antoniomartinezchicago:

Just A Toilet Painting (American Standard/Champion 4) Exhibiting Friday.

Zhou B. Art Center • 1029 W. 35th St • 1st Floor • Chicago, IL 60609

look in the next week for some posts on Eric Garcia, Nicole Marroquin and some behind the scene pictures from Art of Confession…. see you soon! 

He is half of the creative team at Cobalt Studio in Pilsen.   His business card reads: “Antonio Martinez -Business Agent”.  He is also a painter, one who is not afraid to move away from a particular style he’s known for producing.  One willing to venture in a different direction and flex his creative muscle. He is a full time painter and a full time plumber. He draws much of his inspiration from the everyday disparities he has witnessed in both roles. One day working in an expensive high rise on Lake Shore Drive and the next in a low income public school. Antonio translates what he sees through the materials used in producing his art. 
At the moment he is working on a series using found wood and construction materials. He encourages the viewer to see past the common place and invites them to see the beauty in the structures. Along with some large format painting and a collaboration with fellow artists in studio.  He is being very productive and is exploring a wealth of ideas.  If you stop by the studio during an opening night, don’t be afraid to ask Antonio a few questions, he’s always open to discussing his work.
You can see more of Antonio’s work on display at Cobalt Studio on 21st & Damen Ave during Pilsen Open Studio’s.  Cobalt Studio was founded in 2010, by Adriana Baltazar and Antonio Martinez, as an alternative exhibition space. It is a kind of DIY studio that showcases the work of emerging artists as well as their own work. Aside from having guest curators coming in to organize exhibitions. The pair have also worked within the community doing public works projects. During Pilsen Open Studios weekend the art on display is centered around Action Figures featuring new emerging figurative work, video installation, performance and sculpture. The show is curated by Adriana Baltazar (Artist/Creative Director at Cobalt) and Nicole Marroquin(Artist/Curator). Antonio will exhibit a collaborative sculpture titled: “Almight PBR Street Gang (Heart of Darkness)” made with fellow artists: Juan Compean and Jose Arceo.  

http://cobaltartstudio.blogspot.com

http://www.antoniomartinezchicago.tumblr.com
Easy to reach via public transportation
CTA’s Pink ‘EL’ Line Damen Stop and Damen Street Bus
1950 W. 21st St, Chicago (1st Floor)

Calles y Sueños started with the vision of one man known only as Jose David to provide an alternative space for artist that have been marginalized from the main stream art scene. These artist have been marginalized due to the fact that they are not simply creating art for the sake of creating something of beauty to be gawked at. These artists passionately work with the purpose of creating awareness to the viewer regarding the social or political events that are occurring around them. 

Calles y Sueños is currently celebrating their 2nd/20th anniversary. They were founded 20 years ago left Chicago for 10 years to found a similar space in Oaxaca, Mexico, often having collaborating artist come from Mexico as a cultural exchange and although their physical space was gone for 10 years. They wanted people in the community to know that although someone takes away something physical from you always have other options.  They did exactly this through collaborations with community members in gardens around the community or working with other empty spaces to help marginalized artist get their message across. 

 Calles y Sueños maintains their space open because of a group of seriously hard-working individuals that take the term people over profit very seriously, they are establishing a community kitchen, guide the children in the area in various art activities and offer artist a space to create art and create controversy. 

If Pilsen’s history is an oral one that is passed on from generation to generation then Cristina Obregon heard it first hand from the man who formed part of creating that history. Cristina has had Jose David as mentor since the age of 19. With a full time job she still manages to dedicate her time, money and energy to see this space open, with no financial backing from government programs this truly is a grass roots operation worth stopping by whether it be during Pilsen Open studios or during one of their weekly events. 

During Pilsen Open Studios the mysterious Sharpie King will have some work on display, and it’s amazing what some sharpies and major talent can create. Although i didn’t get to meet the sharpie king in person during my visit I of course did open some drawers to satisfy my curiosity as to the identity of this artist. So go ahead peek at the pictures of his desk I’ll be your look out! 

Calles y Sueños is located at 1900 South Carpenter in Chicago. Check them out on Facebook for updates on their events at Calles y Sueños-Chicago. 

Jackie Orozco is one of those rare photographers that takes a very painterly approach to creating photos. A common theme that I find throughout her work is an aura of mystery, something hidden- which creates a delicious sense of intrigue. Each photograph tells the fragment of a story and leaves the viewer wanting more. There have been other artists that used this technique, Magritte being one of my favorites.

I was fortunate enough to be invited on a couple of occasions to Jackie’s darkroom to watch her work. It was a really interesting experience for me, being a painter and knowing nothing about photography. I’d always sort of assumed that printing pictures was a simple process- what you see in the negative is what you get, right? Wrong- photographers are magicians! 

In regard to technique, you can expect to see collage, stitching and even painting as frequent accentuations to Jackie’s photographs. Another thing I love about her photos is the high contrast. I was recently informed by another photographer that it is common knowledge in the photography world that people who like high contrast are fast drivers. I’ll vouch for Jackie’s driving, although I’m not sure it means much coming from another high contrast junkie. 

Jackie Orozco is not just a photographer- she’s taking photography to another level. She’s the new kid on the block to watch, so keep an eye on this one. After all- Nobody ever suspects the butterfly. 

Check out her tumblr here:  http://jackieorozco.tumblr.com/  

See her work during Pilsen Open Studios at Cafe Mestizo “Confessional Art” and at The official Pilsen Open Studios Closing party location at the APO building. 

text by: Amanda Mudrovich

The smell of various spices, fruits neatly stacked up, ladies calling you to come try the food, colorful plastic bags being toted around by ladies gossiping, laughing and children at their sides. This is a mercado and it’s also the place that inspires Victoria Martinez. 

