Chicago Artist’s Month (CAM) continues, and this weekend, on Saturday, October 13, Chicago Gallery News' Saturday Gallery Tours in River North and the West Loop will feature work by select Chicago artists on view in participating galleries.  On these tours, a gallery representative leads visitors to four art galleries in River North and the West Loop.  Tours are ongoing and happen all year round, but this Saturday’s tours are special CAM events.

The Jean Albano Gallery is leading the River North tour this Saturday, which will feature Chicago artist Gladys Nilsson’s vibrant, compositionally intricate watercolor paintings.  Visitors on this tour will also get the chance to visit the Roy Boyd gallery, which is currently hosting its 40^th anniversary exhibition.  Perimeter Gallery and Addington Gallery are also taking part in the River North tour.  To participate, meet at 750 N. Franklin Starbucks by 11am. 

Gladys Nilsson, Jumping, Jean Albano Gallery

 Kasia Kay Art Projects Gallery will be leading the West Loop tour, which features “Palisades,” the gallery’s first solo exhibition for Los Angeles based contemporary painter Elisa Johns.  Johns’ oil paintings display a combination of abstract, dream-like landscapes and distorted figures, which fuse together as a narrative mechanism. 

Elisa Johns, Muses, Kasia Kay Art Projects Gallery

The Chicago Artists Month featured artist Jeremiah Lee’s cigar box guitars are being exhibited at the Packer Schopf Gallery, another destination on the West Loop tour.  At 3pm there will be a music performance using the instruments from Lee’s show.  The Linda Warren Projects Gallery and Mars Gallery are also taking part in the West loop tour.  To participate, meet at 215 N. Aberdeen (Kasia Kay Art Projects Gallery) by 1:30pm.  These tours are free, and no reservations are required.  For more information, including the tour schedules, visit Chicago Gallery Tours. 

But wait, there’s more!  This Saturday and Sunday from 11am-2pm at the Art Institute of Chicago, you can get interactive with the art at “The Artists Studio: Mini Model Sculptures.” Build a small-scale version of your favorite public sculpture, or design your own monument for your favorite spot in the city. This is a great activity for children and adults of all ages!  Visit their website for more information.  And if sculpture is your thing, there is also a Reception and Trolley Tour of Chicago’s Sculpture Exhibit on Sunday at 3pm that spans Lakeview, Lincoln Park and Wicker Park/Bucktown.  For details about this sculpture tour, click here.

Picasso, Maquette, Richard J. Daley Center

Michael Young, Looking Up, Chicago Sculpture Exhibit

Pauline Simon, The Ocean, n.d.

There's still plenty of time to check out Karl Wirsum Eyeballs the Intuit Collection, an exhibition that celebrates artists expanding the imagination. The show closes on September 1.

Wirsum selected his favorite pieces from Intuit's permanent collection--a collection developed in 2002. Work by Pauline Simon and Pierre-Louis Prospère were also included in Wirsum's exhibition.

Wirsum has been an active member in Chicago's art scene since the 1960s, relying on a style that combines graphic imagery and humor. The collection for his ongoing show (which he has curated) mirrors these elements.

INTUIT's permanent collection.

From INTUIT's website: "Curator Karl Wirsum has “eyeballed” Intuit’s Permanent Collection to create an exhibition of his favorites. As a member of the Chicago Imagists group Hairy Who, he was instrumental in setting the tone for Chicago’s art scene in the 1960s."

The "Hairy Who" exhibition of 1964 at the Hyde Park Art Center firmly put Wirsum on the map. The group was a leading force in Chicago's contemporary art scene for decades.

INTUIT is the nation's only nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to present self-taught and outsider art. Its permanent collection houses more than 1,100 works of art.

Wirsum is an adjunct professor of painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

A Gallery Walk with Wirsum will take place on August 11 at 1pm. Wirsum will explain his selections for his exhibit and discuss his feelings on being an artist on the other side of the canvas. The walk is free and open to the public.

This Saturday is your chance to get more familiar with Fulton Market’s varied businesses, galleries, top notch restaurants and more.  Explore Fulton Market is a free event, open to the public from noon-5pm this Saturday, May 12. 

Meet artists and gallery employees, fashion boutique owners and photographers, interior designers and home furnishings retailers, dance studio instructors and pet day care operators, as well as restaurateurs and food shops in the Fulton Market neighborhood. 

Packer Schopf Gallery; Paul Lamantia's Global Blindness exhibition on view

Tour participating establishments between Halsted and Racine, and Kinzie and Randolph Streets and you could win one of the many graciously donated prizes + giveaways from local businesses including Organic Looms, Private Dental Services, Design Cloud, J.P. Graziano, Takohl Gallery of Jewels, FM Hair Studio, Jeffrey Breslow Sculpture, Packer Schopf Gallery, The Publican, and more. 

Kevin Luthardt, on view at Mars Gallery; Opening reception during event, Saturday, May 12 from 12-5pm

Scroll down to view the 2012 Explore Fulton Market Map and Game Card, or click here to download and print your own.  Maps can also be picked up at all participating businesses. 

Participating businesses include:

*See map below for addresses

·  J.P. Grazlano

·  Peter Miller Gallery

·  Rhona Hoffman Gallery

·  Design Cloud

·  Takohl Gallery of Jewels

·  G R N’Namdi Gallery

·  Western Exhibitions

·  Publican Quality Meats

·  Fulton Market Gallery

·  Packer Schopf Gallery

·  Green Home Chicago

·  Douglas Dawson Gallery

·  Private Dental Services

·  Aesthetic Dermatology

·  Paul Lauren Design

·  Jeffrey Breslow Sculpture

·  Organic Looms

·  FM Hair Studio

·  Morlen Sinoway Atelier

·  Linda Warren Projects

·  Kasia Kay Art Projects

·  FIX Fashions

·  Chicago Party Animals

·  Jupiter Outpost Restaurant

·  Mars Gallery

·  Jan’s Antiques

·  Starbucks

·  La Columbe