Brick Mugs: Street Scenes from Chicago
@ Gallery of Contemporary Mosaics
1127 W Granville Ave, Chicago, IL 60660
Opening Friday, March 7th, from 7PM - 9PM
On view through Saturday, April 5th
Brick Mugs is an ode to Chicago brick streetscapes. It is an exhibition by and for Chicagoans, that brings scenes from our daily lives into the intimate space of a domestic household object: the ceramic mug.
In a city famous for its architectural attractions, this body of work instead focuses on ordinary experiences of our neighborhoods by calling on local artists who work in clay to notice and create their own rendition of the clay-based structures that surround us.
The artists celebrate the link between craft and place by creating their unique variations on the theme of vernacular brick and terra cotta architecture. They do the double work of highlighting the labor that built Chicago as well as demonstrating the broad range of their own interactions and engagement with different built environments in the city.
Brick Mugs blends many types of knowledge–trade, historical, design, architectural, craft, spatial–with a focus on sharing and the collective over an understanding of art or public space as the product of an isolated individual “genius.” This exhibitions provides an opportunity to explore the versatility of clay as a medium from each other, both by seeing the techniques and perspectives different artists use to solve the same artistic problem, as well as studying the original buildings and the work of the bricklayer.
During a special panel discussion, zine release, and awards night on March 29, jurors Will Quam (architectural historian and founder of Brick of Chicago) and Jackie Townsend (Chicago Women in Trades), will select their favorites. The zine will feature reference photos and photos of the mugs, essays and interviews about Chicago brick and terra cotta, and maps of local architectural quirks, oddities, and wonders.
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