Listen up.

Back with an all wax mix! Paying homage to some of my favorite selectors that really changed my approach to deejaying. In this mix, I highlight the unique sounds of Chicago. Especially those of Mark Grusane, Rahann, and Toddsonic33. Big shout out to the legendary, Gramaphone Records for always hooking me up with the latest and greatest. Enjoy the tunes. Cheers!

2024 Exhibition, Studio, Artist Visits

Apr 25| For The Culture: The State of Onchain Media and Art, Willea Swey / Digital Lore: Blockchain’s Power in Artistic Narratives, Cyrus Younessi / Trading NFTs and DeFi Risk Management, 1871, Chicago

Apr 16| Nicole Eisenman: What Happened, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

Apr 13| Durty Truth: Mark Grusane, Darryn Jones, Material, Chicago

Apr 12| The Other Art Fair, Chicago

Apr 11| EXPO CHICAGO, Navy Pier

Apr 10| Opening reception: Harold Mendez and Jamal Cyrus, PATRON Gallery, Chicago

Mar 2| Crochet Your Dreams: Fiber art installation by Jade Carrico & Peetri Samraj, A Very Series Gallery, Chicago

Feb 29| Darkroom Leap Night: Photography Auction, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago

Feb 24| 500: A Collection of Drawings by Andrew Davalos , Flatiron Arts Building, Chicago

Feb 22| Bold Moves for Bold Voice! Panel Discussion with Tarell Alvin McCraney & Aszure Barton, World Premiere of Dear Frankie by Rennie Harris preformed by Hubbard Street Dance, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

Feb 9| Alyson Lyon studio visit, Fine Arts Building, Chicago

Feb 7| Victoria Martinez studio visit, Chicago Cultural Center

Upcoming events

Listen up.

DJ BRILLA strikes again with all wax live mix! This time taking us underground exploring the uniquely Chicago sounds the city has to offer. Cheers!

2023 | Gallery/Studio Visits, Exhibition Drop-Ins

Dec 28| The Real Decoy, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau WI

Dec 16| Aaron Becker studio visit, Chicago

Nov 19 | GRABADOLANDIA PRINT MAKING FESTIVAL, INSTITUTO GRÁFICO DE CHICAGO, Chicago

Nov 16 |Common Ground, W. Gallery, Chicago

Nov 3 | Museo Nacional de Antropologia, CDMX, Mexico

Oct 30 | Casa Luis Barragán, CDMX, Mexico

Oct 26| Somethin’s Cookin’, Matthew Burgess, Anthony Gallery, Chicago

Oct 26 | Goosebumps, Titus Wonsey, Anthony Gallery, Chicago

Oct 13 | Ghostskate studio visit, Chicago

July 13 | ESTETICA LOCAL, Rupture Chicago x Public Works Gallery, Chicago

Jun 30 | UNWIND / UNWOUND, Research House for Asian Art, Chicago

Jun 12 | VOLUMES Exhibition, Bilder Nordic School of Photography, Oslo

May 2| Roland Santana / GOLA SPACE studio visit, Chicago

Apr 14 | MINOR MATTERS| A Small Symposium, Color Club, Chicago

Mar 3 | GLORY’S | Liza jo Eilers + Alessandra Norman, Yew Nork, Chicago

Mar 3 | BLOOM, Povos Gallery, Chicago

Mar 3 | CEYÓ | Josué Essau, Chicago Artist Coalition

Feb 25 | Museum of Modern Art, NYC

Jan 23| Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

Selling, swapping, and spinning records tomorrow night at one of my favorite lounges in Chicago. Another stacked line up featuring some serious groove selectors. Needle drops at 6:30. DJ BRILLA behind the decks at 8:30.

Upcoming events

  • Expo Chicago 2023

    4.13 - 4.16

    Join us for Expo Chicago 2023! We look forward to you visiting us in booth #412!

  • DJ Set

    4.20 9pm - Late

    Spinning records at the legendary Rainbo Club. Known for its bohemian vibes, this place is where creative minds come to meet and drink after a long day at the studio.

  • DJ Set : Music Time With Friends

    4.22 9pm - Late

    Tommy Kladis’s monthly installment of Music Time With Friends at The Native has been something I’ve been eager to be apart of. I’m psyched! Thank you Tommy!

