Chicago Social December 2009
After attending this little soirée at The Bluebird, we’re firmly endorsing more modern riffs on the salon—no, not a place to get your locks coiffed, but the see-and-be-seen social gatherings of the smart set dating back to the ancient Chinese, thriving with the 17th-century French and enduring through the beatniks, but, these days, rarely held. As you can see, at this gathering held to showcase the new work of Chicago painters John Coyle Steinbrunner and Mary Livoni, the conversation was anything but pretentious. Rather, the cool crowd listened to the artists discuss their work while enjoying the fine cuisine and vino from Bluebird owner Tom MacDonald. If you don’t want to be left in the cold for the next gathering of the cognoscenti, visit bluebirdchicago.com.
Overheard at The Bluebird…
Tom MacDonald, Wicker Park
Owner, The Bluebird and Webster’s Wine Bar
“Hmmm... 32 bottles of wine for 32 people. May need to raid the cellar....”
Tonia Kim, Bucktown
Jewelry designer, Toki Collection
Thinking it’s still funny that otters wrap themselves in seaweed like they’re a piece of sushi.
Gary Weidner, Lincoln Park
Artist
“I hope it’s nice enough to play golf at Crystal Downs tomorrow. Maybe I’ll give the knuckleheads from Dave’s Golf Buddies a call.”
Jim Lüning, Wicker Park
Photographer/Director
“Maybe my next project should be a concept film about zombie vampire unicorns.”
Bladon Connor, McKinley Park
Furniture Maker
“Don’t you think these paintings look like inverted rain clouds?”
Mary Livoni, Bucktown
Artist
Secretly hoping for some spontaneous dancing.
John Coyle Steinbrunner, East Lakeview
Artist
“Naturally I replied, Réalisant mon espoir, je me lance vers la gloire—okay?”
Overheard at The Bluebird…
Tom MacDonald, Wicker Park
Owner, The Bluebird and Webster’s Wine Bar
“Hmmm... 32 bottles of wine for 32 people. May need to raid the cellar....”
Tonia Kim, Bucktown
Jewelry designer, Toki Collection
Thinking it’s still funny that otters wrap themselves in seaweed like they’re a piece of sushi.
Gary Weidner, Lincoln Park
Artist
“I hope it’s nice enough to play golf at Crystal Downs tomorrow. Maybe I’ll give the knuckleheads from Dave’s Golf Buddies a call.”
Jim Lüning, Wicker Park
Photographer/Director
“Maybe my next project should be a concept film about zombie vampire unicorns.”
Bladon Connor, McKinley Park
Furniture Maker
“Don’t you think these paintings look like inverted rain clouds?”
Mary Livoni, Bucktown
Artist
Secretly hoping for some spontaneous dancing.
John Coyle Steinbrunner, East Lakeview
Artist
“Naturally I replied, Réalisant mon espoir, je me lance vers la gloire—okay?”
Interview on Gaper's Block for the Bluebird Salon Series
ARTSLANT October 2009
A Feast for the Senses
by Robyn Farrell Roulo
Slightly off the beaten path, but worthy of the trip is The Bluebird, a gastropub and neighborhood favorite in Bucktown. Similar to its elder sibling, Webster’s Wine Bar, The Bluebird is nestled within Chicago’s urban landscape located at 1749 North Damen Avenue. The atmosphere is hip with a modern and rustic feel. With exposed brick walls, salvaged décor and wood burning fireplace it is perfect for a dagte, drinks or dinner with friends. Melodious sounds of conversation and a candlelit atmosphere fill the tavern on any given evening. Chalkboard listings hang above the bar highlighting specials from the extensive beer and wine list. The menu features small plates for sharing. Selection cater to carnivore and vegetarian alike: international meats and cheeses, flatbreads and salads, not too mention dessert.
In addition to the delectable snacks and spirits, Tom McDonald, Bluebird's owner, exhibits a rotating selection of artwork from many Chicago favorites. McDonald actively seeks the work, but describes the process as a collaborative effort. He has shown work by Alex Menocal, Michelle Gordon and Wesley Kimler. From October 18th until November 15th, The Bluebird will feature work by artists Mary Livoni and J.C. Steinbrunner. The exhibition is a joint effort by the artists and McDonald to hold salon-style gatherings every Sunday in October. Evenings that will be sure to satisfy all of the senses. For more information, please visit the website, http://bluebirdchicago.com/.
Living and working in Chicago, Mary Livoni renders quiet, yet powerful charcoal drawings. Themes of emptiness and absence in the city’s structures give new meaning to the static surroundings so often unnoticed. Livoni’s drawings celebrate the beauty and surreal elements of architecture in Chicago’s urban setting. New work on view at The Bluebird next month is a series of drawings focused on bridges. When speaking about her inspiration, Livoni states, “The drawings that I have created for Picture This Like This were inspired by the older bridges that cross the Chicago River. The curves and arches of their rusting grommet studded surfaces are undeniably beautiful. Seen against the vantage point of open sky and they also become powerful abstract forms.”
