Gallery show helps launch young artists

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“JD at Logan,” 2010, archival digital photographic print by Matt Soria

‘Chicago: A
Resource of Young Artists’

InterContinental Chicago O’Hare, 5300 N. River Road, Rosemont

Opens Sept. 16

Free and open to the public 24-hours a day

(847) 544-5300

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Updated: August 22, 2011 9:43AM

La Grange-born Matt Soria loves to travel and share intimate moments of his travel experiences in his photography.

A collection of seven of his travel photographs featuring portraits of natives of South Africa, Guatemala, Midland, Texas, Chicago, and even his hometown of Antioch, are among 40 exhibits by seven recent art graduates on display at “Chicago: A Resource of Young Artists,” a show at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont. It will be open to the public 24-hours a day beginning Sept. 16. The artwork is for sale.

It’s young artists like Soria that Martha Schneider of Schneider Gallery, 230 W. Superior St., in Chicago and curator for the hotel, hopes to promote with this exhibit.

“We try to show young artists who just graduated from college, promote them and give them a forum to launch their work,” Schneider said. “Chicago has produced outstanding artists throughout the century and we want them to learn, study, live and stay in Chicago.”

Wide exposure

She believes that with the exhibition at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare which hosts so many out-of-town guests, young Chicago artists will get the exposure and recognition they need to have successful art careers within Chicago.

The exhibit also displays more than 200 pieces in the semi-permanent collection, featuring etchings, photography, drawings, paintings and sculpture installations by local, national and international artists positioned throughout the 100,000-square-feet of first floor space and front lobby of the hotel. The concierge does offer guided tours of the art space by appointment.

“A number of our guests enjoy and stay at hotel because of the art concept we have. It allows us to keep a changeable lobby design and when these rotate out, it gives the lobby and first floor a whole fresh look every nine months,” said Patrick Cook, hotel director of sales and marketing. The upcoming, rotating student exhibit will feature art from seven recent art graduates from Columbia College Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University.

Soria, who just graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in photography and a minor in black world studies, doesn’t know if photography will be in his long-term future, but for now, he likes to share his experiences.

“For me, they’re less formal portraits. They’re documenting an interaction or a moment I shared with the person,” said Soria, 22, though born in La Grange, grew up in Antioch and is now living in the Uptown neighborhood in Chicago. His studies at Columbia took him to South Africa in 2009 and later, he traveled to Guatemala to volunteer with an art organization teaching art to natives.

“I don’t like going up to people and snapping a picture. There’s some interaction with the person before I am comfortable taking their picture,” said Soria. All of his photos are square images, done in medium format and color film.

Knowing his subject

“They’re usually depicting a person with the way they’re interacting with the environment,” said Soria. “It’s really all about them. The camera I shot them with is big and bulky and I can’t hide it. It makes me slow down and focus a little more, and that sets me up to have interaction with the person, slow down and act and make something happen.”

Beyond the exhibition, Soria is preparing to start a new part-time job, co-teaching afterschool photography classes at Curie High School on Chicago’s South Side. He’s also shooting freelance corporate gigs in the city and suburbs.

“Long term, I don’t have any real concrete aspirations as a photographer, it’s secondary to me,” Soria said. “I just love experiencing people and best way I’ve done that is traveling.” His next big trip will be to Europe on his bike and with his camera.