By Steve Johnson, Chicago Tribune
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a very different-looking institution as 2018 begins than it was in 2017. There’s a top-notch new first-floor restaurant, Marisol, plus cafe and plaza space that replace what was a drab hallway. And the exterior of the building, criticized as austere, has been softened and highlighted for nearby Michigan Avenue by bold yellow lighted “MCA” signs.
Those are just some of the changes spearheaded by Pritzker Director Madeleine Grynsztejn, whose decade at the MCA has helped make it more inviting to the public while at the same time establishing a laser focus on spotlighting the work of emerging artists in Chicago and worldwide.
Add Harry Potter, Yayoi Kusama and Michelangelo to your 2018 calendar, courtesy of The Travel Channel.
On the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Sweetzer Avenue in front of The Standard in Hollywood beginning on Feb. 27, a monumental white neon outline of a uterus — with fiberglass boxing gloves in place of the ovaries — will slowly rotate at a height of 43 feet. Well-positioned to be adopted as the logo of the #MeToo movement, this declarative image of female empowerment is the first public art project by Zoe Buckman, a 32-year-old British artist based in New York. Titled “Champ,” the kinetic sculpture was commissioned by the Art Production Fund and will remain on view for a year.
By Katie Avis-Riordan
If you're an artist struggling to find inspiration, getting bogged down by your daily surroundings, then perhaps a change of scenery is just what you need to ignite your creativity.
And what better place to work from than an idyllic island? A remote island off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, called Fogo Island, is offering just that, with free residencies for some lucky artists.
Top of page image: Madeleine Grynsztejn was appointed Pritzker Director of the MCA in 2008. (Maria Ponce / Museum of Contemporary Art)