For a long time, all I could do was surrender.

Marissa Perel
July 1-31, 2011
Opening Reception, July 23, 5-8pm
On view July 23-31, by appointment 312.593.8691

Perel will open her solo show, For a long time, all I could do was surrender. The show will feature photography, writing, video and performance made in collaboration with artist Oliverio Rodriguez. The artists will expose their collaborative relationship occupied within the context of performative submission. Their work probes surrender in its myriad definitions; 1 a : to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand b : to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another 2 a : to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner b : to give (oneself) over to something (as an influence). Through mutually generated texts on childhood memories, romantic love, the limitations of the body and sexual abandon, the artists create landscapes of distanced roleplay, in which they perform with/for one another live and for the camera.

MARISSA PEREL is a performance artist, writer and independent curator. Her performance
work is rooted in the somatic experience as a mode of expression for writing, dance,
painting, sculpture, photography or video. She sees the body as a communicative tool
where pain, shame and trauma are sources of dialogue. Her performance, text and video
work have been shown at LVL3 Gallery, Links Hall, A + D Gallery, MCA, Chicago Cultural
Center, Epiphany Church, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Elastic Arts and Outerspace Studio
(Chicago, IL), The Chocolate Factory Theater, Dance Theater Workshop and Judson
Memorial Church, (NY), D.I.V.O Institute (Czech Republic), Medium Gallery (Slovakia).
“Gimme Shelter,” Perel’s column on performance, recently launched on the Art21 Blog. Her
writing can also be found in Bad At Sports and Time Out. She received her BA from the
Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University and MFA from the School
of the Art Institute of Chicago.

OLI RODRIGUEZ is an interdisciplinary artist working in video, photography and
performance. His projects conceptually intersect and dialogue within consent, queerness,
childhood and sexuality. Oli has screened, performed, lectured, curated and exhibited at
institutions and museums such as, Schwarzer Kanal, Berlin, Germany, Smart Museum,
University of Chicago, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Chicago IL, X Initiative Gallery, New York, NY,
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, The Swimming Pool Project, Chicago, IL and Nightingale,
Chicago, IL. Currently, he is a part of the Photography Department faculty at the School of
the Art Institute of Chicago. He received his BA from DePaul University and MFA from the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Project Summary and past events
Marissa Perel will utilize the exhibition space of Spoke as a space to consider the body.
Her performance work is rooted in the relationship between somatic experience as a mode of
expression and interdisciplinary art-making. She is interested in the intersection of
movement and writing in performance venues, on-line platforms and in this instance, the
gallery. As a performance artist, writer and independent curator, Perel believes in the
potential of the artist as world-maker, and she will provide an aperture into the
interconnectivity of these roles for the month of July.

On July 10, 2-4 PM Perel and artist, R.E.H Gordon, will host a reading circle of Being
Watched: Yvonne Rainer and the 1960’s by Carrie Lambert-Beatty. The reading circle is open
to the public, and topics in the book will be used as for general discussion of what makes a
dance, and the history and future of dance in contemporary art.

On July 16, 7-9 PM Perel will guest curate an evening for the literary series Red-Rover,
entitled: “Magnetic Affinities & Altered Relations.” The event is open to the public and will
feature text-based performances, sound and video works that channel haunting
discontinuities between identity,place, desire and visibility by San Francisco-based artist Jai
Arun Ravine, and local artists Zihan Loo and Oliverio Rodriguez.

On July 23, 5-8 PM, Perel will open her solo show, For a long time, all I could do was
surrender. The show will feature photography, writing, video and performance made in
collaboration with artist Oliverio Rodriguez. The artists will expose their collaborative
relationship occupied within the context of performative submission. Their work probes
surrender in its myriad definitions; 1 a : to yield to the power, control, or possession of
another upon compulsion or demand b : to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in
favor of another 2 a : to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner
b : to give (oneself) over to something (as an influence). Through mutually generated texts on
childhood memories, romantic love, the limitations of the body and sexual abandon, the
artists create landscapes of distanced roleplay, in which they perform with/for one another
live and for the camera. Perel’s show runs from July 23-31 and is open by appointment:
312-593-8691.

