There are so many ways to enjoy the holidays, when you're not rushing here and there, keeping track of to-do lists or trying to meet end-of-year deadlines. In case you have any free time, or out of town visitors, we've come up with a few highlights you should check out this season. 

• Chicago Urban Art Society is having its’ annual holiday art sale Windy City Artist Alley on Sunday, December 16 from 12-6pm. Artists, illustrators, printmakers, DIY artists, and vintage sellers will all be there to cover your last minute shopping needs. This year’s event will be located at 1664 S. Blue Island Ave. at the intersection of 18^th and Blue Island in Pilsen neighborhood. Interested vendors or artists should contact peterkepha@chicagourbanartsociety.com. Chicago Urban Art Society Chicago’s First Annual Holiday Benefit is on Wednesday, December 12, 6-11pm.  An evening of good company and good music, along with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served. A fifty dollar donation is asked to attend. A special poetry reading by Kevin Coval is sure to make this a fun, holiday evening.

The Art Institute is always a festive place to visit this time of year - don't miss the chance to gaze at the impressive lion adorned with red wreaths for the season.  While the weather is still mild, wander the museum's sculpture garden, or spend some time in sunny Millennium Park.  Also, in honor of the season, the miniature Thorne Rooms have also been decorated for the season.  Details here.

• Come experience Greek traditions with the National Hellennic Museum’s one-day fun-filled event It’s A Greek Christmas! on Saturday, December 15, 11am-5pm. Festivities include crafts, caroling, dance lessons, christopsomo, storytime, and much more. Details here.

• Bring your kids along and get creative at Lillstreet's Holiday Family Party Saturday, December 8th from 12-3pm. Bring the whole family and decorate a lovely holiday ornament with Lillstreet's ceramics department and cookies with First Slice Pie Cafe. Stop by the gallery and take a peak at the Stacey Lee Webber jewelry trunk show reception. Free. Also this weekend, Let There Be Light: Lillstreet's 37th Annual Holiday Show and Sale. Details here.

• December 6-8 you can do some holiday shopping at the 4th annual ShopColumbia market at Columbia College.  Not only is this the perfect place for holiday shopping, but you'll also meet the artists behind the work! ShopColumbia will also host themed mini-boutiques within the shop for the environmentalist, art lover, fashionista, and more. Details here.

Visit Chicagogallerynews.com all season for art news, events and openings!  Happy holidays! 

Chicago kicks off Women’s History Month with a little help from the Guerrilla Girls, also known as “the masked avengers” a renowned collective of feminist artists.  Characterized by their "facts, humor, and fur" the group developed in the 1980s presenting disturbing social, economical, and political facts anonymously through the use of gorilla masks and guerilla tactics, challenging art and the institution.

Currently on view in two Columbia College galleries, Glass Curtain Gallery and A + D Gallery, Not Ready to Make Nice: Guerrilla Girls in the Artworld and Beyond, unveils the brilliant work of these influential artists while contextualizing its history and providing the opportunity for the Guerrilla Girls’ recent work to be shown in a gallery. The group's work has traveled primarily internationally and has hardly been shown in the last decade. Chicagoans and visitors alike should take this opportunity to experience this powerful and important work first-hand while it's on view in several exhibition spaces around town.

This multimedia exhibition features everything from the Guerrilla Girls’ large-scale banners and posters, photography, documentaries and interviews, and there was even an opportunity to have a conversation with the artists that took place during the opening reception on March 1.  Glass Curtain Gallery is showcasing work related to the visual artworld of museums and galleries;  A+D Gallery is showcasing work "beyond" the spectrum of museums and galleries, including film, politics and issues relating to feminism. Both exhibitions are on view now through April 21, 2012.

The Guerrilla Girls are also featured in the current exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) in This Will Have Been: Art, Love, & Politics in the 1980s, on view through June 30. 

Glass Curtain Gallery: 1104 S. Wabash, Chicago (60605) 

A+D Gallery: 619 S. Wabash, Chicago (60605) 

MCA: 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago (60611)

Columbia College is hosting their 3^rd annual Holiday Market in conjunction with the reopening of ShopColumbia. The event will showcase their newly renovated space and allow you to see even more student and alumni works including fine arts, housewares, fashion and children’s gifts. ShopColumbia is a student art boutique that opened in 2008 and has been very successful in selling their art. Come join in on the celebration on Friday December 9^th from 11-7 pm with a reception from 4-7 pm and Saturday from 11-5pm. Warm beverages and holiday treats will be provided at the reception and make the shopping experience that much sweeter.

The ShopColumbia Holiday Market is a great place to find unique gifts for your friends and family, while also giving you a relaxing shopping experience away from the typical department stores. If you are not able to make it to the Market don’t worry your in luck, online shopping is now available. Artist collections will be on display in the Quincy Wong Center for Artistic Expression, and artists will be present to answer questions and discuss their works. What could be better then shopping, art, holiday treats, and meting the talent behind the art. Columbia’s Holiday Market is a refreshing outlet for holiday shopping.Once you find that perfect gift you will be offered free gift-wrapping with a $10 donation to Scholarship Columbia or with a $100 purchase.

