2/11/18-3/24/18

Corner is pleased to present Chameleon Blind, (Winter light), the most recent in Mara Baker’s ongoing series of site-specific light installations. The work is designed to be seen solely from the outside of the gallery storefront windows transforming every day at the exact time of dusk, celebrating the extra minute of light every day in the long winter months.
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Mara Baker is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist and educator. She is a graduate of Cranbrook Academy of Art (MFA, 2007) and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA, 2005). Baker’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as The Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago), The Soap Factory (Minneapolis), Luminary Arts Center (St. Louis) and The Annex Art Center, (Toronto). Other notable projects include: a solo exhibition, Two Forward, One Back, at 65 Grand, Chicago IL, Currents New Media Festival (Santa Fe, New Mexico); and Interstice a group show at (308 at 156 Project Art Space, New York, NY) curated by Rachel Adams and Rob Green projects, LA. Baker is Assist. Professor of Foundations and Drawing at the College of Dupage in Glen Ellyn, IL.

closing reception Oct. 8, 2 - 5 PM
with special guest, Kevin Coval

Artist’s talk: 2 - 3; Kevin Coval reading, 3 – 4 James Jankowiak in convo with Coval.

James Jankowiak’s solo show is going out with a bang. Louder Than A Bomb founder Kevin Coval will do a reading from his recent book “A People’s History of Chicago” in front of Jankowiak’s new mural for Corner.

Kevin Coval's “A People's History of Chicago” flips the history of Chicago to include the stories and voices of oppressed and marginalized groups. As the artistic director of Young Chicago Authors, founder of Louder Than A Bomb: The Chicago Youth Poetry Festival, and professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago—where he teaches hip-hop aesthetics—he’s mentored thousands of young writers, artists, and musicians. His work has appeared in Poetry Magazine, The Daily Show, Chicago Tribune, CNN, Fake Shore Drive, Huffington Post, and four seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. Coval’s collection, A People's History of Chicago dropped in April 2017 on Haymarket Books.

James Jankowiak studied at Columbia College of Chicago and SAIC but is mostly self-taught. In 2014 he was chosen for a full scholarship to the Hyde Park Art Center's Center Program and received a certificate from the University of Chicago's Graham Foundation in Visual Art. Last year he was commissioned to design the artwork for the Chicago Transit Authority's new Union Station Transit Center. He has been awarded grants from the Illinois Arts Council in 2010 and 2012, and from DCASE in 2010 and 2014. His next solo exhibition is slated for February 2018 at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

The artist uses everyday objects as his source material, reduced to their essential forms and elevated into vibrant abstractions with a meticulous technique of hard-edged color and radiating repetition that highlights the metaphysical qualities of their ordinary origins. As a nod to this conceptual process, Jankowiak is retaining the subject matter of Corner’s existing mural – butterflies -- a leftover from the days when the storefront was home to a Mexican bridal boutique. By transforming, rather than eradicating, this local landmark he acknowledges the ever-changing nature of Avondale’s population.

This project was partially funded by Corner, Urban Gateways, the Julie Shaw Memorial Grant, and crowd-funded through AIM/Hatchfund. Justin Clemons, a former student and now the artist’s co-instructor, and three teen apprentices will be assisting with the mural.

For more information, visit www.jamesjankowiak.com

April 1, 2017 - May 24, 2017

The Just Business Agency presents It’s Just Business, a series of pop up shops and events to highlight the agency's newly associated businesses. For more information about events, please visit their website at www.thejustbusinessagency.com and contact them at thejustbusinessagency@gmail.com

Office is open Thursday and Fridays from 11AM to 4PM. For public events, please visit ​www.thejustbusinessagency.com

About the Artists:

Kelly Lloyd graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015 with a dual M.F.A. in Painting and M.A. in Visual & Critical Studies, and Oberlin College in 2008. Recent exhibitions include a solo exhibition at Shane Campbell Gallery (Lincoln Park, IL), and inclusion in “Proximity to Dead Skin” at the EMP Collective (Baltimore, MD) and "Habeas Corpus" at the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art. Lloyd has recently contributed to Third Object’s “A Rule By Nobody” and Syntax Season’s “DIDACTIC” publications. Lloyd was named one of NEWCITY'S "Breakout Artists of 2015,” and is a semi-finalist for the Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize. She is currently living in Baltimore and teaching at the Baltimore School for the Arts. www.k-lloyd.com

Paul Scudder is an artist in Chicago. His work is performance.

