<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418048/lps7fusrlqtpaprqf5v7.gif"><figcaption>Hearth Pendant, Gold, enamel, glass, Spain or Italy, c. 1600, $65,000. Courtesy Les Enluminures</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By CGN StaffThe warmest part of February must be Valentine's Day! Inspired by the cheerful holiday coming up next week, we browsed our CGN listings for romantic works of art, artistic expressions of love, and OK, some art that's just red.&nbsp;In case you actually need a reason to visit the galleries, we found a few Valentine's Day events, plus very clever and unique gallery and museum-store items you might want to consider for anyone special on your gift list.&nbsp;Happy Valentine's Day, and stay warm!&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418049/me6mttywog59w8nql5m8.gif"><figcaption>LH Selman</figcaption></figure>If glass is your thing, stop into <a href="https://www.theglassgallery.com">LH Selman</a> in the Fine Arts Building to admire these always-in-bloom floral preservations. They're as giftable as they are collectible.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/7f1613da24f43c79480112f36/images/528f575c-64f3-401e-8a7e-e11c67931635.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Janis Kanter, Don't be sad, WE AREN'T SO GREAT,&nbsp;2018, pieced, stitched and collaged fabric, 57 x 44"</figcaption></figure><a href="http://www.thomasmccormick.com">McCormick Gallery</a> is hosting a very special opening on Valentine's Day, February 14, 5:30–8:30pm. Chicago based artist Janis Kanter hasn't had a show in nearly 20 years. Now, she is back&nbsp;and has completed two bodies of work — Barbie Series: Even the Brunettes Were Offended (already sold out) and MY WORLD – My WALL, a new series of nine works, which will debut at this showing. The exhibition continues for just 10 days until February 23&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418051/oubx54ksl2xdxqildq9w.gif"><figcaption>Sharon Gilmore, Between Pauses, wood, sinew, 48" x 47" x 8"&nbsp;</figcaption></figure><a href="https://cultivateurbanrainforest.weebly.com/#/">Cultivate Urban Rainforest</a> in Evanston is full of surprises. They not only have Valentine-worthy <a href="https://cultivateurbanrainforest.weebly.com/store/p24/Aglaonema_6%22_%27Red_Valentine%27.html#/">plants</a>, but they feature artwork, even modern terrariums, perfect for the creative one in your life.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418052/yl9kr9hk4d6tsxobdeux.gif"><figcaption>Kusama Love Forever Tea Towel Set, $55.00</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.mcachicagostore.org">The Museum of Contemporary Art</a> has long-boasted an award-winning gift shop, and it's a go-to source for uniquely arty gifts any time of year. For consideration this Valentine's Day: tea towels by Yayoi Kusama, running heart socks by Keith Haring, and of course, a mini Robert Indiana-inspired LOVE sculpture.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418053/binihx7r11ygpzgqdjz4.gif"><figcaption>Hot Or Not: 20th-Century Male Artists, Jessica Campbell, $10.00</figcaption></figure>A rather cheeky read by artists <a href="https://www.mcachicagostore.org/shop/hot-or-not-20thcentury-male-artists-54307">Jessica Campbell</a> is also available at the MCA (Campbell exhibition at the MCA, part of the Chicago Works series, is on view through July 7, 2019). As the MCA website says, "The history of twentieth-century art is filled with men, but one key component has always been missing: which of these men are boneable, and which are not. Jessica Campbell has created the definitive resource on the subject in this hilarious rundown of male artist hotness and notness.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418054/qbef1ccvw98el58s6bje.gif"><figcaption>Driehaus Museum Collection Pinwheel Tie. $48.50</figcaption></figure>A more conservative gift for the man in your life may be this visually vibrant tie from the <a href="https://shop.driehausmuseum.org">Driehaus Museum's</a> gift shop, inspired by the decorative interiors&nbsp;of the Nickerson Mansion. The&nbsp;Pinwheel Tie, one of four contemporary graphic designs &nbsp;created for the museum's custom tie collection, is patterned with&nbsp;the intricate design found in the center of the parquet flooring of the Drawing Room where the symbol evokes innocence, creativity, and the ability to transform obstacles into opportunities.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418055/ofeubhjmdmzrv0zbr3ui.png"><figcaption>Renaissance Enameled Ring set with emeralds and rubies held by Stags, Gold, Western Europe (France?), c. 1550-1600, $210,000.00&nbsp;</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.lesenluminures.com/artworks/categories/1-jewelry/">Les Enluminures</a> is a rare source for unusual historic jewelry, manuscripts and miniatures. If your love is unlike any other, perhaps they are worthy of a truly unique adornment! &nbsp;This truly remarkable Renaissance ring displays all the characteristics of opulent goldsmith work of the period. As the emblem of Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II, the stag is in keeping with the spirit of the Fontainebleau court. And if this breaks your budget, at least pop over for a new view of history!&nbsp;*Note: image at top of this post is also from Les Enluminures.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Art for Your Valentine

<html><head></head><body>So, we're in it now. Chicago seems to have set a new standard for freezing, according to every major news outlet out there. Any heat we feel is likely steaming from a clanky radiator rather than beachside rays of sunlight.&nbsp;The collective freakout about the low temps may seem a tad extreme, but bundled in layers of wool and tired of slipping and sliding on our way anywhere, it seems easier to just stay home for now. Someday, spring and summer will come, but until then, we all take the day off.Our previous post shared some art for the cold.&nbsp;Now we tap our inner voyeur and escape thorough images of better (warmer) times.&nbsp;– CGN Staff&nbsp;Henry George Brandt at <a href="http://www.richardnortongallery.com/artists/henry-george-brandt/artworks/7725-untitled-beach">Richard Norton</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418172/eae72cfcknrbqklvmvxc.gif"><figcaption>Henry George Brandt, Untitled (Beach Scene, Chicago), ca. 1930s, Oil on board, &nbsp;12 1/2 x 15 1/4 inches</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Julia Katz at <a href="http://danaddington.com/addingtongallery/katz/katz.html">Addington Gallery</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418173/xab6qonjsylt9xoyq8za.gif"><figcaption>Julia Katz, Rock Solid, oil on panel, 36 x 48"</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Dan Attoe at <a href="http://westernexhibitions.com/artist/dan-attoe/">Western Exhibitions</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418174/hofrrxdzhlji7kcutwt2.gif"><figcaption>Dan Attoe, Summers At Waterfall 2, 2014, oil on gesso on canvas, stretched over panel</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;David Hockney at <a href="http://www.richardgraygallery.com/artists/david-hockney?view=slider#2">Richard Gray Gallery</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418175/hji8pajgs80yvpzmre4b.gif"><figcaption>David Hockney, Portrait of Nick Wilder, 1966, Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 72 inches</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Botanical art at <a href="https://www.audubonart.com/shop/product/cam-043-berlese-pl-43-camellia-eximia-10276?category=87">Joel Oppenheimer</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418176/icrojf3b56njzwqpo47v.gif"><figcaption>Berlese Pl. 43, Camellia Eximia, Original Antique Print, 13 1/2" x 10 3/8" (approximate), 1839—1843, Hand-colored stipple engraving, Iconographie du Genre Camellia, Produced from 1839—1843 by Lorenzo Berlèse</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;Top image: David Yarrow, ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE, at <a href="http://www.hilton-asmus.com/david-yarrow-all-you-need-is-love.html">Hilton Asmus Contemporary&nbsp;</a></body></html>

Art for the Warm Up (Some Day)

<html><head></head><body>The world is ending!&nbsp;No, it's just really cold in Chicago, and pretty much everywhere.&nbsp;So, since many of us will be working from home for the next day or two (aka binge watching TV and checking emails with closure notices) it's a good chance to view art virtually if you can't make it into the galleries and museums. Check out what's new from gallery artists and be inspired for your next physical visit – when the temperature is back up over 0° soon.Here for you are some art picks for the cold snap.&nbsp;Part II this week will be Art to Warm You Up!&nbsp;And remember, in case you're bold enough to consider venturing outside, many area galleries and museums are closed January 30 (and maybe Jan 31) so please check with each space in advance before visiting.– CGN Staff&nbsp;Terry Evans at <a href="http://www.edelmangallery.com/artists/artists/a-f/terry-evans.html#?id=3428">Catherine Edelman&nbsp;</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418105/ftupisv2g1mcrooehsil.jpg"><figcaption>Terry Evans, Ice Jetty, Lakefront Near Downtown Chicago, Cook County, January 29, 2004From the Revealing Chicago series19 x 19", 30 x 30", 40 x 40" pigment print</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Andrew Homquist at <a href="http://www.secristgallery.com/artists/andrew-holmquist/">Carrie Secrist</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418106/bmt5pifvroatqtaxpal7.jpg"><figcaption>Andrew Holmquist, Lock Step, 2016, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16.5"</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Nancie King Mertz, <a href="http://nanciekingmertz.com/works">Art de Triumph</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418107/rjy2ljvno4nls0zboqpu.gif"><figcaption>Nancie King Mertz, Blanket of Snow</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Luciana Abait at <a href="http://jeanalbanogallery.com/artists-a-m/luciana-abait/">Jean Albano Gallery</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418108/gr6o2yxqkyouxkdxoz3k.gif"><figcaption>Luciana Abait, Bridge, 2018, mixed media on paper, 40 x 60 in.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Come Wind, Come Weather at <a href="https://www.eiu.edu/tarble/currentevents.php">Tarble Arts Center</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418109/tjeqzvl41qswjjz0pnrx.gif"><figcaption>Sue de Beer,&nbsp;The White Wolf&nbsp;(still), 2018&nbsp;Two-channel HD video © Sue de BeerImage Courtesy of the Artist &amp; Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen, part of Come Wind, Come Weather at Tarble Art Center</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Top image: David Yarrow, ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE, at <a href="http://www.hilton-asmus.com/david-yarrow-all-you-need-is-love.html">Hilton Asmus Contemporary&nbsp;</a></body></html>

Art for the Deep Freeze

<html><head></head><body>By GINNY VAN ALYEAThis fall when I made a weekend trip to Rockford to visit family, I made sure to stop, as always, into the Rockford Art Museum to see the latest exhibition, Dwellings,&nbsp;a group show featuring paintings, photography, sculptures and installations by&nbsp;artists Jacqueline Moses,&nbsp;Juan Fernandez,&nbsp;Joe Cassan, and&nbsp;Shana McCaw and Brent Budsberg.&nbsp;The museum's humble exterior doesn't immediately signal the contemporary art housed within. RAM is located inside Riverfront Museum Park for the Arts &amp; Sciences – a multipurpose space close to downtown Rockford – which also happens to house a fabulous children's center (handy when your kids are with you and you don't want them to knock over a sculpture).Each artist in the show has created work that depicts a house or structure, using the concept as well as physical place of the base most of us take for granted as a means to address various issues about stability vs change, comfort vs disruption, a sense of place that contrasts with feelings of displacement. 'Home' is inextricably linked to issues both local and global, personal as well as political.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418042/aiyyoqzuoy86xhq8nhj4.gif"><figcaption>Jacqueline Moses, Small Village, 2018</figcaption></figure>Jackie Moses's vibrant paintings in the show focus on homes that often have been left for good, perhaps due to uncontrollable global or political forces. Moses explains in her statement, "Recent world and personal events have strongly influenced the content in my work. Though the color still remains vibrant, turmoil, separation and flight have become central themes."&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418043/jrv8iycpizgjbkgzjr1f.gif"><figcaption>Juan Fernandez, Concrete, 2011</figcaption></figure>Juan Fernandez's photographs focus on the deceptive banality of structures that some of us spend enough time in that they may be considered an extension of home. In order to distill his architectural images down to a visual purity that we can understand more clearly, Fernandez explains the process of 'cleansing' his photographs, "Each image is 'cleansed' of visual distractions. The compositions are created by only photographing in overcast skies or including small signs of reality, such as a piece of trash, dead leaves, cracks in the cement, or rust stains."<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418045/q9p1wfuvup59dfiv3lf1.gif"><figcaption>Joe Cassan</figcaption></figure>The mix of two and three dimensional work installed throughout the main upper floor of the museum allowed for a sort of wandering typical of exploring various spaces within a home. My children, who are just 3 and 5, were also very engaged with the work that depicted things at once familiar and odd to them, for instance an upside down, double sided house. The experience also raised, for me, a fresh awareness of what my own home means for me and for my family and how grateful I am to have a place to dwell and call home.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418046/tljdlomrbwcbscmkxdp9.gif"><figcaption>Shana McCaw &amp; Brent Budsberg, Reaction, 2009</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The exhibition runs through January 27; if you happen to be near Rockford this weekend, you can still catch this show before it ends.&nbsp;More info about the Rockford Art Museum is <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/rockford-art-museum">here</a>.Top Image: Jacqueline Moses</body></html>

Dwellings: Reconsidering 'Home' at Rockford Art Museum

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417811/wcitasrr6riy9wrynit9.png"></figure><h2>Google is building digital art galleries you can step into</h2>Google wants to help you take a closer look at the art world. The company’s Arts &amp; Culture app has long been one of the company’s cooler niche apps and one that I often feel guilty about overlooking every time I rediscover it. Today, the company has added another experience into the mix focused on collecting the known works of Dutch master artist Johannes Vermeer and curating them in a single place.By Lucas Matney, Tech Crunch<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/03/google-is-building-digital-art-galleries-you-can-step-into/">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417812/z9vz1mbba5snx8yyxqds.png"></figure><h2>Meet The Chicago Woman Taking Balloon Art To Incredible New Heights</h2>When people ask Elaine Frei what she does for a living, the 39-year-old tends to answer, sheepishly, “I have this balloon business.” Which is technically true — Frei is the founder/owner of <a href="https://www.luftballoonstore.com/">Luft Balloons</a>, based in Logan Square — but her response is also a bit like Coco Chanel saying, “I sell clothes.” What Frei actually does is take the humble balloon and elevate it into a medium for sophisticated works of art.By Patti Wetli, Block Club Chicago<a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/11/30/meet-the-chicago-woman-taking-balloon-art-to-incredible-new-heights/">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417813/u4wjxraa3xeoywxlxqco.jpg"></figure><h2>Chicago’s Framing Master Celebrates 40 Years</h2>When Jay Goltz decided to start a picture framing business right out of college, his family and friends thought he was wasting his degree. “In 1978, if you called someone an entrepreneur, it was an insult, like a hustler,” Goltz says. In hindsight, he thinks the disdain prepared him for the challenges that lay ahead.Forty years later, Artists Frame Service is the largest framing store in the country and one of a few keeping the art of framing alive. Clybourn Avenue, where Artists Frame Service is headquartered, has even been named Honorary Jay Goltz Way by the city of Chicago.By Amber Gibson, Architectural Digest<a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/artists-frame-services-jay-goltz-chicago-40-years">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417814/rdmttlw4zhsltxadnbzz.jpg"></figure><h2>How Far Would You Go to Get the Perfect Artwork? We Asked Young Art Collectors How They Landed Their Most Elusive Trophies</h2>As any art collector will tell you, once you catch the collecting bug, it doesn’t leave you. But a new generation of collectors is taking a variety of novel approaches to track down the works they want, often going to wildly impractical or time-consuming lengths to land elusive trophies.By Henri Neuendorf, artnet news<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/young-collectors-1385380">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: December 4, 2018

