<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/zcqkqr1kbqx1mahne9x0.jpg"><figcaption>Dots Obsession by Yayoi Kusama. Credit WNDR Museum &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Via PR<a href="https://wndrmuseum.com">WNDR Museum</a>, Chicago’s original immersive art and technology experience, located in the city’s West Loop, announced the U.S. debut of the yellow Dots Obsession, a three-story immersive infinity installation by the globally iconic Yayoi Kusama, on Friday, May 12.&nbsp;Featuring a series of floating yellow and black polka dots alongside walk-in and peep-in installations, Dots Obsession will fill WNDR’s atrium and transport visitors into Kusama’s obsession with polka dots, repetition, celestial bodies and the experience of the infinite.“Since my childhood, I have always made works with polka dots. Earth, moon, sun and human beings all represent dots; a single particle among billions,” Yayoi Kusama has said. The collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Kusama, first in 2012 and then again in 2023, has further expanded attention and affection of the 94-year-old renowned artist. While Yayoi Kusama fans in New York City are anticipating her upcoming May 2023 show featuring new work at David Zwirner, the presentation of yellow Dots Obsession at WNDR Museum offers the unique opportunity for an up-close and personal experience of the artist’s vision. Dots Obsession was created by Yayoi Kusama in 2008 and has been exhibited around the world. After making its debut in London, the work has appeared in Lithuania, Singapore and Australia, and was most recently on view at Museum MACAN in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018.This will be the first time that yellow Dots Obsession will be installed in the United States.&nbsp;“Yayoi Kusama is perhaps the most prolific and celebrated living artist with a truly inspiring history of creative genius, and we are committed to the idea that her work should be experienced by the public as a source of awe and inspiration,” said WNDR Museum Creative Director David Allen. “At WNDR Museum, we are disrupting the sense of exclusivity and distance that too often has marked the experience of art, and we are redefining the museum as a source of engagement and inspirational playfulness – in that spirit, we’re thrilled to bring these iconic Kusama infinity room installations to WNDR guests in Chicago and across the country.” Open seven days a week, WNDR Museum was recently voted one of the top five immersive art experiences in the country by USA Today’s 2022 Reader Poll. The original WNDR Museum is located in Chicago’s West Loop, and WNDR Museum San Diego and WNDR Museum Seattle are now open, with WNDR Museum Boston opening in early summer 2023. Additional locations of WNDR Museum will be announced in the coming months. Tickets are timed entry and should be purchased in advance. &nbsp;<h3>Tickets &amp; Hours</h3>General admission tickets to WNDR Museum Chicago start at $32 and must be purchased in advance at <a href="https://wndrmuseum.com">www.wndrchicago.com</a>. Children’s tickets are available for ages 12 and under starting at $22. Children under ages two and under receive free admission. Those looking to elevate their WNDR Museum experience can take advantage of WNDR’s new Premium Pack for $50 per ticket. The Premium Pack includes expedited entry into WNDR Museum, a limited-edition, collector pin (which rotates designs seasonally), WNDR photo memory, 10 percent off at The WNDR Store and a WNDR re-run, allowing them to enjoy a second lap through WNDR Museum to revisit their favorite installations before exiting. &nbsp;<h3>Chicago Hours of Operation:</h3>Monday - Thursday: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. Friday - Saturday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. For more information, visit <a href="https://wndrmuseum.com">www.wndrmuseum.com</a></body></html>

