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Current Release: Deva Maitland

Past Releases:
May 31, 2004: Siebren Versteeg
March 18, 2004: Ben Gill
March 18, 2004: Kristen VanDeventer
January 13, 2004: Post Chicago at Gallery 400, UIC
December 21, 2003: Philip von Zweck
November 18, 2003: Artists from the Little City Foundation
October 16, 2003 : Vince Dermody
September 29, 2003 : John Neff
July 21, 2003 : Michael Wolf
June 20, 2003 : Rena Leinberger
April 20, 2003 : Andy Hall
April 1, 2003 : Pedro Velez

IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 5, 2004
POSTChicago announces My Biggest Mistake is Waiting for Perfect Communication
A NEW POSTER PROJECT BY Deva Maitland

Chicago -- POST announces My Biggest Mistake is Waiting for Perfect Communication, a new poster project by Deva Maitland, posted in offices and institutional spaces throughout Chicago as well as a selection of other cities within the United States. Maitland's poster is sparsely composed, simply showing the aforementioned phrase as an irregular text drawing shadowed by offset layers. The phrase is derived from a book of unedited drawings and text created by the artist in 2003. Consisting of 100 pages, the book was made with the intention of communicating freely without revisions or editing.

Grammatically incorrect, My Biggest Mistake is Waiting for Perfect Communication expresses the artist's desire to act instinctively and with slight err, rather than exist in a state of inaction and reserve due to a heightened self-awareness of language. Hung in the offices of employees at museums, schools, banks and retail; Maitland replaces the typical "hang in there" motivational poster with her own awkward but honest poster about interpersonal communication. Aware that unedited contact between people may be a near impossible task, Maitland¹s poster tries to bridge the gap between clear communication and truthful expression.

Deva Maitland received her MFA at the University of Illinois, Chicago in 2002. She recently had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the 12x12 series and has been in a number of group exhibitions including; When Darkness Falls at Gallery 400, Chicago, IL and Midway Contemporary Art, St. Paul, MN; What an Art Life at Stadtgalerie Gallery, Bern Switzerland; The Stray Show 2003 and 2004 in Chicago, IL; Room for a Revolution at Deluxe Projects, Chicago, IL; Bad Touch at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, IL; among others.

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 31, 2004
POSTChicago announces Independence Day
A NEW POSTER PROJECT BY SIEBREN VERSTEEG

Chicago -- POST announces Independence Day, a new poster project by Siebren Versteeg posted throughout Chicago's northwest side. Using an image taken directly from the 1996 blockbuster movie, Independence Day, Versteeg's poster resembles promotional marketing material. Yet, at closer glance, Versteeg's rendition replaces the credit information from the movie with a quote from the political artist collective, Critical Art Ensemble.

Reintroducing this digitally generated vision of devastation to the public, Versteeg provokes consideration of the communal fantasies and nightmares invoked through the media and entertainment industry. His project exposes this image's complex function as a contemporary myth that cultivated sales by capitalizing on mounting pre-millennial hysteria, while at the same time perhaps hedging these paranoias by relegating the depicted scenario to that of the dreamlike and impossible fantasies of Hollywood.

The quote by Critical Art Ensemble (from 1997) was selected by Versteeg with the intention to carry this line of questioning further into the conflating arenas of political protest and media sensationalism. It discusses the shift of governing power away from physical locales, claiming that "the physical space of the White House is only a hollow representation of presidential authority; it is not essential to it." Versteeg's imposition of these two highly charged agents evokes a conundrum, inviting viewers to continue to question relationships between physical and virtual realities.

Siebren Versteeg received his MFA at the University of Illinois, Chicago this past spring and will be attending Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture this summer. Siebren will be part of a show at Exit Art in New York this summer and will exhibit in The New Collusion, a group show at the Chicago Cultural Center opening in June. This year he also exhibited at The Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH. and Drunk vs. Stoned at Gavin Brown's Enterprise. POST commissions Chicago-based artists to create projects for the public space. Exhibited throughout the city in various locations, POST features a new printed series monthly. To purchase POST editions, view documentation and to find out more information about POST please visit online at http://www.post-chicago.com

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2004
POSTChicago announces I don't think I ever said that
A NEW POSTER PROJECT BY BEN GILL

Chicago -- POST announces I don't think I ever said that, a new poster project by Ben Gill posted throughout Chicago¹s northwest and select downtown areas. Through a collage of fragmented images of urban architecture, piles of salt, colored bars and wood veneer, Gill represents a shifting view of the relationship between historical innovation and style as cultural capital. The title, I don't think I ever said that, quotes architect Bruce Graham in the Chicago Architects Oral History Project (Art Institute of Chicago). In the quote Graham is denying a snide dig he made in a letter about stylistic similarity between him and a colleague.

