Art Chicago 07.. Lots of wind.. in the Windy City
Well.. there is no chance of the Art Chicago'07 fair ever being call RED DOT.. cause we didn't see many red dots around. Dealers were all ready to ring the registers preview night.. but word was, that several major galleries had not even written a single sales ticket during the preview. Ouch!
For opening night.. which at most art fairs is generally a buying frenzy for every want-to-be MAO big time type collector running around with their shopping lists.. it was more.. They Came, They Saw.. They Drank themselves SILLY. Ah.. Those Chicago people.. they know how to party drink! Good thing I brought my mirror, enough condoms, some aspirin.
Honestly.. The Chicago MART building (photo #1) is amazingly big.. the fair looked impressive, the drinks were wonderful, they even had yummy free food at the preview opening. Clearly the people running Art 
Chicago did a huge job of bringing in tons of high quality galleries. They organized some great art events for VIP visitors, plus offered free services and transportation. They succeeded in making it all one HUGE ARTROPOLIS!! Except they forgot to lure in most of the real art collectors.
We at MAO had a great time... we might even go again next year.
The highlights of the weekend...
1. The 12 Course Diner with wine pairing at ALINEA.. a total WOW!
2. The private tour of the MCA by Museum Deputy Director Greg Cameron (MAO Hearts MCA). We loved the new Rudolf Stingel show.
3. The party at the home of important contemporary Art Collector Larry & Marilyn Fields..this night was complete with shaking the hand of a real Kennedy, and MAO getting made fun of by Photographer/Blogger Alec Soth.. Hey Alec. next time pick on a blogger your own size!
4. Seeing a NYC art dealer unhinge their jaw and swallow their young whole.. or in this case, eating a 20+ oz, Gi-Normous porterhouse steak at Joes Stone Crab of Chicago in under 15 mins..Yikes!
5. Too Cool for MAO Party at Nick Cave's amazing art filled apartment. We felt like such dorks among this uber cool crowd.. like that's something new!
6. Private Tour of the home of Daryl and Jeff Stokols, one super impressive art collection! We were surprised to learn that impressive people this nice and smart don't all live east of the Hudson river. Hmm.. maybe they grew up in NYC, and just moved away temporarily?
7. Walking around Chicago's Millennium Park Sat afternoon.. the new Pritzker Pavilion/Frank Gehry (photo #2) totally blew us away.. plus touching their Anish Kapoor Sculpture (Cloud Gate) was almost a sexual magical experience.
There were a few contemporary art finds.. but I'll leave that till tomorrow!
Next time, do the full 27 course flight at Alinea - it's absolutely amazing! If you're in Chicago at next year's fair, I'll join you!
Posted by: todd | May 02, 2007 at 04:15 PM
Next time, I'm going back to Charlie Trotters!
Posted by: Kenny T | May 03, 2007 at 12:44 PM
ALINEA looks amazing. Maybe a reason to visit Chicago again!
Posted by: dcfa | May 03, 2007 at 01:48 PM
¡Partying with Nick Cave? As in the ßåd Seed himself? If MAO isn't ubë® Çøø∫ I don't know who ıs¡
Posted by: Art Brute | May 03, 2007 at 11:55 PM
I had a great time too --- and sold a lot! Well, you never know. Check out my personal musings on my AChi Art Fair adventures if you'd like, here:
http://sharkforum.org/archives/2007/05/the_chicago_art_fair_artist_pr.html
Posted by: Mark Staff Brandl | May 09, 2007 at 07:59 AM