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@oldfriendsgallery

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or, The River | 9.12 - 11.14
Opening Reception: 9.12 6-9pm
3149 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL, 60657

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Come visit "Aureate Inclusion" in "or, The River," on view now through November 14th.

Open Fridays and Saturdays, 12-6pm.
⭐️ Special Extended Hours Sunday, September 19th, 11am - 3pm ⭐️

old friends is pleased to present or, The River, new works by Martyna Alexander (b. 1989, Ann Arbor, MI) and Andrew Hayes (b. 1981, Tucson, Arizona). Hayes marries disparate materials; beginning with old, mass-printed books, he bends, contorts, and slices the pages, then anchors these compositions between subtly carved metal structures. Steel glints, not coldly, but with a seductive, supple quality.

ANDREW HAYES
Aureate Inclusion, 2025
Fabricated steel and book paper
17 x 10 x 2-1/2 inches

While you're in the neighborhood, check out our friends at ACRE @acreresidency (2921 N Clark) for Saffronia Downing: Call for Clay book launch, 3–4:30 PM; and KIOSK @kiosk.chi (3054 N. Sheffield) for "Slow Look: Wesley Willis," an art talk in collaboration with Intuit Art Museum, 1pm by @oldfriendsgallery

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a month ago

CXW OPEN HOURS

Old Friends will be open on Saturday, from 12-6pm, and on Sunday, from 11-3pm. Stop by to see “or, The River,” featuring works by Martyna Alexander and Andrew Hayes.

Pictured:

MARTYNA ALEXANDER

Does it Remind You of Berger Hill?, 2026
Acrylic and pigment stick on canvas
36 x 36 inches by @oldfriendsgallery

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a month ago

Martyna Alexander

Untitled, 2024
Acrylic, pastel and graphite on canvas
8 x 8 inches

Included in “or, The River” opening TOMORROW 9/12, 6-9pm, at 3149 N Halsted, and on view through November 14. Works by Martyna Alexander and Andrew Hayes.

Both artists allude to narrative, a suggestive presence of space or story, yet intentionally conceal definition. Their works speak to a symbolic dimension, a space where reference dissolves into abstraction. The sensory impression remains - a metallic taste, the scent of wet
grass, an auric residue. by @oldfriendsgallery

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a month ago

Andrew Hayes’ “Mucro” is included in “or, The River,” opening September 12th at old friends, 3149 N Halsted.

Mucro, 2025
Fabricated steel, book paper, and watercolor pigment
16 x 6-1/2 x 3 inches

Hayes marries disparate materials; beginning with old, mass-printed books, he bends, contorts, and slices the pages, then anchors these compositions between subtly carved metal structures. Steel glints, not coldly, but with a seductive, supple quality. Though the paper retains certain literary visual identifiers (marbled edges, tabs, the ghost of text), Hayes anonymizes all content - he responds solely to its material potential.

“or, The River” will be on view at old friends, 3149 N. Halsted St., Chicago, IL, from September 12th through November 14th. by @oldfriendsgallery

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a month ago

OPENING SEPTEMBER 12TH:

old friends is pleased to present "or, The River," new works by Martyna Alexander (b. 1989, Ann Arbor, MI) and Andrew Hayes (b. 1981, Tucson, Arizona).

Martyna Alexander’s dreamlike topography emerges through washes of acrylic, overlaid with marks suggestive of an unknowable order. Andrew Hayes’ formalistic sculpture pairs paper and steel, the two substances alchemized, mirroring one another in fluid motion. Both artists speak spatially, their works boundless, sensual, and sensory.

Pictured:
Martyna Alexander
Architectural Dream, 2026
36 x 45 inches
Acrylic and pencil on canvas by @oldfriendsgallery

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2 months ago

Michelle Chun is included in ReCentering, on view at old friends through August 21st. Please join us for a closing reception TONIGHT, 6-9pm, at 3149 N. Halsted.

MICHELLE CHUN
Midnight prayer, 2026
Soft Pastel on Canvas
14 x 11 inches

Silent wish #2, 2026
Soft Pastel on Canvas
16 x 20 inches by @oldfriendsgallery

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2 months ago

TONG PAN
Making Tracks...(65/150), 2026
Oil on canvas
20 x 30 inches

Included in ReCentering, on view at old friends through August 21st. Please join us at the gallery this Friday, the 21st, from 6-9pm for a closing reception. 3149 N. Halsted. by @oldfriendsgallery

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2 months ago

EMILY SCHROEDER WILLIS
Grotto, 2026
Earthenware, stoneware, found tile shard on wood panel
24-3/4 x 24-3/4 inches

On view now through August 21st in ReCentering.

Please join us for a closing reception on August 21st, 6-9pm, at old friends. 3149 N. Halsted. by @oldfriendsgallery

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2 months ago

Ava Igoe's "Fotel (Chair)" is on view now in ReCentering, at old friends through Friday, August 21st.

Fotel – the Polish word for chair or seat. Figuratively, it can also be used to mean post or position.

AVA IGOE
Fotel (Chair), 2026
Ceramic with underglaze, glaze, photo decals
52x27 x17 inches by @oldfriendsgallery

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2 months ago

Old Friends is pleased to present ReCentering, a secondary iteration of our inaugural Centering exhibition. Same artists, new works, same ethos of returning to purpose, place, and practice. Michelle Chun, Ava Igoe, Tong Pan, and Emily Schroeder Willis.

As M. C. Richards writes in her seminal 1964 text: “An act of the self, that’s what one must make. An act of the self, from me to you. From center to center.”

The Gallery will be open by appointment through August. Please join us for a celebratory reception June 22, 6-9pm.

Pictured:
AVA IGOE
Fotel (Chair), 2026
ceramic with underglaze, glaze, photo decals
52 x 27 x 17 inches by @oldfriendsgallery

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4 months ago

Old Friends is thrilled to announce our upcoming move to 3149 N. Halsted St. As we enter our third year of programming, we look forward to this significant expansion and are eager to welcome friends and collaborators to the new space. Join our email list for updates and announcements of new programming, continuing our mission of highlighting emerging and established artists focused on novel material applications.

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported our program since its inception. We will always think fondly of our first space in Roscoe, with its Chicago charm (and brick backed walls).

Hope to see you soon on Halsted St!

photo: @evanpjenkins taken in Lakeview, Chicago by @oldfriendsgallery

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6 months ago

We’re happy to share that Doug Fogelson’s “Signal/Noise” will be extended through November 30th! The installation is on view daily after sunset. Please email the gallery at office@oldfriendsgallery.com or send us a message to schedule a viewing, and hear the accompanying sound piece.

Please note that the gallery is closed for regular open hours during this installation. by @oldfriendsgallery

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a year ago