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John  Storrs (American, 1885–1956), “Door,” oil on Masonite, 1931, 18 by 12 inches.

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JOHN STORRS TO OPEN JAN. 4 AT VALERIE CARBERRY IN CHICAGO w/1 cut

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CHICAGO, ILL. — Valerie Carberry Gallery will present “John Storrs: Abstract Forms of the 1930s,” a solo exhibition of John Storr’s work from the 1930s, on view January 4–February 20. The show will include paintings, reliefs, sculptures and drawings, demonstrating the artist’s commitment to abstraction during this decade.

Storrs established his reputation in the 1920s as a sculptor. Abiding by the aesthetics of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, he adhered to a modernist prescription to simplify ornament and maintain formal integrity. At the turn of the next decade, Storrs broke away from these architectonic forms and discovered a more organic abstract vocabulary.

Influenced by the Surrealist artists he met in Paris, Storrs began recording his dreams at this time. He found that through painting he had the most direct dialogue with the subconscious, and the 1930s marks the first time the artist engaged with this medium in a serious way.

The work in this exhibition demonstrates a loosening of form and an aesthetic maturity: it is the work of an artist confident with his own style. Storrs moves away from strict geometry to forms of his own invention, to imperfect shapes and outlines and a new, broad color palette.

A full color catalog accompanies the exhibition with an essay by Debra Bricker Balken.

The gallery is at 875 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2510. For information, 312-397-9990 or www.valeriecarberry.com.