Disparate Minds

Home
United States
Chicago, IL
Disparate Minds

An ongoing interdisciplinary project by Andreana Donahue and Tim Ortiz that discusses the work of self-taught artists in the context of contemporary art

Through their research, writing, talks, and curatorial projects, Donahue and Ortiz share insight informed by many years of experience in this field as practicing artists, progressive art studio managers, artist facilitators, and dedicated advocates. They spent 2015 as Artists-In-Residence in Alaska, creating work while implementing progressive facilitation methods and contemporary practices in an integrated studio in Juneau. Disparate Minds is the recipient of a Puffin Foundation Grant and AWB Harnisch Foundation Grant. Andreana Donahue is a multimedia installation artist and independent curator originally from Chicago. Donahue received a BFA in painting and sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has organized and exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in Alaska, California, Chicago, Nevada, South Carolina, and Miami. She was a recent Artist-In-Residence at 100 West in Texas and previously at the Vermont Studio Center. Donahue is also currently an art handler and vocational trainer for adults with Autism. Tim Ortiz is a minimalist painter and writer from New York who received a BFA from Elmira College. Ortiz began working with adults with disabilities in 2008, spending 2 years as a case manager for a job training program before working with Donahue in a progressive art studio for eighty artists in Nevada. Ortiz has also developed art programming for Special Education and High School students with Autism, and spent one year creating and providing weekly art-making sessions for seniors in a psychiatric hospital. He is currently a certified nurse aid and a home and community-based personal care provider for adults with developmental disabilities. Donahue and Ortiz have maintained creative and professional collaborations since 2011.

05/27/2020

Congrats to our friend Marvin Young! Young's portraits and urban landscapes, both imagined and remembered, capture Chicago's South Side in his singular voice.

The Chicago Artists Coalition (CAC) will award $61,000 in unrestricted grants to twenty-eight artists during its 2020–21 cycle. The sum is more than five times the amount that the organization distributed only two years ago. Twenty-five of the awardees were selected for $2,000 grants from the coal...

05/21/2020

Our review of Dance, Dance, Dance guest curated by Tyson Reeder is up now! Featured artists: Marcel Alcalá — Peter Barrickman — Brian Belott — Lizzi Bougatsos — Aria Carter — Jacob Ciocci — Russell Copenharve — Nikole Heusman — Matthew Higgs — Jess Holzworth — Hector Jones — Aaron Kleeblatt — Becky Kubica — Sadie Laska — Bill Lilly — Lawrence M. — Morgan Mandalay — Mike Marino — Christianne Msall — Sanou Oumar — Tim Presley — Ed Rawski — Scott Reeder — Kira Scerbin — Nicholas Schutzenhofer — Tim Stone — Spencer Sweeney — Jean Wilson — Quinn Zenner— Christina Zion

Pulling from Arts of Life artists, the broader contemporary art community, as well as his personal collection, Tyson Reeder has assembled an exhibition representing a diverse range of concepts and approaches. The resulting installation is bright and lively - an exuberant arrangement of individualist

01/23/2020

Check out our essay on Marlon Mullen's historic inclusion in the Whitney Biennial, in addition to being selected as a recipient of a SECA award and exhibition at SFMOMA!

Marlon Mullen's Monumental Year January 22, 2020 Marlon Mullen, Untitled, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 36”, all images courtesy NIAD Marlon Mullen, Untitled, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 48” Mullen at the opening of the Biennial. At the beginning of last year we recognized Marlon Mullen....

01/07/2020

Check out our interview with Sophia Cosmadopoulos and Anna Schechter, co-founders of the brand new space SUMMERTIME in Brooklyn.

SUMMERTIME , the latest forward-thinking initiative spearheaded by arts professionals coming from progressive art studios, opened on December 13th in Brooklyn. In addition to inclusive gallery programming, this non-profit collective aims to cultivate a communal space for contemporary artists with de

12/11/2019

Drawing inspiration from diverse interests - including animals and the environment, identity, family history, and civil rights activism, Dorrie Reid’s disarming works reflect a joyful approach to art-making. Endlessly imaginative, her artistic practice becomes a natural extension of memory and personal experience.

11/06/2019

Our essay on the fantastically inventive work of William Tyler is up now; Tyler has maintained a creative practice at Creative Growth's Oakland studio for over forty years.

Generated through interweaving narratives from the news, historical events, his imagination, and personal memories, William Tyler’s fantastically inventive drawings are abundant with distinctive imagery ranging from the everyday to the magical. Having maintained a creative practice in Creative Gro...

08/12/2019

Our essay on Chicago-based artist Dave Krueger is up now; Krueger has maintained at creative practice at the Arts of Life's Chicago studio since 2007.

"I made that with my own two hands and my fingers are twinkling and my fingers say yes and my fingers know how to talk. I’m still working on it. This painting I made is Return of the Jedi and the Jedi Master. The master is the head boss of Darth Vader. He was Luke Skywalker’s father. I’m not evil like Darth Vader. I want to see what Darth Vader really looks like under his mask. I think he looks hideous, he’s all flesh and bones. I want to make sure he turns into bionics."

Heavily driven by an ongoing fascination with pop culture, Dave Krueger’s maximalist aesthetic is defined by dense systems of geometric shapes and asymmetrical grids. Between fantastical narrative passages, the surface is populated with symbols, numbers, occasional text fragments, and numerous dec...

05/31/2019

Our recent conversation with LA-based artist Cara Levine is up now. Levine talks about working with numerous progressive art studios on the West Coast, how this has impacted her own practice, Don Quixote, and much more.

Our recent discussion with Cara Levine, an LA-based conceptual artist who has been involved with several West Coast progressive art studios in various capacities since 2011.

03/18/2019

Our essay on Hugo Rocha and his drawings of telenovela stills is up now.

Based in suburban LA, Hugo Rocha creates uncanny works demonstrating his particular sense of drama and ongoing interest in telenovelas, re-imagining still images from favorite episodes in dynamic and engaging ways. Rocha’s fascinations are translated into portraits of cartoonish characters within ...

02/22/2019

Our review of two solo exhibitions is up now - new drawings by Helen Rae at The Good Luck Gallery and recent paintings by Marlon Mullen at JTT in New York. Helen Rae continues through Sunday in LA.

This year begins with stunning solo exhibitions featuring two of this movement’s greatest contemporary artists - Helen Rae at The Good Luck Gallery in Los Angeles and Marlon Mullen at JTT in New York.

02/04/2019

Over the past 35 years, Oakland-based artist Kerry Damianakes has amassed an extensive body of unconventional and playful works directly informed by her desire to reproduce the everyday.

Kerry Damianakes January 30, 2019 Chocolate Cake Vanilla Frosting for Dessert, oil pastel on paper, 25” x 15”, 2015 Tomato Noodle Soup For Lunch, oil pastel on paper, 19” x 24”, 2011 Eggplants, oil pastel on paper, 22” x 30”, 2014 Hamburger Sandwich, oil pastel on paper, 22” x 30”, 1...

Address

Chicago, IL

Website

http://www.disparateminds.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Disparate Minds posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Disparate Minds:

Shortcuts

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Chicago?