WNDR Museum Announces U.S. debut of Yayoi Kusama's yellow Dots Obsession

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/s6mmv2yxbhvrbdofmmst.png"><figcaption>Richard Hunt (credit: <a href="https://richardhuntstudio.com/">RichardHuntStudio.com</a>)</figcaption></figure><a href="https://chicagocrusader.com/first-lady-mk-pritzker-opens-her-door-to-illinois-cultural-community-honors-artist-richard-hunt/">April 24 is Richard Hunt Day</a>Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker will host a cocktail reception at the Governor’s Mansion the evening of Monday, April 24, 2023, to welcome Illinois’ cultural leaders attending the “One State Conference and Capital Day” in Springfield. Inside, the First Lady will deliver a proclamation honoring world-renowned sculptor&nbsp;Richard Hunt&nbsp;and will declare April 24, 2023, Richard Hunt Day in Illinois.“Richard Hunt reflects the best of Illinois- a creativity, passion, and care for community and public spaces that makes art accessible to all,” said Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker. “We celebrate and recognize his work and are deeply grateful that he has contributed one of his creations to the Governors Mansion, giving our many visitors an opportunity to experience his work for themselves. Richard Hunt Day serves as a call to all Illinoisans to look beyond the conventional and tell their own stories, no matter the medium.”Via Chicago Crusader&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/fq2nwvgv1pqktffvh4j1.png"></figure>Arts of Life's Neon Dreams Benefit is May 5 And Honors Jason PicklemanArts of Life's upcoming&nbsp;<a href="https://artsoflife.org/event/neondreams/">Neon Dreams Benefit Auction</a>&nbsp;is Friday, May 5th. You can join in person or virtually for a fun and energetic night of food,&nbsp;drinks, art, dancing, and more to support an&nbsp;inclusive community of artists with and without&nbsp;disabilities while honoring and celebrating an important Chicago icon Jason Picklemen. Art of Life just <a href="https://www.betterunite.com/AofL-neondreams-artsoflifebenefitauction/auction">published the artwork online for advance viewing and bidding here.</a>&nbsp; Please consider <a href="https://www.betterunite.com/AofL-neondreams-artsoflifebenefitauction">registering for a ticket ASAP</a>, as we generally expect them to sell out.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419199/y7poioi5kvi6kjczd55b.png"></figure><a href="https://www.kohler.com/en/products/artist-edition?id=em_csm_kbus_artist-editions_2023_living-4xAE-product-drop&amp;subrid=19637578">Kohler Announces New Artistic Editions and Artsy Commodes</a>In celebration of Kohler’s 150th anniversary, Kohler announced they are unveiling at Milan Design Week a new limited-edition ($$$$) product collection featuring four original artworks by trailblazing female artists from around the world. These diverse and visionary creators share Kohler's passion for bold color, daring innovation, and inspiring heritage. Meet the creators behind the latest Artist Editions®collection.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theotherartfair.com/chicago/">The Other Art Fair is Back</a>The Other Art Fair, focused on new artistic talent, is set to host its 5th Chicago edition, April 27-30, 2023 at its new home,&nbsp;Artifact Events. The Other Art Fair Chicago will feature&nbsp;original works of art&nbsp;from&nbsp;100+&nbsp;emerging Artists&nbsp;and will kick off with an&nbsp;Opening Night event&nbsp;on Thursday, April 27,&nbsp;Interactive Workshops,&nbsp;Guest Artists,&nbsp;DJ Sets,&nbsp;Unique Installations&nbsp;and Murals&nbsp;and more.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 4/24/23

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419192/skugnb4ps3lbijfmhx1o.jpg"><figcaption>Portrait of Richard Hunt by Sandro Miller.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By Anna DobrowolskiEncountering Richard Hunt’s monolithic sculptures around Chicago is much like running into an old friend, someone you recognize no matter how much time has passed. Hunt’s large-scale public works are out in the elements, soaring into the skyline. Each one signifies you’re in the presence of something distinctly from Chicago, with characteristics that mirror the city’s famed architecture – structures are imposing yet delicately rendered, sturdy but changeable, familiar as well as innovative, raw but refined. The artist’s vision plus hard work is manifested in wrought steel that is put on display to stand the test of time.&nbsp;Millions of people glimpse Hunt’s sculptures regularly when arriving at and departing from Midway Airport. Additional commissions have been installed on the campuses of the University of Chicago, Divinity School and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), as well as on the rooftop of the Art Institute of Chicago. Many have become landmarks in their own right. The creator of these magnificent sculptures has been hard at work since 1955. He isn’t slowing down. There is still more to imagine and to make real.&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;Hunt has said about his work, “Public sculpture responds to the dynamics of a community, or of those in it, who have a use for sculpture. It is this aspect of use, of utility, that gives public sculpture its vital and lively place in the public mind.” He has contributed a great deal to Chicago and its legacy of public art. Other cities and towns around the country each bring a little bit of Chicago to their own community when a Hunt sculpture is installed. &nbsp;When we sat down this winter, inside his Lincoln Park studio that was once a transit power station, the stage was set for an industrial fireside chat about his nearly 70-year career. Warming up beside a space heater – like the ones used for outdoor cafes – in our periphery a massive steel bird manages to materialize from the pages of an open book. Titled “Book Bird,” he explains, the work will join the long list of Hunt’s sculptures in Chicago when it is installed&nbsp; in a courtyard reading space at the Obama Presidential Center, slated to open in 2025. “Book Bird” illuminates how reading and learning allow readers to enter new places and fly free. The work was the first commissioned piece of art for the Obama Center.&nbsp;Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said, “Mr. Hunt’s personal story and creative vision embodies the uplifting experience visitors will find at the Center. Having known Richard most of my life, we are so proud to honor his work here.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419193/onocbfzpdt018arz3rj3.jpg"><figcaption>Richard Hunt at work in his Lincoln Park studio. Photo courtesy Richard Hunt Studio.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419194/mv3bazdju8kguk9sw0q6.jpg"><figcaption>Richard Hunt, Flight Forms</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Born and raised in Chicago, Hunt says he was greatly influenced by his mother, an artist and librarian, and he spent much of his childhood enjoying museums and opera performances, fostering his passion for the arts. “I grew up with my parents on the Southside, near Woodlawn and Englewood,” Hunt notes. “When I was around 13 I would go down to the Junior school, as they called it, of the Art Institute on Saturday to take classes.” He was soon captivated by sculpture, even building his own bedroom art studio where he could sculpt with clay long before he discovered wax and soldered wires, and eventually sheet metal and found objects like automative scrap that he could transform into abstract magic.Hunt went on to pursue an Art Education degree at the Art Institute, and it was here as a student that he began his groundbreaking career. While he undoubtedly found his love for art in Chicago and received his formal education there, the decision to remain in his hometown, despite the pull of the art world nucleus forming in New York in the 1960s, did not come without sacrifices. Hunt reflects, “I investigated the possibilities I had, or ‘should have had’ in New York. Along with friends of mine in art school we asked ourselves, ‘What would we have in New York that we don’t have here?’ I ultimately decided not to move there.” Instead, he was successful taking his works on paper, prints and sculpture to local exhibitions and Chicago galleries. Eventually Hunt says he was interested in gallery representation in New York, and he notes he still travels there, but it’s clear that his life, work and artistic inspiration has thrived in Chicago.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419195/dymhhu8l9ebidkh9jyvt.jpg"><figcaption>Richard Hunt, Light of Truth: Ida B. Wells National Monument, unveiled in 2021 in Bronzeville, Chicago. History far, CC BY-SA 4.0</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Hunt's work has been exhibited in more than 100 solo shows around the country, and he has received numerous distinctions and accolades, including being the first African-American artist to have a major solo exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The impressive breadth of Hunt’s work is not just the result of a very long career but also a remarkably prolific work ethic and a seemingly endless well of material. In Hunt’s studio, paging through catalogs of his work I come across a photograph of a young Hunt, climbing a mountain-high pile of scrap metal in Lincoln Park where General Iron’s metal shredding and recycling facilty once was. Hunt’s cavernous studio houses similar maze-like collections of metal, with dead-ends stacked with metallic sheets, inroads leading to maquettes, tools, papers filled with notes. It is both an archive and treasure trove.&nbsp;Recently, approximately 50 of his monumental works (a dent in his 130 and growing oeuvre) went on view at KANEKO in Omaha, Nebraska. Hunt explains that with such a vast number of works to his name, each piece comes with a unique set of challenges: one needs a larger base, another needs to be sanded smooth, and yet another must be engineered to hang on a wall. Today, at 87, Hunt continues to meet artistic challenges and work on a range of notable commissions, following variable paths to creating art. He tells me that no matter what a certain piece may require individually, a strict timeline to delivery or space to develop organically, each one becomes what it is intended to be. Hunt explains “I tend to have several things in some stage of development, and others that move forward in a chain. Art is something that starts to grow until it reaches maturity. It just becomes what it is.” Much like a career that started with clay sculptures in a bedroom art studio, Hunt has become the artist he was meant to be.&nbsp;#&nbsp;</body></html>