Stephanie Graham www.missgraham.com

Lea Devon Sorrentino is a multi-media artist who has had the opportunity of exhibiting her work nationally and internationally. She is known for inspecting Internet culture, thoughtful writing, speaking engagements, and sometimes performances. These endeavors had her named among the “Artists to Watch for 2013″, by the Walker Art Center. Sorrentino has attended several artists residencies, ACRE, Elsewhere, Arteles and Project 387 to name a few. Her work has also been featured in the PBS series MNOriginal. She is currently producing a podcast called Lea and the Internet that feature guest hosts from around the country and will be traveling to Iceland this summer for the Fish Factory residency. www.leadevon.com

Kyle Schlie received a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelors of Architecture at Ball State University. He has recently exhibited solo and two-person exhibitions at The Mission (Chicago, IL), Chicago Filmmakers, Western Pole (Chicago, IL), ACRE TV (Chicago, IL) and Double Frame Gallery (Chicago, IL). His works has been included in group exhibitions at Sector 2337 (Chicago, IL), The Nightingale (Chicago, IL), The Luminary (St. Louis, MO) and Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL). He is the Founder and Director of S.A.C.K. (Supporting Artists with Children and/or Kids) and the Global Al Chemical Company. http://kyleschlie.com

February 4, 2017

Subversive communities and identities are often formed and supported by bonds found outside of blood families. “An altar to chosen family” is a collaborative public installation that attempts to imagine family trees that contain the tools we need to create the world we want, and to dismantle what we have inherited that no longer serves us. Artist Chiara Galimberti will build an altar to thinkers, artists, writers, social justice activists and musicians that are part of her chosen family tree and invite people to add to the altar by bringing mementos and images of the people that have guided them and sustained them.

About the Artist:
Originally from Italy, Chiara Galimberti is currently residing in Chicago. She earned an MA in Italian Studies from NYU in 2015 and an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012, where she was a Soros New American Fellow. Her work tends to be context and place specific rather than self‐referential, and can take the form of drawing, installation or collaborative performance. She is particularly interested in looking at both public and private space as sites of continual power and boundary negotiation and contestation. Her work was recently shown at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago and New York University in Florence, Italy. She is a member of the feminist art collectives W.I.T.C.H and Tracers. chiaragalimberti.com

An Altar to Chosen Family is a special project in collaboration with the 2017 edition of the 2nd Floor Rear festival. More information about other festival events can be found here: 
https://2ndfloorrear.org/2nd-floor-rear-2017-ritual/day-1-events-off-the-blue-line/

During her six-week residency, Dana Major transforms Corner into an environment where one’s mind can transition from the hustle of daily life to a tranquil site of reflection. Through a relentless process of meditation, dreaming, and journaling, Dana has produced her largest light installation to date. Conjuring up an image of crystal palaces and crystal caves, this mystical and meditative space prompts the viewer to seek solutions to their daily troubles within the Self.

Dana’s work engulfs the gallery space in a matrix of lights and crystals. Central to this installation is the Crystal Mass that materializes through a gradual accretion of chandelier crystals. Viewers are invited to experience its evolution over the course of Dana’s residency. The accumulation of crystal pieces will not only contribute to the ever-shifting nature of Crystal Palace Crystal Caves, but it will also bring about a sense of community by constructing a mystical yet illuminating environment during the dark winter days.

The storefront windows are also activated with an array of light emitters, projecting points of light onto the pedestrian paths. Positioned at hand level, these illuminated mandalas will offer a playful experience for passersby. The cascading light seeks to invite viewers into the gallery, and its interactive nature is sure to appeal to both younger audiences and contemporary art aficionados alike.

Throughout the residency, Dana Major will also host a series of free Crystal Seeings. Born out of a multi-generational Kentucky family practice, Crystal Seeing is a performance in which Dana uses quartz crystals to See the inner light of the viewer-participant, known as scrying, and offers a positive, constructive message to audiences age 14 and older.

Additionally, Dana will also host two day-long workshops, featuring guest artist and guide, Rhonda Wheatley. The workshops, in combination with the Crystal Seeing performances, seek to empower and provide insight into the participants’ own inner light.

