SOFA is pleased to present the paintings of New York artist, former Chicagoan and MAKE visual arts editor Stacie Johnson. Head on over Saturday, February 27, 7-10pm,  to 301 E 33rd #7, Austin, TX for art, beer, and special snacks. Johnson will be in attendance!

Stacie Johnson makes paintings about the everyday items that she finds in her immediate surroundings. In her process of creating seemingly abstract works, Johnson first builds a temporary sculpture out of such items as fabric, pink Styrofoam, paper, tape, plants, wood, and string. Johnson carefully observes these weird tableaus of line and color, studies the forms and shadows, then re-creates the sculptures in paint. In the translation from sculpture to painting, Johnson concentrates on the tension between illusion and flatness, condensing the accumulated passages in the 3-dimensional forms to embody similar relationships in a flat image. The paintings allow the viewer simultaneously to believe in and recognize the means of illusion.

This is her first solo show outside of Chicago.

The Plagiarists, who as you might recall, read, in character, dialogue from Terkel’s Division Street: America at the MAKE issue 7 release party are throwing quite the art party this weekend!

Friday 4/24 Opening night reception 6-10pm, Saturday 4/25 open 1-10pm

The Plagiarists Theatre Company and Chicago artists will display art for sale on April 24th and 25th at the Country Club Chicago at 1100 N Damen Ave. The 24th festivities will start at 6 and will last until 10pm. This opening night will include a reception with beer, wine and live jazz provided by the
Every People Jazz Workshop.

The second day of the event (25th) will start at 1pm and end at 10pm. A variety of popular artists including Tony Fitzpatrick, Julia Rochholz, niceLena, Ashley Alexander (I’m Smitten), Felicia G.E. Batzloff, Gary Batzloff, Mat Daly, Emily Rapport, Peter Axelsen, and Dee Clements, and Ray Vlcek will present and sell work ranging from paintings to handmade jewelry. A proceed of the sales will benefit The Plagiarists, NFP.

Become inspired and enlarge your world by bringing these artists’ work into your home. Pieces will range in price from $5-$50 dollars for small handmade wares and start at $100-$500 for paintings.

Phaiz, Chicagoʼs emerging cutting-edge exposition space, is proud to present Opera Pink, a sitespecific solo installation by San Francisco-based artist Richard Colman. This is the artistʼs first solo exhibition with Phaiz and first in Chicago. Filling the 800 square foot gallery, Colman will install a series of tiles and paintings on wood panels and paper complemented by background wall paintings, creating a large-scale, psychedelic-type landscape mural to indulge the senses.

Richard’s work appears along side Faisal Mohyuddin’s story Leaving India.

ANDREW RAFACZ is pleased to announce I Rule with a Broken Heart, a new installation of figurines, video, and a performance by Rachel Mason. The gallery will also present a new artist book, also titled I Rule with a Broken Heart, as well as two newly editioned series of figurines.

Chicago, IL, February 6, 2009 – Andrew Rafacz begins the new year with I Rule with a Broken Heart, our first solo exhibition with Rachel Mason. The gallery will have a reception for the artist on Friday, February 6, from 5 to 8pm. A performance will take place the following day, Saturday, February 7th, at 7pm. The exhibition continues through March 21, 2009.  

Read more about Rachel and her work.

mini dutch gallery presents…
Stacie Johnson- Mise-en-scène

Opening reception: Saturday, October 25, from 7-10pm. Show runs until, Sunday, November 23, 2008

Closing reception: Saturday, November 22, 7-10pm. Open Sundays 11am-3pm or call/email for appointment

“In mini dutch’s new show, Mise-en-scène, Johnson will be responding directly to mini dutch making site-specific paintings. She has taken on the themes of the gallery, named after a breed of rabbit, and acquired information such as the birth date of the space and of its occupants to find out astrological signs. Based on this information, Johnson will set up a series of maquettes in the gallery. She will be working from this installation of props during the course of the show, and for the closing reception the installation will be replaced with paintings. This is an opportunity to view Johnson’s complete process: from maquette to painting that would otherwise only be available during a studio visit.”

Stacie Johnson is an active participate in the Chicago alternative scene, having had solo shows at Old Gold and threewalls. She currently teaches a painting class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has appeared in NY Arts Magazine, New American Paintings and she was named one of Newcity’s one to watch in 2008. She is the Visual Art Editor for MAKE.

from issue 3 - truthiness

Issue 3 visual art contributor Siebren Versteeg’s show “Zero if the Center” recently opened at the Max Protech gallery in NYC.  

While the piece he contributed is great, his recent work is another bird entirely.  If you live in NYC, we highly recommend you not miss this one.