Hard at Work at 87: Richard Hunt

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419193/fivmlhraplvl04xnxaap.jpg"><figcaption>Diasporal Rhythms home tour guests on a visit to collector and Diasporal rhythms co-founder Patric McCoy’s South Side home.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By JACQUELINE LEWISWhen art collector Patric McCoy spoke with CGN 10 years ago, he shared the story of how a collecting group based on the South Side of Chicago had started a decade prior. Diasporal Rhythms, he explained, represented a different concept of collecting in Chicago, “Our organization is charged with how to redefine the term ‘collector.’ In America it has this meaning of being wealthy, private, academic - having the magic ability to know the future value of something. That’s what the majority of people in this country believe. We’re saying none of that has to be true. Particularly in our community on the South Side, we have to be the first voices.”This year Diasporal Rhythms is marking 20 years of exhibiting and preserving art from the African Diaspora for the people of Chicago, and they have plans to celebrate in a big way.&nbsp;Founded in 2003 Diasporal Rhythms is the result of a spirited panel discussion at the South Side Art Center’s Collector’s Forum regarding the need to expand the appreciation of contemporary art to include the artists of the African Diaspora. Founders McCoy, Daniel Parker, Carol Briggs and Joan Crisler saw a need to create more equitable opportunities and a space for Black artists to showcase their art and access further opportunities. In the years since Diasporal Rhythms has consistently worked to provide programs and opportunities that amplify the voices of Black artists and collectors, all while providing a platform for art enthusiasts of all levels to engage learn, and network.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419193/aey8qicwfn7igx5ccuco.jpg"><figcaption>A collector describes the art in her home on a Home Tour</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Kate Lorenz, the former Executive Director of Hyde Park Arts Center sums up 20 years of impact in Chicago:“Diasporal Rhythms has helped create a deep, vast, and authentic network of reciprocal support and admiration between artists and the community that defies categorization. As mainstream arts organizations and philanthropic organizations are called on to address racial justice and embrace community as part of their mission and work going forward, there is much to learn from Diasporal Rhythms.”Diasporal Rhythms will present Perspective 2023 at Navy Pier to commemorate their anniversary. Perspective occurs yearly but this year’s edition will specifically honor and celebrate 20 years. It will run from October 6, 2023–January 31, 2024. An auction fundraiser is planned for October 15 &amp; 23, and an Intimate Spaces Home Tour for October 7 &amp; 8.Tickets and details are at <a href="https://diasporalrhythms.org">diasporalrhythms.org</a>#&nbsp;</body></html>