Thursday, 12/1, 5-9 pm Soft􏰀 Opening
Be among the first to preview Dana Major’s installation at the Crystal Palace Crystal Caves soft opening. Everyone is welcome!

​Sunday, 12/8, 6-9pm Opening Reception & Crystal Seeing
Participate in a free Crystal Seeing with Dana Major. Refreshments will be provided by Crown Liquors, La Farine Bakery, and Tacos Tequilas.

Sunday, 1/15, 3-6pm Closing Reception 􏰁on & Crystal Seeing
Join us for the closing of Dana Major’s Crystal Palace, Crystal Caves. Dana will be performing Crystal Seeing at Corn

About the Artist:

Dana Major’s sculptural Installations and Interactions investigate how perception creates reality. Major’s illuminated sculpture explores visual attention and surprise, using screen, wire, LEDs, reflection, light, and lens. The lenses of microscopy and astronomy show patterns and processes that, bound up with the inherent limitations of ways of seeing, come to be called reality. Major’s 2011 MFA from SAIC follows her BA in Philosophy, and an 18-month arts apprenticeship in St. Petersburg, Russia. She maintains her studio at Mana Contemporary Chicago. Beginning Fall 2016, she will be a lecturer in the Sculpture Department of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been shown at 6018North, Elmhurst Art Museum, Hyde Park Art Center, Garfield Park Conservatory, among others. www.DanaMajor.com

Rhonda Wheatley is a Chicago based artist whose sculptures, paintings, and written works are grounded in the speculative and metaphysical and explore consciousness, healing, and transformation. Wheatley has had solo exhibitions at David Weinberg Gallery and FLATFILE galleries and group shows at spaces such as Gallery 400, Hyde Park Art Center, and Chicago Artist Coalition, as well as G.R. N’Namdi Gallery in Detroit and the Black Fine Art Show in New York City. She also teaches art and writing, leads personal development workshops, and practices various energy healing modalities. Wheatley earned a BA in English with a minor in African American Studies from Loyola University, Chicago and an MA in Writing from DePaul University.

Do you feel haunted by the specter of the "starving artist"? Do you feel cheated out of stability, self-confidence, control by a sense of discord between "art and capitalism"? Do you have trouble talking about money?

Art + Value was a series of conversations that addressed different aspects of how artists and artistic labor are valued in Chicago today. We hoped to create space for Chicago artists to speak openly about how we are compensated and recognized, and how to feel more able to advocate for our work. Our four topic-focused events began with a roundtable followed by open conversation.
Many of us artists have been having these conversations privately, and we believed it was time to get together as a community and connect more vocally and visibly around these issues.  ​

Conversation Calendar: 

The Ecology of Artist-run spaces
Sunday, November 13, 3-6pm
Comfort Station, 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

What value do artist-run spaces bring to their neighborhoods, and what do artists running spaces owe to the communities we intersect with? How do we decide which audiences are most important? How do we understand the role we play in gentrification?  If you have any experience being an artist in a Chicago neighborhood - dealing with gentrification, community-engagement, leasing space, building trust, building programming, imagining new institutions and structures into being, grappling with whether to form a 501C3 - please come share your stories!

Laws, Contracts, Definitions
Monday, November 14, 5-8pm
Corner, 2912 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago IL 60618

POSTPONED: This conversation has been postponed until later this winter -- stay tuned for a date. We are super excited about this topic, and have decided to work with a lawyer to develop a more skills-based workshop in addition to an open conversation. We also look forward to shaping this event around the ideas that are generated at the other three conversations next week. 

Consider how we can be empowered by legal definitions, explicit expectations, and clear terms of service.  Explore what relationships to institutions would look like if everything were more clearly out in the open. Discuss the philosophical and emotional weight of a contract.

Art vs. Capitalism
Thursday, November 17, 6-9pm
In House, 3520 W Armitage, Chicago, IL 60647

While young artists manage to simultaneously over-professionalize and under-prepare for the real world, people in other creative fields such as entrepreneurship or technology, easily talk about the relationship between creativity and capital. While we learn to challenge established notions of success and strive for alternatives to the market, we also internalize shame and fear of money.

