Kim and I recently went to Chicago to see the inaugural exhibition at The Bike Room, a brand new “artist-run project space.” Our niece, Nicole Pérez was the featured artist – her art is truly special.

Nancy Lu Rosenheim, the artist (and very nice person) who operates the alternative space, says:

Pérez’s work unearths those exquisite moments of caprice and gentle cataclysm that one experiences when fully immersed within the here and now. In these pieces, the here and now is captured via the polymorphous pleasures of cajoling, twisting, cutting, ripping, squishing, layering, gluing, and utterly confounding form and color through collage and paint. These actions enacted upon Pérez’s seemingly commonplace studio materials lead to that fleeting and inestimable quality of life that makes her aesthetic endeavoring ineluctably steadfast and beautiful: pure joy.

We also had the pleasure of meeting Ruyell Ho, whose art will be exhibited soon at The Bike Room – had a most stimulating conversation with him. That weekend was pure joy, thank you.

(prior discussion)