John Coyle Steinbrunner, crumples and distorts images of the everyday and presents them in a less familiar format. Interested in the relationship between natural and man-made objects, the artist often plays on the themes of the surreal and true reality. Steinbrunner ‘s statement explains that his “paintings explore the distance between memory and sentimentality by examining how we assign value and importance to the natural and social histories around us. Working from travel photography, his paintings re-scale and personalize the art historical pomp of landscape and history painting to an intimate, even insignificant, scale to create a viewing experience that recalls the emotional impact of the original, lived experience.”
Statement from the Artists:
We're really excited about the concept we've created for this show at The Bluebird. We wanted to bring together our friends and our art in a relaxing, inviting space over great food, great wine and great discussion. I'd been thinking a lot about being a working artist in a recession and how to show my work in a way that felt more meaningful and important. Mary and I have wanted to show together for a while: our work compliments each other without competing – her charcoal cityscapes, my watercolor landscapes. I'd been working with the idea of establishing a "pop-up" gallery that would open its doors in a vacant commercial space, exist only as long as it's show and then close. When Tom mentioned he wanted more events at The Bluebird, we combined all these ideas into an art salon concept: bring together people we respect who should meet each other, feed them well beneath our artwork and start some really honest discussions about art, our work, the creative process ... a different approach and a different dinner party each week for four weeks. We want to move away from the gallery concept into something more intimate, relaxed and community-based.
--Robyn Farrell Roulo
by Robyn Farrell Roulo
Slightly off the beaten path, but worthy of the trip is The Bluebird, a gastropub and neighborhood favorite in Bucktown. Similar to its elder sibling, Webster’s Wine Bar, The Bluebird is nestled within Chicago’s urban landscape located at 1749 North Damen Avenue. The atmosphere is hip with a modern and rustic feel. With exposed brick walls, salvaged décor and wood burning fireplace it is perfect for a dagte, drinks or dinner with friends. Melodious sounds of conversation and a candlelit atmosphere fill the tavern on any given evening. Chalkboard listings hang above the bar highlighting specials from the extensive beer and wine list. The menu features small plates for sharing. Selection cater to carnivore and vegetarian alike: international meats and cheeses, flatbreads and salads, not too mention dessert.
In addition to the delectable snacks and spirits, Tom McDonald, Bluebird's owner, exhibits a rotating selection of artwork from many Chicago favorites. McDonald actively seeks the work, but describes the process as a collaborative effort. He has shown work by Alex Menocal, Michelle Gordon and Wesley Kimler. From October 18th until November 15th, The Bluebird will feature work by artists Mary Livoni and J.C. Steinbrunner. The exhibition is a joint effort by the artists and McDonald to hold salon-style gatherings every Sunday in October. Evenings that will be sure to satisfy all of the senses. For more information, please visit the website, http://bluebirdchicago.com/.
Living and working in Chicago, Mary Livoni renders quiet, yet powerful charcoal drawings. Themes of emptiness and absence in the city’s structures give new meaning to the static surroundings so often unnoticed. Livoni’s drawings celebrate the beauty and surreal elements of architecture in Chicago’s urban setting. New work on view at The Bluebird next month is a series of drawings focused on bridges. When speaking about her inspiration, Livoni states, “The drawings that I have created for Picture This Like This were inspired by the older bridges that cross the Chicago River. The curves and arches of their rusting grommet studded surfaces are undeniably beautiful. Seen against the vantage point of open sky and they also become powerful abstract forms.”
John Coyle Steinbrunner, crumples and distorts images of the everyday and presents them in a less familiar format. Interested in the relationship between natural and man-made objects, the artist often plays on the themes of the surreal and true reality. Steinbrunner ‘s statement explains that his “paintings explore the distance between memory and sentimentality by examining how we assign value and importance to the natural and social histories around us. Working from travel photography, his paintings re-scale and personalize the art historical pomp of landscape and history painting to an intimate, even insignificant, scale to create a viewing experience that recalls the emotional impact of the original, lived experience.”
Statement from the Artists:
We're really excited about the concept we've created for this show at The Bluebird. We wanted to bring together our friends and our art in a relaxing, inviting space over great food, great wine and great discussion. I'd been thinking a lot about being a working artist in a recession and how to show my work in a way that felt more meaningful and important. Mary and I have wanted to show together for a while: our work compliments each other without competing – her charcoal cityscapes, my watercolor landscapes. I'd been working with the idea of establishing a "pop-up" gallery that would open its doors in a vacant commercial space, exist only as long as it's show and then close. When Tom mentioned he wanted more events at The Bluebird, we combined all these ideas into an art salon concept: bring together people we respect who should meet each other, feed them well beneath our artwork and start some really honest discussions about art, our work, the creative process ... a different approach and a different dinner party each week for four weeks. We want to move away from the gallery concept into something more intimate, relaxed and community-based.
