Depoal Bathrooms

Hidden inside the bathrooms of the DePaul Art Museum, Matt Nichols solo exhibit SomethingDivine is found amongst a slew of seemingly ordinary bathroom objects. By using the bathroom space to exhibit his work, Nichols explores the theme of expanding the gallery space into uncommon territories. By using the concept of high versus low brow art, Nichols work leaves the viewer questioning whether the art is part of the space or not. The exhibit offers a unique take on a subject matter but the some of the choices in presentation of the work could be improved on. The exhibition is currently on the second floor of the DePaul Art Museum in the bathrooms. There are total of five individual bathrooms with three containing of these containing pieces. …show more content…
Each bathroom has different set of figures of soap and towels and the viewer can only see these depending on the gender of the viewer. This was probably the intention of the artist but it would be interesting to see the entire work. The exhibit would be interesting to artist who look at unconventional venues to present their work. SomethingDevine works more as an installation piece rather than a gallery work. Coming from a background with doing installation work in non-traditional space, I appreciated how secretive Nichols was able to make his work. However, once you interacted with the pieces you wanted to keep seeing them. He effectively created a captivating yet discrete work. Nichols shows a good thematic approach to his exhibition, especially with his use of materials to convey a message. The problem is that the individual pieces aren’t able to tell a clear story. This lack of clarity and overall mundane approach to cohesion takes away from the exhibit. It does not take enough away to discourage people from seeing the exhibition but it is an aspect that can be improved on. Overall, SomethingDivine offers a worthwhile experience despite its lack of total