Chicago --The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's (SAIC) Alumni Association proudly hosts the 15th annual BareWalls fundraising event for more than 1,000 of Chicago's major arts patrons, art and culture seekers, and civic and business leaders on Saturday, Oct 10 at 6 p.m. in the SAIC's critically acclaimed Sullivan Galleries, 33 S. State Street, 7th Floor. Each year, BareWalls raises more than $125,000 for the BareWalls Student Scholarship Fund. By participating in this exciting and exclusive event, guests benefit the educations of young artists and designers striving to join SAIC's growing list of noteworthy graduates.
BareWalls attendees will enjoy live music, hors d'oeuvres, dessert, beer and wine. A silent auction offers guests the opportunity to bid on works of art as they are being created. Opening bids for all BareWalls silent auction items start at $100, unless otherwise specified.
Each year, more than 100 SAIC alumni and faculty are selected by a jury of artists and critics to donate their time and talent for this special fundraiser event. Because some artists create original works of art on site throughout BareWalls, attendees obtain unique insights into their creative process. Other artists support the event by submitting previously completed artwork for a silent auction. A complete list of this year's participating artists will be available soon at www.saic.edu/barewalls09. Throughout the years, notable SAIC alumni such as Ellen Lanyon, Jonathan Green, Richard Hunt, LeRoy Neiman, Ed Paschke, Elizabeth Murray, Robert Natkin, Cynthia Rowley and Karl Wirsum have participated, painting alongside their fellow alumni in a show of spontaneous creativity.
The 2009 BareWalls Honored Guest Artist is Ángel Otero (SAIC Master of Fine Art, 2009), who moved to Chicago from Bayamón, Puerto Rico in 2003 to attend SAIC. His striking and colorful paintings are being enthusiastically received throughout the international arts community. Otero won a Member's Choice Award from the Union League Club of Chicago in 2007 and exhibited his work at Art Chicago in 2008 to critical acclaim from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Recently, he participated in the Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo in Spain, where his pieces sold out on the first day. In July 2009, Otero won the Leonore Annenberg Foundation Fellowship in the Performing and Visual Arts, to support the creation of new works in his newly opened, state-of-the-art studio in Brooklyn. Through Oct. 18, his painting "Exquisite" is being featured in the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago exhibition "Constellations: Paintings from the MCA Collection," alongside work by approximately 75 of the most important artists of the last sixty years such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Rene Magritte. In addition to the artwork he is donating to BareWalls, Otero's paintings will be featured at the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Art Fair in Miami on Dec. 2 and in a show at the Chicago Cultural Center in January 2010. He is currently represented by Kavi Gupta Gallery in Chicago and Walter Otero Gallery in Puerto Rico.
Otero credits SAIC professors and students with inspiring him to integrate his cultural and family background into the creation of artwork that pushes both his creative and analytical boundaries. As an artist of Hispanic ancestry from a difficult economic background, Otero's artwork is strongly influenced by his relationship and interactions with his family, especially his colorful grandmother and the items in and around her house in Puerto Rico. His figurative work focuses on memories of these items from the home, and finding ways to alter the narrative by painting in an abstract way. Otero often depicts scenes in bright colors, adding cloth and other material to the paint to create texture, and sometimes incorporating collage. Otero's artwork contains a strong sense of emotional immediacy, and it is the process of his work - and not necessarily the subject matter - that provides Otero with the inspiration to create new, exciting and cutting-edge works. In April 2009, Chicago Tribune Magazine named him one of "4 under 40 artists to watch."
Past BareWalls Honored Guest Artists include Ed Paschke (1996); Elizabeth Murray (1997); Robert Natkin (1998); Karl Wirsum (1999); Ellen Lanyon (2000); LeRoy Neiman (2001); Cynthia Rowley (2002); Jonathan Green (2003); Richard Hunt (2004); Donald Sultan (2005); Jack Beal and Sondra Freckelton (2006); Ellen Sandor (2007) and Robert Lostutter (2008).
BareWalls was founded in 1994 by a Volunteer Committee of School of the Art Institute of Chicago Alumni and is based on a concept proposed by an SAIC alumna, Annegret Reichmann. The endowed BareWalls Scholarship Fund was established in 1999 and has provided financial aid for more than 300 SAIC students over the last 14 years.
BAREWALLS TICKET INFORMATION
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago proudly hosts the 15th annual BareWalls celebration Saturday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. Proceeds benefit the BareWalls Student Scholarship Fund. Held in the SAIC Sullivan Galleries (33 S. State Street, 7th Floor), BareWalls provides guests with the unique opportunity to watch as more than 100 prominent SAIC alumni and faculty create original works of art over the course of one spectacular evening. All artwork is available for purchase through silent auction. The 2009 BareWalls Honored Guest Artist is Ángel Otero (MFA, 2009), an acclaimed painter receiving increased attention in the international arts community, who will donate a new work to BareWalls for auction. Tickets are $100 in advance, available at ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000, or $125 at the door (cash, check or credit card accepted). VIP tickets are $250, and include a premium champagne reception with hors d'oeuvres at 5 p.m., for one hour before the event opens to the general audience. For more information, visit www.saic.edu/barewalls09 or call (312) 899-1455.
ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
A leader in educating artists, designers, and scholars since 1866, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) offers undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate programs to nearly 3,000 students from across the globe. Located in the heart of Chicago, SAIC's educational philosophy is built upon a multidisciplinary approach to art and design, giving students unparalleled opportunities to develop their creative and critical abilities, while working with renowned faculty who include many of the leading practitioners in their field. SAIC's resources include the Art Institute of Chicago and its new Modern Wing, numerous special collections and programming venues provide students with exceptional exhibitions, screenings, lectures, and performances. For more information, please visit www.saic.edu.
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