--Robyn Farrell Roulo
Crains - Chicago artists find new ways to market work
From this week's Business of Life
Chicago artists find new ways to market work
Artists Mary Livoni and John Coyle Steinbrunner hosted dinners at the Bluebird to get people talking. Photo: Cathy Sunu By: Claire Bushey January 11, 2010
Chicago artists aren't limiting their creativity to the canvas these days.
From salons to apartment showings, artists are finding unusual ways to market and publicize their work without relying on galleries to represent them.
Mary Livoni, 45, of Bucktown, and John Coyle Steinbrunner, 33, of East Lakeview, hosted several salons last fall at the Bluebird, a Wicker Park gastropub. For $30, attendees were served a prix fixe meal and drinks in a room decorated with the artists' work, which diners then discussed.
It was "a naked marketing ploy," says Mr. Steinbrunner, and a step beyond the cliché of coffeehouse art.
Such moves yield attention, if only occasionally sales.
Catie Olson, 36, and E. C. Brown, 38, mounted four shows last year in their Ukrainian Village apartment, clearing out knickknacks and the cats' litter box to showcase their own work and others' in a cheeky environment: They planted a plastic elephant in the fridge and filled the bathtub with popcorn.
It paid off. The Museum of Contemporary Art invited them to contribute pieces to its "12 x 12" series, which spotlights emerging artists.
"We both have had definitely more opportunities," Ms. Olson says.
Art cropping up in unusual spaces "makes for a richer environment," says Ellen Ratchye-Foster, 45, of Evanston, whose corporate workplace has an in-house gallery. She recently bought a painting by co-worker Alex Menocal, 34, of Albany Park, after seeing it displayed there.
"It's an extra little treat, to wander around and feed your brain," she says.
Chicago artists find new ways to market work
Artists Mary Livoni and John Coyle Steinbrunner hosted dinners at the Bluebird to get people talking. Photo: Cathy Sunu By: Claire Bushey January 11, 2010
Chicago artists aren't limiting their creativity to the canvas these days.
From salons to apartment showings, artists are finding unusual ways to market and publicize their work without relying on galleries to represent them.
Mary Livoni, 45, of Bucktown, and John Coyle Steinbrunner, 33, of East Lakeview, hosted several salons last fall at the Bluebird, a Wicker Park gastropub. For $30, attendees were served a prix fixe meal and drinks in a room decorated with the artists' work, which diners then discussed.
It was "a naked marketing ploy," says Mr. Steinbrunner, and a step beyond the cliché of coffeehouse art.
Such moves yield attention, if only occasionally sales.
Catie Olson, 36, and E. C. Brown, 38, mounted four shows last year in their Ukrainian Village apartment, clearing out knickknacks and the cats' litter box to showcase their own work and others' in a cheeky environment: They planted a plastic elephant in the fridge and filled the bathtub with popcorn.
It paid off. The Museum of Contemporary Art invited them to contribute pieces to its "12 x 12" series, which spotlights emerging artists.
"We both have had definitely more opportunities," Ms. Olson says.
Art cropping up in unusual spaces "makes for a richer environment," says Ellen Ratchye-Foster, 45, of Evanston, whose corporate workplace has an in-house gallery. She recently bought a painting by co-worker Alex Menocal, 34, of Albany Park, after seeing it displayed there.
"It's an extra little treat, to wander around and feed your brain," she says.
Urbanology, 1997 - Chicago Sun Times
HighBeam Research
Title: OUT AND ABOUT
Date: August 29, 1997 Publication: Chicago Sun-Times
A new art exhibit takes a look at Chicago with fresh eyes. "Urbanology: paintings and Drawings of the City by J.S. Hindley and Mary Livoni" will be on display today through Sept. 26 at 1528 N. Milwaukee in Chicago.
The scrap yards and iron foundries surrounding Livoni's studio form her introduction to an investigation of scale and volume. The sheer vastness of these industrial areas is a constant reminder of what society produces, consumes and eventually discards. For more information, call (773) 342-7990.
Copyright 1997 Chicago Sun-Times
Title: OUT AND ABOUT
Date: August 29, 1997 Publication: Chicago Sun-Times
A new art exhibit takes a look at Chicago with fresh eyes. "Urbanology: paintings and Drawings of the City by J.S. Hindley and Mary Livoni" will be on display today through Sept. 26 at 1528 N. Milwaukee in Chicago.
The scrap yards and iron foundries surrounding Livoni's studio form her introduction to an investigation of scale and volume. The sheer vastness of these industrial areas is a constant reminder of what society produces, consumes and eventually discards. For more information, call (773) 342-7990.
Copyright 1997 Chicago Sun-Times