I don't think I ever said that is composed of minor and major oppositions -- piles of salt as large glacial immovable mountains brought down to scale by veins of blue chemical, parking stripes, and jersey barriers, veneers against internal structure, contextual meaning against discrete internal relationships. The Clean and barren monuments of modernism clash with the grimy and corrosive detritus of the city. A steel structure building with a faux classical veneer is reflected in the modern grid. The tasteful almost over-design of The Inland steel building¹s stainless steel and blue glass, hint at the problematic relationship between democratic leveling ideals of modern international and the elitist aesthetic adoption of stylistic modernism.

While the structure of Gill's poster taps into the history of picture making, as a pure exercise in formal abstraction it is undermined by a focus on surface and taste, deflated by use of historically loaded materials. Reminiscent of a banner or flag, documentary photo, film/video still, or desktop image, the poster defies easy categorization. Extracting remarkably different reads in various contexts throughout the city.

Ben Gill is an artist and writer living in Chicago. He received a BFA from SAIC in 2000. He has been working for some time on a life obtrusive installation piece in his home. His work has been shown around Chicago, including with curatorial collective Law Office, and Force Field Exhibition Space, and his writings appeared in the zine FGA. Ben Gill's POST project will be posted throughout the northwest side of Chicago and downtown beginning April 26, 2004. POST commissions Chicago-based artists to create projects for the public space. Exhibited throughout the city in various locations, POST features a new printed series monthly. To purchase POST editions, see documentation and to find out more information about POST please visit online at www.post-chicago.com. For further information or images please contact POST coordinators, Keri Butler and Lisa Williamson at postchicago@ameritech.net .

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Chicago -- After a brief hiatus during the late winter months, POST Chicago is pleased to present Look at this mountain, I am trying to tell you, a new poster project created by Kristen VanDeventer. Beginning Sunday, March 21st, VanDeventer¹s POST edition will be posted at various street locations, including windshields of parked cars, bulletin boards and cafes throughout Chicago¹s northwest side.

Look at this mountain, I am trying to tell you is an edition that consists of two parts. The first is a color image of a mountain scene flanked by curtains. It appears to be a simple reproduction of the view from a window overlooking a breathtaking landscape. However, upon closer inspection, creases and other material flaws are apparent and the image is revealed as a photograph of a photograph. The unnatural colors are notably reminiscent of an old postcard evoking a sense of longing and escapism.

The second part of the project consists of a series of Xeroxed handwritten flyers that will be placed in the vicinity of the posters and on their own. The flyers vary from lost and found letters to personal notes from one anonymous person to another. Longing for something beautiful in the midst of hopelessness, "Look at this mountain, I am trying to tell you " expresses a desire to be somewhere else while remaining in the same place.

Kristen VanDeventer is an artist, curator and writer living in Chicago. Her work was most recently exhibited in What an Art Life, 2003, stadtgalerie, Bern Switzerland, curated by Beat Engle and at the Renaissance Society in 2002, video screening curated by Jennifer Reeder. A forthcoming exhibition at Suitable Gallery with Melanie Schiff will take place this summer. Her curatorial projects include When Darkness Falls, 2003, at Gallery 400, Chicago and Midway Contemporary Art, St. Paul, MN (curated with Melanie Schiff) and Room for a Revolution, 2002, Deluxe Projects, Chicago, IL (curated with Lisa Williamson).

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 16, 2003
POSTChicago announces LOVE CHICAGO/HATE THE CIRCLE
A NEW POSTER PROJECT BY ARTIST VINCE DERMODY

Chicago -- POST announces LOVE CHICAGO/HATE THE CIRCLE, a poster campaign by artist Vincent Dermody, distributed throughout Chicago beginning October 16, 2003. Dermody's latest project responds to the popular local t-shirt that reads "I (blue circle) Chicago," in effect altering the famous "I Love New York" t-shirt. For Dermody's POST edition, the artist has again re-altered the "I love" t-shirt slogan to express disdain for the blue circle, which to him represents complacency and further reinforces the "second city" stigma of Chicago.

The creators of the blue circle t-shirt, claim that the blue circle was chosen for its lack of obvious connotations. Dermody, however, states that replacing a red heart with a blue circle simply reinstates the "I'm just here 'cause it's cheap, but I really want to move to New York" attitude. Through an extensive media campaign including posters, stickers and postcards, Dermody defends his favorite city. Born on the corner of Mulligan and Sunnyside on the northwest side of Chicago, Dermody's message is personal - "love Chicago or leave it!"

Dermody's recent solo exhibition at Suitable Gallery, Chicago is currently featured in the October 2003 issue of Artforum. Other recent exhibitions include "New American Talent 18," curated by Dominic Molon at the Arthouse, Austin, TX, Bill Thelen's "Bad Touch V.5." at the Rose Museum in Boston. Dermody is a former member of the artist collective, Law Office.

POST commissions Chicago-based artists to create posters for the public space. Exhibited throughout the city in various locations chosen by each artist, POST features a new printed series monthly. Extensive documentation and information about POST may be found online at www.post-chicago.com/. For further information or images please contact POST coordinators, Keri Butler and Lisa Williamson at postchicago@ameritech.net.

