In Gallery A, Chicago artist William Harper, www.wharper.com, Dutch artist Theo Ligthart, www.theoligthart.com, who lives and works in Berlin, and French artist Herbert Tilly each express their individual photographic version of “less is more” in MINIMAL. The stark images, in striking black, white, and shades of gray, engage the viewer in a study of simplicity.  While Harper, who is also an opera composer creates arias of ice, fence posts and reeds frozen in a pond, Tilly makes the least of things with linear compositions of painted lines on parking lots, speed bumps, and other assorted prosaic markings, transforming them into abstract paintings.  Ligthart takes photographs of recently painted-over graffiti, which take on the appearance of minimalist, tone-on tone abstract art.  He actually takes the concept a step further, printing his “deceptual art” on canvas and stretching it to mimic the paintings it accidentally resembles.

In Project Room 1, FLATFILEgalleries Chicago Artist Katy Keefe www.katykeefe.com, shows large-scale paintings on linen for the first time in GESTURAL, a word that aptly describes Keefe’s studied but seemingly offhand manner with form, line and texture. 

In Gallery B, TEXTUALLY SPEAKING showcases guest curator Andrew Thomas’s keen curatorial eye.  Thomas has gathered together four artists who create text-based art, and blended them into a remarkably unified exhibition.  Nate Larson, www.natelarson.com, writes with smoke and typewriter text in his wonderfully cryptic new work. FLATFILE artist Monika Wulfers, www.monikawulfers.com, pieces use crisply etched block lettering in mirror as a medium to tell a story from her memory.  Rachel Foster explores the strange phrases of a variety of signage and directives to create tongue-in-cheek statements, and Steve Panella www.stevepanella.com, physically uses books and other printed matter to create both 2D and 3D art.  All four artists live and work in Chicago home.

Project Room 2 houses SMALL BUT MIGHTY, a statement regarding the amazing quantity of punch tiny works can pack by three gallery artists; Scott Johnson, who fills his miniature, seemingly abstract canvasses with intense social commentary.  To get the full scope of Johnson’s work, the viewer must step back and wait for the impact.  Pablo D’Antoni, www.pablodantoni.com, on the other hand, fills his small panels with what basically amounts to color field painting, but then sets almost photo real figures down in the middle of all that space like solitary jewels.  To appreciate D’Antoni’s one-hair brush approach, the viewer must get up close and personal with them.  Lastly, Man Bartlett, www.manbartlett.com, whose stunning November premiere in the Library at FLATFILE, sold 13 pieces, presents a single large piece with perfect microscopic circles, dizzily swimming over the surface until they become little more than texture.

The space formerly known as The Library is now titled DEBUT for its role as a launching pad for new talent.  For its first show with its new name, FLATFILE presents LEAP, the stunningly cohesive and mature work of a bright young star, Korean artist and recent SAIC graduate Jessica Yang. The title of the show not only refers to Yang’s jump into the commercial gallery scene, but to the content of much of her work, as well, and celebrates Leap Year Day, which is the date of the opening.

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FLATFILEgalleries is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 11-6, or by appointment, and is a member of the Art Dealers Association of Chicago.  FLATFILEgalleries and the FLATFILEfoundation are home to two artist groups in residence, UniVerse of Poetry, www.universeofpoetry.com, and ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble) www.iceorg.org