ARTIST IN WHEELCHAIR'S SPIN ON ART, DISABILITY & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

ARTIST GARY CANNONE RETURNS TO CHICAGO FOR A SOLO EXHIBITION THAT USES PARODY AND SLAPSTICK TO REFLECT ON DAILY LIFE IN A WHEELCHAIR

MANET/DEGAS: Gary Cannone at Compound Yellow

CHICAGO — Compound Yellow is pleased to present the exhibition "Manet/Degas", works by Los Angeles artist Gary Cannone. “Manet/Degas” opens Saturday, March 23 from 3:00 - 6:00pm at the independent art space Compound Yellow located at 244 Lake Street in Oak Park. The exhibition closes on May 4; a closing reception is TBD.

“Few artists are as well-equipped to meditate on the relationship between wheelchairs and doormats as Gary Cannone.” — overheard

Gary Cannone employs substitution, parody, props, and slapstick to create an art that embraces physical and conceptual deflection. Cannone, born in 1964, grew up in an immigrant household on Chicago’s northwest side in the 1970s and was fixated on comedy: Candid Camera, Norm Crosby, Mad Magazine, Tom & Jerry, Carol Burnett, and Andy Kauffman. The first fine art objects which interested him — such as Dada, Eva Hesse’s Hang Up, or Rauschenberg’s Erased De Kooning — had a structural playfulness similar to the comedy he loved. 
Cannone’s early work included customer surveys, subliminal messaging, how-to books, libraries within libraries, conversion charts, and phone trees. In 2013, Cannone was diagnosed with a neurological illness which affects his cognitive function, manual dexterity, and ability to walk. His counterintuitive response has been to convert this into a boon to his art practice, crafting a methodology inspired by the phenomenological experience of his disability and converting his daily stumbling blocks into a generative force. His embroideries, doormats, furniture, receipts, and overhead objects focus our attention on obstacles in communication and movement, not as a source of frustration but as space for a kind of poetry.

Additonal Links to Cannone’s work and reviews:

EXHIBITION DETAILS:

Artist: Gary Cannone
Title: “Manet/Degas”
Opening: March 23, 2024, 3:00 - 6:00pm
Closing: May 4; a closing reception is TBD

COMPOUND YELLOW

#244 Lake Street
Oak Park, Il, 60302

MEDIA INQUIRIES: Elizabeth Burke-Dain, eburkedain@gmail.com, 773.368.4928

For more information about this exhibition and Compound Yellow, phone Laura Shaeffer, Compound Yellow director, at 773.710.5464 or email info@compoundyellow.com