Enrico David at the MCA

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

The Wandering Art Historian has returned!

If you haven’t seen any blog posts as of late, know that I spent a bit of time away from the blog, wandering around the Windy City.  This was my second visit in less than a year and I can assure you… Chicago is a city FULL of ART!

Enrico David: Gradations of Slow Release was on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago while I was in town.  The image attached to this blog is a piece from the show – “Untitled,” 1999, wool and acrylic on canvas.  David used the figure, or a variation of the figure, repeatedly throughout the exhibition in very diverse media, including paintings, fiber arts, sculpture and drawings.  However, I did not care for most of the work.  This may have something to do with my personal distaste for the figure in art or the fact that a number of his pieces felt incomplete or poorly executed.  This, of course, is my own personal opinion and should not reflect poorly upon the artist.  Not everyone will like every piece of art.  This applies to art historians, as well.

I was drawn mostly to his works on canvas, whether painting or embroidery, like the piece attached to this post.  His large scale paintings had an “abstracted illustration” feel as faces formed the longer one viewed the piece.

For more information on this exhibition, please visit…

https://www.mcachicago.org/Exhibitions/2018/Ascendant-Artists-Enrico-David-Gradations-Of-Slow-Release

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.