<html><head></head><body>By SARAH ADLERWhen I hear the term “art world,” I imagine several people – unusually tall and good-looking – gathered together sipping champagne while discussing some sparkling Warhol. Or I hear the incessant clicking of impossibly tall stilettos, going one-two-three-pause-for-reflection-one-two-three across a stone-cold floor in a space adorned by “masterpieces.” Neither of these scenarios is particularly inviting. Furthermore, they are not what I actually have found art, and its related spaces, to have the potential to be: radical, engaging, and provocative. Despite loving art my entire life, I too grow hesitant upon hearing someone invoke the words “art world.”There are numerous spaces around the city that are dedicated to offering beautiful, even transcendental art experiences. In order to encourage anyone who is a bit hesitant about where to start, I have compiled a list of events that may serve as a healthy first course. This is not to say that any of these events don’t appeal to those who frequent these spaces more regularly, but rather that these events present excellent appetizers for anyone who's not yet sure if they want to stay for dinner and dessert.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417790/dvh2dcblf2lmoenxszws.gif"></figure>1. Holiday Photo Book Bazaar, Columbia College of Chicago, December 6, 5-7 PMPhotography was once deemed a “lower” art form than the great likes of painting and sculpture. However, the past century has given way to the likes of both brilliant photographers and massively influential Instagram stars alike. Since photography has become such a mainstay in our everyday technology, it could serve as an easy entranceway into the art world. Yes, the images are probably a bit more edgy than what is on your feed, but several of the artists featured in the bazaar, including Cecil McDonald Jr. and Melissa Ann Pinney, often utilize everyday subject matter. Having their book on your coffee table might be a good tasting before going to a gallery or show.<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/holiday-photo-book-bazaar-3ffaad0b-2f21-468e-ae4c-24517ba728e3">Details</a>600 S. Michigan Avenue&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417791/kn2kfnfiqmag2es0ffa3.gif"><figcaption>Color Memory and Time, Nicole Mauser and Colleen Keihm</figcaption></figure>2. Colleen Keihm and Nicole Mauser: Break Here at Filter Photo, December 7, 2018 - January 5, 2019Both Keihm and Mauser make works that are, undeniably, aesthetically appealing. Working in collaboration for this exhibition, Keihm and Mauser created work that is bold, vibrant, and filled with fun geometric shapes. The cover photo for the event in itself is enchanting: an abstract black-and-white construction stands out against a spectrum of neon color. If you find yourself still interested after a visual perusal, a quick dive into their theoretical practice will uncover some pretty relatable truths about our present moment, particularly the speed at which our technological advances are reshaping our reality.<a href="http://filterphoto.org/portfolio/colleen-keihm-nicole-mauser-break-here/">Details</a>1821 W. Hubbard St. Suite #207&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417793/rp15lwpeamiybwnwyofq.gif"><figcaption>Whitney Bradshaw, Cecily, 2018, &nbsp;courtesy of the artist&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>3. &nbsp;Whitney Bradshaw: Outcry, DePaul Art Museum, through December 16Nothing is as relatable in our current political climate as someone tilting back their head and just letting out their emotions in one great, loud, outcry. This exhibition consists of portraits of women, of all races and ethnicities, screaming at the issues they face everyday. The artist, Whitney Bradshaw, has been bringing together groups of women who don’t know each other since the Women’s March in 2018. There, the women engage in conversations surrounding all kinds of topics, such as racism, sexism, and sexual assault. The resulting images are not posed, but rather the true expressions of these women as they discuss the issues that many of us are also working through everyday.<a href="https://resources.depaul.edu/art-museum/exhibitions/Pages/whitney-bradshaw-outcry.aspx">Details</a>935 W. Fullerton Avenue&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417794/mrzt3qiokrtifxr2oeh3.gif"></figure>4. Revolution Craft Show, December 16, 12 PM- 6 PMThere are so many opportunities, especially in a city like Chicago, to support local artists in small, meaningful ways. This craft show gives you access to over forty local artists working in a variety of mediums: from pins to prints to soap. While it isn’t fine art per say, you will be able to stock up on high quality work - all the while sipping on some beer and meeting those same artists whose work you are supporting. Who needs champagne anyways?<a href="https://www.revolutioncraftshowchicago.com">Details</a>3340 North Kedzie Avenue&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417795/b08jd50aqepp9goilhyt.gif"></figure>5. James Webb: Prayer, Art Institute of Chicago, through December 31As the streets of Chicago become inundated with dirt-colored snow and the temperature drops to unbearably small degrees, it can be nice to just take off your shoes, take some deep breaths, and listen. This could happen in your house, maybe, or it could happen at the stately Art Institute of Chicago. Although most of the floors are dedicated to some of the greatest masters in the world – think all the names that you probably associate with art – an exhibition called Prayer invites its listeners to remove their shoes, walk along soft carpet, and listen to a symphony of different voices – all from Chicago – recite prayers in their respective religions and beliefs. It is a truly lovely way to enjoy the Holiday season.<a href="https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9015/james-webb-prayer">Details</a>111 S. Michigan Avenue&nbsp;Sarah Adler is a freelance writer. She recently graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and serves as both the gallery assistant at Monique Meloche Gallery, as well as an intern in the interpretation department at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.</body></html>

New to the 'Art World'? Here Are Starting Points to Experience

Recently the West Town-based Conservation Center shared a story with its clients and CGN about some recent restoration efforts, one of which involved an unusual and much-loved family "friend" who needed a bit of spit and polish, so to speak, to join shine in the modern age.&nbsp;Following is the post from the <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/the-conservation-center--2">Conservation Center.</a>&nbsp;By THE CONSERVATION CENTEROver these last few months, we’ve spent a lot of quality time in our Conservation Lab with a new friend and have made a lot of great memories. We are talking, of course, about our friend Carlos, a suit of armor and mannequin that we had the joy of conserving.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bedabba88251bb3c92debf4/1542302654224/32021996838_75f3d91b9d_z.jpg?format=500w" alt=" Before Treatment "><figcaption>Before Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bedabc4898583b5bbd590da/1542302670949/32021995588_6471cc3afa_z.jpg?format=500w" alt=" Verso Before Treatment "><figcaption>Verso Before Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c000f48b8a0450af5364e19/1543507786546/?format=500w" alt=" After Treatment "><figcaption>After Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c00105121c67ca694cbb194/1543508053090/45379584584_f024914a99_z.jpg?format=500w" alt=" After Treatment "><figcaption>After Treatment</figcaption></figure>Carlos is a Spanish-made suit of armor that has been an heirloom in the same family since 1967. Our client remembers, “My parents brought him back from their trip to Toledo, but hadn’t told us anything. I just came home from school one day and he was there!”Over the years, Carlos became part of the family. The kids dressed him up in different wigs and beads for the holidays, including a flute of champagne to celebrate the New Year. “Carlos was certainly always a conversation starter,” our client told us, laughing. “Not everyone has a suit of armor in their house!”<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c000ef30ebbe8ea333184ae/1543507711284/45191818825_a80ba10a48_z.jpg?format=500w" alt=" After Treatment "><figcaption>After Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The family knew it was time for Carlos to get some work done when he started leaning from various location changes. Before moving him to his next destination- the family beach house- they decided to send Carlos to us.Carlos came to The Center in generally good condition, though his armor exhibited minor surface oxidation and subtle corrosion throughout, especially on the backs of the plates which exhibited moderate corrosion. The armor was also covered in a light layer of surface particulates, typical of his age.<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bedac55f950b790807312f4/1543507932618/45168943224_bc94a1a721_z.jpg?format=500w" alt=" Before Treatment "><figcaption>Before Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c000f8a4d7a9ce14fa147f6/1543507949686/?format=500w" alt=" After Treatment "><figcaption>After Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bedad0d6d2a730d95170f4e/1543508128793/45893035791_a52ba9d044_z.jpg?format=500w" alt=" Verso Before Treatment "><figcaption>Verso Before Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c000de4562fa7bb7de1e006/1543507430741/?format=500w" alt=" After Treatment "><figcaption>After Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c000f5a40ec9a39d62992f4/1543507981537/45191836235_f36c26951d_z.jpg?format=500w" alt=" After Treatment "><figcaption>After Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Carlos’ armor came with a few leather pieces, which mainly served the purpose of joining different parts of the armor together, such as the escarcela to the peto, or the thigh and the breastplate, respectively. These leather pieces were extremely dry and cracked. The leather joining the hombrera and the espaldar, or shoulder and back plate, were rotted, not functioning properly, and were possibly not even original to the armor. The leather straps on the legs, however, appeared to be in good condition.<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bedaca7898583b5bbd59d1f/1543508893496/44980021805_fd8dd9eec1_z.jpg?format=300w" alt=" Before Treatment "><figcaption>Before Treatment</figcaption></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bedac9721c67c5e47fbd16f/1543508976757/44076589670_64ab7b34dc_z.jpg?format=300w" alt=" Before Treatment "><figcaption>Before Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c000eb4b8a0450af53645b8/1543509066269/45191808365_76b81bec1f_z.jpg?format=300w" alt=" After Treatment "><figcaption>After Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The sword that came to The Center with Carlos was covered in shellac from a previous restoration campaign that was failing and causing discoloration. His skirt, made of red velvet, was in a soiled condition. The color of the velvet was also considerably faded, particularly on the back side.<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec952e032be40cb0ddd51b/1542231348373/45157231164_c197f83d0b_z.jpg?format=500w" alt=" During Treatment "><figcaption>During Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec9553352f530eec8d9361/1542231404696/30942240987_a39bbf4369_z.jpg?format=500w" alt=" During Treatment "><figcaption>During Treatment</figcaption></figure>Carlos engaged in a photo shoot when he arrived to document his appearance before and after treatment. Next, the armor was carefully removed from the wooden mannequin and surface cleaned using the appropriate conservation methods and materials. All of the pieces were coated with wax to protect the metal and preserve the patina, including Carlos’ sword, which was surface cleaned after the shellac was removed.<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec95ed03ce64f3bcd64ea6/1542231536280/44064708700_4ae50b88c8_z.jpg?format=500w" alt="44064708700_4ae50b88c8_z.jpg"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec95cd4d7a9cfc93ac4d00/1542231511619/?format=500w"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec95fff950b725c708375b/1542231554886/44064716560_890df01f86_z.jpg?format=500w" alt="44064716560_890df01f86_z.jpg"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec96104ae237283252bc2e/1542231576694/44968148705_a4ed5e0d11_z.jpg?format=500w" alt="44968148705_a4ed5e0d11_z.jpg"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec96482b6a28c72ef458e8/1542231630375/?format=500w"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec95bc6d2a736b0f038ae9/1542231487799/32010059308_39120e11c9_z.jpg?format=500w" alt="32010059308_39120e11c9_z.jpg"></figure>The leather pieces of the armor were replaced as needed on the torso and shoulders, and the lower leather pieces were conditioned to preserve their longevity. The red velvet skirt was also surface cleaned using the appropriate conservation methods and materials.<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bedadb71ae6cfd30330fa6b/1542303163825/44980026295_7966c2e622_z.jpg?format=750w" alt=" Before Treatment "><figcaption>Before Treatment</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c000d6970a6ad71683cd301/1543507308856/46103571141_73040ab5a8_z.jpg?format=750w" alt=" After Treatment "><figcaption>After Treatment</figcaption></figure>Andrew Rigsby, The Center’s Assistant Conservator of Furniture, worked on the suit of armor and spent the most time with Carlos.“We don’t see many sets of armor anymore, so it has been a lot of fun treating Carlos,” Andrew said. “The steel is of good quality and cleaned up really well with a weak tannic acid solution. Carlos is definitely ready to hang around a bit longer!”&nbsp;After Treatment<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c000e9f575d1f70b7c498d6/1543507623359/?format=500w" alt=" After Treatment Detail "><figcaption>After Treatment Detail</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5c000ed90e2e722b5d7f8bd1/1543507683191/45191813615_b7c1e7a544_z.jpg?format=750w" alt=" After Treatment "><figcaption>After Treatment</figcaption></figure>After a lot of fun with Carlos here at The Center, it will be hard to say goodbye. But soon he will be off on a new adventure in his family’s beach house, where he will bring more joy and memories for years to come.Check out Carlos’ Social Media Takeover!<figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bf2cda640ec9acef3fd71ae/1542639031869/?format=500w"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bedad7270a6adb0fa4735fc/1542303094089/44969181895_e97d127766_z.jpg?format=500w" alt="44969181895_e97d127766_z.jpg"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bedfcca032be4e68dc31cfe/1542323421484/?format=500w"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec96ca70a6ad427ecfb342/1542232077050/IMG_9535.JPG?format=500w" alt="IMG_9535.JPG"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec974f4d7a9cfc93ac7317/1542232088182/5.jpg?format=500w" alt="5.jpg"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec96db4ae237283252cecb/1542232102009/?format=500w"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec96f9562fa7a7dbf6361b/1542232113208/?format=500w"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506f408e4b0619cc3aeac05/t/5bec9717b8a045ec7306a6e5/1542232123024/IMG-9456.JPG?format=500w" alt="IMG-9456.JPG"></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="http://www.theconservationcenter.com/s/arrow-top.svg"></figure>

Shining the Knight: A Conservation Case Study

<html><head></head><body>By GINNY VAN ALYEAWhy are there so many emails and so many earnest requests to give today on #GivingTuesday? After being inundated with notices for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, it's easy to delete all the messages and requests, but so many vital area nonprofits are making the push for your support today because your donations truly help them do so much for their communities throughout the year. This kind of spending really counts.&nbsp;Here is our list of a few area arts groups that could use your financial support today (and beyond!) Most of them are able to take donations via Facebook too (since Facebook and PayPal are matching donations for a total of up to $7 million today).The best way to give lasting support to these groups is by staying interested in and engaged with their programming all year long.Happy giving!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417796/njmt1lpkmdpr9egq025u.jpg"></figure>Elmhurst Art Museum – "Art is for Everyone"Help make art more accessible through EAM's "Art is for Everyone" program and sponsor the EAM's tours for underserved schools.$50 provides art supplies for a group of 10 low-income children $100 supports a visit for 3 students and the opportunity to return with annual memberships for their families $250 funds bus transportation for a school group from the greater Chicagoland area $500 sponsors a full docent-led tour and hands-on activities for an underserved school group<a href="https://www.facebook.com/donate/282512845802890/10156885520633841/">Elmhurst Art Museum</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417797/oywd9ijtmhl9qsawfwwz.jpg"></figure>Smart Museum of Art &nbsp;– Family DaysEach Family Day begins with an intimate family-centric tour led by our engaging docents. These tours highlight key issues and ideas related to the art on view. The inspiration found in the galleries spills out into our lobby after the tour, where families draw, build, sew, paint, or carve a project that reinforces what they’ve learned in the gallery. Donors provide the funds to pay our docents, guest artists, and performers. Their support buys the materials and supplies for hands-on art-making. Your help ensures that Family Day at the Smart remains free and open to all.<a href="https://giving.uchicago.edu/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app268b?1837.donation=form1&amp;df_id=1837&amp;mfc_pref=T&amp;NONCE_TOKEN=B6645D15ECFF37693486136A173D900A&amp;mc_cid=e23dcc561c&amp;mc_eid=a6ad3ea4a5">Smart Museum of Art</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417798/g7pfmbgxwjtmt6a8bdau.jpg"></figure>Hyde Park Art Center – Artist InvestmentThe Hyde Park Art Center invests in artists at all levels in Chicago. Your gift will enable creativity for all -- from toddlers learning art for the first time, to teens finding their creative voices, to emerging and mid-career artists pushing their careers to the next level. Any amount makes a difference."I 100% attribute the complete transformation of my practice to my experience at the Art Center." – Amanda Williams, Artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/donate/">Hyde Park Art Center</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417799/ajkf4ckddfsr5bhcltdj.jpg"></figure>Chicago Artists Coalition - Chicago Artists Resource (CAR)Each month, over 50,000 people utilize Chicago Artists Resource (CAR) to advance their practice and support Chicago’s creative community. Please join CAC in our work of assisting ambitious and innovative thinkers who are critical to the vitality of Chicago. Your support is what has helped Chicago Artists Resource grow and continue serving the arts community in Chicago.<a href="https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/ChicagoArtists/donation-1.html">Chicago Artists Resource</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417799/vjlr59oe8zgscbioadpw.jpg"><figcaption>Ms. Jackson-Ivy, Henderson Elementary School, 2018. Photo by Suzette Bross for CPS Lives Principal Project.</figcaption></figure>CPS Lives – Artists in Chicago Public SchoolsCPS Lives is an arts organization that pairs Chicago artists, designers, creatives, thinkers, makers, and educators with a Chicago Public School during the academic year to collaborate on a project, sharing the unique and individual story of each Chicago Public School.&nbsp; Each story will be celebrated and exhibited through local Chicago Public Library branches, as well as existing on the <a href="https://cpslives.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3f6a10c14ffc74d748c865296&amp;id=fde75f7988&amp;e=4fef97222b">CPS Lives</a> website as an accessible digital archive of history for students, families, community members, educators, administrators, policymakers, &amp; the general public.&nbsp;CPS Lives recently gained nonprofit status, and they also have a donor who very&nbsp;generously&nbsp;offered to match donations up to $10,000&nbsp;given during the holiday season.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/donate/360180911406111/360180918072777/">CPS Lives Facebook page</a>Read CGN's story about CPS Lives <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2018/7/cpslives-puts-artists-in-chicago-public-schools?utm_source=Art+Headlines%3A+July+17%2C+2018&amp;utm_campaign=July+17%2C+2018&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;fbclid=IwAR1pLFbxQZETJm7jZgvWpNfQSnJDu3NNYi-KWey-G_rwARTrYSwad8GCIFQ">here</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417800/ytg70yoeokkdyb6moulk.gif"></figure>Spudnik Press – Keep the Presses RollingToday, we kick off our End of Year Campaign to raise $5000 for Spudnik Press programming and equipment. Every dollar you&nbsp;donate&nbsp;to Spudnik Press is critical&nbsp;and will fund programs for emerging artists, youth education, and the equipment and professional resources our community relies on. Your support&nbsp;allows us to be a lifeline for so many Chicago artists.Giving to Spudnik means a win for everyone. Today only: Donate $10+ on #GivingTuesday and get&nbsp;entered in a drawing for Dinner &amp; Drinks&nbsp;for 4 at Enoteca Roma in Wicker Park.&nbsp;“Not only did I learn how to use letterpress technology. I felt empowered.” – Spudnik Press Student<a href="https://www.spudnikpress.org/support/donate/?fbclid=IwAR2tg_wdkKAMDcFsJ8piTo6ZJmB4Yy7YfApKzGYIE7O715kA2I6MSxVX1jY">Spudnik Press Cooperative</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

