The New York Times recently published an article detailing New York’s burgeoning “home gallery” scene, though people familiar with the do-it-yourself aesthetic that largely defines Chicago’s art world would recognize the concept immediately. Locally known as “apartment galleries,” these spaces not only provide curatorial opportunities for artists and post-graduate arts administrators looking to branch out beyond the sometimes-institutional confines of the gallery scene. They also provide a much-needed, non-traditional beginner’s platform for emerging artists to establish themselves in a gallery scene that largely promotes non-local talent. Medicine Cabinet, a curated space within Chicagoan Chris Smith’s bathroom medicine cabinet takes this idea to the extreme. Past artists have curated dioramas within the cabinet’s two shelves or projected short videos on the reflected veneer of the front mirror.
Although the galleries provide ample opportunities for artists to present their work, the logistics of running such spaces can prove difficult. Bad at Sports, a Chicago-based podcast and blog about contemporary art, recently posted a collection of insightful interviews and essays with writers, artists, and curators originally commissioned for gallery Floor Length and Tux’s recent one-day event “Untitled Circus” about Chicago’s thriving apartment gallery art space scene.
In one such essay, artist, writer and educator Erik Wenzel questioned the place of apartment galleries within the traditional gallery scene and whether or not they are detrimental because of a lack of experimentation. Wenzel says, “A lot of art at alternative spaces, and in Chicago in general, is very polite and geared towards accommodating the audience. What about art that confronts the audience, makes them uncomfortable, makes them feel stupid, or alienated or confused? What about art that appeals to or requires an intellectual participation? Or art that you aren’t even sure where it begins and ends?” More insight into the aesthetics, problems and benefits of apartment galleries can be found at Bat at Sports.