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 29, 2003
POSTChicago announces We Are All Sinners
A NEW POSTER PROJECT BY ARTIST JOHN NEFF

Chicago -- POST announces We Are All Sinners, a poster by John Neff placed throughout Chicago's Northwest neighborhoods, beginning September 30, 2003. We Are All Sinners represents two versions of the Last Judgment, one of which accords with the views of contemporary far-right Christians, and one of which depicts the damnation of the leaders of today's conservative movement. Each of the two halves of the image are organized according to a centuries-old standard composition for representations of the Last Judgment. Christ in majesty rests at the top center of the scene, with the elect rising on his right (from the point of view of the beholder, the left-hand side of the picture) and the damned descending into hell on his left (or sinister) side. The two scenes are represented on a single piece of paper, with the damnation of Bush, Ashcroft et al. on the image's recto (right) side, and the Last Judgment according to those individuals on the image's verso. When reproduced in poster form, the two sides of the page are viewed top-to-top, so that, depending on the hanging of the poster, the views of conservative leaders are presented as not only backwards, but also up-side-down.

John Neff's multi-media work uses formal, self-reflexive structures to present psychological, social and historical narratives. His precisely concieved and realized works are dense, but do not forfeit visual beauty. This summer Neff curated Hysterical Pastoral at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, Illinois and five of his collages and one photograph from a 2002 show at Chicago's Suitable gallery were acquired by the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. Recent exhibitions include "Here and Now" at the Chicago Cultural Center (2002), Accidental Sublime, The Bower, San Antonio, Texas (2002) and Tasty Dogs, Atelier Top 25, Krems, Austria (2002). Neff graduated with an MFA from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2001 and recently re-located to Oakland, California. Neff is represented by Western Exhibitions in Chicago.

POST commissions Chicago-based artists to create posters for the public space. Exhibited throughout the city in various locations chosen by each artist, POST features a new printed series monthly. Extensive documentation and information about POST may be found online at www.post-chicago.com/. For further information or images please contact POST coordinators, Keri Butler and Lisa Williamson at postchicago@ameritech.net.

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Chicago -- POST announces Avian Invaders, a poster by Michael Wolf placed throughout Chicago's Humboldt Park, beginning July 17, 2003. Avian Invadersis a compilation of informational text and scientific drawings about local bird populations Wolf observed while bird watching during the spring and summer of 2003. He found that as with everywhere in North America, the most abundant birds in the area were non-native species that tend to thrive in rural and urban areas of human habitation. Wolf's practice parallels the collective effort of scientists and amateur bird watchers who work together to gather data and share images. Throughout his work, Wolf explores his own relationship to the neighborhood he lives in, often promoting some form of interaction with the populations in his community - be it birds or people. Interested in migration, the development of ethnic neighborhoods, and the outsider experience, Wolf uses bird watching as an additional way of perceiving and participating in the space he inhabits.

Mike Wolf came to Chicago from St. Paul, Minnesota to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since graduation, the artist may be found roaming about the city, winning the hearts and minds of Chicago's most devoted art enthusiasts. His work is presently featured in "Hysterical Pastoral: Landscapes and Text", a group exhibition at the Ukranian Institute of Modern Art, on view through August 17. More information about Mr. Wolf and his talented friends may be found at www.stopgostop.com.

POST commissions Chicago-based artists to create posters for the public space. Exhibited throughout the city in various locations chosen by each artist, POST features a new printed series monthly. Extensive documentation and information about POST may be found online at www.post-chicago.com/. For further information or images please contact POST coordinators, Keri Butler and Lisa Williamson at postchicago@ameritech.net.

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Chicago -- POST announces Socks, a two-part poster by artist, Rena Leinberger. This week two simple images: one white soccer sock and one blue soccer sock will be wrapped around poles, meters and posts throughout Wicker Park. Clothing street fixtures from the ground up, Leinbergerís public installation achieves an absurd sense of mobility and rivalry. Alternating colors and formations, Leinberger transforms banal structures into opposing forces and competing teams. Enabling static objects to suddenly take sides, the artist implicates multiple socio-political boundaries--existing divisions between class, race, or gender.

Rena Leinberger's work often alters aspects of familiar surroundings to create uncomfortable or awkward spaces and objects. Interested in the physical, social and historical notions of place, Leinberger extends the particularities of specific locations throughout her work.

A recent MFA graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Leinberger is presently featured in the 12 x 12 exhibition series at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. She has also exhibited at 1R Gallery, Gallery 400, and Zg Gallery and was a 2002 recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant.

POST commissions Chicago-based artists to create posters for the public space. Exhibited throughout the city in various locations chosen by each artist, POST features a new printed series monthly. Extensive documentation and information about POST may be found online at www.post-chicago.com/. For further information or images please contact POST coordinators, Keri Butler and Lisa Williamson at postchicago@ameritech.net.

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