A summary of several Chicago area arts groups to support on #GivingTuesday

Support Chicago Arts Groups on #GivingTuesday

<html><head></head><body>By GINNY VAN ALYEA &nbsp;With the holiday season in full swing, we came up with an artistic round-up of under-the-radar things to experience as well as share with loved ones in the next few weeks. Beyond just taking selfies with the Art Institute's wreathed lions (though we love them), or, more likely, frantically attempting to cross off your growing list of to-dos, there is a lot of art to see (and of course buy!) which adds creativity and a unique spirit to your holidays.&nbsp;Seeking out and appreciating art, and the artists who make it, can give you a special chance to enjoy culture and art this time of year. In this age of shop-from-your-couch from the world's mega companies, buying tickets to area museums and visiting local galleries and studios is an important way to support our vital, creative neighbors who do something independent every day of the year.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417729/xlgbeolz1aeiynudrxav.png"><figcaption>Art and Faith of the Creche at LUMA</figcaption></figure>Seasonal Art for the HolidaysThis winter, the Loyola University Museum of Art will showcase two exhibitions that are festive reasons to visit this small museum in the heart of downtown.&nbsp;Art and Faith of the Crèche: The Collection of James and Emilia Govan is a perennial favorite. Each year LUMA shares how artists across the globe depict the nativity with clothes, architecture, and figures from their native lands.Chicago artist David Lee Csicsko will be featured in The Art of the Season: David Lee Csicsko. In addition to showcasing 20 new color prints, a selection of Csicsko’s black and white series&nbsp;Saints in the Garden&nbsp;(1990- 1997) will be on view.On Friday, November 30 there is a free, public reception for both shows, 5:30-7:30pm. On Tuesday, December 4 Csicsko will give a talk from 6-7pm at the museum where he will discuss the inspiration, motivation, and process for creating his prints. On December 8, you can work with the artist to make your own greeting cards to send to friends and family (1–3pm at LUMA)<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/loyola-university-museum-of-art-luma--2">Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA)</a>820 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60611&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417730/nrjoigmww3klxt7t7o8j.jpg"><figcaption>Mrs. James Ward Thorne.&nbsp;E-14: English Drawing Room of the Victorian Period, 1840–70&nbsp;(detail), about 1937. Gift of Mrs. James Ward Thorne.</figcaption></figure>Stunning Details in MiniatureThere is no shortage of festivity at the Art Institute of Chicago, but make sure to visit the Thorne Rooms this season, as they are once again getting their seasonal trimmings. Among the most elaborate is the English Drawing Room of the Victorian Period, the only room with a Christmas tree. Now a ubiquitous feature of the season, the Christmas tree, or&nbsp;tannenbaum, was only brought to England from Germany in 1840 with the marriage of Prince Albert to Queen Victoria. The Thorne Room tree and accoutrements are based on a famous engraving of the royal couple and their children surrounding a trimmed and toy-bedecked tree, an image that would forever popularize this holiday fixture.&nbsp;Other ornamented rooms include:&nbsp;<ul><li>The Virginia Entrance Hall with mistletoe, wreath, and garland</li><li>The French Provincial Bedroom with shoes, or sabots, lined up before the fireplace, a crèche, and puzzle</li><li>The modern-era California Hallway with an Otto Natzler mid-century menorah and box with a dreidel</li><li>The English Great Hall of the Tudor period with a wassailing bowl, yule log, and an essential part of the costuming for that period’s singing and dancing revelers—a mummer’s mask</li></ul><a href="https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9128/holiday-thorne-rooms">The Art Institute of Chicago</a>111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417731/zzc4wqxfqxhfuz2jeyte.jpg"><figcaption>Mies van der Rohe's McCormick House</figcaption></figure>Mies for the HolidaysThe Elmhurst Art Museum's exhibit, McCormick House 1952-59, showcases the recent restoration of Mies van der Rohe’s McCormick House at the museum. Captivating visitors are a series of rooms with classic 1950s furniture inspired by historical photographs of the residence of Robert Hall McCormick III and Isabella Gardner (1952-59), as a means of honoring the original architect and his clients.&nbsp;The exhibition's architects have added more warmth to the historic home through seasonal holiday decor with a minimal, Mid-century focus. &nbsp;A family Holiday Party takes place December 8 from 1-4pm for this month's family day. Enjoy hot cocoa, cookies and hands-on art activities along with a surprise visit from Santa at 2 pm.<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/elmhurst-art-museum">Elmhurst Art Museum</a>150 Cottage Hill Rd., Elmhurst, IL 60126&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417732/sdvfnyshnlfteb9lglgo.jpg"><figcaption>Cornelia Arts Building features more than 40 resident artists.</figcaption></figure>Meet Your (Gift) MakerThe Cornelia Arts Building hosts open studios throughout the year, but their December event (on November 30 from 6-10pm) is a great chance to meet over 40 resident artists in their studios, view hallway guest artist exhibitions, enjoy local food trucks, and of course consider purchasing a work of art directly from the maker. If you need a new year's resolution, make a commitment to bring a friend along to an open studio or gallery night in 2019.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/cornelia-arts-building-december-open-studios">Cornelia Arts Building</a>1800 W. Cornelia, Chicago, IL 60657 &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417732/wjngtabzppmoawekxfdg.jpg"><figcaption>WMG artists Sandra Bridges, Pamela Callahan and Fran Bull</figcaption></figure>The Smaller the BetterWoman Made Gallery marked its 26th Anniversary this year, and in celebration they are hosting a Small Works Exhibition, with an open house taking place Saturday, December 8, from 12-4pm. WMG's goal is to cultivate, promote, and support the work of female-identified artists by providing exhibition opportunities, professional development, and public programs that invite discussion about what feminism means today. A visit to their relatively new Pilsen space offers a chance to connect with member artists and also purchase their work.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/small-works-members-show-2018">Woman Made Gallery</a>2150 S Canalport #4A-3, Chicago, IL 60608&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417733/kmag4euaskhoiddfrucl.gif"><figcaption>Balloon Dog Salt and Pepper Shakers ($24.95); Andy Warhol sock set ($56.00); Art in Chicago ($65.00)</figcaption></figure>If It's Art Can We Just Buy More?We love shopping at the Museum of Contemporary Art Store all year long, but we feel like we can spend more freely when we're buying things for someone else. I know I don't need a Jeff Koons-inspired set of salt and pepper shakers, or a box of Andy Warhol socks, but someone else does and I bet they will be surprised when they receive them! And of course if you're a member you get a discount.&nbsp;Also, 2018 has been a remarkable year for art in Chicago, largely in part because of Art Design Chicago, the expansive cultural collaboration that took place at hundreds of spaces and institutions throughout the area all year. The book about ADC is for sale at the MCA. Picture your gift recipient reading it in their Andy Warhol (or Keith Haring!) socks... &nbsp;While sprinkling salt and pepper on something.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mcachicagostore.org">Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) Store</a>220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417734/xtktcnl5wuge4mfy3a1k.jpg"><figcaption>CPC's 29th annual small print exhibition and holiday sale&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Go Crazy for PrintsThe Chicago Printmakers Collaborative's 29th Annual International Small Print Exhibition and Holiday Sale is always popular because it's just such a fun and lively event and a chance to see artists actually at work on the presses. It's also a very well-timed occasion to buy art for everyone you know. Kicking off this weekend on December 1 and 2, more than 80 artists will have work for sale covering the walls until it's sold. &nbsp;Enjoy some hot spiced cider, artist-made snacks and start collecting affordable prints from the walls while artists attempt to keep up with the mass buying frenzy. Also featuring an artist-made selection of gifts including hand-printed textiles, greeting cards, books, broadsides, pendants and t-shirts.<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/29th-annual-international-small-print-exhibition-and-holiday-sale">Chicago Printmakers Collaborative</a>4912 N. Western, Chicago, IL 60625&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417735/s6zn7lanyc0pjqub6umi.jpg"><figcaption>Holidays from another era are recalled at the Driehaus Museum</figcaption></figure>Give An Art History Time CapsuleA membership to a museum is always a fantastic idea, and this season The Driehaus Museum is enticing gift-givers and new members to share one of Chicago's most unique museums as a gift all year long, since they are offering a 20% discount (with code HOLIDAY). The museum offers an immersive historical and architectural experience to everyone who visits, since the building itself is a restored Gilded Age home that features a permanent collection of period objects and design. In 2019 the museum will be offering a new focus on contemporary art that will tie to the museum's place in history.&nbsp;Several festive events for the season are taking place at the museum through mid-December, such as tours of the museum and neighboring historical sites as well as a tea at the Drake Hotel. Santa will make an appearance some time as well. And of course the gift shop offers unique ideas too.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/richard-h-driehaus-museum">The Driehaus Museum</a>Nickerson Mansion, 40 E. Erie, Chicago, IL 60611&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417736/xjmdmktovjnwdve45sug.jpg"><figcaption>MoCP's Book Bazaar</figcaption></figure>If You Don't Give Art, Give a BookWhen I particularly covet an artist's work but there is no way in the universe I could ever afford to own a piece, the next best thing is first to meet the artist and then to own a beautiful book about the artist's work. On Thursday, December 6, from 5–7&nbsp;pm the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) will host a special celebration of photography books. Photographers of note, including Barbara Diener, Jess T. Dugan, Dave Jordano, Laura Letinsky, Cecil McDonald, Jr., Melissa Pinney, and Michael Schmelling, will be at the MoCP to discuss and sign their newly released books.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/holiday-photo-book-bazaar-3ffaad0b-2f21-468e-ae4c-24517ba728e3">MoCP</a>Columbia College Chicago 600 S. Michigan, Chicago, IL 60605&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417737/i4lrzsnz5sflbrpsdg6y.jpg"><figcaption>Gene Skala, Shadows and Tall Trees</figcaption></figure>Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in KindergartenIf you can't buy it, make it! On Saturday, December 8 (You're not frantic yet! You can still be organized!) Hofheimer Gallery in Ravenswood is hosting a Holiday Gouache Workshop. The gallery is offering the public the chance to make a holiday picture using gouache. No previous experience required. Learn basic techniques from exhibiting artists. Paint, materials, and refreshments provided. The event is free and all are welcome.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/holiday-gouache-workshop">Hofheimer Gallery</a>4823 N. Damen, Chicago, IL 60625&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417738/c1tmyfi6wrduovb2iihi.jpg"></figure>Inspire Someone to Become an Art CollectorChicago Artists Coalition's Chartwell Collectors Circle, Chartwell Insurance Services and Chubb Personal Insurance, is a dynamic group of both emerging and established collectors who share a strong interest in art and supporting Chicago’s role as an arts capital. As a special CAC membership level, Collectors Circle offers an exclusive calendar of events that broadens members’ knowledge about contemporary arts and culture. The group is regularly invited to exclusive members-only events throughout the year, primarily private collection tours and artist studio tours. Members also receive invitations to VIP events at the Chicago Artists Coalition, including the Benefit Auction Preview at Christie's (held in the spring) and THE ANNUAL Preview Reception (in the fall), amongst other programs. They also receive special access passes to EXPO Chicago, and other Chicago art events throughout the year. $175 per year for individual or $250 per year for household.&nbsp;<a href="http://chicagoartistscoalition.org/programs/chartwell-collectors-circle-0?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=CAC%20December%202018%20Newsletter&amp;utm_content=CAC%20December%202018%20Newsletter+CID_98e053997d760d8c34849a92b926c439&amp;utm_source=campaign%20monitor&amp;utm_term=Read%20more%20about%20Collectors%20Circle%20Membership">CAC Chartwell Collectors Circle</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417739/vuh5i8hg1ik1wwwnp0hl.gif"></figure>The Gift of InformationTime to toot our own horn! Share a <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/print-subscriptions">print subscription</a> to CGN for 3 issues for $20 a year.&nbsp;If you sign up by December 10 and <a href="info@chicagogallerynews.com">get in touch</a> with us, we will mail a 2018 CGN Arts Guide or our fall magazine with a gift certificate to announce your 2019 gift subscription. The new edition will arrive in January.&nbsp;CGN has been spreading the spirt of art since the winter of 1982/83, and what began as a four page pamphlet to promote 16 galleries is now a 160 page annual arts guide, a summer as well as fall magazine featuring art news and interviews, and a comprehensive website telling you everything you need to know about art everyday in Chicago and the near-Midwest.&nbsp;Chicago Gallery News (CGN)Tel 312 649 0064&nbsp;We add new events and exhibitions to the <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events">CGN Calendar</a> every day, so check it out to discover more holiday art events as well as plan for a new year of art in 2019.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Art to See and Give for the Holidays

