Pilsen Open Studios

I agree with the other reviewers. This continues to be the best art experience in the city as far as I’m concerned, and I’ve been coming to it since it started. It involves a seemingly endless array of stuff painted by people who have ideas and vision and who know how to draw and use color, in a place that has yet to be overrun with yuppies and cube condos. It’s so spread out geographically that the minibuses are really helpful once you get off the main 18^th street drag, and it’s fun just to ride around Pilsen/​Little Village with the friendly bus driver in a vehicle that has nostalgic overtones of junior high. I came back a couple of weeks later to buy a small and very beautiful painting by Eufemio Pulido. I work in River North and enjoy it, but in West Pilsen the art is actually affordable and sometimes a lot better. I even prefer it to the Coyote in its early 1990s heyday.

The weather was perfect, the mood light and the art mixed. I only knew about this because I had a friend showing in it, I’m so glad she let me in on this way cool event.
It ran on the same weekend as that other (now so over rated «studio walk») that it may easily have been overlooked. Where the Coyote is crowded and you have to pay to look at stuff you may not even like, the Pilsen is pleasantly open and the artists don’t charge you. In fact, they feed you and offer you wine. They’re happy to see you and pleased that you are taking the time to look at their work.
Tip: hold on to your cups! We found ourselves in studios with wine but no more cups. :(
Some artists are will get your attention and stay in your head longer than others, of course. Such is the nature of an open studio walk. I was completely enamoured with the work of Pablo Serrano (
) and quite impressed with Ricardo Santos Hernandez (
).
Serrano is clearly influenced by the works of Mexican muralists and sociopolitical events of the day. His giant works on canvas are powerful and moving, created for the general public of any background to read and understand. I was admiring one of his large pieces when I heard my name and turned around to find Jerry and Lili, mutual friends of another artist that I met the night before. They took me in and gave me a name for the day, Magaly (because it’s way cooler than Lisa), and we continued on with the walk.
Santos Hernandez juxtaposes traditional Mexican kitsch imagery with modern kitsch using oil and collage. His works on paper in graphite are haunting.
I also found a really cool space with a room available. If I could just sell my freakin’ house I might have moved in with this guy and been inspired enough to start painting again myself. I didn’t even ask him how he felt about dogs.

The open studio event/​art walk in Pilsen established and run by local artists, not a real estate development corporation. A once-​a-​year chance to see a huge amount of work by a diverse group of artists in the spaces where they work and show.
Maps are available at several locations, look for large numbers displayed in storefront windows. Free buses run the route of the tour, making it easy to get to the locations that might make for a long walk.
It’s a great opportunity to discover local artists, have the chance to talk to them about their work, catch an impromptu poetry reading, and even bring a piece home. I look forward to it every year.