Art Shows to See in Chicago This Summer
Among the ten art shows to see this summer in Cgicago, Hyperallergic selected the group show Terra Recognita: A Ceramic Story:
Like a perfect summer picnic, this exhibition will leave you feeling energized and lighter than before. The five ceramics artists featured here expertly pair dashes of humor with more serious food for thought. Nadira Husain paints intricate orgies and leafy gardens on vessels that double as jaunty bodies with arms and breasts. Irreverent details, like the poofs of acrylic hair on Leena Similu’s diminutive abstract works, ground more sober reflections on identity that pervade the show. Zizipho Poswa draws from her Xhosa heritage and experiences in the Eastern Cape Town province of South Africa to create works with allusions to Bantu knots and the bundles women in rural areas bear on their heads. The works range in style, but all these artists understand the power of being thoughtful without slipping into self-seriousness. Even rarer, they know how to be funny without being flippant.