Chicago Portraits
1993 - Present
For Chicago Portraits, the thought and activity, “how and where we engage and intersect in this existence to discuss art and life while making some pictures,” has long been a fascination. Upon arriving in the city in 1993 I lived in a warehouse not zoned for living along the south branch of the Chicago River near Chinatown. Here I began photographing artists, musicians, and casual passersby who I saw as distinctive. Chicago can be an ideal place for creative spirits as it grants room for multiple, intersecting aesthetics and a visual vocabulary that remains responsive to a variety of dialogues. Against a backdrop of industrial and modern Midwestern landscapes one finds large, gallery-like spaces, suburban garages and spare rooms, and makeshift corners of living spaces set up for art production. Practitioners may be wholly untrained, fledgling explorers, or highly educated artists and their work may be found pasted on street hoardings, in online zines, in dank warehouses converted for temporary display, or served up with wine and cheese in pristine galleries. Practitioners can enquire into new standards of formalism, reflect social and political issues, explore identity and personal experiences, or everything all at once. The advocates and types of inquiry are as diverse as the communities that inhabit the city. In its simplest form, the intent of this area of my practice is to illustrate the range of individuals and their uniqueness. Collected here are examples from over 400 artist interview and portrait sessions produced since the early 1990s.
Jim Terry, cartoonist, 2024
Aya Nakamura, artist, 2023
John H. White, photojournalist & teacher, 2022
Monika Plioplyte, performance artist, 2022
Oli Watt, printmaker & sculptor, 2024
Miguel Cortez, artist & curator, 2023
Kun Zhao, printmaker, 2024
Jeffrey A. Wolin, photographer, 2023
Zehra Khan, fiber and performance artist, 2021
Nick Drnaso, cartoonist, with Olive, 2018
Toshiye Yokota, fiber artist, 2024
Daniel Warren Johnson, cartoonist, 2016
Jill Birschbach, ceramicist, 2023
Power the Bike Man, 2022
Kioto Aoki, artist and filmaker, 2023
Javier Jasso, sculptor, 2022
Couteau Sang, musician, 2016
Glenn Wexler, designer & new media artist, 2023
Orkideh Torabi, painter, 2018
Sam Jaffe, artist, 2023
Jno Cook, historian, inventor & sculptor, 2002
Onyimeabasi Udoh, artist and designer, 2021
Milo Christie, artist and curator, with Bug, 2023
Maggie Hubbard, painter, 2022
Marc LeBlanc, gallery owner, 2019
Sabrina Raff, new media artist, 2008
Kai-duc Luong, filmmaker, 2007
Elana Marte Adler, artist, 2019
Chris Ware, cartoonist, 2013
Lee Blalock, art & technology artist, 2016
Ivan Brunetti, cartoonist, 2014
Mia Capodilupo, sculptor & Director of Ignition Projects, 2022
Max King Cap, artist, 2003
Jan Tichy, photographer, 2014
Barbara Crane, photographer, 2014
Assaf Evron, photographer, 2014
Tony Lewis, artist, 2014
HOGG, musicians, 2017
Ji Su Kwak, artist, 2019
Sabina Ott, artist and educator, 2014
Ono: Da Wei, P. Michael Ono, Connor Tomaka, Travis Travis Travis, Ben Baker Billington, Rebecca Ono, and Brett Naucke, musicians, 2016
Kim Piotrowski, painter, 2022
Paul Erschen, artist and musician, 2014
Claire Ashley, new media sculptor, 2014
Tim Seeley, cartoonist and writer, 2014
Laleh Motlagh, artist, with Honey, 2023
Karl Wirsum, artist, 2014
Esau McGhee, artist, 2015
Carol Jackson, artist, 2014
Willie Kohler, painter, 2004
Dan Devening, artist and gallery owner, 2015
Anya Davidson, cartoonist, musician and writer, 2015
Lane Milburn, cartoonist and musician, 2015
Huong Ngo, artist, 2018
Amina and Wesley Kimler, painter, 2008
Robert Kotchen, musician and writer, 2001
Olivia Zubko, sculptor, 2022
Robert Burnier, artist, 2014
Phyllis Bramson, painter, 2014
Matt Siber, photographer and sculptor, 2014
Maggie Crowley, artist, 2023
Matthew Girson, painter, 2014
Cortney Lederer and Maise, art consultant, 2022
Neal Vandenbergh, painter, 2019
Drummer Boy Darius, musician, 2023
Martin Garcia, painter, and Sarah Guidone, social worker, 2009
Boris Ostrerov, artist, 2019
Dan Sullivan, furniture designer and musician, and Edra Soto, artist, 2017
Mary Lou Zelazny, painter, 2022
Steve Kraków, musician, 2014
Pablo and Azadeh Gholizadeh, fiber artist, 2022
Luftwerk, Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero, multi-media artists, 2014
Millicent Kennedy, artist & curator, 2023
Scott Stack, painter, 2009
Alison Ruttan, artist, 2016
Maria and Ed Marszewski, Impresario and Founder of Lumpen & Co-Prosperity Sphere, 2019
Richard Hull, painter, 2016
Kelly Reaves, painter, and Gator, 2023
Anna Kunz, artist, 2014
Dehd: Eric McGrady, Jason Balla, and Emily Kempf, musicians, 2016
Allison M. Glenn, curator, 2014
Candida Alvarez, painter, 2016
Kathie Shaw and Corey Postiglione, painters, 2017
Jason Lazarus, photographer, 2007
Mika Horibuchi and Dan Rizzo-Orr, artists, 2015
KS Rives, printmaker, 2008
Tom Burtonwood and Holly Holmes, artists and gallery owners, 2005
Elnaz Javani, fiber artist, 2022
Tony Balko, video artist, 2014
Iris Bernblum, video artist, 2014
Matt Davis, publisher @ Perfectly Acceptable, 2023
Mike Norton, cartoonist, 2014
Liza Jo Eilers, artist, 2023
Lou Mallozzi, sound artist, 2014
Olea Nova, musician and sculptor, 2015
Matthew Allison, cartoonist, 2023
Lise Haller-Baggesen, artist, 2015
Ryan Browne, cartoonist, 2014
Zachary Weber, artist and curator, 2023
Aimée Beaubien, photographer, 2015
Duncan MacKenzie, artist and pundit, 2009
Louise LeBourgeois, painter, 2023
Tim Lowly, painter, 2024
Deb Sokolow, artist, 2015
Elijah Burgher, painter, 2015
Darrell Roberts, painter, 2015
Shir Ende, artist, 2022
Steven Carrelli, painter, 2023