Preserving Art from the African Diaspora: Diasporal Rhythms Celebrates its 20th Anniversary

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/ipdeiumirlvthkbi7idh.webp"></figure><a href="https://theartnewspaper.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2b93c36d5d680004a859c739e&amp;id=b617d161c6&amp;e=65feef4957">Dealers report strong first-day sales as Expo Chicago’s largest edition yet draws a 'critical mass' of Midwestern collectors</a>Collectors from the Midwest and beyond turned up for the fair’s VIP preview, as did the city’s next mayor and one of its most famous rappers<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/04/14/expo-chicago-2023-sales-report-midwestern-collectors-fair?utm_source=The+Art+Newspaper+Newsletters&amp;utm_campaign=5601e7d2a6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_04_14_04_18&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_-5601e7d2a6-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D">The Art Newspaper</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://news.wttw.com/2023/04/18/photo-exhibition-highlights-lives-personalities-black-gay-men-1980s-chicago">Photo Exhibition Highlights the Lives, Personalities of Black Gay Men in 1980s Chicago</a>Chicago native Patric McCoy worked as an environmental scientist for the EPA for decades. In his free time, he documented the environment around him, taking pictures every day during much of the 1980s.A new exhibition of his photographs at the Wrightwood 659 gallery in Lincoln Park is an evocative look at gay Black men in Chicago during that pivotal decade — and a window into a community that’s often been overlooked and stereotyped.Via WTTW&nbsp;<a href="https://abc7chicago.com/the-other-art-fair-chicago-artifact-events-ravenswood-news/13127876/">The Other Art Fair Returns and Will Open in Ravenswood</a>The Other Art Fair, a leading artist fair for discovering the most exciting artistic talent, is set to host its fifth Chicago edition, April 27-30, at its new home, Artifact Events in Ravenswood.The Other Art Fair Chicago will feature original works of art from 100-plus emerging artists, and will kick off with an Opening Night event on April 27, interactive workshops, guest artists, DJ sets, unique installations and murals and much more. Here are the top 10 things to see and do:Via ABC 7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 4/20/23

