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13/12/2002

Polka-dots & Squiggly Things

Gescheidle, Chicago

Doodles are a basic visual language that can bridge the gap in understanding art. The squiggly lines, circles, and dots that often reside on notepads next to the phones of people everywhere are taken to the farthest degree in the art of Chris Kahler, Paul Nudd, Amy Self, and Xavier Tiernan. They explore the essence of Polka-dots and Squiggly Things. Each artist takes the basic essence of the doodle and develops a complex language which discusses art, the body, human history, and the world.

Christopher Kahler: The nature of watercolor is one of fluidity and dynamism. Kahler uses this medium with great control over large white grounds. While letting the colors bleed and merge, he controls their flow and growth, creating networks of colonies that reference nerve cells to Rorschach tests.

Paul Nudd: From the mind of a man who hasn't given up on the humor of adolescents, Nudd's drawings emanate from a place where flatulence, intestines, and goo are hilarious. These drawings are the intellectual end game for that type of humor. Nudd uses the icons of adolescence to explore our bodies, sexuality, and the world that surrounds us.

Amy Self: Although her installations have a large surface area, they can also be described as democratic and humble. Viewers are invited to remove individual pieces of the velvet installation. "Squish" explores the alternatives to mark-making in order to get away from the individuality of the brush stroke. By using the process of Shibori (an ancient Japanese form of textile decoration that is highly structured and labor intensive), Self is able to create a play between rigidity of the technique and the uncontrollable nature of the dye.

Xavier Tiernan: Dots upon dots upon pretty polka-dots. The layers of color flow and intertwine like good jazz. It can never be seen the same way twice. Colors bounce back and forward between each other in an undulating rhythm. The one thing over all else is that Tiernan loves to paint. It isn't the subject that captures his drive, it is the act of putting brush to canvas over and over and over and letting the paint and the color do all of the work.

Heather Birkhead - Curator: Ms. Birkhead's curatorial debut was in 2001 at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery with Welcome to My Dollhouse. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1999, she began working in River North as the Gallery Manager at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery and is currently a Coordinator of the Cooperative Education Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. gescheidle is excited to team up with Ms. Birkhead for Polka-dots and Squiggly Things.

Image: Chris Kahler, Feast, watercolor on paper

Gescheidle
300 West Superior, Chicago, IL 60610
Hours: tuesday - saturday 11am - 6pm

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