Poking the Bear

Creative types challenge the art-snob establishment

Comments (0) By Lilia Menconi Thursday, Mar 5 2009

During Art Detour 2007, some waves were made on Roosevelt Row. No, not by the people on stilts or those freaks who dress up like renaissance fairies. We're talking about the bold move that five15 Gallery, 515 East Roosevelt Street, made by throwing together its “$99 Only” show, in which members sold their original art pieces, normally worth hundreds of dollars, at that bargain-bin price. The collective caught some heat from local artists and galleries for the slutty prices, but the controversy only fueled the gallery’s fire, and five15 continued to stick it to ’em with 2008's “$98 Only” show.

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So it’s really no surprise that this year, these smartass artists keep poking the bear with more clever commentary on the fickle value of art-gallery conventions. This month’s "Buy One Get One Free" exhibition offers that smokin’ deal for works by the collective’s 10 members – including Mary Shindell, Angela Franks Wells, and Neil Gillingham – and further sweetens it by pricing the first artwork at a mere $100. An extra bonus is the debut of the second installment of the collective’s trading cards, which feature stats of each artist in a baseball-card-style collectible.

Fri., March 6, 5-9 p.m.; Sat., March 7, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun., March 8, 12-5 p.m.; Fri., March 13, 5-9 p.m.; Sat., March 14, 1-5 p.m.; Fri., March 20, 5-9 p.m.; Sat., March 21, 5-9 p.m.; Fri., March 27, 5-9 p.m.; Sat., March 28, 5-9 p.m., 2009