<html><head></head><body>By FRANCK MERCURIOThe Chicago Cultural Center’s trio of galleries—known as the Chicago Rooms—presents a special challenge for any curator or artist. Works of art can easily&nbsp; “get lost” in these super-tall spaces with their classical proportions and stunning views of Millennium Park. But three artists—Jeff Carter, Faheem Majeed, and Susan Giles—successfully answered the call by curators Greg Lunceford and Lisa McKean to create “an exhibition whose demands exceed the sizeable ones made by the architectural space.” In this adventure Carter, Majeed, and Giles have created works that not only stand on their own inside these three galleries, but also explore different formal and social aspects of the built environment.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417740/swtqprfratd7wkhtcuzj.gif"><figcaption>Susan Giles</figcaption></figure><h3>Susan Giles</h3>This reviewer first became acquainted with the work of Susan Giles when she was creating small-scale sculptures inspired by architectural icons, including the Arc de Triomphe, Tower Bridge, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Blue Mosque, among others. She crafted these works from an unlikely duo of materials: paper and concrete. The contrast between the lightweight architectural models (paper) and the weighted, gray bases on which they sat (concrete) captured the “groundedness” of architecture while simultaneously expressing its vulnerability.Giles’ most recent works continue to be inspired by the built environment, but her forms are less literally architectural. The artist has been observing and videotaping people as they describe the spaces around them—as much with their hands as with their words. She then makes 3D constructions based on her subjects’ fluid arm and hand gestures.The most monumental of these gestural works is currently installed inside one of the Chicago Cultural Center’s Chicago Rooms. Titled In the Center There Were Librarians, this intricately layered cardboard construction hovers above the spot where a large, round, reference desk once stood when the Cultural Center served as the city’s main public library.Giles interviewed retired librarian Carolyn Mulac who remembered the original set-up. “[Carolyn] was telling me about this desk,” recalled Giles “and she said ‘It went around like this [using hand gestures] and in the center there were librarians.’”Giles chose cardboard to make the sculpture, a lightweight material that she and her assistants suspended from the gallery’s ceiling using fishing line. The effect is of a massive sculptural gesture floating in space.“I 3D scanned [the original model], and I wanted to blow it up,” said Giles, “so you can not only walk up to it, but also enter it.”Visitors to the exhibition enthusiastically enter and occupy the work, marveling at the intricacies of the sculpture’s construction. SurroundingIn the Center There Were Librarians, the curators include eight small-scale gestural sculptures by Giles, each 3D printed in plastic, presenting a compelling contrast between temporary gestures and permanent materials.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417741/yhjdu5nsszpk6effqige.gif"><figcaption>Faheem Majeed</figcaption></figure><h3>Faheem Majeed</h3>Faheem Majeed’s installation also plays on architectural themes with two large-scale pieces: Board-upand Lean-to.Both were created using small pieces of found-wood that Majeed and his assistants hand crafted and brightly dyed using Kool-Aid. “All the wood was actually salvaged from my own neighborhood and from previous projects,” explained Majeed. “And the funny thing is, I have an infinite amount of it. So I never run out! [laughs]”Lean-toreferences the immediate need of shelter and takes up a large area of the gallery. Similar to Giles’ In the Center There Were Librarians,visitors can walk underneath and occupy this large-scale sculpture, which references the simplest of structures: a lean-to. Considering the context of the piece—a building that once housed the city’s main library—it brings to mind (to this reviewer) the homeless citizens of Chicago who often use public libraries as their daytime homes.Yet despite Lean-to’s monumental presence—and meaning—it is Board-upthat steals the show. Covering one of the gallery’s large, arched windows, the sculpture’s thousands of multi-colored pieces reference a stained glass window—and at the same time, a boarded up abandoned building. The artist’s inspiration came from looking at board-ups on the Southside, which he considers metaphors for both neighborhoods and people.In making this piece, Majeed relied on a range of sources and inspirations, from Abstract Expressionists—such as Joan Mitchell and Jasper Johns—to the artists of the AfriCOBRA collective (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) founded in Chicago in 1968.“I’m thinking about AfriCOBRA. I’m having conversations with painting. And I started to think about those moments when color theory penetrated my practice,” said Majeed.Looking at the works of Mitchell and Johns and some of the original AfricCOBRA artists—such as Wadsworth Jarrell and Nelson Stevens—you can see the influence of their vibrant, energetic paintings on Majeed’s art. Yet, Majeed has taken those influences and expanded upon them, making works that are grounded in Modernist color theory, but reflective of the present moment’s concerns. The end result: an art that is relevant and highly engaging to today’s audiences.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417742/njvbgyfxmf5leff3pmct.gif"><figcaption>Jeff Carter</figcaption></figure><h3>Jeff Carter</h3>At first glance, Jeff Carter’s sculptural installations don’t read as political commentary. But his stated influences include the political barricades built by pro-democracy protestors in China.“I thought about protest barriers: wherever they’re built, they’re very localized,” explained Carter. “[The barriers are constructed with] whatever’s at hand and whatever building methods and materials can be accessed quickly; and so, they’re like a snapshot of the immediate surroundings.”The ironic thing is that Carter uses Ikea products as his raw materials to make these “barricades”—materials that can be found just about anywhere, in every household and every city where an Ikea store is located.“Ikea is the same everywhere,” says Carter, “So these sculptures are an attempt to formalize the protest barriers. They’re meant to look haphazard and rather aggressive—and take up a lot more space than they should—but they’re also really precise. There’s a layer of precision hidden inside of the chaos.”<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417743/svv5sfij0lpicns77krm.gif"><figcaption>Jeff Carter</figcaption></figure>There is something strangely familiar about Carter’s constructions. The elements of each piece evoke furniture design, yet there is no functionality in any of the works. Each piece has an absurdist quality to it. Indeed, a piece like “Occupier”—a bright orange, desk-like form punctured with umbrellas and decorated with flashing lights and siren sounds—evokes Surrealist works of the early 20th-Century.“As a sculptor, it’s kind of fun and challenging to use [Ikea products] as a raw material,” said Carter. “It’s a highly refined product, so I’m negotiating with the material a lot because of what it wants to do and what I want it to do. Often times I change my ideas and adapt things to make the best use of its characteristics.”What Carter wanted to do in Tuned Mass was create works that block the pathways of visitors as they walk through the gallery, taking up the curators’ challenge to fill the space while simultaneously exploring architectural themes. Indeed, one of Carter’s stronger pieces, “Occupier 3” not only runs through the gallery, but actually runs up one of the gallery’s walls.“The curator wanted all the artists in the show to activate the space as much as possible,” explained Carter. “These [works] are all about occupation or occupying space.”You can see Carter’s “occupying works” as well as those of Majeed and Giles at the <a href="https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_culturalcenter.html">Chicago Cultural Center</a> through January 6, 2019, in the Center’s Chicago Rooms located on the second floor.&nbsp;</body></html>

Franck Mercurio visits the Chicago Cultural Center to see "Tuned Mass"

Tuned Mass

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417754/szqqftskebemzgdic4rd.jpg"></figure><h2>Contemporary art’s value may be on the rise, but it comes at a greater cost</h2>Chicago’s aborted effort to sell Kerry James Marshall’s public work teaches us something about the transactional nature of today’s cultureBy Michelle Grabner, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/comment/art-s-value-may-be-on-the-rise-but-it-comes-at-a-greater-cost">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417755/eiwh0n0bapn2uoobtzyl.png"></figure><h2>Kerry James Marshall named most influential contemporary artist</h2>Kerry James Marshall, the American figurative painter who set a record at auction this year for the most expensive work by a living black artist, has been judged the world’s most influential artist in an annual contemporary power list.Via The Guardian<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/nov/09/kerry-james-marshall-named-most-influential-contemporary-artist?fbclid=IwAR36J7_yqwoZ8JyIYqYU4DnfPNkVak2y8lIHxxcbwBPI6u5CPbntuiAdAWs">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417756/xqvwrnajmh7khooietrk.png"></figure><h2>Reimagining Norman Rockwell’s America</h2>In 2012, Hank Willis Thomas saw a poster of Norman Rockwell’s painting of a family seated around a holiday table, the matriarch presenting a turkey to her guests. For Mr. Thomas, a 42-year-old black artist raised in Manhattan, the pale complexions in Mr. Rockwell’s 1943 masterpiece did little to represent his experience of a diverse America. So he decided to create a tableau of his own.By Lauren M. Holson, The New York Times<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/arts/norman-rockwell-freedom.html?fbclid=IwAR3xuTMmqZDJ-zBhcn558yjIT3E3jl1dbMvk-6gJSOqpBaJTKCQ72MQsMwM">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417757/qnh72azhjw1wahqfqg6h.png"></figure><h2>What’s the Secret to Making It as an Artist? A New Study Says the First Few Years Are Key</h2>What does it take to make it as a professional artist today? The most critical thing is to show at the right places early on,&nbsp;according to a new study published in the journal Science.Data scientists looked at the careers of&nbsp;a half-million artists between 1980 and 2016 and found that early endorsement by prestigious art institutions was the best predictor of long-term success.&nbsp;The data, collected by the firm Magnus, included exhibitions at 16,002 galleries and 7,568 museums, as well as sales at 1,239 auction houses.By Sarah Cascone, Artnet News<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/secret-to-making-it-artist-first-years-are-key-1392148?utm_content=from_&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=US+9:50+a.m.+newsletter+for+11/12/18&amp;utm_term=New+US+Newsletter+List&amp;fbclid=IwAR3VJr7iWycOsQC82AOSHyeCgFWOwmFHLEkqkp57Ioi-qJz1kRoofb8NdKI">Read More</a> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: November 12, 2018

Art Institute of Chicago Makes Thousands of Hi-Res Images Available for Free<h2>&nbsp;</h2>The museum has reproduced thousands of high-resolution images of its art and released a substantial amount into the public domain. This means that, under the&nbsp;Creative Commons Zero (CC0)&nbsp;license, students, educators, and even everyday art lovers can&nbsp;download this digitized art for free.By&nbsp;Kelly Richman-Abdou, My Modern Met<a href="https://mymodernmet.com/art-institute-of-chicago-free-resources/">Read More</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3186/original/2-2.gif" alt=""></figure>3Arts awards 20 Chicago artists with unrestricted cash grants<h2>&nbsp;</h2>3Arts,&nbsp;the Chicago-based nonprofit grant making organization,&nbsp;is&nbsp;honored to award 20 Chicago artists with unrestricted grants at the&nbsp;11th Annual 3Arts Awards Celebration taking place&nbsp;Monday, November 5, at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The celebration will honor the 10 annual 3Arts Awards recipients along with 10 recipients of&nbsp;Make a Wave—an unprecedented artist-to-artist giving initiative.Via The Chicago Crusader<a href="https://chicagocrusader.com/3arts-awards-20-chicago-artists-with-unrestricted-cash-grants/">Read More</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3188/original/art-deco-chicago-cover-miso76.jpg" alt=""></figure>Travel to Art Deco Chicago With This Book<h2>&nbsp;</h2>In part due to Instagram, architectural tourism has never been bigger. Few cities anywhere in the world can compete with Chicago for architectural splendor and variety. It’s river architecture tour is considered a must-do—even by travel snobs.&nbsp;Wright, Burnham,&nbsp;Sullivan, Gang, van der Rohe, S.O.M, Gehry, and&nbsp;Bofill—all have iconic buildings here. But for us, the most visually alluring period of skyscrapers is Art Deco.Via The Daily Beast<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/travel-to-art-deco-chicago?ref=scroll">Read More</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;Chicago Lays Claim to Modern Design Achievements in a New Show<h2>&nbsp;</h2>Chicago&nbsp;is well-known for innovation in design when it comes to architecture, but what about product, graphic, or interior design? Olivia Mahoney, senior curator at the Chicago History Museum, says the city was a leader in these areas, yet its contributions are often overlooked.&nbsp;By&nbsp;Rebecca&nbsp;Holland, Architectural Digest<a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/modern-by-design-clicago-history-achievements-in-a-new-show">Read More</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3187/original/306-he-nf-mask.jpg" alt=""></figure>Alaskan dancer helps the Met solve riddle of the Yup’ik mask<h2>&nbsp;</h2>When Caitlin Mahony, an assistant conservator at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, first examined a wooden Yup’ik mask last spring, she was at a loss for how to proceed with its treatment. Created around 1900 at the behest of a shaman for use in a ritual dance in Alaska, it was perforated on the sides with holes into which appendages were inserted. Some of these were broken, missing or possibly in the wrong position, which made the mask difficult to understand.By&nbsp;Nancy&nbsp;Kenney, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/alaskan-dancer-solves-the-riddle-of-the-yup-ik-mask">Read More</a> &nbsp;

News from Around the Art World: October 30, 2018

Viceroy Chicago Hotel Uses Art To Help Fight Breast Cancer<h2>&nbsp;</h2>As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Chicago’s Viceroy Hotel (1118 N. State St.)&nbsp;is showcasing eight specially designed doors featuring artistic interpretations on the subject of breast cancer.&nbsp;The painted guest room doors are located on the hotel’s 5th floor and feature images inspired by each artist's interpretation of the fight against breast cancer.&nbsp;According to Don Samora,&nbsp;Director of Brand Management at Viceroy Hotel Group,“Designer Doors for Charity is the latest installation in&nbsp;Viceroy Hotel Group’s&nbsp;larger brand initiative,&nbsp;A Canvas for Discovery,&nbsp;which invites innovative artists to Viceroy Hotels and Resorts to create original, site-specific work.”&nbsp;By Julia Brenner, Forbes<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliabrenner/2018/10/17/the-viceroy-hotel-uses-art-to-help-fight-breast-cancer/#4b27a57b2dbd">Read More</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3167/original/art-on-the-mart-1024x0-c-default-1.jpg" alt=""></figure>Art on theMART turns Chicago’s Merchandise Mart into an architectural canvas<h2>&nbsp;</h2>Until the end of 2018, the façade of Chicago’s&nbsp;Merchandise Mart&nbsp;will become the world’s largest digital art projection, hosting the work of four artists for two hours each on Wednesday through Sunday evenings. Thirty-four projectors located across the&nbsp;Chicago River&nbsp;from The Mart, as the structure is informally called, will work in tandem to project images on the hulking façade of what was once the world’s largest building.By Elizabeth Blasius, The Architects Newspaper<a href="https://archpaper.com/2018/10/art-on-the-mart-chicago/">Read More</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3168/original/305-am-as-ai-edmond-de-belamy-high-res.jpg" alt=""></figure>Who needs artists? Rise in works made by artificial intelligence raises real questions for the art market<h2>&nbsp;</h2>This October in New York, Christie’s will become the first auction house to sell a work created by artificial intelligence (AI). The 2018 painting, a hazy portrait of what appears to be a well-fed clergyman, possibly French, hailing from an indeterminate period in history, is expected to fetch between $7,000 and $10,000. His name, according to the work’s title, is Edmond Belamy.By Anny Shaw, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/analysis/rise-in-works-made-by-artificial-intelligence-raises-real-questions">Read More</a> &nbsp;

