Chicago's UIMA Features Glass & Ceramics

Chicago's Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (UIMA) will present an exhibition that focuses on the mediums of ceramic or glass in contemporary art. 
Titled "Ceramics / Glass" the UIMA has selected some distinctive and expressive glass and clay artwork that challenges the boundaries between the traditional categories of craft, art, and design.

Michael Janis "Flying In Place"

Glass artists Brent Rogers, Alex Trommler, Aaron Wolf-Boze and Eric Bladholm will showcase works from Chicago’s Ignite Glass and Chicago Glassworks Studios. 

Nikki Renee Anderson, Robert Pulley are from Chicago Sculpture International and their works focus on the sculptural aspect of working with ceramics.

Eric Bladhom "Istok Industrija, Crveno (Eastern Industry, Red) "

Michael Janis, a Chicago-born artist (now Co-Director of the Washington Glass School) will present his unique fused glass frit powder drawings.

Xavier Monsalvatje lives in Spain and works in traditional ceramic techniques which reflect industrial aesthetic designs reminiscent of the works of Mexican Muralists.

Yurij Musatov and Anna Lypko, both from Ukraine, are two contemporary artists working in ceramics.  
Ceramics / Glass

December 6, 2013 – February 2, 2014 
Opening Reception December 6, 2013 (Friday 6-9pm) 

UKRAINIAN INSTITUTE OF MODERN ART
2320 W Chicago Ave 
Chicago, IL 60622
Click HERE to jump to the Facebook event listing of the opening.

Happy Birthday Mies!

Famed Bauhaus Modern architect Mies van der Rohe was born 127 years ago today.  Along with other post-World War I architects, such as Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, Mies' aesthetic came to define what "modern" looked like in the 20th century.

Seventy-five years ago, Mies van der Rohe arrived in the United States to lead the College of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago and profoundly influence the world’s taste and built environment.

As an architecture student at IIT, the Bauhaus-derived philosophy that was based on a deep understanding of materials before the design process could begin had a profound impact on my work. The rigorous discipline instilled a focus on craftsmanship, of which I still rely.

Often the design studies had students learning how to get the maximum from the minimum - above is a 1928 collage by Albrecht Heubner, that was titled Minimal Dwelling - I find that my appreciation of Dadaist imagery and humor must have come from this background. 

Have a slice of Mies -

Leandro Erlich's "Chocolate Mies van der Rohe Barcelona couch" Cake

Chicago's Art Institute Re-Opens Chagall "Windows"

Emily Heye, associate conservator of objects, uncovers the restored Chagall stained glass windows at their new location in the Art Institute Wednesday. The windows, which were removed five years ago for the construction of the Modern Wing, will open to the public on Nov. 1. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)

After five years out of sight, one of the Art Institute of Chicago's most popular works is back.

Artist Marc Chagall's "America Windows," dismantled in 2005 for safe keeping during the lengthy, construction of the Art Institute of Chicago's new Modern Wing, reopens to the public Monday.

Chagall created the stained glass panel wall as a result of the city’s and the Art Institute’s response and support for his mosaic “Four Seasons.” He presented the work to the museum in 1977 and dedicated it to Mayor Richard J. Daley for supporting public art.

The artist called his piece America Windows to recogize a country on its bicentennial that valued and supported the arts.

Bueller...Bueller?

The glass wall was also featured in the classic John Hughes film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".

After nearly 30 years on view overlooking the Art Institute's McKinlock Court, the glass windows, subject to slight condensation, had attracted atmospheric deposits of oil and calcium carbonate, which appeared as a sheer white film dulling their filtered, colored light, muting the brilliance of colors. Seizing on the opportunity provided by the 36-paneled windows' removal during the lengthy construction, the museum's conservation staff investigated various methods of cleaning, and, beginning about two years ago, the restorative work began.

Detail of one of the Chagall windows.

Associate Conservator Emily Heye commented: "Imagine large Q-tips and lots of time spent carefully rinsing after the fact." Simultaneous to Heye's immaculate restorative work, a new exhibition space was designed and constructed for the windows in the east end of the museum's Arthur Rubloff building.