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Inside edition

Why has the Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art moved to SOFA?

By Lauren Weinberg

Inside edition

  • Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, no date. At Carl Hammer Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    carlhammer_gs308.jpg937081

  • Eugene Andolsek, Untitled (300). At American Primitive Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    americanprimative_eugeneandolsek_untitled_eandolsek.jpg937092

  • Raymond Materson, They Look Over Her Shoulder, 2005. At American Primitive Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    americanprimative_raymondmaterson_theylookoveryourshoulder.jpg937103

  • Bill Traylor, Two Cats Jumping on Man, 1939–42. At Hill Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art..

    billtraylor_greenman_hillgallery.jpg937114

  • Unknown artist, Stand of drawers from African-American barbershop, c. 1940–50. At Carl Hammer Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    carl_hammer_af_am_barbers_chest_2.jpg937125

  • Joseph E. Yoakum, Mt. Hann, 2800 ft. in King Leopold Range near Derby in western Australia, 1968. At Carl Hammer Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    carl_hammer_jy_140.jpg937136

  • Unknown artist, no date. At Carl Hammer Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    carlhammer_vb-c122.jpg937147

  • Clifton Sulser, Untitled, c. 1930–40s. At Carl Hammer Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    cliftonsulser_articulated_figurescollection_carlhammergallery.jpg937158

  • Eugene von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, no date. At Carl Hammer Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    eugenevonbruenchenheincarlhammer_vb-b87ch.jpg937169

  • Henry Darger, At Jennie Richee not liking wind they hasten nudely to find shelter as storm comes on again, c. 1940–50. © Kiyoko Lerner. At Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    henry_darger_carlhammergallery_nl223a.jpg9371710

  • Gee's Bend Area, Work Clothes Quilt, c. 1950. At Hill Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    hillgallery_workclothesquilt.jpg9371811

  • Bill Traylor, Red Man with Pipe, c. 1939-42. At Judy Saslow Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    judysaslow_bt_2053_300dpi.jpg9371912

  • Chris Murray, Museum of the City of New York, no date, at Just Folk, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    justfolk_chrismurray_museumny_img_1321-1-1b.jpg9372013

  • Elijah Pierce, Couple Dancing, Signed "E-PIERCE", July 1972. At Just Folk, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    justfolk_elijahpierce_coupledancing.jpg9372114

  • Navajo geometric rug, c. 1890s. At Hill Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    navajo_geometric_rug_large_hillgallery.jpg9372215

  • Martín Ramírez, Untitled (Horse and Rider with Large Bugle), c. 1960-63. At Ricco/Maresca Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    ricco_martinramirez.jpg9372316

  • Edgar Tolson, Untitled (Expulsion), c. 1970. Russell Bowman Art Advisory, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    russell_bowman_edgar_tolson_4.jpg9372417

  • Mose Tolliver, Untitled (Bird on Branch), no date. At Russell Bowman Art Advisory, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    russell_bowman_mose_tolliver_dsc02260.jpg9372518

  • Carlo Zinelli, Untitled, 1966. At Russell Bowman Art Advisory, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    russellbowman_carlozinelli.jpg9372619

  • Minnie Evans, Untitled, c. late 1950s. At Russell Bowman Art Advisory, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.

    russellbowman_minnieevans_dsc02272.jpg9372720

  • Wendell Castle, Morning Sun, 2009. Wexler Gallery and Barry Friedman Ltd. at SOFA Chicago.

    WendellCastle_WexlerGallery_MorningSun.jpg9372821

  • Philipp Aduatz, Dormeuse, at Suppan Contemporary, SOFA Chicago.

    AduatzDormeuse_SuppanContemporary.jpg9372922

  • Dale Chihuly, Silvered Venetian with Amber and Burgundy Spotted Lilies, 2009. At Litvak Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    DaleChihuly_LitvakGallery_091024v1_2.jpg9373023

  • David Trubridge, Glide, at Wexler Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    DavidTrubridge_Wexler.jpg9373124

  • Keiji Ito, Hollow, 1990s, at Ippodo Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    Keiji_Ito_Ippodo_0277.jpg9373225

  • Lino Tagliapietra, Saturno Chandelier. At Schantz Galleries, SOFA Chicago.

