Extended dissent is no long goodbye

Extended dissent is no long goodbye
Dave Richards and Carron Little
February 2 - 23, 2013

Otherwise minded. Standing alone. We each have political leanings, but there is a different sort of problem when our politics lean on us so much they tell us what we have to say. We stand for causes at the expense of another part of ourselves, and it is difficult beyond language to get to that thing the standing stands for.

Carron Little and Dave Richards stand apart. From each other, from status quo. Their respective stances sometimes poke at sore spots, but the art is not overtly political. Perhaps there is respect for the posture, but make no mistake—these are not like-minded artists working toward a common good. This is not feel-good collaboration despite the fact they are showing work they worked out together. Neither is it a game of besting nor any sort of war. It is profoundly different for each Dave and Carron.

Both Dave and Carron work with modular forms, layering, and compositions that meander. There is tension near the boundaries, in the overlaps. And that is why they are together, or the art is together. The tension tells itself. By leaning into that tense dance, we may get closest to the stand, to the apart. Close to anger, close to rebellion, close to fights worth fighting and the values they are fought for. Not causes, not morals. But for the only way each sees what is known.

Dave is an artist working in collage and relief sculpture. He’s shown in Chicago venues ranging from Phyllis Kind gallery, the MCA, the Chicago Cultural Center, N.A.M.E., The Evanston Art Center and many others, and internationally in Milan and Tel Aviv. He taught at SAIC for much of his career. Dave has been moving away from rectangles as the grounding structure. He’s been known to lift colors schemes from tools used to produce the work. His work is built on a foundation of precision, but never at the expense of his own hand.

Carron is a board member on the Wicker Park and Bucktown Arts Committee where she tirelessly works to direct public funding directly to artists for their good work. She writes, she teaches, and she directs a gallery, Eyeporium. She is perhaps best known for her performance work embodying characters like the Queen of Luxuria. She has shown at 6018 North, and performed at the MCA, Hyde Park Arts Center and with Food and Performance. She is the founder of Out of Site, a series of unexpected public encounters with performance. One direction in her painting and drawing practice began with shapes left over after cutting fabric for costumes.

Who says negative thinking is all cynical and dark?