Affective Labor
Saturday, November 19, 6-9pm
HUME, 3242 W Armitage Ave, Chicago IL, 60647

Artists are often charged with doing the emotional work of society and are often uncompensated for this labor. This conversation will range from addressing how social justice work, psychological support, teaching, and diversity training figure into the job descriptions of artists, to self-care, to rationales for non-monetary compensation. Come ready to discuss identity, diversity, social justice, feminism and more.

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Other participating artist-run spaces:
Links Hall 
Autotelic Studios

Focusing (Vol. II) is a continuation of Alejandro T. Acierto’s exploration of the breath through the colonial history of Filipino involvement in the 1904 World’s Fair. Focusing delves into the history of the Philippine Constabulary Band (PCB), a group of militarized musicians brought to the 1904 World's Fair in connection with the 'live zoo' exhibition of Filipinos. This history touches on the representation of savagery vs. civilization, control and freedom, adaptation and displacement and how Filipinos, through the direction of an African American musician Walter E. Loving, sought their own liberation. Within the context of the PCB, the act of playing a wind instrument evokes an experience of constricting the breath and is a way to begin to articulate methods of control, power, and restriction. For Acierto, the marching band became a technology through which US colonialism was able to impose its own imaginary, and it is through this research that he investigates how Filipinos could reassert themselves.

As a musician and installation artist, Acierto activiated the history of the PCB through archival images, sonic and sculptural interventions, and a series of performances and programming. The centerpiece of the gallery featured a sound installation surrounded by archival images from the Fair and other ephemera from the era. In conjuction with the exhibition, Acierto also hosted a series of performances including open rehearsals and public screamings.

Event Descriptions:
​Saturday, 10/1, 3-6pm Opening
In conjunction with A Day in Avondale, Corner will be open for members of the Avondale community as well as the general public. Enjoy the exhibition with snacks and drinks.

Sunday, 10/16, 3-5pm Public Screaming
Participate in a public ritual of amplification and focused breath. Bring your frustrations and constrictions and be prepared to let it all loose. Moments of unimpeded screaming will be coordinated by the artist on the sidewalk outside Corner.

Sunday, 11/6, 6-8pm Interlude
Witness the unfolding of the controlled breath through an afternoon of musical interludes and performances with some of Chicagoland’s most innovative musicians. Orchestrating a group of experimental musicians who are reshaping the trajectory of music and instrumental technique, the artist performs new musical and sound works to coincide with this exhibition.

Saturday, 11/12, 6-8pm Closing
​Celebrate the closing of the show with an informal public gathering featuring footage of contemporary Filipino marching bands and delicious Filipino food.

About the Artist:
Alejandro T. Acierto is an artist and musician working in time-based media. He has exhibited his work at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Issue Project Room, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Salisbury University, SOMArts and presented performance works at the Brooklyn International Performance Art Festival, Center for Performance Research, and Center for New Music and Technology. Acierto has held residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Banff Centre, High Concept Laboratories, and Chicago Artists' Coalition. He is a FT/FN/FG Consortium Fellow, a Center Program Artist at the Hyde Park Art Center, and is on faculty at UIC and Truman College. Acierto received his undergraduate degree from DePaul University, a MM from Manhattan School of Music, an MFA in New Media Arts from University Illinois at Chicago, is a recipient of the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis at the Darmstadt Festival for New Music, and founding member of contemporary music collective Ensemble Dal Niente in Chicago. www.alejandroacierto.com

August 1 - September 1, 2016

Anyone who has ever tried to cross Chicago’s streets understands the dangers and risks that the road can bring, but Susan Krueger-Barber’s comedic persona Art Grrrl is here to help!

As a current MFA student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Susan Kreuger-Barber completed an art history paper about crosswalk behaviors in urban environments. To put her research into action, the artist utilized Corner as a laboratory to identify the source of crosswalk dangers and provide solutions to promote pedestrian safety in the Avondale neighborhood.

Focusing on the crosswalk on Milwaukee Avenue and Drake Avenue, this month-long residency consisted of a surveillance film documenting driver-pedestrian interactions, public interventions by Art Grrrl, a memorial wall to commemorate pedestrian deaths, as well as a wall of solutions. Susan Krueger-Barber also meet with local politicians, policymakers, and pedestrian advocates to discuss ways to improve current crosswalks. Her work will resulted in a formal proposal to the City of Chicago during the final week of her residency.

Click here to read Streetsblog's coverage of Susan's intervention.