    LinoTagliapietra_SchantzGalleries_Saturno.jpg9373326

  • Ginny Ruffner, Aesthetic Engineering Theory Series: The Evolution of Mosaic, 2006. At Maurine Littleton Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    MLittleton_GinnyRuffner.jpg9373427

  • Maeta Akihiro, Hakuji Mentori Tsubo, 2010. At Floating World Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    MaetaAkihiro_FloatingWorld.jpg9373528

  • Vanessa Smith, To Another Shore, 2009. At Perimeter Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    Perimeter_VanessaSmith.jpg9373629

  • Robert Hudson, Painting, 2010. Perimeter Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    RHudson_Perimeter.jpg9373730

  • Alex Roskin, Skeleton Stool Long. At Wexler Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    Roskin_Wexler.jpg9373831

  • Adam Grinovich, Husk: Circle Bangle, 2010. At Ornamentum, SOFA Chicago.

    ornamentum_Adam_Grinovich_4.jpg9373932

  • Necklace from Yvel, SOFA Chicago.

    yvel_necklace.jpg9374033

  • Fujitsuka Shosei, Tide, 2007. At TAI Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    FujitsukaShosei_TAI_21297_9594b.jpg9374134

  • Luke Jerram, Swine Flu, 2010. At Heller Gallery, SOFA Chicago.

    Heller_Gallery_Luke_Jerramb.jpg9374235
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, no date. At Carl Hammer Gallery, Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art.
11/03/2010

Cleo Wilson, the executive director of River West’s Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, is pretty candid when I call her to ask why the Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art is coming to Navy Pier along with SOFA Chicago Thursday 4–Sunday 7.

Intuit’s fair began in 1997 as Collect-O-Rama: The Intuit Members’ Really Big Deaccession Sale and took on its current name in 2003. In 2007 and 2008, it was held at the Merchandise Mart as part of Artropolis.

But, after the 2008 fair, Wilson says, Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. told her organization “that they weren’t letting us back in.” She believes that MMPI eliminated the Intuit Show to appease exhibitors at the Artropolis fairs that it owns: Art Chicago, NEXT and the Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair. Due to the recession, she says, “some of the dealers weren’t doing as well, and they didn’t like the fact that we were there selling cheaper art [and] renting space at a very cheap cost.… They looked at it as unfair competition. When [MMPI] did their surveys after the show, this was a complaint that they say they were getting from the dealers.”

“I don’t know that that was the case,” MMPI senior vice president Mark Falanga tells me by phone after his company initially declined a request for comment. “The feedback [from dealers] was that there was so much to see here, so much space to cover that it was unmanageable for the attendees.” Besides, he says, Intuit “has been part of every Art Chicago fair.”

When asked for clarification—in 2009, there was no Intuit Show—Falanga explains that Artropolis highlights Intuit, like other local museums and institutions, in its program booklet. Intuit is also included in museum and private collectors’ tours during Artropolis, Wilson adds via e-mail.

The Intuit executive director was relieved to get help this year from Mark Lyman, president of the Art Fair Company, which produces SOFA. “We just couldn’t afford to do a show on our own,” she explains. “[The Art Fair Company] is taking the risk because we didn’t have to put up any money to be part of SOFA Chicago.” The Intuit Show’s 16 exhibitors include Chicago dealers Russell Bowman and Carl Hammer as well as newcomers from other parts of the U.S., such as Summerland, California–based Just Folk. Because Intuit gets a share of the booth rental and admission fees, Wilson considers the partnership “a win-win” for her organization. “It’s a great opportunity for Intuit and for outsider art dealers to reach a new audience of collectors and interior designers.”

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Art & Design
November 3, 2010
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