Philosophy

Slow is an artist-run curatorial project with a deliberately unpolished gallery in Chicago.

Ever since my advisor Brent Ghering said that twenty odd years ago, it has been apparent to me that art is a lousy arena to prove that you’re smart. There is some really great art produced by really smart artists. There are smart ideas in art.  Thinking and talking art, even writing about it; it’s all good. But art will always be a closer cousin to food and sex: experience far out weighs the chatter.

All that said, artists are driven by ideas and impulses. We are highly sensitive to nuance—far more than our language to describe the nuance. There is still a great struggle happening to one of modernity’s central explorations: the connections and oppositions between the thing itself and its about-ness. The triangle, for example, is both a pure form and about a lot of things. Triangles are not removed from cultural prejudice; triangle patterns are trendy right now.

Most of the shows at slow are two or three artists. There is something about putting things in relationship to each other when their relations are not immediately obvious. It helps people dig a little. Puzzle a moment about what is at stake. The shows do something a little different than simply assess how good an artist is. A good pairing can pull an audience away from tired assumptions, the stuff we already know, and tease us toward something we still need to get to.

Artists ahead of the curve deserve exploration because their work demands exploration in return, from us. But the breath of the new often lurks in unlikely places. Slow features a fair number of artists who are showing fresh new work, but are not the new kids on the block. Energy and development over pedigree. Voices from different generations and different communities, and sometimes all at once. No rainbow coalition approach, not one-of–each.

Sense of humor helps any artist, but humor should be as particular and developed as a realist’s skill or formalist’s color sensitivity. In the words of a favorite artist, Carol Jackson, “Irony is no longer my friend.” I think that means dismissive hipsters and bitchy queens easily grate on people’s nerves. The darkest subject is often balanced by brilliant wit.

Frankness. Work that has an air of approachability wins out over esoteric. It is easy to hate viewing work where churchy silence is imposed on visitors. Slow is about dynamic programming built on strong artists, a down to earth atmosphere, a comfortable place to hang and talk, and maybe share a beverage.

I really like to like art.

Talking SLOW in Ad Hoc: Seven Interviews with Exhibition Projects - An interview with Caroline Picard for Bad at Sports
Eye Exam: The Slow Way - An interview with Jason Fourberg for Newcity