SCOTT SPEH GALLERY
Gallery
Address:
845 W Washington Blvd.
2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60607
USA
312.480.8390
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email
( scott at westernexhibitions dot com)
Gallery
hours:
Wednesdays thru Saturdays
11am to 6pm
artist books,
editions and more
January 14 to February 19, 2011
organized by Paul Nudd and Scott Wolniak
images | Heh Heads companion book | press: ArtSlant | New City | Gaper's Block
John ReipenhoffHeads on Poles
The iconic display of a head, severed and mounted on a stick, is ubiquitous as a representation of ominous primordial savagery. Cliché in its references to cannibalistic ritual, human sacrifice or cautionary symbolism, its general structure also contains rich connotations to formal art- a 3-dimensional image-object, laden with material and conceptual possibility.
For the purposes of this project, curators Paul Nudd and Scott Wolniak have adopted the concept of Heads on Poles as an open guideline to direct broad responses from a large group of artists. Over four dozen artists, ranging widely in discipline and style, were invited to produce sculptures loosely based on the formula of Head On Pole, in any material. These totem-objects will be simply placed, as casually clustered bodies, throughout the main gallery space of Western Exhibitions.
Additional artists have been asked to respond to the same theme with graphic works for a concurrent print project.
Through collective effort and the idea that creative freedom can occur within structural uniformity, Nudd and Wolniak hope to achieve a complex and immersive spectacle. Diverse interpretations are anticipated, with possible outcomes such as conceptual objects, portraiture, obscenity, abstraction, political gestures, humor and horror. With no attempt on the part of the curators to control submissions after the initial call for participation, the final group of works will be a surprise for all.
ARTISTS:
Mike Andrews
Ali Bailey
Jason Robert Bell & Marni Kotak
Nick Black
Daniel Bruttig
Andrew Burkholder
Lilli Carré
Joseph Cassan
Mariano Chavez
Ryan Travis Christian
Vincent Como
Bruce Conkle
Jean-Louis Costes
Vincent DermodyMike Diana
Edie Fake
Scott Fife
R.E.H. Gordon
John Hankiewicz
Keith Herzik
Carol Jackson
Bob Jones
Chris Kerr
David Leggett
Mike Lopez
Teena McClelland
Dutes Miller
Miller & Shellabarger
Joe Miller
Andy Moore
Max Morris
Rachel Niffenegger
William J. O’Brien
Onsmith
David Paleo
John Parot
Michael Rea
Tyson Reeder
Dan Rhodehamel
Bruno Richard
John Riepenhoff
Kristen Romaniszak
Steve Ruiz
David Sandlin
Mike Schuh
Mindy Rose Schwartz
David Shrigley
Edith Sloat & Sophie Greenstalk
Edra Soto
Ryan Standfest
William Staples
Ben Stone
Bill Thelen
Jeremy Tinder
Sean Townley
Jim Trainor
Anne Van der Linden
Jason Villegas
Sarah Beth Woods
Aaron Wrinkle
ALL IMAGES © WESTERN EXHIBITIONS & EACH INDIVIDUAL ARTIST