   Krisanne Johnson  

Glass Curtain Gallery presents Black Gossamer, a group exhibition opening November 17^th where several artists are exploring black identity.

Glass Curtain Gallery comments, “An anxiousness exists among people of color because there is still an expectation to "perform," explain and react to one's Blackness in society, maybe even make excuses for it, both within and outside "black" culture. One outlet utilized to express this dichotomy is through dress.”

“This exhibition showcases the work of black contemporary artists who use and draw inspiration from clothing, fashion, textiles and fabrications to explore and uncover recent revolutions in black identity.” (Class Curtain Gallery)  

 Wangechi Mutu 

Black Gossamer exhibits an impressive collection of work from several artists, including New York based Kenyan artist, Wangechi Mutu. Mutu’s work has been shown in venues such as: the Tate Modern, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, MOMA, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, and at the Royal Academy in London.

Other artists include: Aisha Bell, Sheila Bridges, Myra Greene, Marlon Griffith, Krisanne Johnson, Kalup Linzy, Ebony G. Patterson (colum.edu/Student_Life/DEPS/)

Black Gossamer will include multiple opportunities to attend gallery talks and hear from some of the artists as well as curator, Camille Morgan. See below for a list of corresponding events.

Marlon Griffith, LOUIS (from the Powder Box School Girl series), 2009 

Located at 1104 S. Wabash on the 1^st floor of the historic Ludington building at Columbia College, Glass Curtain Gallery exhibits emerging and mid career artists. By presenting museum-quality exhibitions, workshops, and visiting artist lectures, Glass Curtain acts as a catalyst in the dialogue for students in the arts. 

Ebony G. Patterson 

For more information about the exhibition click here 

Exhibition Programming

November 17: Opening Reception 5:00-8:00pm

November 18 : "Taboo Fashion and Chameleon Identities" Gallery Artist Talk with Artists Aisha Bell and Ebony G. Patterson, 11-12:30pm

November 22: Critical Encounters Cafe Society discussion with artist Myra Greene and Curator, 4-6pm

February 1: Closing Reception - African American Heritage Month Kickoff Celebration, 5:30 - 7:30pm

I’m always pleasantly surprised when I find (quality) art in public and unexpected spaces.  Art has the power to transform the mundane into the magnificent with the right piece or installation.  I experienced this first hand while visiting the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare over the summer.  While visiting the hotel for a friend’s wedding (lovely!), I was quite impressed with the quality and quantity of art found all throughout the hotel – a massive, striking sky-blue painting behind the check-in desk, large canvases around every corner, intricate installations down the hallways, etc.  I’ve since learned a bit more about the hotel’s mission to support the visual arts, and their connection to local Chicago artists and galleries. 

The hotel features an “Art Museo” – a makeshift gallery concept set up throughout different walk-through areas of the hotel – viewable by hotel guests, or visitors strictly interested in seeing the art.  Most of the work is available for sale, and complimentary gallery tours are available upon request; though, I found it just as fun to wander by myself and admire all there was to see. 

On view now through the rest of the year is Elevate.  The exhibition explores how artists attribute, glorify, and elevate the everyday [think Rauschenberg’s newspaper screenprints and Tony Fitzpatrick’s alphabet series - both on view, among many more works and installations].  The exhibition features work from six of CGN’s River North neighbor galleries: Addington, Andrew Bae, Roy Boyd, Printworks, Schneider, and Zolla/Lieberman. 

“Elevate tells us how artists see value in things easily taken for granted.  They encourage us to stop, look, listen, and enjoy,” says Art Museo head curator Martha Schneider, of Schneider Gallery in Chicago.  “Their works remind us of the power, beauty, fragility, even turmoil of our world.  Often it is the simplest everyday places or objects that spark inspiration and contemplation.”

The InterContinental team is also gearing up for Chicago: Rich Source of Young Artists, an exciting new art program debuting this fall that will feature fresh work from recent or soon-to-be graduates from some of Chicago’s top fine arts schools.  Exhibitions will rotate quarterly and pair with various local schools including The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), University of Illinois, and Northwestern.  The first series will open to the public on September 16, and will feature mixed media work from eight artists from Columbia College.

The program is aimed at rewarding local, emerging, hand-picked artists while providing hometown support and exhibition opportunities.  Work from these up-and-coming artists will be displayed within the same gallery space that boasts iconic masterpieces from many world-renowned artists.  The Art Museo at ICO will also make scholarship contributions to the selected school’s art programs. 

Click here for more information on the InterContinental O’Hare, and stop by for a sampling of some of Chicago's rich visual arts.