    2417 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

NEW DJ BRILLA Mix

MIX V - Analogue Excursion

Track List ::
1) Tropical Combo - Transamazonica
2) Descendants - Lights Shines Truth (straight ahead no chaser mix)
3) Lierkha - Eterno Retorno (ft. Morena)
4) Excursions - Quiero Amor
5) June Jazzin - Sikhanyiso
6) Peter Cross - Revival
7) Azymuth - Jazz Carnival (Space Jazz mix)
8) Buscemi - Midnight Session
9) Excursions - Celestial Dance
10) John Beltran - Ondas (Kiko Navarro Remix)
11) Formation Soul - Bossa Sun Groove
12)The Spiritual Experience - Stretch My Hands

DJ BRILLA STRIKES BACK WITH AN ALL WAX MIX!

Today we travel back to the year 1983. It's a chilly Valentine's day in Chicago.

You lace up your silver Adidas Concords, double check your fade in the mirror, and head out the door to go pick up your girl.

A few hours later...
You and your main squeeze just got freaky in the back of your 83’ bullnose Bronco after too many Negronis and a bowl of shrimp scampi at The Italian Village. You both light up a couple of slims. By now Mamacita is looking to let loose and dance the night away. Luckily your best connect told you about a hot new club called ‘Club Plushie’ where only the hottest dj’s play.

Time to hit it!

It’s midnight and you can hear the music bumping through the walls of the club as you wait in line to get in. You walk into a pitch-black club underneath Michigan Avenue, in the heart of downtown Chicago. Through the haze you see a slim tall man behind the dj booth who looks like that dude from Karate Kid. People are screaming “BRILLA! BRILLA!”. Four Hours later you snap back to reality. Where did time go? What you’ve just experienced was a musical journey of obscure disco imports, new boogie, and Chi-Town Funk.

Buzzing for more, the next day you head to the record store in search of that new sound you’ve just heard. After digging for hours you strike black gold and find that sweet sound buried at the depths of the 99 cent bin. To be continued…

My new show, “Photographs and Monoprints” is now live at Richard Norton Gallery! Hit the link below to view the entire show!

— www.richardnortongallery.com

I’ve been spinning vinyl sets around the city. You can catch me under my moniker - Dj Brilla. Click below to listen to my latest mix on SoundCloud. Cheers!

Mix III - You’ve Got it

2022 | Gallery/Studio Visits, Exhibition Drop-Ins

Dec 4 | Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol, Writers Theater, Glencoe IL

Nov 10 | Art of the Miniature, Lake Forest/Lake Bluff History Center, IL

Nov 5 | SAIC FALL UNDERGRADUATE EXHIBITION, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL

Oct 22 | Pilsen Open Studios, Chicago IL

Oct 6 | The Chicago Show: Antiques & Art & Modern, Merchandise Mart, Chicago IL

Sept 23 | ARTRUSS INAGURAL EXHIBITION, ARTRUSS GALLERY, Chicago IL

Aug 27 | NICK CAVE AND JACK CAVE: THE COLOR IS: FASHION EXHIBTION, DuSable Museum, Chicago IL

Aug 2 | RICHARD HUNT STUDIO VISIT, Chicago IL

July 19 | PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL, Chicago IL

July 9 | AMERICAN FRAMING, MOGA : MODERN WOMEN & DAUGHTERS IN 1930’S JAPAN, WRIGHTWOOD 659, Chicago IL

July 8 | ALL THAT LIGHT: A Ten-Year Retrospective of the Artists-in-Residence (AIR) Program, Logan Center EXHIBITIONS, Chicago IL

July 2 | NATURE AND IMAGINATION: THE THIN LINE BETWEEN FIGURATION AND ABSTRACTION, LILY PAD GALLERY, Milwaukee WI

July 2 | MILWAUKEE’S BIGGEST GIG, MARN ART + CULTURE HUB, Milwaukee WI

June 26 | LOGAN SQUARE ARTS FESTIVAL, Chicago IL

June 12 | NeoCon 2022, Chicago IL

May 25 | FRIDA KAHLO, HER PHOTOS, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MEXICAN ART, Chicago IL

