december blog: small works artist spotlight
December 2023
The Chicago Fine Art Salon proudly hosted our Small Works Winter Exhibition on December 1st, featuring art no larger than 18’’ in any direction, proving that good things can come in small packages. We had almost 100 pieces on display and featured over thirty artists from Chicago and around the country. The show's prompt allowed for a broad spectrum of submissions with a host of diverse themes and mediums ranging from Cityscape photography to abstract watercolor to feminist collage. Three artists, in particular, stood out to us, all featured in the show and hailing from the Chicago area.
Jason Schroeder, a photographer and artist currently working in Chicago, had three pieces on display at the Salon. All highlighted different cityscape scenes in Chicago. "The Bean Has Landed" and "Autumn in Grant Park" presented more traditional layouts of Chicago, while "My Blue Rhythm" showed an abstract closeup of reflections in windows of a highrise, capturing a rectangular, geometric pattern that displayed the intricacy of the building and the vibrant blue sky. With perpendicular shapes and skewed horizon lines, "My Blue Rhythm" existed in a world between realism and abstraction. The colors and patterns created by the windows turned it into an abstract piece with sloping perspectives and differing shades of blue. "The Bean Has Landed," the only black and white photograph in his featured works, showcased stark, contrasting shadows in the iconic reflective sculpture against the backdrop of beautiful Chicago skyscrapers. The monotone color scheme highlighted spotty clouds in the background, paying homage to the Chicago Bean while documenting the city's architecture.
Hannah Lynn, a South Chicago-based painter, artist, and writer, showcased an abstract watercolor series at the Salon comparable to traditional Chinese ink wash paintings, but with color. "Babel," "Kaleidoscopic," and "Primordial" exhibited delicate blending between purples, greens, blues, and more. With abstract forms resembling mountain ranges swirling from left to right, viewers could choose to see either landscapes or abstract shapes and colors. The duality of these pieces made them a mix between abstract and realism, inviting viewers to get lost in these small paintings. "Kaleidoscopic" delicately blurred the lines between blues, pinks, greens, and all other colors to create a landscape that depicted a mountain range, water, or any other abstraction the mind could conjure. The concentration of lines and color, paired with thin, arching lines leading into the left, formed an ambiguous scene that led the eyes to follow how all the lines connected in a harmonious circle. Most of Lynn’s work had this hypnotic effect, and it was hard to believe that all the detail seen in the painting was contained within an 8.5’’ by 5.5’’ frame.
Jolie Nunez-Noggle, a mixed media and collage artist running "Riot Grrrl Press," contributed three collage works to our show, named "Becoming a Monster," "Infectious," and "Hold my Bones," all carrying a feminist message. "Becoming a Monster" depicted a young girl cut from an old magazine with one eye and tentacles emerging from behind her. Encased in a gold beaded frame, the words “this little lady is becoming a monster” labeled the girl at the bottom. This piece showcased the delicate line between girlhood and becoming a “woman,” which can be a monstrous process. Framing the portrait with glittering beads revealed the lighthearted side of girlhood, one with fun crafts and a shining future, despite suggesting that the girl is becoming a monster. Choosing a cutout from a vintage magazine paid homage to old stereotypes and expectations for young women, then and now. Overall, the piece was a playful yet serious exploration of the challenges of womanhood, expressing a complex topic in the simplicity of "Becoming a Monster."
Although we only reviewed three artists’ works here, there’s more incredible work that deserves attention. Check out the Small Works Online Gallery for more incredible pieces such as mosaics, oil paintings, sculpture, and more here.