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/i3fj8ktiaviivk92z4d0.jpg"><figcaption>EXPO CHICAGO Opening Night. MCA Patron Reception. Photo by Kyle Flubacker</figcaption></figure>CHICAGO—<a href="https://www.expochicago.com">EXPO CHICAGO</a>, the International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, concluded its 10th anniversary edition on Sunday, April 16, with strong attendance of international collectors and more than 80 curators and museum directors alongside 32,000 visitors. The fair’s most global edition to date saw exceptional presentations from exhibiting galleries and strong sales both on-site and through the official online viewing room. The exposition welcomed more than 8,500 VIP guests—collectors, curators, museum directors, artists, and art professionals—for an exclusive first look at over 170 leading galleries from 36 countries and 90 cities throughout Navy Pier’s iconic Festival Hall. Also on opening night, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s Vernissage raised over $280,000 for the Museum’s learning programs. EXPO CHICAGO will return to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall on April 11–14, 2024.“We are thrilled that EXPO CHICAGO’s 10th anniversary edition was distinguished by strong sales, exceptional exhibitions and events, and a city mobilized to welcome a growing community of art dealers, collectors, curators, museum directors, artists, and enthusiasts from around the world,” said Tony Karman, President | Director. “The energy and enthusiasm both on-site at Navy Pier and throughout Chicago was palpable—showcasing the support for our participating exhibitors and artists, while resonating deeply with local and visiting patrons,” he added. “I am proud that this edition of EXPO CHICAGO solidified our position on the international art fair calendar and reinforced Chicago’s reputation as a global arts center with leading institutions, galleries, and artists.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/unpj1ifn5fstl1kgwam7.jpg"><figcaption>IN:SITU, Andrea Galvani, CURRO. Photo by Justin Barbin &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;“This year at EXPO CHICAGO was marked by bold programmatic expansion—our /Dialogues public talks program saw record attendance; our Curatorial Initiatives welcomed over 80 curators and museum directors, the largest convening to date; and both our citywide public art installations and EXPO ART WEEK programmatic partnerships filled the week with nightly activations, openings, and events that showcased the depth of Chicago’s commitment to creative collaboration,” said Kate Sierzputowski, Director of Programming. “Over the past decade, the fair has consistently cultivated thoughtful programmatic offerings both on-site and throughout the city, and we look forward to furthering this tradition in the years to come.”Notable collectors, artists, and patrons, in attendance included: Derrick Adams, Richard Bell, Dawoud Bey, Nick Cave and Bob Faust, Ellen-Blair Chube, Anita Blanchard and Martin Nesbitt, Leslie Bluhm, Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, Dimitris Daskalopoulos, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Larry and Marilyn Fields, David Frej and Nancy Lerner, Nate Freeman, Bill Gautreaux, Helyn Goldenberg and Michael Alper, Lisa Goodman and Josef Vascovitz, Michelle Grabner, Jack and Sandy Guthman, Susan and Michael Hort, Chicago’s Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, Jennifer Litowitz, Zoe Lukov, Vic Mensa, Gary Metzner, Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, Ron Pizzuti, Abby Pucker, Chance the Rapper, Biff Ruttenberg and Gwen Callans, Michael and Cari Sacks, Richard and Ellen Sandor, Kenny Schachter, Gio Swaby, Amanda Williams, and Hank Willis Thomas."We had an outstanding year at EXPO CHICAGO, the fair was back in full force with a seemingly endless number of museum groups coming by throughout the weekend. We sold major works by Max Ernst and James Nares, alongside numerous contemporary works by Theodora Allen, Sara Anstis, Liam Everett, Vanessa German, and many more."<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419199/mb0wj9rzzhygafscxwb3.jpg"><figcaption>IN:SITU, Curated by Claudia Segura. Ebony G Patterson, courtesy of moniquemeloche, photo by Mario Gallucci</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;— Eric Gleason | Senior Director, Kasmin Gallery, New York“The quality of the institutional audience that EXPO CHICAGO delivers is impossible to beat. Curators and directors came through every day, and we not only continued existing relationships, we forged some very important new ones.” — Lauren Wittels | Director, Luhring Augustine, New York“We had a packed booth all day Thursday, and are proud to have placed works by several artists with public and private collections. The VIP preview started off with an important public collection acquiring an incredible work by Marie Watt, who will have a solo exhibition with us in June. We also placed a stunning Roger Brown, who has a solo exhibition up in our Washington Blvd. galleries, with a major private collection. We had institutional interest in works by Miya Ando, Sherman Beck, Alfred Conteh, James Little, Beverly Fishman, Esmaa Mohamoud, and<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419200/eyolfmwjnzwpwovdahf9.png" alt="page4image1206803376"></figure>Allana Clarke. It was so wonderful to be back at EXPO CHICAGO representing our dynamic Chicago community. All eyes are on Chicago and the city has brought its A-game, but that’s nothing new—Chicago has always been a force and it seems the rest of the art world is finally catching on. Chicago has a lot to say and people are listening!”— Kavi Gupta | Owner and Director, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago“We’re thrilled to have placed a significant Ebony G. Patterson tapestry installation in a prominent Chicago collection and have works by Brendan Fernandes, Lavar Munroe, Jake Troyli, and Maia Cruz Palileo now heading to exhibitions at institutions including the Milwaukee Art Museum and Cantor Center for the Arts at Stanford. We also hosted museum groups from the Seattle Art Museum, Nelson Atkins Museum, Nerman Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg at the gallery for private tours with Maia Cruz Palileo. The curatorial conference and directors forum adds a compelling dimension to this fair.”— Monique Meloche | Founder and Owner, moniquemeloche, Chicago"The response to the 10th edition of EXPO CHICAGO has been deservingly tremendous. Another successful year, and we look forward to many more."— Miles McEnery | Principal, Miles McEnery Gallery, New York“We were thrilled to participate in EXPO CHICAGO for the first time this year, where we had the pleasure of experiencing an outstanding program and connecting with esteemed curators and art experts from around the globe. It was a valuable opportunity to foster relationships with institutions and showcase the captivating artwork of Navot Miller, a talented artist based in Berlin who is gaining prominence in the art world. We look forward to furthering the conversation and maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the national and international art professionals we met.”— Adi Gura | Partner, Braverman Gallery, Tel Aviv&nbsp;</body></html>

 EXPO CHICAGO's 10th Anniversary Edition Featured Outstanding Sales, Dynamic Programming, and Strong Attendance