News from Around the Art World: October 22nd, 2018

By GINNY VAN ALYEAI first met the organizers, and&nbsp;cultural cheerleaders, behind<a href="http://www.diasporalrhythms.net"> Diasporal Rhythms</a> 5 years ago,&nbsp;on the occasion of their 10th anniversary celebrating art of the African Diaspora. When I got to know collectors D.E. Simmons and Patric McCoy in 2013 they each told me about the group's mission as well as the&nbsp;changes they had&nbsp;undergone during a&nbsp;decade of finding their collective identity and outreach efforts. When Diasporal Rhythms started in 2003, there were four founding members; today they number closer to 100.&nbsp;Back in 2013 when I first learned about the group and their tours, Simmons described the&nbsp;fall home tour series&nbsp;as&nbsp;uniquely&nbsp;reflecting&nbsp;the spirit of the South Side art community and having a goal of showing off the&nbsp;talented community of&nbsp;artists doing wonderful works worthy of notoriety, and more important, of being added to other collections. Simmons said at the time, “I always talk about us as the little organization that could, and can, and does."He also warned me&nbsp;then that&nbsp;tour-goers can get a little overwhelmed at first, but ultimately the sensory overload is productive. He was absolutely right then, and now, and I decided it was time to dive right in. All the sudden the group's 15th anniversary&nbsp;arrived this fall.&nbsp;I knew it was time for me to finally&nbsp;go on this year's&nbsp;art tour of the South Side of Chicago taking place in October. I invited a friend, a Hyde Park native who knew the area well but admitted she wasn't aware of how many private collections there were throughout the South Side, and we had a fun and surprising afternoon going behind the scenes of some very special and uniquely personal art collections.&nbsp;We met at the DuSable Museum of Art and boarded a cheerful, very Chicago, trolley at the south entrance to the museum. The tours offered this year&nbsp;went in three directions: Bronzeville, South Shore, and the South Suburbs. Our particular tour was just of Bronzeville and would encompass a museum as well as four private homes. You could go on one route in the morning and then another in the afternoon, but this year for me that was not to be (it was a miracle I could go at all, but my helpful husband took our two toddlers on a whirlwind visit through lunch in Hyde Park followed by stimulation overload at the Museum of Science of Industry for 3 hours). The variety of tours held on the tour weekend each year is evidence of the depth of art to be explored on this side of the city (I say side, since it certainly is not limited to a single neighborhood or ZIP code).&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3164/original/sb.jpg" alt=""></figure>Our tour leader did not join us for our first stop, which worked out well since that left our group without a minder to remind us that we were on a schedule. With our first stop at the Smart Museum of Art, we were able to take in&nbsp;all the exhibitions on view right now and we definitely went over our allotted time. The exhibitions at the Smart&nbsp;fit particularly well with the DR tour, as the museum's&nbsp;newest show, The Time is Now! Art Worlds of Chicago's South Side, which opened in September, recreates a visual understanding and context of how in&nbsp;the 1960s and 1970s Chicago’s cultural landscape was shaped by the South Side’s vibrant art worlds. Focusing primarily on African American artists in and out of the Black Arts Movement, the exhibition features approximately 100 objects assembled from the Smart Museum’s collection and other public and private collections. Artists featured include several who are gaining broader appreciation as of late:&nbsp;Gertrude Abercrombie, Ralph Arnold,&nbsp;Jae Jarrell, Wadsworth Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu,&nbsp;Carolyn Lawrence,&nbsp;Suellen Rocca, Gerald Willams, Karl Wirsum, and Joseph Yoakum, among many others.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3155/original/kjm.jpg" alt=""></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3161/original/nc.jpg" alt=""></figure>Also on view at the museum is&nbsp;Expanding Narratives: The Figure and the Ground,&nbsp;the first iteration in a three-part exhibition series.&nbsp;Expanding Narratives&nbsp;uses the formal relationship between the figure and the ground in Western art history as a conceptual springboard into discussions around visual representation, the museum space, and the role of the Smart Museum’s collection in fostering the exchange of diverse perspectives. The exhibition includes works by artists from Chicago and beyond, including&nbsp;McArthur Binion, Nick Cave, Rashid Johnson,&nbsp;Kerry James Marshall,&nbsp;Kehinde Wiley, and several&nbsp;others.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3154/original/1.jpg" alt=""></figure>Once our trolley driver herded us back on board, we were off to the home of an artist and collector, who also turned out to be my friend's former high school art teacher. Simmons' words all those years ago about art overload still didn't prepare me for the number of works hung in the collector's home. Right away she welcomed the group and began a room by room tour of the works she collected over the years, many by fellow artists and friends. Works both large and small are hung salon style on every wall, in every room,&nbsp;placed near African antiques as well as contemporary sculpture. We saw pieces by Sylvester Britton, Margaret Burroughs and Jae&nbsp;Jarrell, among others. The collector's enthusiasm was contagious – which embodies&nbsp;the point of the tours – to inspire visitors to look around their own communities to embrace creativity and make it part of day to day life. The collector said, as many do, that she buys what she loves and she loves it every day. She admits that once she got started, she couldn't stop, even when it seemed like there wasn't any more room.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3162/original/parker.jpg" alt=""></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3163/original/parker1.jpg" alt=""></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3156/original/burroughs.jpg" alt=""></figure>The next collection in nearby Kenwood was in a two story condo owned by an art historian, professor and lecturer&nbsp;who's even published a large book,&nbsp;African Art: The Diaspora and Beyond. His home was packed with many antiquities&nbsp;and artifacts from Africa as well as contemporary paintings and sculptures by artists working today. He grouped once such collection into a section devoted to contemporary depictions of African and African American men, who as he said, are not throwing a ball or playing a horn. Here we saw a unique framed brass sculpture by Richard Hunt as well as more works by Margaret Burroughs, Joyce Owens, Ralph Arnold, and Faith Ringgold.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3157/original/mccoy1.jpg" alt=""></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3158/original/mccoy2.jpg" alt=""></figure>I saw Patric McCoy's remarkable collection several years ago and have never forgotten it, so it was a great opportunity to see how the collection has (somehow) managed to grow, even though it's hard to believe McCoy has an inch of wall space left in his Kenwood condo. McCoy, an environmental scientist, has amassed 1,100 works by more than 300 artists&nbsp;and he displays them all. Arranged in mini collections, such as music, evil eyes, bicycles, McCoy's passion is charming as well as infectious.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3159/original/mccoy3.jpg" alt=""></figure>We ran out of time to enjoy the final stop on the tour, but it was in a Victorian home featuring a great deal of contemporary work, in particular work by the stained glass artist who lives there (and whose work we saw in each of the other homes on the tour!)My friend and I enjoyed a gorgeous fall day in Bronzeville and left knowing we'd like to come back to spend more time exploring and appreciating these collections built by these warm and welcoming collectors. Each collection felt unique to the neighborhood as well as to Chicago itself, and enjoying home tours such as these emphasizes the message that art collecting is fun and enjoyable and most of all doable. There are no right or wrong ways to collect art or even to display it in your home. Art makes a home come to life and that is a joy to be shared.&nbsp;Back when I visited with Simmons, he explained that getting people to interact at home is more unusual than one might think. He acknowledged&nbsp;there is some reluctance to opening up one’s home, “There’s something about not letting people into your space. Socially, I think in Chicago people tend to say, ‘Oh I’ll meet you here,’ but I’ve noticed that many people won’t invite you over. This home tour is special. It’s not only on the South Side, but it makes people open doors...so others can experience passion in a personal space. It’s a rare opportunity.” Homeowners quickly find it to be a very positive experience. They enjoy seeing guests inspired by the abundance of artwork. To Simmons, “It is a wonderful exchange - you get to talk about your passion for your collection and answer questions. We’re asking people to join the conversation and explore the possibilities. That openness has made many people want to support our organization.”&nbsp;Top image: Margaret T. Burroughs, Faces (Faces a la Picasso), printed and signed in 1993, block carved circa 1960s&nbsp;

A tour of south side art collections with Diasporal Rhythms

Diasporal Rhythms Annual Art Tour Shows a Passion For Living With Art 

By GINNY VAN ALYEAMillennials don’t want things, they seek experiences. Who shops in a store? The things people used to swear they’d buy only in person have since gone online.&nbsp;When you bring a horse to water, the conventional wisdom is, you cannot make him drink. To address a challenging retail landscape, <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/fashion-outlets-of-chicago-the-collection">Fashion Outlets of Chicago</a>, a shopping destination near O’Hare Airport in Rosemont, linked fashion and art in order to consistently bring shoppers to the 530,000 square-foot indoor campus to not only discover designer discounts but to find unexpected experiences and serious art – in person.In this era of lazy, but free, 2–day shipping, shoppers must make the effort to get to Fashion Outlets. If it sounds more shoe-leather than scrolling (this is where the Millennials come in) it’s worth it.At the onset of its opening in 2013, Fashion Outlets of Chicago unveiled a collection of curated site-specific contemporary artwork installed throughout the center’s common areas. Artists created pieces for unconventional locations – Daniel Arsham’s relief Falling Time is installed near a parking garage vestibule, while Jen Stark’s psychedelic mural, Drippy, transforms a central escalator. Altogether there are currently 16 large-scale commissions, and the program continues to expand.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3025/original/escalator.jpg" alt=""></figure>In November 2016 THE COLLECTION: Where Art Meets Fashion launched with the unveiling of a permenant installation A Grand Love Story (analog love in a digital age) by Carlos Rolón/Dzine, and a rotating exhibition program has featured work by more than a dozen artists so far, including Aimée Beaubien, Sarah and Joseph Belknap, Nnenna Okore, and others.&nbsp;New additions for this fall feature Derrick Adams’ largest work to date, installed at the shopping center’s grand entrance near Saks OFF Fifth. Click <a href="http://&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FCarolFoxAssociates%2Fvideos%2F238191173514299%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560&quot; width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; style=&quot;border:none;overflow:hidden&quot; scrolling=&quot;no&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowTransparency=&quot;true&quot; allowFullScreen=&quot;true&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;">here</a> to see a time lapse video of the installation in progress.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3077/original/adams.jpg" alt=""></figure>Edra Soto’s Open 24 Hours, a still-life format in three display cases, is composed of free standing shelves and glass bottles found by Soto in her East Garfield Park neighborhood. Soto's installation will open during a special event at the Fashion Outlets on <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/the-collection-unveiling-event">Friday, October 5</a> (note: this is an update from the CGN print version of this article).&nbsp;Artist and designer Chad Kouri is creating an interactive installation on the grand staircase, an extension of his Art For All series. Kouri will cover the staircase with colorful shapes, inviting visitors to text a number and receive a one-of-a-kind digital artwork composed of those very shapes, which will be texted to their phone. Each unique work will then be featured with the visitor’s initials on a monitor at the top of the staircase, across from J.Crew Factory and DKNY.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3078/original/chadk.jpg" alt=""></figure>While the premier shopping and high-end amenities have been a draw to Fashion Outlets from the start – today there are 130+ designer stores – the art program has elevated the experience to a more intellectual and visual level as Fashion Outlets seeks to distinguish itself from other retail properties by being a cultural destination that actively supports public art. On your way to Gucci, you’ll encounter work by Cody Hudson and Jim Drain. Head to Barney’s and Tory Burch and you’ll see Matthew Hoffman’s colorful You Are Beautiful construction, an artistic encounter that appeals to a new generation of selfie shoppers encouraged to pose for photographs in front of the singular work.Visitors leave Fashion Outlets with more than a deal, they’ve had an artistic enounter.REDEFINING “MALL ART”The installations at Fashion Outlets of Chicago are decidely not “mall art” but rather public art in an unconventional setting, which offers hope for encountering art in our every day lives and shows the benefit of increasing opportunities and exposure for living artists. The works shown below are part of the permanent collection. <a href="http://fashionoutletsofchicago.com">fashionoutletsofchicago.com</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3026/original/foctrio.jpg" alt=""></figure>&nbsp;Top image: Open 24 Hours, Edra Soto

The Fashion Outlets of Chicago blend art and design for a unique shopping and cultural experience.

Fashionable Art Surprises: An Invitation to See Artwork – And More – In Person

By GINNY VAN ALYEAFor the Chicago Artists Coalition, life on the other side of 40 has been busier than ever. As CAC prepares to open another edition of The ANNUAL&nbsp;this week, they've also been busy with a major relocation this year as well as undertaking their first capital campaign.Over 40 years ago, CAC began as a small group of&nbsp;artists advocating for rights, support, and visibility&nbsp;in the city’s cultural landscape and economy. CAC was helped to inspire&nbsp;the formation of Chicago’s Department of Cultural&nbsp;Affairs, the&nbsp;development of Chicago Artists Month,&nbsp;and the passing of the Percent for Art Ordinance (a City law that requires that&nbsp;1.33% of new construction or&nbsp;renovation budgets of public buildings be allocated&nbsp;to a public art&nbsp;fund dedicated to the commission, purchase, and&nbsp;maintenance of public art in Chicago.)&nbsp;Today, CAC is still focused on the needs of artists, but its programming has expanded and evolved. In 2011 they opened their West Loop space on Fulton Market and had space&nbsp;to launch&nbsp;much-needed artist&nbsp;residencies and professional development programs.&nbsp;CAC was the first to offer a residency with a curatorial&nbsp;component (HATCH Projects) and is still one of the&nbsp;only residency programs that offer onsite studio space&nbsp;and a guarantee of a solo exhibition to its 10 BOLT&nbsp;residents. Since then, 60 BOLT artists have had solo&nbsp;shows, 288 HATCH artists have participated in group&nbsp;shows, 2,950 artists have participated in professional&nbsp;development programs, and 24 curators have further&nbsp;developed their curatorial and exhibition making skills.&nbsp;As the Fulton Market neighborhood went from an edgy meatpacking center west of downtown to a trendy (and expensive) corporate center,&nbsp;the needs of CAC's artists and the larger artistic community changed as well. In response&nbsp;CAC decided to launch&nbsp;MAKING SPACE, its first capital campaign to&nbsp;raise $500,000 to&nbsp;directly support the nonprofit's ability to build a fully ADA accessible building in a new part of town, create a dedicated education space for professional development programs,&nbsp;remove fees for artists in CAC's&nbsp;BOLT and HATCH Residency Programs, and to establish&nbsp;a board designated cash reserve fund to&nbsp;increase the long term sustainability of the organization."CAC is the beating heart of the emerging art scene in Chicago. The lifeblood of artists, writers, and curators who have come through its programs courses through the city, creating a vibrant art town that I believe is one of the finest in the world to produce, see, and create a conversation around art," says&nbsp;Erik Peterson, HATCH and BOLT alum, Manager of Family Program and Student Engagement, Smart Museum at the University of Chicago.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2999/original/wiplookcropped-113628.jpg" alt=""></figure>In early June, a lively party to unveil CAC's new space in the Kinzie Corridor took place in an&nbsp;unconventional (and unfinished) space - the CAC's future home at&nbsp;2130 W. Fulton St. The 'under-construction' Work in Progress theme, which also honored veteran gallerist Rhona Hoffman,&nbsp;inspired many party-goers to, of course&nbsp;creatively, don orange attire as well as accessorize with construction tape. Despite the lack of a red (or orange) carpet, the event&nbsp;raised over $130,000 to support its year-round exhibitions, residencies, resources for artists, and its new dedicated education space. CAC Board&nbsp;Chair Emeritus and EXPO CHICAGO President and Director Tony Karman said, "I am extremely proud to be a part of an organization that fosters and supports a new generation of artists, arts professionals, and collectors, and one that contributes greatly to Chicago's arts and culture community."<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2997/original/screen-shot-2018-09-19-at-9-55-30-pm.jpg" alt=""></figure>Also at the event CAC announced the&nbsp;2018 MAKER Grantees: Cecil McDonald, Jr.,&nbsp;Emilio Rojas,&nbsp;Yvette Mayorga. The MAKER Grant Program&nbsp;is an award opportunity for three Chicago-based contemporary visual artists who demonstrate a commitment to a socially conscious, progressive and sustainable artist practice and career development. MAKER Grant Program’s unrestricted awards of&nbsp;$5,000 (Coney Family Fund Award)&nbsp;and two at&nbsp;$3,000 (OtherPeoplesPixels Award)&nbsp;are intended to recognize exceptional emerging or established artists working in Chicago, and support the advancement of their artistic careers.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2996/original/mixtapepromo.jpg" alt=""></figure>This fall, just in time for The ANNUAL (An Exhibition of New Chicago Art)&nbsp;CAC's home is at last not so under-contruction, and it's ready to welcome visitors to an open house&nbsp;and a behind-the-scenes look at new artist studios.This year's exhibition:&nbsp;Mixtapes for the Next Millennium, is curated by&nbsp;Jordan Martins and features&nbsp;work (all for sale!)&nbsp;by Marzena Abrahamik,&nbsp;Claire Ashley,&nbsp;ASMA (Matias Armendaris and Hanya Belia), Dan Devening,&nbsp;Marianne Fairbanks,&nbsp;Deborah Handler,&nbsp;Cameron Harvey,&nbsp;Daniel Hojnacki,&nbsp;Cathy Hsiao,&nbsp;Cody Hudson,&nbsp;Gina Hunt,&nbsp;Jessica Labatte,&nbsp;Rodrigo Lara,&nbsp;Damon Locks,&nbsp;Marissa Chris Zain Neuman,&nbsp;John Opera,&nbsp;Kaveri Raina,&nbsp;Kellie Romany Soo Shin / Sonnenzimmer (Nadine Nakanishi and Nick Butcher), and&nbsp;Brittney Leeanne Williams.&nbsp;Mixtapes&nbsp;brings together a wide variety of studio practices and backgrounds into proximity with one another to encourage surprising synchronicities or points of overlap between them. The exhibition operates with two notions of the term “mixtape” in mind: 1) an informal compilation of songs that reflect different backgrounds and trans-genre jumps, and 2) the hip-hop use of the term to refer to more raw conjunctions of artists that allow for playful, experimental collaborations or tangents sprouting out of an artist’s more formal output. The freedom and spontaneity of the “mixtape” is embraced here in what kind of work is shown and how it is displayed, eschewing polite spacing between works on white walls for playful molecular combinations that explore how the works of different artists can more directly speak to one another.The yearly sales exhibition celebrates&nbsp;cutting-edge Chicago-based artists, and&nbsp;the mission of the unique show is to create&nbsp;an accessible forum for collectors to discover affordable new work and engage directly with its creators. A public opening reception takes place&nbsp;Friday, September 21, 5-8pm, and&nbsp;The ANNUAL Breakfast happens during EXPO Art Week on&nbsp;Friday, September 28, 9-11am (an RSVP is required).&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3000/original/blarose-sauverlesmeubles-vertical.jpg" alt=""></figure>Beyond the CAC headquarters, the group is also participating again in EXPO CHICAGO at Navy Pier, with an exhibition of work by&nbsp;Benjamin Larose&nbsp;(BOLT Resident 2017-2018). Larose&nbsp;was selected by&nbsp;Anastasia Karpova Tinari,&nbsp;Director of Rhona Hoffman Gallery and an artist talk will take place Sept. 30 2:30–3pm in CAC's booth (#174)&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/3001/original/unnamed.jpg" alt=""></figure>CAC staff has been working hard for well over a year to share a new physical and programatic vision of CAC with the artistic community as well as the general public, and over&nbsp;these past few months they have successfully laid significant groundwork for the group for years to come. The group continues to build its popular Chartwell Collectors Circle program, offering exclusive tours of private collections around the city as well as other art-networking events. CAC also launched the second year of its partnership with Chicago's Spudnik Press,&nbsp;“The New Printmakers Collection: A Collaboration between Spudnik Prints Cooperative and the Chicago Artists Coalition.” The program is designed to offer collectors a portfolio of prints by three artists on the rise. The artists invited to participate are new to printmaking, and all are former residents of CAC’s BOLT or HATCH programs. This year’s artists include&nbsp;Benjamin Larose&nbsp;(BOLT 2017-18 and EXPO 2018 CAC exhibitor),&nbsp;Caroline Liu&nbsp;(HATCH 2017-18), and&nbsp;Roni Packer&nbsp;(BOLT 2017-18). Prints are available at presale prices individually until 9/25 and as a suite until 9/26, and prices start at $175.&nbsp;No longer a work in progress but a foundational cultural center in the city,&nbsp;CAC&nbsp;keeps things moving and&nbsp;never stops supporting the arts from all sides by&nbsp;championing artistic careers, actively promoting professional advanacement, and&nbsp;enthusiastically engaging the public in the&nbsp;enjoyment of art collecting and support of the arts in general.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Chicago Artists Coalition undergoes many changes in 2018

