MIchael Workman

As is the tradition in the Chicago art world during the summer months, for some reason the curators, critics, gallerists and artists clock out and go do something else for a while. Why dawdle in a gallery while it's so beautiful outside? At the kickball court in Wicker Park a few weeks back, I was sitting on the sidelines, getting whipped and pelted with dirt as fine as powdered sugar. The wind was savage, transforming the park into a dustbowl on what had shaped up as a scorchingly hot Saturday, and yet the players were spry, buying up bottled water and snacks from the Eat Me concession stand behind first base. What the hell was going on? In an attempt to liven up a season in which the art world usually finds itself drawn to sun worship and all things outdoors, the West Loop-based residency program Three Walls teamed up with Bad At Sports and Stop Smiling magazine (who were nowhere in evidence) to organize the summer's first Artleague kickball tournament. They broke it down into teams that read like a "West Side Story" lineup: The Mullets versus the West Town Banditos and the Record Players versus the West Loop Flyers. Such a blast (the Record Players won), this was an event specifically planned to allow artists to vent their competitive natures against one another in broad daylight and, I'd like to add, one of the few events where the participants wildly outnumbered the spectators. Those who missed it can get the breakdown on the Bad At Sports blog at www.badatsports.com.

And the outdoor entertainment keeps coming. This weekend it's the eleventh annual installment of the popular Vision Fest. Organized by the significantly more commercial Chicago Art Dealers Association, this Friday night, July 14, galleries in the city's two main art districts--River North and the West Loop--will coordinate to once again throw open their doors en masse to visitors. Time was, Vision was called Absolut Vision and was sponsored by the vodka company, which made this little mid-summer attention grabber a lot more entertaining as a people-watching event, given the level of generalized drunkenness and debauchery it introduced into the otherwise tightly controlled (read: stodgy) experience of art gallery-going. Since Absolut dropped out a few years back, it's sobered up noticeably, but still maintains its status as the mid-summer event to see and, for gallerists, now more than ever serves as an opportunity for a much-needed attendance boost smack in the middle of their slowest season of the year. This year's Vision has the added bonus of demonstrating how well Chicago's galleries are doing despite the crash of `06, a la Art Chicago. Many of the Chicago Art Dealers Association galleries were in fact the leading lights of the dimming Art Chicago star, and the press materials for Vision makes a succinct point that visitors should come see for themselves that the scene's as healthy as it ever was, major art fair or no. Even so, many of the city's old standbys remain absent from the roster of participating galleries, including the Rhona Hoffmans and Kavi Guptas of the West Loop gentry, though a long list of notable newbies including Navta Schultz, Kasia Kay Art Projects Gallery, Thomas Robertello Skestos Gabrielle Gallery and rowlandcontemporary have come aboard to help fill out the list.

In River North, the Zolla Lieberman Gallery has a particularly interesting lineup, including two installation art projects, one by Glen Wexler, and a four-person group show, "Looking to be Looked At."

There's also a solid list of adjunct activities for those in search of some food for thought or maybe a little light entertainment. Standouts include Carrie Secrist sharing her view of the state of the contemporary art world with "The Contemporary Art Climate from Coast to Coast" on July 18 at 6pm, a panel on "Collecting Art" at the Metropolitan Capital Bank and, finally, a performance by Twang Bang (www.twangbang.com) on July 20 at 6pm at the Byron Roche Gallery. You also won't want to miss the puppet performance showcase at Gwenda Jay Addington on July 27, from 6pm-7:30pm. All these goodies aside, opening night's still the main event for Vision Fest and visitors looking to make the trip between the two neighborhoods without climbing behind the wheel of a car after a few too many of those tasty glasses of comp wine should take advantage of CADA's free shuttle service, running all evening between the corner of Superior and Franklin in River North and Peoria and Washington and Fulton Market and Carpenter in the West Loop. Have a look at the CADA Web site at www.chicagoartdealers.org for more information, including a full schedule of exhibitions.

(2006-07-11)

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