What was most enjoyable about Victoria Martinez’s art? It is how wonderfully she uses found fabric in her pieces. They are organic and colorful. One piece in particular would not have been completed without the help of her community. After hearing the description of the piece she made and “let go,” of, I was curious and the mental picture of the piece lingered in my mind; Victoria took the height of various people walking by and after a couple of hours of taking measurements she had connected the dots. She proceeds to use found fabric sowed together various of these found scraps of fabric to make a representation of the graph formed by the connected dots and then she returned to the place it was conceived and just let’s it go! After a few days each piece of fabric is gone and life in that community returns to normal. 

Victoria Martinez will be showing work at Yollocalli on Oct 15 & 16 for Pilsen Open Studios. She may only have 1 piece going up, but I’m sure you won’t soon forget the impact it will have on you. 

To see more work from Victoria Martinez: victoria-martinez.com

What can I say about Amanda Mudrovich…well only good things or else that adorable little black cat of her’s will bite me again, in Negrita’s defense I do always try to hold her too much. As I walk into Amanda’s studio after having been mentally beat down, it is always refreshing to talk with her as a friend and an artist, she is one of those rare true artist that is genuinely supportive of fellow artists, either by attending your art shows, to purchasing art works from fellow artists or simply being a wonderful friend and encouraging you. 

 If you haven’t gone out and seen her shows, your missing out, possibly missing, but either way come out from under that rock and check out her work. The way she takes a simple object like a doll, a box and some feathers and turns it into some unbelievable creature that you simply must look at and wonder how its possible that such a simple doll could hold the amount of emotion that it conveys as it stares back at you. Many of her pieces begin as collages and then venture off as a painting, light box or a drawing.

Take a peek at Amanda’s work via internet at www.amudrovich.com but keep your paws off St. Helen, or visit her at Cafe Mestizo where she will be showing with yours truly, over the Pilsen Open Studios weekend Oct 15th & 16th

How does Phillip Morris stay current as a hip-hop artist in a music world surrounded by video ho’s, bling-bling and shiny cars….well he only writes and performs music he believes in. sounds simple however for someone who performs at different venues around the city, and surrounding states, he takes his time crafting the lyrics, sometimes up to 3 months for one songs, I’m sure his label loves that! The time spent perfecting his lyrics isn’t all he does with his time, he likes to hold kittens, cuddle and observe his surrounding, but most importantly he makes videos to go along with the songs and they are thought out and laddened with symbolizism, but you’ll probably have to put it on repeat, it’s cool go on get your nerd on with phillip morris at http://phillipmorris.us 

So I walk in and this studio doesn’t look like it belongs in Pilsen it’s so light & airy and seems like it belongs in a country field, I can immediately see how beautiful works of art are made here. In such a tranquil space your eyes and mind are immediately drawn to the 6 large dark graphite and pencil drawings tacked on the walls, they are in a transitional state yet the idea behind them sticks in your mind permanently. 

When John Pitman Weber comes down from his home above the studio, I don’t immediately notice he is there, clearly I was too caught up in looking through his bins of prints, music choices and colorful tiles. What I don’t expect next is the lively conversation that comes next, he claims to intimidate his students because of his talkativeness, what he doesn’t know is I’m a talker too!

The conversation went from our shared love of Patzcuaro, Mexico to how you shouldn’t use the soil in Pilsen to garden, which ventured into an extensive conversation about oil refineries and the boundaries it’s crossing. Throw in about 30 minutes on religion and the loss of symbolism in today’s society, while at the same time analyzing how the government is abusing their power through their excessive monitoring and I almost forgot that John makes some of the most beautiful mosaics and unforgettable prints. The colors and images he chooses conjure thoughts of serenity and a deep sense of peace. With cranes, foxes, flowers and butterflies all skillfully and thoughtfully laid out they lure you to stay and stare longer than originally planned. 

Although John wasn’t sure yet if the *graphite and pencil drawings would be on display for Pilsen Open Studios the rest of his work and studio is definitely worth checking out on Oct 15th & 16th. 

*(I can’t say the title or concept behind the drawings, however I can say that he will be looking to show them in Pilsen soon.)

How to train a hipster:

We’ve all seen them with their skinny pants, excessively vintage clothes, hair cut in the dark, and toting around their disposable music on a bike. Whats their cause: looking like they didn’t try so hard to look that good. period. I don’t know how to train a hipster but thankfully Artist Victor Montañez and his group show at the APO building seem to know the answer and it doesn’t even involve buying one pair of skinny pants. 

 Their plan to train hipster in Pilsen is to help them find a cause that they believe in, thru music and art, but hipsters simply need to dig a little deeper and I don’t mean in the sale bin at Knee Deep. Victor Montañez seems to believe that Pilsen itself does the job of challenging people into finding an irresistible cause they believe in and “Arte de Rebellion” at the APO building is taking on the ambitious task of asking people to stand up for that cause. With an Anti-establishment, pro-interdependence group show and CD release (more on that later) all happening over the Pilsen Open Studios weekend they are calling out to the authentic voice of Pilsen to come out and join them to voice their cause whether it be anti-establishment, equality for all genders, feminist ideals, pro-immigration or if your simply looking to view art that is for the people with no translator necessary.  

 As an artist Victor Montañez is truly revolutionary, his art is interchangeable, as complex as you are and calls you to look within yourself to find that cause you knew you always stood for. 

Besides being a revolutionary artist Victor makes an awesome Sangria, his wife Josie and lovely daughter make for great company with the kind of conversation that makes you regret having to leave, however, thankfully this photographer has plans on going back for seconds! If you see him on the street say hi, I’m positive Victor would stop and chat. 

He will be showing at the APO building over the Pilsen Open Studios weekend.

Oct 15th & 16th