IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE Opens Tonight at Chicago Artists' Coalition

By Julia Weeman in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 13, 2012 3:20PM

Spill, digital drawing on photo rag paper, 2012, 20" x 16"

BOLT residents Sarah Belknap and Joseph Belknap present IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE, a solo exhibition of new sculptural and two-dimensional work that tries to make sense of human relationships with nature and with one another. The opening reception is 6-9 p.m. this evening in the BOLT project space at Chicago Artists’ Coalition in the West Loop.

Sarah and Joseph Belknap are married and have been working collaboratively as artists for the past four years. Their work has shifted in medium from working with natural elements such as woods and fibers to industrial products such as fiberglass and plastic.

IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE is “a boasting match versus nature, where human exaggerations loom large.” The work delves deeper than the bravado that is evident at first glance. A closer look reveals how fragile the human ego can be and how vulnerable we are in the face of nature.

Part of the show is a child’s playground swing, The leavings of the frozen sea (2012), which is rusted with age and suspended in a block of ice. The work alludes to the passing of time, nostalgia, and momentum confined by nature.

The Belknaps' work has been shown in Chicago at Zolla Lieberman, Betty
Rymer Gallery, Sullivan Galleries, The Chicago Cultural Center, OhNoDOOM! and the Revolving Door Gallery. Outside Chicago, they have shown work at RAID Projects in Los Angeles and Flux Space, Nexus Gallery and Penrose Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sarah and Joseph have been Artists in Residence at OxBow School of Art, Harold Arts and Cliff Dwellers. Currently they teach at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and are BOLT Residents at Chicago Artists Coalition.

IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE runs through May 3 in the BOLT Project Space at Chicago Artists’ Coalition, located at 217 N. Carpenter in the West Loop. For more information visit chicagoartistscoalition.org. Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturday by appointment.