Friday, March 11, 6 – 10 pm 1800 W. Cornelia Chicago, IL 60657
Stop by my studio #201 on the second floor. I'll be showing new paintings that I've been working on over the past several months.
Art on two floors, guest artists, and food from DönerMen food truck in the parking lot.
All open studio nights are free and fun for all to enjoy. Close to public transportation, free parking available!
I put a video recap together of my Firecat Projects show. If you were there at the opening or closing gallery talk you may see yourself! If you weren’t there, this is the next best thing. Created with iMovie on the iPhone. Enjoy!
This Must Be The Place - Cityscapes by Kevin Swallow. Solo show of paintings at Firecat Projects - Chicago, IL. July 24-August 22, 2015.
Photography by Mariah Karson: mariahkarson.com
Music: “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)” by Talking Heads
I'm currently in a juried group show at State Street Gallery with other artists from the Cornelia Arts Building. It's nice to be in a show in downtown Chicago in an area with great foot traffic and exposure. The gallery curator selected two of my cityscape paintings to display:
City Twilight Blues, oil on canvas, 40x30, 2014
Golden Lights, oil on canvas, 24x30, 2013
Sights, Sounds and Sensations of the City is a juried exhibition of work from the Cornelia Arts Building artists that will be on display across town in the State Street Gallery at Robert Morris University, bringing these distinct neighborhoods, known for their appreciation of the arts, together in celebration of Chicago Arts Month.
Sights, Sounds and Sensations of the City State Street Gallery Robert Morris University 401 South State Street Chicago, IL
Show Runs: Sept 1 – Dec 22, 2015
Hours: Mon-Thu, 10am-6pm
Opening Reception: Oct 15, 5 - 7pm
FREE and open to the public
Visit the Website for More Information
Well, these past few weeks has been really great and way beyond any of my expectations. The opening night show at Firecat Projects was well attended with family, friends, coworkers, and lots of local art fans. Having such a cool mix of people at the opening really made the night for me! Check out the photos here - all by Mariah Karson.
The platform and community that Firecat Projects has created - along with the support and sponsor of my show - Doug Sohn, has been awesome. Firecat’s business model is very unique, artist-friendly, and I’m grateful to have had this opportunity to display this body of work.
There has also been some exciting and unexpected press coverage for the show; with a profile in the Chicago Sun-Times, WGN Radio - Outside the Loop, DNAInfo, Chicago Magazine mention, and today - capped off with a review in the Art section of New City.
I could not have asked for a better first solo gallery exhibit in my hometown of Chicago. This Must Be The Place for sure.
Next up is the Closing Reception & Gallery Talk with author Bill Savage - happening this Sunday, August 16, 3-5pm. Savage, who teaches Chicago literature at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library, will discuss Accidental Beauties: the Aesthetics and Symbolism of Water Tanks (and Other Antiquated Infrastructure). Can’t wait to hear what he has to say!
I hope you can make it out to the gallery for the closing reception. If not, you’ll still have some time - the show closes August 22. Or, you can view a slideshow of the paintings in the show on the Firecat Projects website.
Best, Kevin
I finished this painting over the weekend and it will be on display at This Must Be The Place at Firecat Projects, opening this Friday night July 24. It's based on photos I took along the South Branch of the Chicago River. This is also not far from the part of the river known as Bubbly Creek because of all the industrial sludge, stockyard waste, and raw sewage dumped into the water from the surrounding factories.
On the Banks of Bubbly Creek, oil canvas, 36x60, 2015
From Wikipedia: The creek derives its name from the gases bubbling out of the riverbed from the decomposition of blood and entrails dumped into the river in the early 20th century by the local meatpacking businesses surrounding the Union Stock Yards directly south of the creek's endpoint at Pershing Road. It was brought to notoriety by Upton Sinclair in his exposé on the American meat packing industry entitled The Jungle.[1]
Opening Reception: Friday, July 24, 2015 – 7 to 10 p.m. Exhibition runs: July 24 – August 22, 2015 Closing Reception & Gallery Talk with author Bill Savage: August 16, 2015 – 3 to 5 p.m. Savage, who teaches Chicago literature at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library, will discuss Accidental Beauties: the Aesthetics and Symbolism of Water Tanks (and Other Antiquated Infrastructure)
The exhibition is generously sponsored by Doug Sohn of HOT DOUG’S.
This Must Be The Place, oil on reclaimed wood door, 28.5x40.5, 2015
I finished this new painting last night after about 9 months of work. It has had multiple incarnations - including its beginning as a collaboration painting with artist, Scott Simons. We abandoned it and he let me have the board. There was a good base to work with - graffiti, collage, acrylic, oil bar, and screen print. Then I added probably another 10 layers of oil paint to finish it off. The title of the painting takes on the namesake of the upcoming show at Firecat Projects: This Must Be The Place. It's a reference to a song by The Talking Heads, one of my favorite bands. Check out the video below from Stop Making Sense - damn, that had to have been a great song to see live:
https://youtu.be/HldHtBxNK6k
After being an artist for 20 years, I’m excited to announce that my first *solo* gallery show, “This Must Be The Place” opens July 24 at Firecat Projects in my hometown of Chicago. Hope you can make it! RSVP over on Facebook
Opening Reception: Friday, July 24, 2015 - 7 to 10 p.m. Exhibition runs: July 24 – August 22, 2015 Closing Reception & Gallery Talk with author Bill Savage: August 16, 2015 - 3 to 5 p.m. Savage, who teaches Chicago literature at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library, will discuss Accidental Beauties: the Aesthetics and Symbolism of Water Tanks (and Other Antiquated Infrastructure)
Firecat Projects 2124 N. Damen Ave., Chicago IL 60647
The exhibition is generously sponsored by Doug Sohn of HOT DOUG’S.
It's been about two years since I was accepted to show my work at Firecat Projects. Back then, I was creating and selling art full-time in addition to doing some freelance web design. A year ago, I went back to working a day job doing content strategy at a tech/digital advertising agency. This has decreased my art making time dramatically but now forces me to be much more focused when in the studio. At the same time, it has expanded my photography output and experimentation. During lunch breaks or a walk for afternoon coffee, I take shots of the architecture and street scenes in The Loop and post on Instagram. This creative break each day informs my subject matter and has given me unlimited ideas for paintings or other projects. I'm still creating new work for my solo show -- This Must Be The Place -- and many of these recent cityscape paintings will be on display at the opening July 24 at Firecat Projects.
Spring is here, then it's not. Rain, fog; some summer weather with long bike rides. So cold you see your breath. May in Chicago. But it makes for productive time in the studio... It's nice to now (occasionally) have the windows open in the studio while painting. I'm gearing up for my solo gallery show opening July 24 at Firecat Projects in Bucktown. I'm currently working on about a half dozen cityscape paintings and always taking photos and making sketches to use for inspiration. I'll be showing these new pieces along with some other older works.
Oh, and there's the Cornelia Arts Building Spring Open Studios happening on Friday, May 29, 6-10pm.
So needless to say, I've been slacking off in the blogging department. I missed posting in April (the first time in 7 years I didn't make a monthly post).
Here are some images from my sketchbook, studio, and the poster for the CAB show...
Below are some studio shots of my set-up for the Open Studios tomorrow night -- featuring many new cityscapes:
OPEN STUDIOS Cornelia Arts Building 1800 W. Cornelia, Studio #201 Chicago, IL 60657 http://www.corneliaartsbuilding.com