Though not technically at a gallery, this off-site exhibition organized by Kavi Gupta, in conjunction with Expo Chicago, presents works by five of the artists associated with the 1970s Chicago-based collective AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists), including Jeff Donaldson, Jae Jarrell, and Wadsworth Jarrell.
Spread across the Peninsula Chicago’s first and fifth floors, this modestly sized show is a love letter to the enduring love of married couple Jae Jarrell and Wadsworth Jarrell, who were on hand for a preview on Wednesday. Facing the hotel’s entrance is a stunning installation by Jae Jarrell in which a green garment from her former boutique Jae of Hyde Park collides with a sculptural element resembling a privacy screen. The work’s title, Frock You (1994), says it all, or as Jae elaborated, “Attitude is very important to me.”
Wadsworth Jarrell offers a sketch for his contribution to the hugely influential Wall of Respect (1967), which presented positive images of Black people on a building in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. (Sadly, the mural was destroyed when a fire burnt down the building in 1971.)
Nearby is the exhibition’s namesake I Am Somebody (1968), also by Wadsworth. In this vibrantly hued canvas a Black man looks down with his eyes closed; surrounding him are various configurations of the work’s title. As the wall text explains of the phrase’s simplicity: “It is a powerful reminder that the strength, love, dignity, self respect, and empathy for which AfriCOBRA stands is essential to our future, and to the better part of our human nature.”
