Bridge Art Fair

Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston, Daniel Edwards

Chicago Apparel Center, 12th floor; bridgeartfair.com

Bridge Art Fair is the mom-and-pop operation of ARTropolis: The homegrown enterprise, started by Michael Workman in 2005, focuses on emerging galleries and is a relative newcomer on the art-fair circuit. Despite its new-kid-on-the-block status, though, it hired hotshot Garofalo Architects to design signage and a floor plan for its 22,000-square-foot space. “We are making this into an art event instead of just a trade show—we just didn’t want our show to be subsumed by ARTropolis, we wanted to stand out,” says Tom Burtonwood, an artist and partner with Workman on this show. (The group now totals four employees, including Workman’s wife, Marie Walz.)

Bringing Garofalo on board isn’t just a way to get more people through the Bridge area; rather, it’s a way to add some spice to an event that could have been uninspired. “Since when was the market about dull aesthetics? We are not designing cubicles for an office, I guess one analogy are those Mac and PC ads,” Burtonwood says.

As for the art itself, Burtonwood says he will attend “with open eyes.” But with some prying, he admits to having some favorites. “A lot of the Brooklyn galleries tend to have the work I am looking for—and in my price range,” he says. He also says he’s looking forward to seeing David Packer’s sculptural pieces inspired by machines at NavtaSchulz. “Of course, I can’t wait to see Art Chicago,” he adds.

Aberration # 7, Adam Ekberg

For the Chicago-based Workman, agreeing to do a show here was still a bit of a gamble—which is ironic, seeing as he started his whole venture to make art “work” in Chicago. But this turns out to be his smallest show, and it was widely questioned whether his business could afford to even participate. “We have to come with our own financing plan to grow, so that has us going to these proven markets,” Workman says. Right now, those markets are Miami and London, but with any luck, it again will be Chicago.

Workman says he’s particularly looking forward to hosting Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston by Daniel Edwards, which caused a huge uproar in New York. Here, it will be shown by New York’s Capla Kesting Fine Art. The resin, life-size sculpture of a nude Britney Spears giving birth on a bearskin rug is available in aluminum or bronze (only five were made of each). The gallery would not disclose the price of the piece, but admitted it would be “an easy six figures.”

At least we’re guaranteed one controversy, even if we have to import it.

Hot tip While all the other preview parties benefit various charities (hence the hefty admission fees), Bridge’s preview on Thursday 26 (7–11pm) is free.

Preview Party, Thu 26, 7–11pm, free; Fri, Sat 11am–7pm; Sun, Mon 11am–6pm

Photo: Joseph Desler Costa

Karen Irvine, curator, Museum of Contemporary Photography
Irvine is looking forward to checking out Standard Usage Project, a collective of emerging local photographers. “I saw their work at the Nova fair last year and became completely engrossed in a dramatic video by [member] Deborah Guzmán Meyer,” she says. She’s also intrigued by Adam Ekberg’s photographs at Thomas Robertello Gallery: “They are all about light, literally, which means they are about photography, and I’m always attracted to work that is self-reflexive to its medium.”—Audrey Mast