The national and international galleries exhibiting in Art Chicago this year all display work not previously seen here, but many of the 31 Chicago galleries in the fair are also unveiling art that’s unknown hereabouts–often because it has just arrived. Among the strongest pieces making their debuts are four wonderfully supple color-field works by Jim Hodges at Rhona Hoffman (booth C211). They’re created by drenching paper pulp with raw pigment and using a press to transform it into a sheet of paper; the colors seem at once transparent and luminous. An exhibit of Howard Smith ‘s abstract paintings, the Chicago native’s first one-person show here, just opened at Aaron Galleries, but at almost six feet high the largest, Springindeepsea, can be seen only at Aaron’s booth at the fair (D144). Its subtly repeating blue micro brush strokes create an almost hypnotic texture that, by its very size and density, reflects Smith’s longtime interest in exploring the nature of painting.
