(Above) Blackout, a painting by Chicago artist Aaron Delehanty, depicts the 42nd Ward, which includes the River North and Streeterville neighborhoods north of the Loop. (Click on image to view larger version.)

March 31, 2010 – Eagle-eyed readers will notice that this portrait of 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, created for the recent “50 Aldermen / 50 Artists” project, is not so much a portrait of Reilly but of the ward.

Blackout by Chicago artist Aaron Delehanty was shown on March 19 at Johalla Projects Gallery on North Milwaukee Avenue. 840 people attended the event, including 17 aldermen and representatives of three others, according to Lauri Apple, who organized the project along with Jeremy Scheuch. Reilly, says Apple, did not attend.

Delehanty says he chose the 42nd Ward because of its “big city feel” that he wanted to capture in his painting. He used different aerial photos of the ward as a reference, but no single view is represented.

“I was most interested in displaying the grid of the streets,” he reflects, “a real and obvious urban plan in effect. It is the original city planners of the city that set the stage for a continued urban growth.”

“This painting is a nod to both Reilly, as well as all the people who designed the ward to handle all the future city expansion.”

The exhibit can seen again on Friday at a closing party for the show.

Web sites:

• Chicago Aldermen Project
• Aaron Delehanty