Blutter, Burland and Ott at Judy A. Saslow Gallery
by Kate Soczka
The Judy A. Saslow Gallery sits in a prime location at 300 West Superior Street surrounded by other galleries in the River North gallery district. The neighboring galleries feed from each other’s walking traffic and the stream of Friday evening art aficionados flow easily from one gallery to the next. Around 7:30pm the scene has a party vibe, and men with dark-rimmed glasses and women with colorful scarves hug each other and laugh. The gallery is packed and people gladly shed their winter coats and turn to the complimentary red wine to warm them.
"Untitled" by Ott
The Judy A. Saslow Gallery peaked my interest because it claims to house “outsider” artists. Many artists shown here never went to art school nor obtained a degree in the arts. Often, the artists are self-taught and relatively unknown in the art community. Although the gallery is best known for European outsider art, the gallery has expanded to include contemporary works by emerging and established artists.
"Clandestine" by Burland
The opening on January 8th, 2010 showcased artists Francois Burland, Edward H. Ott, and Steven Blutter. According to the displayed bios, Burland most clearly falls into the “outsider” category, having left school before completing secondary education, saying his teachers found him difficult. After psychotherapy sessions as a young adult, he dedicated his life to painting and drawing. Burland is now highly acclaimed and often recognized as one of the painters among the Art Brut aesthetic. I liked the gritty and natural feel of the work, but my favorite piece, “Clandestine” resembled a large map depicting a nomadic or wartime people. It looked as though Burland drew with pencil and black paint right on the thick paper of a brown paper bag. Most of his paintings on display resembled ancient cave drawings and tribal symbols. I saw elements of mythology in his work where creatures that are half-animal and half-man wrap around each other in torrent cycles. His paintings are somewhat abstract and primeval. His color pallet gravitates to dark browns, blues and black. If I were his parents, I might question if the psychotherapy did the trick.
Two "Untitled" peices by Ott
The other two American artists, Blutter and Ott, have traditional art educations, but the two of them couldn’t be more different. Edward H. Ott’s work was definitely my favorite of the show. I yearned to have his larger than life portrait, “Untitled” hanging in my home. Using wood panels as his source, I loved how he “recovers” landscapes and faces from the patterns of the wood grains. Ott utilizes stains, oil, paints, burning and sanding to help the imagery emerge from the wood. The faces are striking and looming, especially the larger pieces which seemed to rein over the room and look down upon their admirers.
"Election Night", "The Golden Path" & "Ornamental Couple" by Blutter
The photography of Steven Blutter, however, seemed to draw the most attention from the general gallery crowd. His collection, “Colored Daydreams” essentially pops with color and captures an odd yet comforting exploration of child-like fantasies. Miniature Buddha figurines, candy gummy worms, and toy action figures fill the frames of Blutter’s work. He arranges the figures in situations based on current subject matters representing personal, philosophical, political or social concerns and titles each piece with an aptitude for humor and significance. “The Dualist” from Blutter’s “Recent Mediations” collection was one of my favorites, showing the topsy-turvy struggle of opposing powers of good and evil.
"Blue horse in coffee" by Blutter, "Rider without a name" by Burland, and two "Untitled" pieces by Ott
I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience at the Judy A. Saslow Gallery and appreciated her mission to showcase outsider and emerging artists. I enjoyed the variance of the three artists at the opening and acknowledged the opportunity to enjoy their work in the un-intimidating space.
Blutter, Burland and Ott will be on display from 1/8/10 to 2/20/10.