Hard at Work in 2018: CAC Makes an Impact by Changing

By GINNY VAN ALYEAIn a city known for bars that offer everything from dry ice in your martini to two dozen TV screens on at the same time, The Stony Island Arts Bank may soon manage to be the most socially relevant, and appealing, of them all.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2954/original/bankdoor.jpg" alt=""></figure>The Arts Bank, opened three years ago when the Chicago Architecture Biennial debuted in the fall of 2015, began as an ambitious and multifaceted endeavor of the internationally renowned, Chicago-based artist and community developer Theaster Gates. The Arts Bank’s mission and influence was quickly and widely recognized for the many connections and collaborations it has fostered within the local arts community as well as the neighborhood. Now Gates is moving the project, which is part art space, part architectural treasure and more than a little social mission, into an ambitious, much more public and lively second phase of his original vision, increasing the pace of his plans for the many ways the art center can impact the surrounding South Shore neighborhood. As he said on a late spring day during a tour of the Arts Bank before it reopened after four months of renovations, “We’ve learned a few things.”<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2953/original/yard.jpg" alt=""></figure>Housed in an imposing, abandoned stone structure on Stony Island Boulevard, far on the city’s South Side and miles from traditional art centers, The Bank, as it’s commonly referred to, gets its name from its home, the former Stony Island State Savings Bank, a classic structure built in the 1920s, which eventually fell into disrepair. In a building pretty much left for dead, Gates saw an opportunity to invest in something that would continually pay creative dividends. Just as a real bank accepts deposits from customers, raises capital and then makes loans and provides support for its clients, the Stony Island Arts Bank seeks to be a rock solid institution that can compound interest in order to benefit a range of community members long term.&nbsp;For many, Stony Island used to mean a connector to the Chicago Skyway on your way in or out of town. It was a section of town seen only in passing on the way elsewhere. When Gates wanted to build an arts center, he knew a location off the beaten path would be critical.&nbsp;Gates says, “The goal was to let the city see, and the world see, that there is beautiful architecture on the South Side.” He wanted to bring art to people living in the community as much as he also wanted to draw people to a neighborhood they were unfamiliar with. The building would be a lure that would draw people to a place where they would realize, as he explains, “that there was this work happening that was about capturing these moments of architectural beauty, so that beautiful things could happen on the South Side to black people by black people.”<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2950/original/moulding.jpg" alt=""></figure>He goes on, “It was a demonstration work for me, that South Siders didn’t have to go somewhere else in order to have a well-built, intimate space; those spaces were all around us, they just needed some care. And maybe we had some of the best architectural stock in the country, or definitely in the city.”The original bank is a mimic of one on the North Side at the intersection of Damen, Milwaukee and North Avenues, and its classic design is representative of what was in style at the time. Gates says now that using a structure like the bank was an experiment at the start, and he knew he’d have to try a range of programming to see what would attract locals as well as the art community. What at first seemed like the perfect expansive venue – it’s 20,000 square feet – for hosting exhibitions, performances, residencies and film screenings, sometimes simultaneously, was actually intimidating. The formidable, protective structure originally intended to safeguard money, seemed in its present form meant to keep certain people out, exactly the opposite of Gates’ welcoming vision.&nbsp;He realized, “We learned that the building itself has the potential to be uninviting for folk who live locally. It’s so big, that it had a way of making our neighbors feel more like it was made for someone else.”<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2951/original/smith.jpg" alt=""></figure>He came to see that while the beauty of the building can help draw people to a new destination, it’s more important to get people in the door and to make them feel as if they should be there. He says, “The building by itself isn’t a calling card for everyone. Another kind of invitation also needs to happen.”&nbsp;Essentially, Gates discovered that the best way to make friends with your neighbors is to invite them to your party.&nbsp;He shares, “Last summer we opened up the yard and began having movies and barbecues out there. We had food trucks coming through, and all of a sudden, the yard became its own little pocket park. Kids would bring their little dogs and they would stroll in the yard. It was amazing.”&nbsp;This maturing vision for the Arts Bank could not have been known at the start, and Gates acknowledges that being able to see such changes over the past three years has been remarkable, though he’s not entirely surprised that it’s taken time. He says, “We knew that we had a couple of amazing aspects right away – we had the Johnson Publishing collection, we had the Frankie Knuckles [house music] albums, and the [60,000] glass lantern slides from the [Department of Art History at] the University of Chicago, but we didn’t have a mechanism, yet, of making those things as accessible as we wanted.”&nbsp;As Gates points out, that accessibility required resources, which were very limited, to hire a librarian, a set of archivists, docents, and managers of the collection. They did have pride and excitement for what they had prepared to share. So they got creative, for instance starting a book club based on the Johnson Collection and inviting those who had a connection to Johnson to participate. In order to overcome limits, such as physically accessing the hundreds of books and albums stacked up to the library ceiling, Gates and his team decided they needed a kind of catwalk, which would allow staff to use the entire soaring space.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2952/original/uofcglasslanternslides.jpg" alt=""></figure>Next they devised a sound system that allows a DJ working from the catwalk to pump music through the building. For Gates, he says, “The building can function as a kind of resonator, allowing albums we have to both be digitized and also become a basic program in the Bank. If nothing else is happening, you’re going to hear good music – some house, some soul, gospel, you might hear comedy – whatever we have in this collection, because the music has to be felt.”The many, and sometimes unconventional, ways the collection can be experienced goes to the heart of what Gates is trying to use the space in the Arts Bank for at this time, as he is very interested in activating a place or material and engaging people on a relatable level. Gates refers to a fellowship he did at Harvard a few years ago, when he spent time thinking about something he calls ‘critical preservation.’ When considering the Arts Bank he asks out loud, “Are there ways adjacent to conventional preservation, where things are restored to their original hand? Is there an alternative to that, where you actually allow some of the truth of the history of the building to be evident? I felt if we let people see the truth of our buildings, then they can feel good about their own buildings, which is like, ‘Yeah, there was some rain damage, and I can’t afford to re-do it all, but I need a new kitchen.’”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2949/original/gates.jpg" alt=""></figure>When the plan to build the Arts Bank first came up, the city gave Gates and his Rebuild Foundation the building for $1, but as Gates explains, the building had a negative value at the time of $500,000 (there was a hole in the ceiling almost as big as the roof, and extensive water damage from deteriorating skylights). To fund the initial $6.2 million restoration of a space suitable for art, Gates raised private funds from many supporters. He recalls, “The bones of the building were in great shape, but it needed a new envelope and a lot of care.” Even the architectural artifacts that give so much character to the building, he points out, have their own history of trauma, which then creates an opportunity for dialogue between space and art. The completion of the initial restoration, for Gates, and even this second phase of development, where they have installed walls in the atrium space, is proof that the City of Chicago and the arts community helped to build the bank. Says Gates, “It feels really good. Projects can happen on the South Side, and they’re not city-incentivized; they’re just because a lot of people believe in them.”That belief drives Gates in his quest to preserve history while, as he says, at the same time, retrofitting a place so it fulfills a new purpose, in this case as a space for artists, scholars, for symposium, conferences, and music. Gates has built the house, while the art, artists and neighbors within it are making it a home.&nbsp;The Bank, even with its new walls, is not intended to be a white cube, and after the efforts to invite more members of the public in, especially not just art viewers but neighbors, Gates emphasizes that he wants people to feel at ease when they are there. He explains, “These are normal people’s lives, everyday folk. They don’t want an audience of journalists visiting when they’re trying to have a meditation class. So the challenge that we had with rebuilding the Arts Bank is that, as excited as we are to shine a light and share with the public the things that we do, we also want to protect people’s privacy.”&nbsp;The way to do this is a programmatic split that on the one hand allows the Bank to host ambitious, public events but also, for instance, allows space for neighbors and those who live in and around Dorchester Art Housing [mixed income housing that features an even distribution of artist, public, affordable rate, and market rate homes]. For Gates it’s key to say to the public, “Not everything is show and tell with the spectacle of a public event. Some things need to be just at the neighborhood, grassroots level and to just mature in their own time.”Back to the Arts Bank as an antidote to Chicago’s sports-centric bar scene.Gates’ theory behind a split that serves various needs extends to the business of the Bank too. He shares, “One of the ongoing jokes that I have with my alderman is I need to be able to sell a good drink here. However, even though not every space needs to be a bar, or a pop-up yoga studio, we do need some spaces that make money, so that the other spaces can be free.” When Gates thinks about future opportunities, he wants to be able to offer what some people want and others need, “We want people to say, ‘Yeah, a chicken sandwich costs $5, a good drink costs $10,’ and not apologize for having both programs. Hey, a person can go get a $10 Negroni then go do some free yoga and work it off.”Money is not the only reason to offer food and drinks at the Bank. It also creates an ongoing reason for coming to South Shore and being able to stay there. Says Gates, “People go downtown to have a good meal, and they go to Pilsen, or farther North to have a reasonable drink. We don’t want people to have to travel. We just want to have more amenities that say ‘yes’ to the people who live close.”Within the Bank’s 20,000 square feet there is ample space for casual gatherings that may have nothing to do with art or yoga. Gates explains, “Sometimes I’m building with ambition toward the future.” Pointing to a large, Victorian looking curved structure, backed by a wall-length mirror, he says, “This bar’s about 30 years older than the architectural promenades of the building – it’s from the 1890s – but the size was right, so we built the bar space into the building with the understanding that we would grow into it.” By thinking ahead architecturally, Gates says there’s room for growth. Plans are underway at the Bank to start a food program that will also invest in local entrepreneurs, as well as a beverage program. For Gates, “If there is good music and an espresso, we want to be a contender to Starbucks.” At the end of the day, that big, beautiful bar, with a backdrop of live music, will draw people looking to connect or unwind.<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2955/original/library.jpg" alt=""></figure>So much of Gates’ time and practice is thoughtfully planned, but he says he’s also found himself as of late serving as a steward called to help in the aftermath of a tragedy. He got a call from Samira Rice, whose son Tamir was killed in Cleveland by a police officer in 2016. Recalls Gates, “She said, ‘I need help deinstalling the gazebo where my son was killed,’ and at that point, my job was to just help manage this moment. It wasn’t an art move; there was no personal ambition. She just needed someone who could have the logistical wherewithal to handle this object.”&nbsp;Gates and his team didn’t know what to do with the gazebo, but he says they knew they needed to remove it in its entirety or the City of Cleveland was going to raze it. Gates explains, “People were mourning, and these teddy bears are kind of part of the altar. People would remember others killed by police.” Samira asked if we would care for the gazebo for awhile, which became an opportunity to ask a national question, ‘What does it mean that all of these deaths happened?’ and ‘How do we grapple with this around the country.’” Gates began to see that the gazebo had one function in Cleveland and another at the Bank that would allow for reflection on peace, and questions about violence. He began to envision something adjacent to the gazebo with swings, a little park, a place, he thinks, “where young people can come and actually be safe. As we’re continuing to work on the violence in this neighborhood, could this be a space of peace, even temporarily?”This spring the gazebo’s parts were neatly organized and stacked up in a room at the Arts Bank not much bigger than the structure itself. Gates imagines, “Next, we clean up the parts, and we offer the gazebo back to the city of Cleveland, when they’ve had a moment to reflect on their own defensive reaction to this complicated moment. In this room, that gives us a chance to say, ‘Yeah, there’s Aunt Jemima, there are negative stereotypes, but there are also things that are too close to talk about – they just happened.' I see value in being the steward of those things. To number the roofing deck, to care for the steel – artists are well equipped to do that. Artists are probably more sensitive and more equipped to do it than the City of Cleveland could ever do it, because it’s part heart, and it’s part logistics. That’s art."&nbsp;The Stony Island Arts Bank is located&nbsp;at&nbsp;6760 S Stony Island Ave., Chicago, IL.&nbsp;For more info visit the Bank's <a href="https://rebuild-foundation.org/site/stony-island-arts-bank/">website</a>&nbsp;Top image:&nbsp;The Stony Island Arts Bank was formerly the Stony Island State Savings Bank, built in the South Shore neighborhood in the 1920s. Photo: Tom Harris

Artist Theaster Gates' vision for the future of his Stony Island Arts Bank 

The Evolution of a Vision: What’s Next for the Stony Island Arts Bank

FALL 2018My mother owned a glittery pin that she used to wear in the 90s that said ‘Art Saves Lives.’ I always liked it, especially since at the time it was very tween-trendy to collect pins featuring clever sayings and places and pin them on your backpack or jean jacket (I also had one that said ‘Be careful, or we shall banish you to the Midwest!’) I still see that Art Saves Lives pin every day on the bulletin board above my desk.&nbsp;We say CGN is a cheerleader of the arts, and, as many in the art world experience an unpredictable market, I have been thinking about how to better communicate why art is important in my own life as well as how to make the case for why people should actually buy it.&nbsp;As art occupies more of the public space than ever, which is a positive thing, it still needs to be invested in and supported. The general points about why it’s good for individuals to buy art are because you love it, because it supports an artist, because it makes a statement, because it’s unique. However, to buy art costs money. So what justifies the financial outlay, when we are often able to enjoy images and the fruits of creativity for free at a time when many of us generally want fewer things?&nbsp;There is a new generation of art collectors coming of age. Baby Boomers still make up half of art buyers, but Millennials are the fastest growing group, according to a 2018 study by US Trust. More women are also buying art, and more new collectors seek to invest in art that will appreciate, as they are more likely to sell pieces than previous generations. &nbsp;Today both time and money are precious, and so is an attention span. While this rising demographic approaches a great deal of things in a more personally relevant way, how they value art may be more market–based, or even crowd–sourced as they seek to build a personal brand and rely more on data to inform their everyday lives. Millennials are also more likely to buy art online or to discover emerging artists via platforms like Instagram. They are engaged, but it may not be in person on a regular visit to a gallery.&nbsp;This brings me back to why art is important to me and how art can save lives. An artist’s view of the world, seen and experienced in person through a constructed object, a performance or a concept, can be a powerful learning resource as well as a lens through which to view history or what is happening right now. A work of art can memorialize a tragedy, and it can preserve beauty; it can provide a vehicle for&nbsp; participating in a larger community and also connect with the past.In this fall issue of CGN, artist <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2018/8/artist-suellen-rocca-a-life-story-through-art">Suellen Rocca</a> shares her experiences of working with young children in museums as well as public schools. Observing the world around her informs her own art and has allowed&nbsp;her to help others think creatively. Art of the past also offers an ongoing and critical connection:&nbsp;"I believe—I’m sure many other artists do too—when an artist looks at a work of art from any period or culture and feels a connection with it, is drawn to it, it becomes a part of them and comes out in a very personal way."Dealer Catherine Edelman has started a nonprofit after more than 30 years running her own gallery. CASE Art Fund will award&nbsp;biannual grants to fine art photographers who are working on humanitarian issues. Edelman believes in the power of art and says, "It is our hope that when viewers see the work in a non-traditional manner, they will stop, think, ask questions and act. We firmly believe photography can effect change."Artist and community developer Theaster Gates opened the Stony Island Arts Bank three years ago. He is making a new community in the South Shore neighborhood while he also takes on new projects in his own artistic practice. When considering an artist's larger role in the world he says, "It’s part heart, and it’s part logistics. That’s art.’&nbsp;My message to buyers entering the market is to consider why art is what is left behind once we are gone. Art is not part of a personal brand that changes with the wind. Art that survives the ages should connect us to someone or some thing. To buy a work of art is to invest in an artist’s unique talent and be able to admire and learn from it everyday.&nbsp;– Ginny Van Alyea, CGN Publisher&nbsp;Pictured from left: Suellen Rocca, Bareshouldered Beauty, 1965, Oil on canvas, 83 1/4 x 59 3/4 inches, 213 x 158 cm.&nbsp;©️Suellen Rocca, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery;&nbsp;Theaster Gates at Stony Island Arts Bank with deinstalled materials from Cleveland gazebo where Tamir Rice was killed in 2016;&nbsp;©️Omar Imam, CASE Art Fund artist. Courtesy Catherine Edelman Gallery

