Reflections From a Looking Glass

John Balsley, Don Baum, “Snowflake” Bentley, Orly Cogan, Don Colley, Eric Daigh, Henry Darger, Mark Dennis, Lee Godie, Cameron Gray, Aristotle Georgiades, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Rick Hards,  Irene Hardwick-Olivieri,  Alicia Henry, Hernandez de Luna, Kahn/Selesnick,  Leonard Koscianski,  Keith Kostecki, ,  Martin Mull, Jan Petry, David Sharpe, Hollis Sigler,  Sueng Wook Sim, Elizabeth Shreve, Simon Sparrow, Bill Steber, Bill Traylor, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Chris Ware, Albert Zahn and Mary Lou Zelazny

Exhibition Dates:  January 6 – February 18, 2012

Opening Reception:  Friday, January 6, 6:00 – 8:00 P.M.

2012, the beginning of a New Year, and an opportunity to look both back at our past and forward to one’s future.  Reflections From A Looking Glass attempts to do just that.  Carl Hammer Gallery is pleased to present artists we haven’t seen in a while, but who, nevertheless, have had an instrumental role in helping to determine who we are today.   The process of looking back provides us with the refreshing opportunity of a re-introduction of some familiar faces not seen in the gallery’s recent programming.  Like opening a bottle of one’s favorite wine, uncorking work by many gallery favorite vintages including  Mark Dennis, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Rick Hards and Hollis Sigler highlight the group.

It is also especially rewarding re-examining some very early works of (all classic names to Chicago) artists like Don Baum, Henry Darger, Lee Godie, David Sharpe, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Chris Ware, Karl Wirsum and Mary Lou Zelazny, and to savor once again the brilliance of the early bodies of work by each of these artists.

Finally, we are thrilled to welcome Irene Hardwick-Olivieri back to the gallery after several years of absence from us.  She is scheduled for a gallery exhibition in the spring of 2013.  Equally energizing to our “new artists” list is the inclusion of Artistotle Georgiades’ “repurposed” sculpture pieces which exude a strong sense of animate spirit, grace and elegance. 

It is reward enough to be surrounded by the likes of the above list of artists.  Our mission is to continue on in the spirit of that which they collectively represent to us and in the communication of the invention of the visual language we call art that they offer up to the world at large.