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/aaffw36w9lbipk8jblj7.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/cynthia-bjorn-shar-coulson-sara-mast">Fragments of Nature: New Work by Cynthia Bjorn, Shar Coulson and Sara Mast</a>Opening: Thursday, Apr 20, 2023 5 – 7&nbsp;pmgallery 1871 (Chicago Art Source Gallery)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419199/dm2u4l1kmbf0jkw9hpnq.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/deb-newton-retrospective">Deb Newton Retrospective</a>Opening: Friday, Apr 21, 2023 4 – 6&nbsp;pmRockford Art Museum&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419199/dp5e6twgtqhmuqembugi.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/new-beginnings-featuring-brian-frink-jill-birschbach-kassandra-palmer-38ebc258-2f65-4051-9d91-b25e80eedd3c">New Beginnings, featuring Brian Frink, Jill Birschbach, &amp; Kassandra Palmer</a>Opening: Friday, Apr 21, 2023 5 – 8&nbsp;pmJames May Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419200/mvzkjogiuh30gjpdg0ri.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/edra-soto-destination-el-destino">Edra Soto: Destination/El Destino</a>Opening: Saturday, Apr 22, 2023 1 – 5&nbsp;pmHyde Park Art Center (HPAC)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419201/oo7zfti0rwcm5wexq0sx.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/william-weidner-samira-gdisis">Petals &amp; Wings | A series of Life-Inspired Linoleum Cuts by Samira Gdisis</a>Opening: Saturday, Apr 22, 2023 6 – 9&nbsp;pmBlue Moon Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419202/ogjpn0se4evndchiqxnc.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/iris-bernblum-various-pleasures">Iris Bernblum: Various Pleasures</a>Opening: Sunday, Apr 23, 2023 3 – 6&nbsp;pmGoldfinch&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open April 20 - 23

