Chicago – Walking in an art fair can want to swim in the middle of Lake Michigan – there is a thin line between floating through art and drowning. After all, these shows are not always made for people who try to swim; They are for those who roll in yachts. But at Expo Chicago, which takes place this Sunday, April 27, I found small islands of hope, persistence and affirmation.
Expo Chicago welcomed its contemporary art fair in the emblematic Pier Navy in April since 2012. Now, with more than 200 participants in its second series after being acquired by Frieze, the show tries to remain unique with new partnerships and fair sections. One of these initiatives is a collaboration with the Galleries Association of Korea (Gaok). The excitement of Gaok participants is refreshing – a reminder that what can be a tiring corporate ritual for some can still feed dreams for others.
“This is my first time in the United States, and I am really delighted to share Moonassi with incredible collectors and galleries,” radiated Diny Lee, director of everyday gallery in Seoul and a new face in Expo. “I got a lot of good reactions from people here.” Artist Kim Daehyun, who Go by MoonassiCreated ethereal representations of human connection using ink on traditional Korean paper which has certainly resonated with the public – Lee confirmed most of the works, at the price between $ 7,000 and $ 18,000, had already sold the day of opening.
Coming from Brooklyn, the Richard Beavers gallery allowed artists to speak to socio -political challenges through a theme exhibition stand entitled Break the simulation. The beavers told me that he hoped that the works “act as a catalyst to evoke the conversation around these uncomfortable problems”. The works of oil painter Terron Cooper Sorrells do exactly that, which prompted a re -examination of the systems shaped in black experiences by the stop figuration and the layering in layers.
In a different version of the figuration, the painter Leslie Barlow of the Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis is inspired by endless visitors with her imaginative representations of black cosplayers. His love for his community is palpable; It shines by describing cosplay as a practice which “opens what is possible by identity, radical game and transformation”.
Outside the stand of the Center for Native Futures, based in Chicago, daring black and white vinyl banners by Anna Tsouhlarakis Order viewers with daring truths of Aboriginal peoples. As a co-founder of the only artistic organization led by the Origin at Expo, Monica Rickert-Bolter feels the responsibility to put the Aboriginal voices in the foreground. “We hope that visitors will have a better idea of what contemporary indigenous art is, and that native art is not limited to a museum,” she said.
The multimedia artist Sofía Fernández Díaz, whose animated sculptures combining craftsmanship, found materials and the traditional processes of Mexican craftsmen are visible on the stand of the Hyde Park Art Center local, echo a similar feeling.
“It's a bit strange to be in a fair,” she said. “But I think it is important to create these bridges, especially by bringing Mexico here and having the power to say:” I am Mexican and I am proud “, do you know?”
While we were talking, a large crowd began to train around the hyde park art center stand for their traditional toast of the opening day. In the swarm of visitors, smiles were shared, hugs were exchanged and drinks were paid. There was something in the air. Visitor Jenny Kendler describes him as “a current, perhaps a response at the political moment”. Her face was lit by adding: “Things are more colorful, and I have the impression that there is much more joy, and I'm surprised to say that!”
After hours of wandering via Expo Chicago, I had an unexpected feeling: hope. In the storm of the instability of the recent market, political uncertainty and commercial chaos of art fairs, life for life appears. It is the artists, who continue to embrace their cultural pride, to celebrate their communities and to push the limits – whether in fairs or in the world beyond.