Publisher's Letter: Art Saves Lives

By MIA DIMEO

For more than 25 years, the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) has been devoted to creating quality architectural programming and exhibitions from within a terra cotta, Beaux Arts Railway Exchange Building at 224 S. Michigan Avenue designed by Daniel Burnham, the architect who started it all.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="The new home of the Chicago Architecture Center can be easily spotted by the prominent CAC logo above the site of the center's popular river cruises." data-rich-file-id="2943" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2943/original/download-2.jpg" />

On Labor Day weekend the rebranded Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) opens in a new home, the modernist, glass and steel One Illinois Center (111 E. Wacker Drive), one of the last designs of another one of Chicago&rsquo;s architectural lions, Mies van der Rohe. When CAC decided to acquire the new space they set out to implement a fresh vision and identity that would expand outreach and encompass all of the tours, talks, exhibitions, camps, classes and special events that attract 690,000 visitors annually.&nbsp;

One of the top attractions, for tourists and local architecture lovers alike, in CAC&rsquo;s former home was the Chicago Model, a 320-square foot miniature metropolis envisioned by President and CEO Lynn Osmond and completed in 2009. The process of creating the Model began by making a digital map of Chicago and 3D printing each of its 1,300 buildings before meticulously placing them in situ.&nbsp;

The Model is now the centerpiece of a larger exhibit in the new headquarters, and with 3,000 buildings it is more than twice its previous size, paralleling the Chicago&rsquo;s more recent growth upward and outward. It is set within an examination of the city&rsquo;s built history&mdash;from a phoenix of innovation rising up from the Chicago fire, to the epicenter of modern architecture today. The immersive Chicago Model Experience also highlights architects of note, explores the area&rsquo;s diverse neighborhoods and includes a laser light show.&nbsp;

Take that, Navy Pier.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="The CAC's new lobby welcomes more visitors than ever" data-rich-file-id="2944" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2944/original/chicago-architecture-center-lobby-3b-credit-courtesy-caf.jpg" />

Daniel O&rsquo;Connell, CAC&rsquo;s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, stresses that the big strides the organization has made will gain momentum in the new space. &ldquo;It gives us room to be more ambitious in our educational initiatives,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We work with Chicago Public Schools, host an engineering festival and present a range of programming for young women in the field. We are eager to draw everything together in a holistic way, in a space designed for us to fit our focus on public engagement.&rdquo;&nbsp;

In addition to several exhibition spaces, the 20,000-square foot center, designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, also features a new lecture hall and a design studio, all perched above the dock of the much-lauded River Cruise aboard First Lady Cruises.&nbsp;

&ldquo;CAF started the cruises in 1983, back when no one did anything on the river,&rdquo; says O&rsquo;Connell. &ldquo;So, we&rsquo;ve been part of that change which has come to fruition with River Walk. Making our new home above the dock feels like we&rsquo;re coming full circle.&rdquo;&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="The lecture hall allows for more public programs" data-rich-file-id="2946" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2946/original/lecturehall.jpg" />

Visible from the street through 40-foot windows, the second-floor exhibition space debuts with Building Tall, a display of supersize skyscrapers models investigating how and why skyscrapers are built, and how engineers and architects keep making them better. Familiar local towers, along with many from around the world, are featured in the exhibit, including Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s Jeddah Tower, which will be the world&rsquo;s tallest building when completed in 2020.&nbsp;

Why was it vital for Chicago to have a center dedicated to architecture? The fact that CAC has made 85 tours happen 7,000 times a year says something about the city&rsquo;s buildings as important cultural landmarks. With deep roots planted by CAC (as well as the Chicago Architecture Biennial, which launched in 2015) Chicago&rsquo;s status an architecture capital is flourishing.&nbsp;

O&rsquo;Connell agrees. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been around 50+ years, and in that time the city has only burnished its image as the center of innovative architecture. The first skyscraper was built here, and we have a great design heritage,&rdquo; he says.

CAC&rsquo;s new location is directly in the heart of the city, at the intersection of the Magnificent Mile and the Cultural Mile, atop the site of Fort Dearborn, where Chicago was founded in 1803. The river-side spot has evolved as the city has, from grain elevators and railroads to its present modernist structure, and now the Chicago Architecture Center is a part of that story.&nbsp;

A grand opening weekend celebration takes place at 111 E. Wacker, Aug 31&ndash;Sept 3.

Visit <a href="http://www.architecture.org">www.architecture.org</a> for details.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<h4>Open House Chicago: OCTOBER 13 AND 14</h4>

Covering more than 200 sites, Open House Chicago is CAC&rsquo;s most geographically expansive program, offering behind-the-scenes looks at architectural gems, many of which are not normally open to the public throughout the city. The annual weekend initiative allows easy access to diverse spaces including civic buildings, theaters, mansions, office buildings and places of worship.&nbsp;

OHC&rsquo;s sites present a broad picture of the area&rsquo;s cultural environments &mdash; a 1928 firehouse recently renovated by Chicago Filmmakers; the Italianate mansion home to Palette &amp; Chisel Academy of Fine Arts; Oak Park Art League&rsquo;s former carriage house gallery; and the Pilsen studio of muralist H&eacute;ctor Duarte, to name a few.&nbsp;

This year, new sites include Garfield Park&rsquo;s ArtReach Chicago, a recently opened nonprofit providing mobile and studio art access (including glass blowing) to under-served Chicagoans, and the soon-to-be-completed University of Chicago&rsquo;s Green Line Arts Center in Washington Park. Still under construction, OHC visitors will get an early look at the space dedicated to performance, theatre residencies, rehearsals, training, and education, as well as showcasing work by emerging and established artists. For complete details visit <a href="http://openhousechicago.org">openhousechicago.org</a>

&nbsp;

Editor&rsquo;s note: The Chicago Artists Coalition also goes by CAC.

&nbsp;

Top image:&nbsp;THE CHICAGO MODEL EXPERIENCE, GREAT FIRE, COURTESY CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION
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The Chicago Architecture Foundation rebrands as the Chicago Architecture Center and opens a new headquarters in Chicago

Rising Up from the Roots: New Chicago Architecture Center Builds Engagement

By APRIL LANE

The Other Art Fair (TOAF),&nbsp;presented by Saatchi Art and heading into its 7th year in business,&nbsp;will make&nbsp;its first appearance in Chicago September 28-30, 2018&nbsp;at Mana Contemporary Chicago&nbsp;in&nbsp;Pilsen.&nbsp;TOAF&nbsp;has become&nbsp;known as the leading art fair for emerging artists in the United Kingdom, and with Chicago being an epicenter for art -- brimming with historic museums, theatres and galleries -- there&rsquo;s also an ever-growing population of independent, up-and-coming visual artists who would like to gain exposure by having their work featured in a big-name fair&nbsp;but who aren&rsquo;t yet connected with an established&nbsp;gallery or exhibitor who can get them in the door.

&ldquo;What we&#39;re trying to do is give a voice and a creative platform to those artists,&rdquo; says Ryan Stanier, founder and general manager of TOAF.

TOAF has received more than 500 applications for the Chicago fair, and its team of seasoned art world partners and staff are&nbsp;hand-selecting 120 artists to exhibit their work in the upcoming exhibition&nbsp;this&nbsp;fall. Exhibiting artists come largely from Chicago and throughout&nbsp;the Midwest, but also from as far&nbsp;as Beijing, India, Colombia, Toronto&nbsp;and London.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Left; Moksha Kumar, Vadodara, Gujarat, India; Right: Alvaro Galindo, Chía, Colombia" data-rich-file-id="2928" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2928/original/art1.jpg" />

What TOAF says sets it aside from many&nbsp;bigger name fair competitors is that it explicitly&nbsp;tries to invite&nbsp;first time art buyers and&nbsp;novice collectors&nbsp;to search for original artwork alongside&nbsp;artists who are at the fair&nbsp;to speak for and represent themselves and their work. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re connecting local artists in Chicago to an art buying audience by&nbsp;saying, &lsquo;If you&rsquo;ve got $100, you can come to The Other Art Fair, and you can find an artwork which you can fall in love with and talk to the artist about, and then you can own it,&rsquo;&rdquo; explains&nbsp;Stanier. &quot;It really does make [the fair] accessible, and&hellip; that really is a big point of difference for us.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="Left: Pamela Staker, Chicago; Right: Raphaella Lima, Niterói, Brazil" data-rich-file-id="2932" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2932/original/art2.jpg" />

What started off in 2011 as a smaller fair that took place once a year in London to draw attention to emerging artists&nbsp;has ballooned into an international success. Over the past seven&nbsp;years, TOAF has held a total of 22 fairs and has featured more than 1,000 exhibiting artists. This year&nbsp;TOAF is hosting a total of 10 fairs in cities throughout the United States, UK and Australia.&nbsp;Moving forward in 2019&nbsp;Stanier says TOAF&rsquo;s plan is to increase the number of fairs per year&nbsp;to 15.

There&rsquo;s more to TOAF than just&nbsp;supporting local artists by selling art: the fair is meant to be an interactive experience for everyone who visits. The fair allows for visitors to spend a number of hours enjoying interactive art installations as well as&nbsp;various amenities, including&nbsp;music, numerous restaurant partners, virtual reality and tattoo projects. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like when you go to a museum -- you almost want to experience something unexpected, and that&rsquo;s what we are really try getting across during the fair,&rdquo; says Stanier. &ldquo;Even if you come and don&rsquo;t buy anything, it doesn&rsquo;t matter. Ultimately, I want everyone to walk away saying that they had a really good day out.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

<h3>Other events at TOAF to note:</h3>

<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

<h4><img alt="" data-caption="Limited edition print by Chicago artist Hebru Brantley" data-rich-file-id="2929" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2929/original/hebru.jpg" /></h4>

<h4>GUEST ARTIST HEBRU BRANTLEY PRESENTED BY LITTLE BLACK PEARL</h4>

Purchase a limited edition print, exclusive to the fair, by acclaimed Chicago artist Hebru Brantley. All proceeds support our Charity Partner, Little Black Pearl.

&nbsp;

<h4><img alt="" data-caption="TOAF After Dark is Sept 29" data-rich-file-id="2930" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2930/original/nightout.jpg" /></h4>

<h4>TOAF AFTER DARK SPONSORED BY THE COOPER SOUTHBANK</h4>

The Other Art Fair and&nbsp;The Cooper Southbank&nbsp;give you Art&#39;s biggest Saturday night on September 29,&nbsp;6&ndash;10pm. Enjoy a late evening of art, live music, drinks and special programming. Tickets start from $13.50 and permit re-entry to the fair on Sunday September 30th.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Art activities and offerings for the youngest visitors" data-rich-file-id="2931" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2931/original/pages.jpg" />

<h4>THE LITTLE ART PAGES</h4>

Younger visitors explore the fair with a free creative newspaper suitable for all ages.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<a href="http://theotherartfair.com">The Other Art Fair</a> takes place September 28-30, 2018 at <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/mana-contemporary">Mana Comtemporary</a>&nbsp;(2233 S. Throop St.) in Pilsen. 

It happens to coincide with the 7th edition of <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/expo-chicago">EXPO CHICAGO</a> at Navy Pier.&nbsp;

Visit <a href="http://chicago.theotherartfair.com">theotherartfair.com</a> for more info.
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The Other Art Fair comes to Chicago for the first time Sept 28-30, 2018

The Other Art Fair is coming to Chicago

By Franck Mercurio

The best art engages viewers on multiple levels&mdash;emotional, intellectual, and spiritual&mdash;and the art of Renee Robbins does just that. Her colorful, faceted forms, inspired by nature, capture our imagination while prompting us to care about the environment and our own relationships with the natural world.

<img alt="" data-caption="Comma Size, gouache, watercolor, and colored pencil on paper, 15&quot; x 22&quot;, 2017" data-rich-file-id="2905" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2905/original/comma-size-72.jpg" />

A selection of Robbins&#39; paintings, prints, and multimedia works is currently on view in&nbsp;Hidden Worlds, a solo exhibition at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (now open through October 20). The show features five of the artist&#39;s recent series, showcasing her creative range:&nbsp;Sea Change,&nbsp;Wunderkammer, Biota,&nbsp;The Love Letter Etchings, and&nbsp;Galactic Lagoons.

<img alt="" data-caption="Drawbridge 48&quot;x72&quot;, acrylic on canvas, from Sea Change series" data-rich-file-id="2903" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2903/original/drawbridge-72.jpg" />

Robbins&#39; work explores scale in particular, referencing everything from sub-atomic particles to cosmic bodies, often within the same piece. These visions of nature constitute the artist&#39;s &quot;hidden worlds&quot;&mdash;some too small to see without a microscope&mdash;others so vast and distant that only a telescope can reveal them.

This contrast of scale and form sparks curiosity in viewers. Why are certain forms repeated in nature? What are the connections between those structures? This questioning is akin to a scientific observer exploring a query in pursuit of knowledge.

In this way, Robbins&#39; art inspires wonder about the natural world, but also subtly informs viewers about environmental issues. In her&nbsp;Biotaseries, the artist investigates the flora and fauna of a distinct region, often through multiple views within a single painting. In addition to inspiring appreciation for the shear diversity of life within a given habitat, the&nbsp;Biota series also examines the ecology of those life forms&mdash;how they relate to one another and their natural environment.

<img alt="" data-caption="Lure 30&quot; x 30&quot;, acrylic on canvas, 2014. From the Galactic Series" data-rich-file-id="2906" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2906/original/galacticlure.jpg" />

Similarly, in her series&nbsp;Galactic Lagoons, Robbins examines the interconnectedness of natural forms in unconventional ways, while subtly communicating messages about conservation. In the artist&rsquo;s own words, this series &ldquo;brings together aquatic and celestial spaces to explore natural wonder.&rdquo; These paintings reflect Renee&#39;s fascination with aquatic life&mdash;but also suggest the importance of water as the giver of life. As such,&nbsp;Galactic Lagoons carries a universal conservation message: the importance of clean water for our own survival and the survival of the planet.

Only a few blocks east of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Robbins&#39; themes of water and hidden worlds play out in a big way. In her mural project&nbsp;Kaleidoscope of Hidden Worlds&nbsp;(2017), the artist imagines what lies hidden underneath the surface of Lake Michigan: the Morgan Shoal, reefs (past, present, and future) and the biodiversity of the lake. Located underneath Lake Shore Drive inside the Fullerton Avenue underpass, the murals&rsquo; imagery moves from small scale to large scale as pedestrians walk west to east towards Lake Michigan. In Robbins&#39; own words, the murals &ldquo;consider the complex relationships between humans, nature, and the cosmos.&quot; Many of the forms that Robbins creates in her paintings&mdash;microscopic images, molecular diagrams, cellular structures, and camouflage systems&mdash;appear at a much larger scale in the murals. To envision the &ldquo;hidden&rdquo; biodiversity of the lake allows us to better appreciate it&mdash;and then, hopefully, to act to conserve it.

<img alt="" data-caption="A Kaleidoscope of Hidden Worlds, Murals by Robbins on both sides of the Lake Shore Drive at Fullerton underpass" data-rich-file-id="2902" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2902/original/murals.jpg" />

Where is the human presence in Renee&#39;s work? Sometimes it shines through in very conspicuous ways, such as the WWI camouflage patterns that populate paintings such as&nbsp;Sanctuary (2017). But the human presence is also suggested in the way the artist mixes different natural forms from different sources; perhaps something that only a human observer might do.

But even the simple act of making images inspired by nature suggests that humans are actually a part of nature and not separate from it. Sometimes, it takes an artist to reinforce such a basic&mdash;yet vital&mdash;message.