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419183/tmrkyv9gacl0agawau1r.jpg"><figcaption>Pritzker Director Madeleine Grynsztejn&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By ANNA DOBROWOLSKIMadeleine Grynsztejn is a leader on a mission. Since starting her tenure at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2008, Grynsztejn has been committed to presenting art ‘you don’t yet know you love.’&nbsp;&nbsp;Today as she enters her 15th year as MCA director, she says she is ready to prove that contemporary art is entering a golden era, and Chicago is its crucible.When the MCA’s doors were shut in 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic, the museum joined the mass migration to digital programming out of a commitment to stay connected to audiences locked out of physical institutions and stuck at home. The three years that followed left the world craving reconnection that Grynsztejn strongly believes can be facilitated not only through the art found in institutions, but also through the institution itself. Criticism that bubbled up in 2020 – from outside as well as within – was ultimately a catalyst for real change.During a recent candid conversation, Grynsztejn tells us some of the most significant lessons she gleaned from steering the MCA through a pandemic amid local and global unrest, from how she listened to and genuinely responded to criticism while embracing collaborative opportunities. Each is a lesson she says will not be forgotten.&nbsp;CGN: Where do you see the biggest shift between then (pre-pandemic) and now? Is it in the type of art on view, differences in programming and exhibition themes, or something else?&nbsp;MG: The biggest shift has actually been consistency. Artists and audiences continue to care deeply about creating and presenting art. Not only can they enlighten our learnings about issues such as systemic racism, but they have also shown us how attuned they are to whether our back of the house is as ethical as the messages of the works of art on the walls and on our stage. Where there were differences, there were credibility gaps.&nbsp;CGN: So artists acted as a voice of consciousness and a kind of auditor? What happened behind the scenes? It was important for the MCA to listen and respond.&nbsp;MG: Much of our work since COVID has been very important but relatively invisible. We have intentionally put a DEI lens on our institution. We launched our first fully bilingual major exhibition, “Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today.” It’s what Chicago should do, especially since we have a population that is 18% Spanish-speaking.&nbsp;What we do administratively and systemically is part of what it means to be a good contemporary art museum. It’s not just how we show up on the outside; we are only as good as our people.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419184/gh74edlh19jekh31qh4v.jpg"><figcaption>”Marton Robinson, La coronación de la Negrita (The Coronation of La Negrita), 2022, chalkboard paint and chalk on canvas, sixty parts. Installation view. Photo: Michael David Rose.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: At the time of writing, MCA’s staff is at 40% BIPOC, which is a 5% increase over the last year.&nbsp;MG: On the public side, since 2020, nearly 70% of our collection acquisitions have been by women-identified or BIPOC artists. We have actually been 50% women-represented in all of our programs since 2015. We are part of this new wave and generation of feminism that is starting to finally be able to make permanent–not cosmetic–material differences, changes that are a part of our daily practices and will continue to be.&nbsp;This is the same with many of the MCA’s changes implemented during the pandemic. [Artists] have become much more attuned to wanting to be with institutions that reflect the learnings that we have all taken in. They want to support those institutions that want to change internally as well as externally. That’s the answer.&nbsp;CGN: You noted that the MCA is acquiring women-identified and BIPOC artists’ work at 7 times the rate of any other museum in the country (according to the Burns Halperin report). This is happening in Chicago. What drives you to continue being invested in this city?&nbsp;MG: What I’ve always said about Chicago is that it is a flash point and a flashlight. Which means that it’s a leader, and it is incumbent upon us to set the terms by which a great contemporary museum is defined. Chicago is currently experiencing a Golden Age specifically for black art, on a par with the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. It’s also a Golden Age of what might be considered socially engaged art, which is one of the most important art movements since the 1990s. There is no other city that can boast the likes of Theaster Gates, the Rebuild Foundation, Emmanuel Pratt and the Sweet Water Foundation, Amanda Williams, Michael Rakowitz, Faheem Majeed and the Floating Museum, and so many others the world has noticed. There is no other city that can boast a community of artists at that level of excellence. This community lives at the intersection of art, architecture and design. We really celebrate that.&nbsp;CGN: Borrowing your flashlight metaphor here, what is something you want to illuminate for visitors returning to the MCA?A welcome. There is no single word to capture the past 36 months. I guess there was the overused ‘unprecedented’ but there’s not really a word for what we all have gone through and are still emerging from. We are now seeing people coming back together ‘post-COVID’, and it is the most beautiful, heartwarming and important thing.&nbsp;The MCA wants to reward our community’s courageous return with wonder. Our offering is to first make you curious, then facilitate that understanding, which naturally leads to bridging differences, and that naturally leads to change. And when you ask me that question, it really comes down to: we want to be the place that catalyzes art. I think that’s when it becomes an act against the worst part of the last 36 months: the divisive black and white ideology structure we are actively against.&nbsp;&nbsp;CGN: Looking back on 2022, for instance thinking back to Nick Cave and “Forothermore”, what were some of the challenges you faced then, even with some stunning programming? How did you overcome them?&nbsp;MG: Well, I can speak to the challenge of maintaining pre-COVID level programming momentum and audience engagement.&nbsp;We continue to see the benefits of a museum that is as strong online as it is onsite, because we did learn that it clears economic, geographic and ability hurdles in ways that the physical museum space does not.You always have to ask yourself, not only what extraordinary art offering will change people’s lives and hearts and minds, but what is an ethical way in which you execute that exhibition or program? Since COVID what we’ve learned is that it is an extraordinary, and much more welcome, way of working when you partner and collaborate with an institution on an exhibition like Nick Cave or a full day symposium in partnership with DEEM journal, a biannual print journal and online platform focused on design as social practice.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419185/pc2p8nwmuq2elyoi8wpq.jpg"><figcaption>Installation view from&nbsp; “Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: What have been some proud moments?&nbsp;MG: Creating gorgeous exhibitions, like launching our first major bilingual exhibition with “Forecast Form” or making an extraordinary show by Chicago-based artist Nick Cave happen and see it travel to New York. Hosting an unbelievable performance festival called Chicago Performs.&nbsp;I’m also proud of how we do it – so often we do this in partnership with other organizations we are honored to work with and mutually elevate.&nbsp;Our mindset has shifted very productively in the wake of the last 36 months. At the same time we have always been connected – as a contemporary art museum – to emergent thinking, doing and being.Looking forward, our exhibition this summer is a retrospective of the great artist Gary Simmons curated by our Chief Curator René Morales and Assistant Curator Jadine Collingwood. It is gorgeous work and its subject matter focuses on those hidden histories, particularly around race, that permeate our culture and that we need to continue to talk about. The first survey show Simmons ever did as a young artist was at the MCA in the early ‘90s.In August the MCA will open a show called “Entre Horizontes: Art and Activism Between Chicago and Puerto Rico” that examines the intersection between art and social justice movements between the Puerto Rican diaspora and Chicago.&nbsp;CGN: It’s clear that no institution is an island. Ongoing public discussions about institutions call for critical review of the communities involved in their existence: Who can take part? Who is it serving? You’ve mentioned that some artists have recently returned to the MCA. They are actively a part of MCA’s history, present, and future. What can you tell us about the partnerships and collaborations?&nbsp;MG: You’re so right. Another example I love is that the MCA gave Lorna Simpson her first survey show in 1992. Today she is one of our trustees, actively influencing the organizational direction of the museum.We also did this wonderful exhibition with the DuSable Museum recently, a relationship that will continue. The MCA enters into such partnerships with humility. We try to always go about our work in the right way in Chicago, as a cultural and civic agent. Part of that responsibility is to remain internationally significant and cosmopolitan.&nbsp;[For example, we recently] negotiated the gift of a historic collection of installation art from the 1990s to the present from the collection of Dimitris Daskalopoulos, which we are co-owning with the Guggenheim in NYC.Obviously this is not accomplished alone. We are in a moment when I believe the MCA is having a huge impact locally, nationally and internationally. And it’s thanks to a magnificent alignment between staff and board that is committed to fully manifesting this museum on behalf of its artists and its public.We are here to welcome every person that comes in the door and to learn with and from them. Chicago is a full partner in MCA’s growth, in heart and mind.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;#&nbsp;</body></html>