Project Resident, Christopher Tourre | Public Brewery

April 28th - May 31, 2011


Closing Reception
Friday, May 27 - 6:00pm - 9:00pmThe final exhibition will display the development and accumulation of artifacts, materials, documentation and research within the brewery, as well as a tasting of all drinks made throughout the term of the project.

PUBLIC BREWERY will unite the general public of Chicago with urban foragers, gardens, and local food experts to create a temporary and experimental brewery inside of Spoke's Residency Project Space. Throughout the length of the project, members of the community will contribute ideas, stories, materials and local ingredients to create beers and sodas inside the brewery. Weekly workshops will also be open to the public throughout... the length of the residency teaching beer and soda-making techniques. As the residency builds, so will the brewery, the accumulation of ingredients/equipment, and most importantly, stories. The final exhibition will display the development and accumulation of artifacts, materials, documentation and research within the brewery, as well as a tasting of all drinks made throughout the term of the project.

WORKSHOPS (Open to Public, limit to 25 participants) Workshops will demonstrate to the public home-brewing techniques. Participants are encouraged to bring an ingredient they have grown or purchased locally that they feel would be an excellent ingredient within a beer or soda. Local urban agriculturalists will also be present at each workshop to facilitate discussions on local food production:

Saturday, April 30th, 3-8 PM (Beer, 21+)
Saturday, May 7th, 3-8 PM (Beer, 21+)
Saturday, May 21st, 12pm-3pm (Soda, Open to families and children)

OPEN STUDIO BREWING (Open to public to come and go) Members of the public are free to stop into the Spoke Residency Project Space to informally chat with artist Christopher Tourre and learn more about brewing practices as he brews specialty batches of beer.

Friday, May 6th, 6-10 pm
Friday, May 20th, 6-10 pm

BIOGRAPHY
Over the past three years his practice has transformed from a sculptor and video-maker to, as he describes it, a social aggregator. Some of his most recent projects involved raising chickens in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen and delivering the harvested eggs to local residents. In 2010, he and his studio partners, Unit 2, created a public workspace at the MCA Chicago, which centered on conversations, designs, and construction of furniture pieces made from leftover scraps of demolished Chicago houses. In 2010, he also began the Artisan Beer Series, a project aimed at entwining communities, stories, personal narratives, and education through the creation and distribution of beer and soda-making.

Tourre often finds alternative outlets to display his work, but has been featured in various spaces in Pittsburgh and Chicago including Pittsburgh Film Kitchen, Gallery 400, Eel Space, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. He lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.

For more information regarding this project, contact christopher@christophertourre.com

Please see Project Resident Blog for details and updates.

Erin Thurlow

OH WHY DID I DID IT MY WAY
The IPhone Monologues:
(We Have) Hard Drives/ The Prison Planet.
A work in progress.
by Erin Thurlow

Wednesday, April 27th, 6-8pm

Erin Thurlow's new performance/ social sculpture, set in the dystopian near-present, incorporates aspects of action poetry, prop-art and an interactive comedy work-shop. Erin Thurlow is a sculptor and the April artist in residence at threewalls. He will open his studio as part of the threewalls Community Supported Art launch, April 30th, 6-9pm.

Supported in part with funds from the Toronto Arts Council.

More information about Erin Thurlow: erinthurlow.blogspot.com
Three walls: http://three-walls.org/calendar/2011/04

UPDATE: WORK IN THE WOODS, Project Residency

PRIVATE VIEWING

Appointments available March 27 - 30

Hello Friends:

Contrary to earlier publicity, there will be no separate invitations going out for private viewing before the public reception. I’m taking all the time between now and March 26 to “set the stage” for DISCIPLINE’s BEARbrand concept presentation. The reception itself will act as an invitation to a more private collaborative viewing. My priority is building real relationships between viewers and characters, which is the central notion behind the “slow play” format. Get to know DISCIPLINE in the real time processes of BEARbrand-ing!

For friends who are unable to attend the public reception, consider this your invitation to a private viewing. Private viewings will take place by appointment, March 27 – 30. You may make appointments at the reception or by contacting me directly. Email at gvg.hinge@gmail.com or telephone (864) 247.8207.

Looking forward to performing for you.

With enduring esteem,

G. Vincent Gaulin

Spoke Project Resident

Writing as SCARCITY

Performing as DISCIPLINE BEAR