Pilsen's affordable art

Paul Nudd’s Dogbroth (Satanic Salve) ($100) at antena

antena gallery
This gallery shows an exciting mix of contemporary art—primarily paintings, videos and installations. Founder Miguel Cortez estimates prices range from $200 to several thousand dollars. Compare that to River North and West Loop galleries, where the cost of a single artwork almost never drops below a month’s rent and frequently exceeds your student-loan debt.

Before founding antena in April 2008, Cortez spent several years organizing shows in the same ground-floor space for Polvo, which he founded with partners Jesus Macarena-Avila and Elvia Rodriguez-Ochoa as an alternative to commercial galleries that were far removed from Pilsen’s independent artistic heritage. At antena, Cortez continues to showcase avant-garde artists from Chicago and beyond: At one popular recent show, Columbia College prof Patrick Lichty re-created the Berwyn Spindle in Second Life.

The gallery’s latest exhibition, “The Pour Rubber,” opens with a reception Friday 20 from 6 to 10pm and features recent works by Chicago artists Nick Black (who melts toys into gooey sculptures) and Paul Nudd (who immortalizes goo in gross-out videos). 1765 S Laflin St (773-344-1940). Sat noon–5pm or by appointment.