Recent kinetic sculptures and mixed media drawings by Chicago based visual artist Mark Porter. Through the fusion of found and custom made objects, Porter creates mechanical prototypes which mimic human and animal behavior as well as natural phenomenon. Emphasizing the quality of hand-made object, Porter's sculptures serve as performative prototypes, which embrace experimentation and the relationship between inventor and invention, as well as invention and user.

If Nature Could Talk, is an interactive event that explores the uncanny relationship between art, science, and nature. Based on the investigation of Human/Nature dynamics through marks, traces and symbols of pseudo-scientific experiments, the work suggests what nature might be thinking and feeling in an evidentiary context. Chicago based artist, Grant W. Ray has photographed these strange attempts at communicating with nature. He will be presenting this historic archive and five extraordinary inventions for two nights only at Spoke Gallery. Participants will be invited to interact with ordinary objects that have extraordinary functions such as, “Ronald Johnson’s Talking Plants,” ...

Like any city, Chicago is composed of a complex set of relationships that work in concert to cultivate a unique identity. Connections between neighbors, friends, acquaintances and strangers create unique opportunities whose scope is beyond calculation and influence exceeds territorial boundaries. Lise Haller Baggesen (Chicago, USA), Gitte Bog (Mexico City, MEX), Gudrun Hasle (Copenhagen, DK), Anni Holm (Chicago, USA) and Berit Nørgaard (Copenhagen, DK) will focus their energy on exploring the possibilities of mutually beneficial relationships rooted in conversation, exchange and sincerity. Baggesen looks at her relationship with America through her experience as a recent immigrant, while ...

re[public] in/decency (co-founded by Erica Mott and Coman Poon) is an inter-arts activist initiative and creative think tank that explores the trans-national intersections between live art, social justice activism and arts-informed pedagogy. In collaboration with dress-maker and fabric-based artist Kristin Mariani Frieman, re[public] in/decency are the inaugural artists-in-residence at Spoke from April 26-May 23, 2010. Our cross-disciplinary and community-engaged research envisioning the creation of embodied and large-scale installation of community-interactive "palimpsests" unearth hidden cultural memory and promote dialogue amongst and between diverse "diasporas." The Palimpsest Project (phase one) will employ the creation of an environmental and performative chalkcloth "palimpsest" to ...

Push the Envelope is an art product and public program enabling dialogue between artists in Chicago, Thessaloniki, and Athens. The participating artists were selected after an open call by an international jury. Over the span of three weeks DYNAMO project-space in Thessaloniki, Greece and Spoke in Chicago, U.S.A. will host the commencement of dialogue between selected artists. The conversation will spring from an open, collaborative process and will be used to identify topics relevant to the group. Invited curators, artists and historians will lead discussions during weekends for the duration of the DYNAMO exhibition. Initially, artists will display past work ...

The Hagia Sophia Basilica in Istanbul, Turkey is famous for its history, beautiful dome, and the mystical quality of light that reflects inside of it. Built in 330AD, it withstood no fewer than 17 sieges between the time it was founded and 1204 when it finally fell to the Christians of the west (the Normans). In its long history, the Hagia Sophia has been home to Pagans, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and is currently preserved as a museum. Spoke will be home to a miniature version of the Hagia Sophia. Complete with gold dome, marble floors, and 168 windows, this recreation is ...

Presented by Stephanie Nadeau, hosted by Spoke, and back by popular demand, Waiting Room invites you to come spend your time. Our mission is to allow you to contribute your time comfortably and productively while remaining completely idle. Wait for as little or as long as you like, it’s entirely up to you. Stop by anytime for your free timecard and we'll get you started on a rewarding and enjoyable waiting experience. We look forward to seeing you! Waiting Room is a performance that operates much like a place of business. Spoke will be transformed into a waiting room, complete ...

Participants were encouraged to utilize reclaimed floorboards to create functional objects. By using a large stock of salvaged pine flooring and expanding its use through innovative design and construction, we hope to highlight the value of creative re-use. Along with completed projects, documentation of the creators’ design and building process will be exhibited. Work by Amber-Carla-Lia, Luke Boehnke, Kim & Zach DeBord, Kazuki Guzman, Andy Hall, Scott Jarrett, Kevin Kaempf and Heather Mullins.

Working with limitations of time, Henley and Frederiksen craft paintings which start with the intent of expanding the others' visual vocabulary but end as a series of overlapping choices exemplifying each artist's personal strengths. Co-Paintings, Cute Puppies features an inter-generational collaborative effort that explores the processes that develop when the ancient collides with the inexperienced, piling up the known and the unknown like surplus freight in a junkyard. With puppies.

Kristin Mariani Frieman is a Chicago based dressmaker, designer, and artist who founded the label RedShift, a line of contemporary couture created from salvaged materials and found garments. A Sample of Making is a RedShift design project that provides a platform for the intensive labor involved in making clothing. For a period of three weeks the designer will produce singular garments within the Spoke gallery space from her collection of salvaged wools in a spectrum of colors. Seeking to present her process of design alongside the product of her practice, she aims to create opportunities for critical exchange by engaging ...