May 3 | RADECKI FINE ART CONSERVATION, South Bend IN

May 3 | SOUTH BEND MUSEUM OF ART, South Bend IN

Apr 19 | POP STARS!, 21c Museum Hotel, Chicago IL

Apr 10 | ART EXPO CHICAGO, Navy Pier, Chicago IL

Apr 9 | BRANDON BREAUX EXHIBITION OPENING: BIG WORDS, Blanc Gallery, Chicago, IL

Apr 7 | MARY LOVELACE O’NEAL, In Conversation, ART EXPO CHICAGO, Chicago, IL

Apr 7 | Rosenthal Fine Art Gallery, Chicago, IL

Apr 4 | ROBERT STIEGLER: PHOTOGRAPHS, STEPHEN DAITER GALLERY, Chicago, IL

Mar 25 | A TALE OF TODAY: THEODORA ALLEN, SATURNINE, DRIEHAUS MUSEUM, Chicago, IL

Mar 17 | TRAVERSER LA NUIT, WORKS FROM THE ANTINE DE GALBERT COLLECTION, MAAT, Lisbon, Portugal

Mar 10 | FIDEL ÉVORA, OXI DRETU, MANHAM MARIADU, MOVART, Lisboa, Portugal

Mar 10 | TURN THE PAGE, WELCOMETOART ART GALLERY, Lisbon, Portugal

Mar 7 | São Roque Galeria, Lisbon, Portugal

Mar 5 | MANUELA CASTRO MARTIN, FLOWER POWER, São Mamede Galeria, Lisbon, Portugal

ON DECK. — TUNE WISE. — DJ BILLA

DECOCTION IS OFFICIALLY ON DISPLAY AT REFRACTION GALLERY! LOCATED ON THE 4TH FLOOR OF KENILWORTH STUDIOS. 1925 E KENILWORTH PL, MILWAUKEE WI 53202

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY CONTACT JOSEPH MOUGEL AT MOUGEL@UWM.EDU OR AT (706) 424 1947 FOR A VIEWING.

JULY 5 - SEPTEMBER 15. 2022

 
 

ON DECK. — TUNE WISE. — AWESOME TAPES FROM AFRICA

IM LOOKING FOR SOME PROSPECTS TO COME KICK IT WITH US AT THE GALLERY OVER THE SUMMER! IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING WHAT IT TAKES TO OPERATE A BUSY DOWNTOWN ART GALLERY AND WANT TO LEARN HOW THE MIDWEST BECAME A POWER HOUSE IN THE ART WORLD THEN THIS YOUR OPPORTUNITY!

MAY 27, 2022

ATENCIÓN Midwest hoodlums. This summer I will be participating in my first exhibition since graduating in Spring of 2020. Around 15 of my experimental works will be on display at Refraction Gallery, 4th Floor at Kenilworth Square East in Milwaukee’s upper east side. As the date approaches i’ll provide more info. For now, roll one, spark one, and groove to this Disco House POP LP - Fierce For The Night by VIRGINIA. CHEERS!

MAY 20, 2022

ON DECK. — TUNE WISE. — AFRO HARPING 

2021 | Gallery/Studio Visits, Participated Events, Exhibition Drop-Ins,

Dec 18 | A New Day, The Alice Wilds, Milwaukee, WI

Dec 5 | One of a Kind Show, Chicago, IL

Dec 3 | Hairpin Art Center, Chicago, IL

Dec 2 | Rosenthal Fine Art Gallery. Chicago, IL

Nov 13 | Jean Albano Gallery, IL

Nov 3 | JC Rivera x PS408 Studio Visit, Chicago. IL

Oct 27-28 | Design Chicago, Chicago, IL

Oct 25 | Chicago Avant-Garde: Five Women Ahead of Their Time, Gertrude Abercrombie, The Newberry, Chicago, IL

September 23 | DAWOUD BEY: STREET PORTRAIT, STEPHEN DAITER GALLERY, Chicago, IL

September 10-12, 2021| Pitchfork Art and Music Festival, Chicago IL

August 29 | L’ENFANT GALLERY, Georgetown, DMV

July 18 | Toward Common Cause exhibition, Stony Island Arts Bank, Chicago, IL

April 8-12, 2021 | Expo Chicago, Chicago. IL

Homage to one of the greatest creatives of the 21st century. Your ideas and creations will live on forever. Rest in power Mr. Abloh

Virgil Abloh, 2021, 8.5 x 5.5, graphite, marker, charcoal, color pastel, color pencil, and water color on paper

Been thinking about my next studio project. I’ve been sketching a lot, on the train, at the park, where ever I go I carry a little sketch book. Life is fast, always changing, our time spent on this planet dictates how much as an artist we produce. When we leave whats left behind will be our legacy. Art for people to wear, admire, hang in their homes, inspire the aspiring. Time to get busy. No time like the present.

-Favi

December 4

 

art school journey

In this video I give a presentation about my studies as an undergrad. From taking my first photography class all the way up to capstone. Cheers!