Upon walking into the Catherine Edelman Gallery, located on 300 W. Superior Street, viewers will recognize that the space is warm and quite inviting. Once they take a look at the artwork housed here, they might also recognize that variety of contemporary pieces are hand-selected by Catherine. She chooses work that she believes in, and the ultimate goal is for these pieces to be portrayed in museums. Currently, Kelli Connell’s “Double Life” series is being shown here. At first, the viewer simply sees two women in a variety of intimate or personal shots then might become uncomfortable or confused at the similarity between the two. Connell photographed one model in two positions to establish a relationship. This is to show the different levels of oneself, perhaps different personalities in various situations. The photos are so seamless that viewers don’t even realize that Connell used a stand-in for most of the shots and then edited them.
The Catherine Edelman Gallery is focused on contemporary photography; though this slightly differs from surrounding galleries, each location works together to show the public a variety of artwork. The age group of visitors varies, as the gallery attracts regular individuals in their forties or older, as well as younger groups. The gallery has a blog in order to reach out, along with a Twitter, Facebook, and regular email blasts. Furthermore, through public artist talks, the community can be more involved in this gallery. The gallery is artist driven and advocated, and the main priority is that work is sold primarily for the artists; it’s ensured that the gallery only does secondary marketing minimally. From the beginning, Catherine has constantly showed work, especially by traveling, which was a large factor of her success.
The Stephen Daiter Gallery has a dissimilar vibe, as the gallery is more simplistic and basic, perhaps to emphasize the work. This gallery is the only handling classic work, which is rather surprising for such a large city as Chicago, specializing in black and white vintage photography. Since its start, it has housed work already accepted by the markets due to the fact that the gallery can’t afford to be ‘cutting edge.’ Originally the gallery started with social documentary and experimental pieces. Like Edelman’s gallery, the Stephen Daiter Gallery also places an emphasis on giving back. They organize images, find the artist, and have scholars write about the work. Artists receive a lot of publication through interviews and catalogues. Unlike Edelman’s gallery, this gallery caters to a collecting base, one of the reasons so much effort is invested in attaining (sometimes rare) photographs.
Alex Webb’s “The Suffering of Light” is being exhibited at the Stephen Daiter Gallery. His work is illuminated by track lighting, and all of the pieces are one of two large sizes. They’re matted and none have a label, most likely to emphasize the content and unity of the collection. Webb has mastered capturing unsettling moments, using natural bold colors to attract attention to the images. Originally, Webb was a black and white photographer but was drawn to borderlines. One of the notable social documentaries Daiter’s gallery has contained, Webb’s photojournalistic approach is evident in that his work is purposeful and sheds light on the forgotten beauty of neglected foreign areas.