All Photos By Gail
Chicago is a fabulous city and home to one of the most beautifully curated art museums (The Art Institute) in the world. That said, it definitely does not enjoy a socially vibrant art scene that is equivalent to that of NYC — with its vast number of galleries in Chelsea, the LES, Midtown and Uptown. While the NYC art scene hosts a weekly (Thursday) night of opening receptions in galleries across the city, Chicago has one such evening per month, which is called Second Friday. Taking place in the Chicago Arts District (also known as Pilsen) Second Fridays Gallery Night is a monthly evening of opening receptions at the galleries and artists’ studios along South Halsted Street. If you’re a tourist and have the chance to attend Second Fridays only once, the one studio you must absolutely must not miss is House of The Apocalypse.
More of a studio showcase than a traditional gallery, House of The Apocalypse is where you’ll find an impressive and visually engaging collection of wildly embellished Sci-Fi-themed, mannequin-based sculptures known as the Warriors of the Apocalypse, which are designed and compiled from found objects by artist and gallery owner Brian Sperry.
The Warriors have a backstory, courtesy of Sperry, as follows:
The year is 3095, a post-apocalyptic world. Man and machine unite to form a hybrid super soldier to fight against tyranny and oppression perpetrated by governments, corporations, and banks that have destroyed the planet. The Warriors spread truth and light in a futuristic world where humanity is fighting to survive. In the darkness, we are light. We will stand and fight. We are the Warriors of the Apocalypse!
Sperry also offers his Artist’s Statement:
The visual elements of my figurative sculptures takes abstract human forms and gives them an acid bath in the surreal. The compositions attempts to displace the viewer and prompt them to question their own cognitive dissonance that is a pervasive part of what is destroying our society. The reconceptualization of mechanical found objects and the human form exudes hybridism and trans-humanism, the next wave of human evolution
This juxtaposition of objects and the body attempts to give the viewer an interactive experience and encouragement to take a stand against imperialist scum who are determined to act as slave masters over the entire planet. Each figure is a Warrior embodying specific aspects of the spirit of revolt against the system. My work can me summed up in one slogan: Death to Tyranny!
House of The Apocalypse is located at 1908 South Halsted Street, Chicago. It is open to the public every Second Friday of the month from 6-10 PM and by appointment. A suggested donation of a few dollars is requested to photograph the sculptures. Worth it.
