Weekend Recap | "Time and Materials" at Manifold, art installations at Pitchfork and "Tara Donovan" at MAM

Weekend Recap | "Time and Materials" at Manifold, art installations at Pitchfork, and "Tara Donovan" at MAM

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  Ross Fiersten, Rift Series, 2012

  Photo: Courtesy of Paul Strabbing386.ar.ar.blog.1.jpg155272111
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  James Jankowiak, In Limbo, 2012

  Photo: Courtesy of James Jankowiak386.ar.ar.blog.2.jpg155272162
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  THESE MOMENTS, Matthew Hoffman, 2012 (Johalla Projects)

  Photo: Zachary Johnston386.ar.ar.blog.3.jpg155272213
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  Pitchfork Music Festival VIP instllation, Andrea Jablonski, 2012 (Johalla Projects)

  Photo: Erica Gannett386.ar.ar.blog.4.jpg155272264
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  Untitled, Tara Donovan, 2008

  Photo: Dennis Cowley / Courtesy of The Pace Gallery386.ar.ar.blog.5.jpg155272315
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  Tara Donovan, Drawing (Pins), 2011

  Photo: G. R. Christmas / Courtesy of The Pace Gallery386.ar.ar.blog.6.jpg155272366

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Ross Fiersten, Rift Series, 2012

Photo: Courtesy of Paul Strabbing

Here's a recap of three art happenings from this past weekend:

Friday, July 13
"Time and Materials" at Manifold
On Friday evening, I attended the opening of "Time and Materials" at Manifold in Ravenswood. The exhibition (running through October 5) features furniture, painting and installations. Some of my favorite pieces in the show are designed by Ross and Elizabeth Fiersten, co-owners of Manifold. Their Rift Series tables are little masterpieces fabricated from hand-patinated steel and reclaimed oak. Also notable are the paintings of James Jankowiak and his site-specific wall-length installation of bold vertical stripes that unifies the exhibition space.

Saturday, July 14
Art installations at Pitchfork
On Saturday afternoon, I experienced the Pitchfork Music Festival—vicariously—from the comfort of my own home as I edited reviews from Time Out writers. (Among the most humorous are those written by Dave Satterwhite—huh-larious!) Although I wasn't there to experience it for myself, photographers Erica Gannett and Zachary Johnston were able to capture images of two art installations at the fest produced by Johalla Projects. Matthew Hoffman's THESE MOMENTS has been described as the most "impactful," featuring giant plywood letters (literally spelling out T-H-E-S-E M-O-M-E-N-T-S) raised high above the crowds at the Blue Stage. Andrea Jablonski's installation featured colorful balloons and plastic beach balls suspended from trees in the VIP area.

Sunday, July 15
"Currents 35: Tara Donovan" at the Milwaukee Art Museum
On Sunday, I took a road trip to see the latest exhibitions at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Its signature summer show, "Posters of Paris," is a fairly conventional exhibition of fin de siècle poster art by the likes of Toulouse Latrec, Jules Chéret and Alphonse Mucha. More compelling is the "Face Jugs" exhibition of slave art from South Carolina (to be featured in TOC's July 26 issue). But what really made the trip worthwhile are the works of contemporary artist Tara Donovan (on view now through October 7). She creates extraordinary installations from everyday objects like drinking straws, pushpins and Mylar sheets. Her mesmerizing Haze (2003) is composed of thousands of drinking straws that form a 50-foot virtual cloudscape along one of the gallery walls—amazing!