts exhibition proposals from the public at large. Though with somewhat less distinct criteria for acceptance, events here overlap with the exhibition of art. Directors Marshall Preheim and Kevin Schuhl, who also run Ideotech Imaging out of the space--a large-format printing company--began Open End when a former tenant defaulted on the lease at their original location. The name comes from Preheim and Schuhl's initial decision to program exhibitions around the printing company's production schedule. Since then, both ventures seem to have evolved into a state of manageable co-existence. Now hosting approximately two events and one full show every month, Preheim explains that the schedule "works well when we're super-busy with print jobs."

The current exhibition, "Made in Illinois," which stands as a case-in-point, includes the hodgepodge work of some twenty-seven Chicago artists and artisans. Organized by Zoë Buck, whose work involves the modification of clothing, the show was scheduled mostly as a one-night exhibition, with pieces priced to move. Friends and friends of friends made the flea-market-style collection of such fare as sock monkeys, mixed tapes, posters and magnets with the explicit intent of showing "craft and hobby-based work." Though a few pieces remain for curiosity-seekers, much of the work has sold. Good thing, too. Hired to produce three floors of graphic walls for the Oak Park Library, Preheim points out, the space has recently been brimming with "oversized wood wrapped in fabric and prints." Next on the calendar is an evening of performances organized by local artist Robin Barcus on July 19.

"Processed" shows at Butcher Shop, 1319 West Lake, (312) 666-4566, through July 27. "Made in Illinois" shows at Open End Gallery, 2000 West Fulton, (312)738-2140, through June 27.

(2003-06-25)

Also by Michael Workman

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Encountering The Renaissance Society space at the University of Chicago for the first time, we are told by the catalog copy that Brussels-based artist Joëlle Tuerlinckx (pronounced TUR-lynx) was struck by the context of the Society space.
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Matthew Barney is here for the duration. The sculptor has long drawn accusations of preposterousness and puffery, not the least because he chooses to work with such materials as petroleum jelly and tapioca.
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Sex in Public
(2002-12-12)

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