Dont Fret, one of Chicago’s most recognizable street artists, today announced the upcoming solo exhibition OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT, opening Saturday, Sept. 12 and running through Sunday, Sept. 27. Hosted in a currently unoccupied office space at 1412 W. Belmont Avenue, the exhibition will feature new works exploring the tropes, idiosyncrasies and subtle politics of office life.
Free and open to the public, visitors can make reservations via Tock at https://www.exploretock.com/dontfret. Capacity will be limited to 6 visitors at a time. Viewing hours will run 12 – 6pm on the second, third and fourth Friday, Saturday and Sunday of September. A press preview will take place Thursday, Sept. 10 from 5 – 9pm. Dont Fret’s recently released debut book, Dont Fret: Life Thus Far, will also be available for purchase.
The absurdities of life in 2020 are rich fodder for Dont Fret’s new body of work, which spans works on canvas to painted planters. The space that the exhibition inhabits, a for-the-moment unoccupied office while it’s former daily inhabitants work from home indefinitely, is its own commentary on the seemingly endless experience of limbo and uncertainty during a global pandemic. The artist’s prophetic style and wit shines through in the interactions of the characters he creates, whose unspoken thoughts become speech bubbles above their heads that no one would ever say aloud. The office’s storefront windows will be filled with a full-size painting of the erstwhile office workers, and those interested in leasing the modernized space can call 872-216-6781 for more details.
“This isn’t the office as it once was, but I think we are all yearning for something akin to a normal experience at this point,” said Dont Fret. “Given the current political and social climate I suggest you do not fret, and consider the opportunity for calmness and clarity inside this space.”
Dont Fret’s unpolished aesthetics paired with pithy one-liners are recognizable features of Chicago’s built environment, and also recently became a feature of Chicago’s Riverwalk with the installation The People in Your Neighborhood which includes 55 portraits of Chicagoans by the artist. Dont Fret’s work has also been painted and wheat-pasted on buildings around the world, from New York to Berlin, Miami, São Paulo, London and Helsinki. Don’t Fret: Life Thus Far, the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s work, showcases a decade of his street and gallery work and features memories and anecdotes from fellow artists and friends including Louder Than A Bomb founder Kevin Coval, artist Cody Hudson and rapper Vic Mensa.
In the 256-page monograph, the figures and texts of consummate wise guy Dont Fret skewer the obvious and reflect the normalized-until-numbed issues of the city back at the passerby experiencing them firsthand. While his work populates city streets worldwide, he remains a true Wicker Park native, digging into the character(s) of Chicago—the stew of down-and-out and up-and-up, the meatpackers, the artists, the street-wise, and the stupid. Featuring 216 color images, this monograph also includes a foreword by writer and Brooklyn Street Art co-founder Steven P. Harrington. Copies of the book will be available for purchase throughout the run of OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT.
Advanced registration, timed entry, face masks and observance of social distancing measures will be required of all visitors to the exhibition.
About Dont Fret
Dont Fret is an artist born, raised, and currently working in Chicago. In addition to his wheat pasting, his practice includes drawing, painting, sculpture, performance, and installation-based work both on the street and in the gallery. He has produced large-scale public murals in a number of American cities, including Chicago, New York City, Miami, San Francisco, Grand Rapids, and Denver, as well as internationally in such cities as São Paulo, London, and Helsinki. His work has been in a number of galleries nationally and internationally, with shows in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and London. Dont Fret’s work was also featured prominently in the Netflix original series Easy.