<h4>Hidden Worlds, Paintings and Etchings by Renee Robbins</h4>

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum&nbsp;

Thru Oct 20, 2018

&nbsp;

Related events:&nbsp;

Artist walk and talk: Sunday, October 14, 2-3:30pm (talk starts at 2:30)

&nbsp;

Image at top of page: Sanctuary, 2017

For more info visit the Nature Museum <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/peggy-notebaert-nature-museum">website</a>&nbsp;and Renee Robbins&#39; <a href="https://reneerobbins.com">website</a>&nbsp;
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&nbsp;

Renee Robbins: Revealing Colorful Worlds

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417669/bv6pqcsdv5vj5x6tyqkw.jpg"></figure>BY RILEY YAXLEYIn 2009 Alex Williams complained in the New York Times that the word “curate” had been improperly extended to fashion, food, and entertainment, while he made the case that the action is more appropriately suited to the degree-holding curators employed by museums. A friend recently explained to me that they are an “event curator,” event curation being an elevated way of describing event planning. “Curate” is being widely appropriated to describe careers and work that are far from the realm of museums or gallery spaces, forcing many to reconsider what the term means and how people understand the storied history of curatorial practice.After talking to Graham, I began to question what it means to be an actual art curator. What does that process look like? How does an individual start their curatorial career? Where are they instructed in the practice and what are the early opportunities for emerging curators to establish themselves?&nbsp;I have been immersed in Chicago’s arts industry for about nine months, starting with an internship at Chicago Gallery News last winter and followed by internships at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. During my time at each of these institutions, I was incredibly fortunate to meet a wide variety of artists, gallerists, curators, and art professionals.However, I began to notice that arts publications don’t often highlight younger arts professionals and individuals early in their careers. The newsfeeds of Hyperallergic, frieze, or ARTnews are saturated with profiles, interviews, and appointments of chief curators, executive directors, established artists, and so on. The idea for this interview series for CGN, Art Is… emerged because of my own curiosity and as a response to this coverage dearth, and to draw attention to individuals who are still breaking into the art world.When I accepted a job in Visitor Services at the MCA and was introduced to Graham Feyl, also a Visitor Services Associate at the museum, we quickly developed a friendship. As the idea for this series took shape, I knew that he would be one of the first individuals I asked to interview.Graham is currently the curator-in-residence at The Overlook, a multidisciplinary art space, whose mission is to “provide emerging women artists, queer artists, and artists of color a platform to further their practice through residencies, programming, and collaborative projects.” He completed his undergraduate degree in Art History at the University of Illinois Chicago and is attending the School of the Art Institute this fall to earn his Master’s in Modern and Contemporary Art History.The Overlook was founded in July 2016 by Jenn Sova, an artist, curator and activist living in Chicago. I had the pleasure of meeting Jenn during a field trip to the Museum of Contemporary Photography where we were given a private print viewing of Breaking the Binary: Queerness and the Image, which included goading works by Robert Mapplethorpe, lush images by Alexandre Haefeli, evocative portraits by Zanele Muholi, as well as the evasive work of Laurence Rasti for There Are No Homosexuals In Iran. When I joined Jenn and a few others for drinks at the Chicago Athletic Association after the viewing, I was struck by her indomitable energy and drive, a sentiment echoed by Graham during our interview. “She knows how to network and support people,” he says. In two years The Overlook has already hosted 12 residencies, 11 exhibitions, and 40 events. It has shown work by 33 local, national, and international artists. Graham is The Overlook’s first digital curator-in-residence.Graham’s partnership with The Overlook began in fall of 2016, when a friend invited him to a photography exhibition where he met Jenn for the first time. Following the 2016 presidential election, their relationship deepened as they discussed the implications of being queer individuals in a politically turbulent time. Graham recalls that Jenn wanted him to do a curatorial residency with The Overlook for months, but it wasn’t until The Overlook relinquished their physical space that Graham developed the idea for his curatorial residency - object / item / material / me. Faced with the challenge of organizing art exhibitions without a permanent location, Jenn proposed a digital curatorial residency. Graham would select and write essays about each artist and their work, which would culminate in a pop-up exhibition of the selected works.The idea began with the work of Janelle Miller, a multi-disciplinary artist and archivist. Her collection/installation Building Virtue: A Study (2017-cont.) is a collection of fans that depict black people in various scenes: a boy and girl praying, a mother and child tending a garden, a young couple playing the piano together, and a mother with her children as they celebrate one child’s birthday. The fans from Building Virtue: A Study (2017-cont.) were originally placed in church pews and were used by churchgoers during services before Janelle began to collect and archive them for her work. Through Janelle’s practice, Graham began to understand how these objects and their materiality could begin to explain Janelle’s personal, artistic practice, as well as how the fans are visually significant objects to members of the black community and their religious practices<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2894/original/picture-20clipping.png" alt=""></figure>The eight artists represented in object / item / material / me were selected from online submissions that Graham reviewed. He was looking for artists who understood what he himself was grappling with as a curator. “I know it’s a simple idea, but I think it’s worth thinking about and talking about,” he says about the ideas of exploring how individuals have found themselves through objects - how someone has come to find their racial, sexual, gender or political identity through an object.I push back at the simplification of his idea. We are so accustomed to the idea of producing work that is groundbreaking and innovative, but where is the space to contemplate the simple? As a fledgling curator, He says that he’s had to challenge his desire to curate a groundbreaking show and explains, “There’s no instruction [at university] on DIY spaces. Everything is [from an] institution with all these resources - as if you should only be thinking at that level.” DIY spaces, like The Overlook, are providing the space and resources for curators early in their careers to establish their curatorial practice at the community level.Such alternative spaces give curators the room to experiment and fail without the pressures of a large art institution. Take Hans Ulrich Obrist for example. He describes his first curatorial exhibition, which was hosted in his own kitchen, as a project where “artists shared in all tasks relating to my exhibitions, not just their individual pieces.” The name of the exhibition World Soup was coined by Richard Wentworth, and&nbsp; Peter Fischli and David Weiss took the exhibition photographs.During the course of his residency, Graham has developed relationships with each of the artists included in object / item / material / me. He admits to wrestling with holding himself accountable in representing each artist accurately, but also exercising his objectivity and authority as the exhibition curator. Each artist submitted responses of their understanding of the terms “object,” “item” and “material.” Graham is&nbsp; also grateful for the group of artists that he’s working with. He says these relationships are challenging him to be “clear with what he’s doing and what he wants to do.”object / item / material / me explores ideas of materiality that are present in almost all exhibitions, but it is the community that has gathered to contemplate and discuss these ideas that strikes me the most important part of the curatorial process - the conversation surrounding the work. Jenn’s committed support gave Graham the confidence and platform to organize his curatorial debut for The Overlook. Each artist that Graham selected has made the conscious choice to trust him with representing their work. Graham is currently in the process of establishing a venue and date for object / item / material / me’s pop-up exhibition, and I look forward to seeing the culmination of his residency this fall.&nbsp;Top Photo:&nbsp;Courtesy of The Overlook&nbsp;Read Riley Yaxley's follow up interview <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2019/3/art-is-the-bittersweet">Art Is... The Bittersweet</a>, March 2019</body></html>

Art Is... Graham Feyl

Recently the West Town-based Conservation Center shared a story with its clients and CGN about some recent restoration efforts, one of which pertains the gorgeous exhibition on view now at the Art Institute of Chicago featuring the art of Charles White. Following is the post from the <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/the-conservation-center--2">Conservation Center.&nbsp;</a>

By THE CONSERVATION CENTER

&quot;Charlie said to me, on more than one occasion, to focus on making the best drawing or painting you can. The ideas will take care of themselves. After all, you are making a picture. Its power has to be projected by its presence. This is clearly the case with just about every work he made.&quot; &ndash;&nbsp;Kerry James Marshall

Charles White, born and educated in Chicago, was one of the preeminent artists to emerge during the city&rsquo;s Black Renaissance of the 1930s and 1940s. This year, White&rsquo;s hometown is recognizing his contribution to the portrayal of African American culture and history with a retrospective of the artist&rsquo;s paintings, drawings, and prints at the&nbsp;Art Institute of Chicago. After being on display in Chicago from now until September, the exhibition will travel on to&nbsp;New York&rsquo;s Museum of Modern Art&nbsp;and&nbsp;Los Angeles&rsquo; County Museum of Art.

<img alt="" data-caption="Charles White at home in Altadena, California, 1971. Image courtesy of The Charles White Archives." data-rich-file-id="2854" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2854/original/charles-2bwhite-portrait.jpg" />

In correlation with the exhibition, we wanted to share our recent treatment of a 1965 Charles White lithograph that came to us from a private client who had concerns about framing damage. The lithograph on paper, titled &ldquo;Juba&rdquo;, had been passed down to our client Stacy Robinson by her father Louie Robinson, who was a journalist,&nbsp;one of the founders of&nbsp;Ebony Magazine, and a friend of Charles White. &quot;My father&#39;s work put him in close contact with many prominent Black actors, sports figures, and influencers of the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s,&quot; Stacy shared with us.

<img alt="" data-caption="Louie Robinson in the 1960s. Image courtesy of the Robinson family." data-rich-file-id="2852" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2852/original/1.jpg" />

Stacy&#39;s mother worked for a state college, and enjoyed collecting art by African American artists. &quot;Her collection included works by Charles White, Ernie Barnes, Elizabeth Catlett, and a Chicago artist named Bob Lee. Most of them were artists she and my father knew personally, or met over the years,&quot; Stacy explained. When Stacy&#39;s father passed away in 2015, her mother moved to Chicago.&nbsp;It was at this time that Stacy and her sister began to adopt some of the collection.&nbsp;&quot;My sister chose a very large portrait of Satchel Paige by Ernie Barnes.&nbsp;The Charles White was always my favorite so I brought it home and hung it in my living room.&quot;

&quot;I just knew this artwork wasn&rsquo;t being displayed to show it&rsquo;s ultimate beauty and I was also worried about fading and deterioration over the years. I researched some options and found The Conservation Center. I liked The Center&rsquo;s background and it seemed like the perfect fit for us,&quot; Stacy explained.

Upon unframing the piece, our conservators noticed the work was signed with a dedication to Louie Robinson. &ldquo;To you, with warmest regards and many thanks,&rdquo; was written carefully next to the title, signature, and blind stamp along the bottom edge of the lithograph.

&quot;The added gift was when I saw the signature by Charles White and that it included an inscription to my father, Louie. It turns out that my father had written a series of articles on Charles White, and the most extensive was written for Ebony Magazine in the 1960s entitled,&nbsp;Charles White &ndash; Portrayer of Black Dignity.&nbsp;The piece was actually a gift from the artist to my father.&quot;

The piece exhibited mat burn and a light strike within the mat opening. One of our client&rsquo;s concerns was the mat margin, as the large mat borders extended into the piece and hid some of exterior edges of the lithograph&rsquo;s image.

The piece exhibited age-related discoloration and select handling dents throughout. There was also a layer of minimal surface soil, and residual pressure sensitive tape stains on the verso margin edges.

The frame itself exhibited a moderate layer of particulates, abrasions, and scratches. There were multiple dents throughout, and the glazing was not UV-filtering. The matting and backing board were non-archival and acidic. When we removed the piece from its frame, we discovered a 1968&nbsp;Los Angeles Times&nbsp;newspaper between the backing board and the print. Our client, who was unaware of the clipping before bringing the work to The Center, was delighted to learn of the news. &ldquo;It was dated 1968 with a picture of newlyweds Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis on the front page. It was kind of like finding a time capsule!&rdquo; she told us.

Our Paper Conservators began their treatment by surface cleaning the lithograph on the recto and verso using dry methods. Next, the adhesive stains on the verso were mechanically reduced. The piece was then water bathed and light bleached to reduce discoloration and staining, to raise the pH neutrality, and to relax the overall sheet.

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2853" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2853/original/before1.jpg" />

Our client elected to keep the original frame and have the piece reassembled with new matting. Our Framing Conservators began their treatment by cleaning the frame using the appropriate solvents. Next, scratches and abrasions in the frame were retouched as best as possible. The piece was float mounted on an archival 4-ply mat, to allow for the full image to be visible.&nbsp;The piece was then reassembled in the frame with a conservation grade glass that protects against UV light rays. An acid free coroplast backing board was attached to the reverse to provide additional protection, and the hanging hardware was replaced. The newspaper was retained separately from the piece, and returned to the client to live on as part of the work&rsquo;s story.

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2851" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2851/original/before.jpg" />

When the piece was returned to Stacy, she was delighted with the treatment results. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very excited with the results of the restoration. The work looks beautiful. The restoration team was able to not only restore the brilliance of the print, but reduce the discoloration caused by the haphazard mat and frame job we had before. The whole restoration process has really been an enjoyable experience of search and discovery.&rdquo;

Luis Serrano,&nbsp;a renowned artist and professor, attended the Art Institute&#39;s opening gala for the exhibition on June 8th.&nbsp;After the event, Serrano was kind enough to share his reflection on the piece we treated in relation to White&#39;s work.&nbsp;

&quot;Charles White&rsquo;s teachings and art transcend time, race, politics, and culture. His masterful use and distribution of tonal values, as well as the creation of harmonious atmospheric pictorial space create powerful poetic effects as evidenced in &#39;Juba.&#39;&quot;&nbsp;

Heather Becker, The Center&#39;s CEO, was also present at the Art Institute opening. As a graduate of the School of the Art Institute and a large advocate of Charles White&#39;s work, Heather was eager to show her support.

Becker shared, &quot;I highly recommend going to see this inspirational body of work by Charles White currently on exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago if you have not already.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/charles-white-a-retrospective">Charles White: A Retrospective</a>&nbsp;runs through&nbsp;September 3, 2018 at the Art Institute of Chicago.
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The Conservation Center restores a Charles White lithograph from 1965

The Careful Conservation of a Charles White Lithograph 

Though Chicago may not be known as the &ldquo;City that Never Sleeps,&rdquo; it boasts one of the most remarkable public art collections in the world &ndash; one that is arguably best enjoyed in the summer months, at all hours, from early morning until late at night. Below are some of Chicago&rsquo;s sculpture highlights that certainly never sleep.&nbsp;

<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

<h3>ELLSWORTH KELLY &ndash; I WILL</h3>

At the intersection of Fullerton and Cannon off of Lake Shore Drive, this thin, 40 foot tall stainless steel column honors the City&rsquo;s rebirth after the Chicago Fire in 1871.

Lake Shore Drive at Fullerton, Lincoln Park (pictured at top of page:&nbsp;Ellsworth kelly, I Will. Photo: Ron Cogswell)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2798" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2798/original/knowledgewonderlg-copy.jpg" />

<h3>KERRY JAMES MARSHALL&nbsp; &ndash; KNOWLEDGE AND WONDER</h3>

Before Marshall painted the back of the Chicago Cultural Center in 2017, he created this mural to celebrate the library as a source of wonder and higher learning.&nbsp;

115 S. Pulaski Rd., Legler Branch Library

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Louise Nevelson, Dawn Shadows" data-rich-file-id="2799" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2799/original/dawnshadows.jpg" />

<h3>LOUISE NEVELSON&nbsp; &ndash; DAWN SHADOWS</h3>

Next to the nonstop trains that circle the Loop, Nevelson intended that this work be viewed from all sides and especially from above on the El tracks.&nbsp;

200 W. Madison, The Loop

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Richard Serra, Reading Cones, 1988, Cor-Ten Steel, City of Chicago. Photo Marin Sullivan, 2013" data-rich-file-id="2800" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2800/original/serra.jpg" />

<h3>RICHARD SERRA&nbsp; &ndash; READING CONES</h3>

A break in the minimalist exterior allows for a narrow space through which to view the surrounding city. Oh, there&rsquo;s <a href="https://sculpturalthings.com/2013/06/06/that-richard-serra-in-grant-park/">a story</a> about how this piece became the City&rsquo;s in 1990. Grant Park

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Alex Katz working on Harlem Station mural. Photograph by Nick Maravell" data-rich-file-id="2797" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2797/original/alex-katz-harlem-station-mural.jpg" />

<h3>ALEX KATZ&nbsp; &ndash; HARLEM STATION</h3>

This freestanding painting celebrates hardworking Chicagoans from all walks of life. One of the largest and most complex pieces by Katz, this work is on the go, all the time. Harlem Station, CTA Blue Line&nbsp;
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