Last weekend, a uniquely eclectic portrait exhibition, titled Pictures of You, opened in the Fourth Floor Gallery of the Bridgeport Art Center. The exhibition curated by Marci Rubin, presents a wide-ranging assortment of portraiture across a variety of contemporary practices.
In selecting the exhibition, Rubin brought together an expansive mixture of painting, drawing, photography, mixed media, textile, and sculpture reflecting approaches that range from conservatively traditional to boldly experimental. The exhibition is installed in a salon-style format, to accommodate the extensive diversity of the work on view.
One of the more intriguing pieces in the show was created by Robert James Johnson. The seven-foot square canvas titled Not Enough Heart to Go Around is impossible to ignore.
The brilliantly colorful canvas combines classical technique with symbolic imagery, reinterpreted within a contemporary context. Johnson references historically familiar compositions yet paints with emotion, resulting in a deeply personal inflection. The artist appears to include himself within the composition, a gesture that may offer insight into the work’s title.
Together, these elements might imply the emotional transition or vulnerability of being caught between giving of oneself and self-preservation. And perhaps the repeated figure might also imply an internal dialogue, reinforcing the work’s focus on the psychological experience rather than the narrative. In any case, the painting deserves careful contemplation.
I’ve always believed that the creation of art was a version of therapy—dealing with our personal issues or observations of the world around us—while side-stepping the involvement of a therapist. So, is the painting critique of today's society? Does it reference inequality, injustice or neglect? Is it a comment on the world in which we live? The fear of not having enough... the fear of giving so much that nothing is left?
The three figures in the painting—each a presumed likeness of the artist wearing a pensive expression—seem to represent the passage of time. The space suggests a room with a centralized table. On the table, a human heart rests on a silver tray, becoming the focal point of the composition and the painting’s title. Across the top of the canvas, a symbolic heartbeat pulsing briefly before flatlining and concluding with a fast-forward symbol entwined by a poisonous coral snake.
While the exhibition includes works that demonstrate solid traditional technical skills, the collection also challenges the typical ideas of portraiture by offering a range of contemporary approaches. Through the use of diverse materials and styles, Pictures of You emphasizes the ongoing exploration of the portrait in contemporary art.
John Benton, Point of View, 2023, oil on canvas, 20" x 24"
Katharine Oltogge, Melancholy, 2025, oil on canvas, 18" x 24"
Pictures of You continues through March 6, 2026 in the Fourth Floor Gallery of the Bridgeport Art Center, which is located at 1200 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60609. Learn more at bridgeportart.com/
Robert James Johnson is a 2024 recipient of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Individual Artist Program grant. He is a graduate of Studio Incamminati School of Contemporary Realist Art in Philadelphia and holds a BFA from the Savannah College of Art & Design. Originally from Miami, he is now based in Chicago.
Marci Rubin
Fiber based Installation/Sculpture artist/Curator Bridgeport Center Chicago
Marci Rubin earned a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and an MFA from the University of Chicago. Following her graduate studies, she founded Framing Mode & Gallery, a contemporary art gallery and custom framing studio in Chicago’s South Loop, which operated from 2003 to 2018 and functioned as a site for socially engaged artistic practice.
Since 2022, Rubin has served as Curator at the Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago, where she oversees the curation, design, and installation of exhibitions for the 4th Floor Gallery and Corridor Gallery, alongside an active studio practice. Her work has been exhibited nationally in academic and nonprofit institutions.
