Gallery Address:
119 N Peoria St, 2A
Chicago IL 60607
312.480.8390
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Gallery hours:
Wednesdays thru Saturdays
11am to 6pm
STAN SHELLABARGER
Nov. 13 to Dec. 18, 2004
See Brian Sholis' review on artforum.com here
See Susan Snodgrass' review in Art in America here
This is Stan Shellabarger's first solo show with Western Exhibitions.
Stan Shellabarger pays intense attention to the body's everyday activities, particularly walking and breathing. At WX, he'll show artist books that reflects an obsessive-compulsive approach to cataloging the body: a year's worth of fingernail and toenail clippings, hair collected from the bathtub drain, 3 years worth of butter wrappers used by Stan's husband Dutes Miller in everyday cooking. Despite the visceral nature of these books, they are surprisingly elegant (and fragrant, in the case of the Butter Books), betraying a simple, pleasing design. In the past year, Stan has celebrated the vernal and autumnal equinox by walking in a circle for 12 hours and during an 8-hour performance, documented every breath he took by marking the moment with charcoal on 26 sheets of 18 x 24 paper. These drawings and documentary photographs of the walking performances will be a part of the show. Stan will also execute a still-to-be-determined repetitive performance during gallery hours every Saturday for the run of the show.
Stan Shellabarger's recent shows and performances include two walking performances, on the both the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes, a crotcheting performance with Dutes Miller at the Stray Show, an installation and breathing performance at Chicago's Suitable Gallery and he performed and showed sculptures in "Here and Now" a survey of emerging Chicago artists at the Chicago Cultural Center in the fall of 2002. In 1996 he received the Blockstein Emerging Artist Award from the Madison Art Center, in conjunction with his inclusion in the Wisconsin Triennial exhibition. In 1997 he participated in the Second Annual Indy Installation Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana and was presented a special exhibition award. In 1999 Shellabarger and his husband, Dutes Miller, were featured artists of the Twelfth Annual Cleveland Performance Art Festival. Shellabarger received a MFA from the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1996 and his BFA from Illinois State University in Normal in 1991. He currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.
