PRESS RELEASE
Contact: John Coyle Steinbrunner
jc@jcsteinbunner.com
Bucktown Winebar Pairs Up with Two Local Artists to Bring a Night of Art and Cuisine
The Bluebird Salon Series Launches Sunday, Oct. 18
Chicago • The Bluebird, a Bucktown wine bar, pairs up with two local artists, Mary Livoni and John Coyle Steinbrunner, to bring you four nights of food, beverages and art with The Bluebird Salon Series: "Picture This Like This: Paintings by Mary Livoni and John Coyle Steinbrunner" starting Sunday, Oct. 18.
The series will take place at Bluebird located at 1749 N. Damen Ave. starting at 7 p.m. with aperitifs. At $30 a person, individuals will receive a night of family-style food/wine/beer pairings, and a short presentation from Tom MacDonald, owner of Bluebird.
The first event launches with the topic "Picture This Like This: Artwork by Mary Livoni and John Coyle Steinbrunner." The series will take place on Sundays.
Each night will follow the following schedule:
7:00 – 7:30: mingling and aperitifs
7:30 – 8:15: shared dinner
8:15 – 8:45: artist discussions
8:45 – floor opens to a public discussion
Menu:
Cava aperitif
Flatbread pizzas with arugula, pinenuts and Spanish chorizo / Montepulciano
Lake Superior whitefish over spinach and leeks / White Burgundy
Kassler-style porckchop with Riesling-pear reduction / Riesling
Sides: green beans sauteed with shallots, garlic and bacon; bacon mac&cheese; Belgian frites; salad
(Some vegetarian options available.)
The Salon Series was inspired by the fashionable gatherings of 17th Century France and motivated by the current recession and how we communicate today. Intellectuals, artists and social luminaries of the Belle Epoque would gather to discuss topics of culture, politics and art. Steinbrunner wanted to recreate that intimate community and get away from faceless Facebook, YouTube, texting and email. In addition, the current recession forced the artists to find new ways to present their art and wines and food to a cost-conscious audience. The result is a lively and engaging discussion about art, food, politics over a good meal with interesting people.
"Through this series, The Bluebird becomes more than just another bar on a street of bars. It introduces and promotes Chicago's cultural production, and it's a way for Mary and JC to directly engage their audiences, to put a voice behind the work," explains MacDonald.
John Coyle Steinbrunner Artist Statement
John Coyle Steinbrunner's paintings explore the overlap between memory and sentimentality, the precious and the quotidian, grandiosity and insignificance by examining how we assign value and importance to things in the world around us. Working from travel photography and within the traditional genres of landscape and history painting, his work re-scales and personalizes these traditions into an intimate viewing experience that interprets and reflects upon the impact of the original, lived experience.
Mary Livoni Artist Statement
The drawings that I have created for "Picture This Like This" were inspired by the older bridges that cross the Chicago River. The curves and arches of their rusting grommet studded surfaces are undeniably beautiful. Seen against the vantage point of open sky and they also become powerful abstract forms.
