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'Evolving Wicker Park' Portrait Exhibit Spotlights People, Changing Places

By Alisa Hauser | August 27, 2014 4:04pm
 Images from Andrew Miller's upcoming photography show in Wicker Park.
Evolving Wicker Park Photography Exhibit by Andrew Miller
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WICKER PARK — A photographer who captured a spectacular double rainbow over the city skyline last summer from the 10th floor of the iconic Northwest Tower at Wicker Park's Milwaukee, Damen and North avenues intersection will be showcasing his work at an exhibit opening Friday.

Andrew Miller's "Evolving Wicker Park" kicks off with an opening reception from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday at Bru Cafe's art gallery, 1562 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Miller, a Wicker Park resident working on a long-term, ongoing project documenting the Near West and Northwest sides of Chicago, selected his favorite images from the past two years to be part of the solo show.

The exhibit contains urban scenes and people merged together with landscapes and aerial photographs, including 50 portraits from Miller's Wicker Park Portrait Project, which launched in April.

Among those featured by Miller in the portrait project are bartenders at The Violet Hour, a man getting inked at Metamorph Tattoo Studios and a Bucktown resident smoking near a mural.

A goal of his with the ongoing portrait project is to show the variety of workers and residents who coexist in the same neighborhoods, even if it's not always harmonious, he said in April.

On his blog, eyeforchicago.com, Miller said that his work "exemplifies many of the structures, features, and characters that make up Wicker Park and the surrounding neighborhoods of Bucktown, Logan Square, Humboldt Park, East Village, and Ukrainian Village."

Though some people believe Wicker Park has fully "gentrified" in recent years, others still see the neighborhood as edgy and eclectic, qualities that Miller said he believes his photography captures.

"One can easily see that a gritty-vibe is still maintained in certain areas," Miller said.

"Evolving Wicker Park" opens Friday and runs through Oct. 10 at Bru Cafe Art Gallery, 1562 N. Milwaukee Ave. Hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For more information on Miller, visit acmillerphoto.com

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