Chicago artist Caroline Kent poses for a portrait at her studio in Humboldt Park on Jan. 29, 2025. Kent is the talent behind a large, site-specific mural in Chicago’s Union Station and forthcoming exhibitions at the Smart Museum and Patron Gallery. Manuel Martinez/WBEZ

Meet artist Caroline Kent, whose bold mural is transforming Chicago’s Union Station

Caroline Kent stands in the center of her Humboldt Park home studio, surrounded by works in progress. Along one wall, four massive abstract paintings are partially complete, while smaller linen canvases sit scattered across her worktables. Nearby, adding to the vibrant energy of the space, is a collection of cut-paper shapes: experiments for a new project.

But at the moment, Kent, 49, isn’t discussing her to-do list. Instead, she trains her eye on her cat, precariously perched above the studio space atop a partition wall.

Via WBEZ

Read CGN's fall 2024 profile of Kent here

Art Institute of Chicago gifted more than 2,200 French Old Masters

The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) has received a massive gift of French art from the collectors Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz. Comprised of almost 2,000 drawings, 200 paintings and 50 sculptures by legendary artists like Jacques-Louis David and François Boucher, the donation reflects the scope and depth of the Horvitz collection, renowned as the largest privately held trove of French Old Master works in the US.

Via The Art Newspaper

Artist’s Work Pulses With New Life After Open-Heart Surgery and a Series of Hallucinations

A serious health scare became an unexpected catalyst for change for a Chicago-based artist.

While recovering from open-heart surgery in 2021, Shar Coulson experienced trippy visions that ultimately shaped her artwork. The paintings she made are the focus of “NIGHT SIGHT: Illuminating the Mind’s Eye Through Darkness,” an exhibition at the International Museum of Surgical Science — the Gold Coast museum of medicine that also boasts a healthy contemporary art program.

Coulson spoke with WTTW News about her unusual encounter with the healing powers of art and science.

Via WTTW