Formerly: Upon arriving in Pilsen in September of 2004, Dubhe Carreno brought a gallery experience to an area marked mostly by artist studios. With four walls painted white and the kind of proper presentation found in River North (a handful of works presented at one time and in isolation from each other), the space elevates ceramics from craft to fine art status.

With nary a bowl or vase in sight, Carreno's roster of artists, from Sadashi Inuzukato to Cynthia Consentino to Dennis Mitchell, take ceramics to new terrain. Expect highly conceptual installation works on the floor and figurate sculptural pieces placed delicately on pedastals.

Artists work with stoneware, earthenware, porcelain and clay, and often incorporate other media, including photography, painting and metals works, into their products. As a native of Venezuela and a ceramics instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Carreno has brought an array of international, emerging and established artists to the gallery.

From behind a partition at the back of the gallery, the buzzing of the radio or television can be heard at times, a faint reminder that Carreno also lives in the space. Considering the critical acclaim she has received since opening and the number of red dots that pepper the sold items in her exhibits, it seems that Carreno may not be living there for long.

Centerstage Reviewer: Joanne Hinkel