Founded in May of 2017 by Charlie and John Cibula, Rubberneck serves as a studio, gallery, and residence on the near west side of Chicago (@ 2058 W. Chicago Ave.) Adding to the growing art hub of West Town Chicago, Putt-Putt in the City is the inaugural opening of the gallery.

The exhibition space is a commercial gallery that specializes in contemporary art; painting, photography, and fiber-based artworks. The newcomer gallery will promote the work of emerging local and underrepresented artists and seeks to strengthen local and global networks, adding to a tradition of growing independent, cooperative and artist-run spaces in Chicago.

Putt Putt in the City features the works of multidisciplinary contemporary artists Faith Wittrock and John Cibula curated by Lauren Iacoponi and Cassidy Kean.

The inaugural opening took place on Saturday, September 30th and was a huge success, with 12 out of 25 pieces sold on the opening night. Guests enjoyed food catered by El Metro Mexican Cantina and drinks provided by the gallery. Attendance reached well-over one-hundred guests, including fellow artists, collectors and well-wishers from the neighboring community.

Putt-Putt in the City

Negotiated Narratives | 2017

Each individual is responsible for constructing their own reality--bridging the gaps between new, unfamiliar information acquired daily, and their existing perception.

This exhibition addresses these psychological operations. Through specialized modes of rendering varied figures and incorporating drawing within paintings, these works examine the dual processes of reshaping observations to fit perception, and conversely, reshaping perception to accommodate new, challenging observations. Upon introduction to specific figurative scenes, paired with diagrammatic representations of psychological structures, viewers are invited to entertain the emotional ramifications accompanying a reformation of perception.

Diagrams charting separate phases of cognitive functions, or visualized structures of a dynamic psyche, directly discuss mechanisms involved in the incorporation of information gleaned from any worldly interaction into an individual’s understanding. Heavily altered sketchbook inclusions offer an example of a homogenized reality, blending perforated edges and disparate subjects--with systematic outlining and compression of space with a standardized latex paint--into a single string of consciousness.

Figure paintings exhibiting specific “scenes” prompt the viewers to assume the role of observer and participant in each piece. Whether or not concrete meaning can be gleaned from context information, these paintings simulate the experience of overcoming a dissociated view of an occurrence and conducting a narrative of relevance.

If willing, viewers may become participants of painted scenes, and attempt to negotiate the disconnect between empathized desires for intimacy, and their own objective observations. With this stage of engagement, Wittrock and Cibula aim to question relationships between actual life occurrences and the potential of perception.

The negotiation and reformation of individuals’ developing realities is a common thread within Wittrock and Cibula's work, driving them to further explore the continual affectation of past and current understandings and the in the way in which we weave personal truths.

-Press Release by Faith Wittrock (edited by Lauren Ike)

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