Coinciding with the 2017 Chicago Architectural Biennial, and conceived for our street-level, public viewing space this September through January, artist Karen Reimer creates a site-specific installation that explores the architectural history of our Wicker Park Bucktown neighborhood in relation to the changing climate of the Midwest.
For nearly 20 years, the artist has constructed architectural interventions that reconsider modernist ideals and minimalist embodiment through the handmade and everyday. Reimer’s “on the wall” project at moniquemeloche is inspired by the damaged foundation of the nearby Holy Trinity Cathedral, designed by Louis Sullivan in 1903. One of only two churches ever realized by the architect, the building’s stucco facade is presently marred by cracks, caused by settling due to the major Midwest drought of the 2000s. Reimer will duplicate the cracks located on the north-facing wall of the cathedral onto the south-facing front windows of the gallery, which were also broken in 2009 (due to settling caused by the same drought) resulting in a mirror image crafted in gold leaf that is evocative of the church’s dome.