MCA Director Madeleine Grynsztejn On Chicago as Flash Point and Flashlight 

<html><head></head><body>Bonhams<a href="https://www.bonhams.com">bonhams.com</a>Bonhams’ global network of auction houses is dedicated to its local market relationships and a commitment to the complete collecting category that welcomes all price points. Bonhams presents over 15 auctions annually and is currently accepting consignments in all collecting categories.&nbsp;Natalie Waechter is Midwest Dir.&nbsp;• 773–267–3300&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/tst5wfmghbfrzeabrdu2.png"><figcaption>George Rodrigue (1944-2013) Summer Comes Every Year, 1998, Acrylic on canvas. Est. $20,000-$30,000. via Heritage Auctions.</figcaption></figure>Heritage auctions<a href="https://www.ha.com">ha.com</a>Heritage Auctions is the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. On Friday, April 14, 5–8pm during EXPO CHICAGO’s Art After Hours HA is hosting a gallery walk and Modern &amp; Contemporary Auction Preview Reception, including works by Basquiat, Deborah Butterfield, Roller Wilson, Alexander Calder and more. The auction takes place May 18, 2023.&nbsp;Roberta Kramer Head of Office in Chicago • 312–260–7200&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419199/f2lmfvitvopjggg5emej.jpg"><figcaption>Join Hindman for an after-hours highlights preview of our upcoming spring Fine Art auctions. Featuring artists of the Chicago art world, stop by to explore works by Gertrude Abercrombie, Theaster Gates and many more. Image: Roger Brown.</figcaption></figure>Hindman&nbsp;hindmanauctions.com&nbsp;Hindman was formed through the merger of two premier auction houses, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers (est. 1982) and Cowan’s Auctions (est. 1995). Hindman marked 40 years in 2022 and is headquartered in Chicago with 15 additional locations serving clients coast to coast. They recently opened a New York City showroom.&nbsp;Hindman’s Post War &amp; Contemporary and Prints &amp; Multiples auctions take place April 19 and 20 in Chicago and online.&nbsp;• 312–280–1212&nbsp;SOTHEBY’S<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/">sothebys.com</a>Established in 1744, Sotheby’s is the world’s largest marketplace and perhaps best-recognized name in the world when it comes to auctions. Today, Sotheby’s hosts over 600 auctions annually.&nbsp;This April in New York watch for VICTORIAM, a special two-part curated collection of sports artifact, Led by Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals Game 2 Air Jordan XIIIs, multiple auctions for the Wolf Family Collection, and in London a dedicated Banksy auction.&nbsp;Gary Metzner, Head of Office in Chicago • 312–475–7913 &nbsp;Toomey &amp; Co. Auctioneers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.toomeyco.com">toomeyco.com</a>With a focus on the midwestern origins of Prairie School architecture, Toomey &amp; Co. is a leading purveyor of fine art and design, from the Arts &amp; Crafts movement and early art pottery to modern and contemporary art. In fall 2022 Toomey &amp; Co. relocated to a West Loop space with Wright.&nbsp;On April 19th, Toomey will offer a Fine Art auction with over 250 lots spanning the late 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries. Notable artists include David Mann, Salvador Dalí, Wesley Willis, Lee Godie, and others.• 312–563–0020&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419199/tjqvedlc8h82xeb9af0e.jpg"><figcaption>Barbara Kruger&nbsp; Untitled (Kiss), Stool 60, pair&nbsp;&nbsp;$1,500–2,000</figcaption></figure>Wright<a href="https://www.wright20.com">wright20.com</a>Richard Wright founded Wright auction house in 2000. Today, centrally located in Chicago’s West Loop, it is the industry’s leading auction house specializing in 20th century art and design. They also offer Wright Now, an inventory of art and design available for direct purchase. On April 20 Wright’s 20|21 Art: The Chicago Edition auction will take place. Previews run April 13 – 20.• 312–563–0020&nbsp;</body></html>

SOLD! Spring ‘23 at Auction

<html><head></head><body>By CGN STAFFBeyond Navy Pier, where EXPO CHICAGO takes place from April 13–16, dozens of galleries and museums around Chicago will be welcoming the public into their spaces.&nbsp;On Chicago's vibrant South Side on Tuesday, April 11 the official kick-off to EXPO ART WEEK begins with an evening of openings, exhibitions and performances. Guests are encouraged to explore the many galleries, museums, and exhibition spaces in this dynamic community of arts and culture.&nbsp;On Friday, April 14 EXPO ART AFTER Hours is back, taking place in art spaces throughout the city.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/jkyizfp6l024v9ulluav.jpg"><figcaption>Amir H. Fallah, Calling on the Past, 2018, Acrylic on canvas. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago. Gift of the 2018 Northern Trust Purchase Prize.</figcaption></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Tuesday, April 11</h3>A few highlights are listed below. View the complete list of South Side events for <a href="https://www.expochicago.com/expo-art-week/south-side-openings">April 11 here</a>.&nbsp;• A TOAST TO THE SOUTH SIDE&nbsp;Extended Hours |&nbsp;5:00–6:30pm Remarks | 5:45pm <a href="https://www.thestudyatuniversityofchicago.com/">The Study&nbsp;at the University of Chicago</a> | 1227 E 60th St&nbsp;Gather at The Study at University of Chicago for an official toast to kick-off EXPO ART WEEK before exploring South Side exhibitions and special programs. Toast to the South Side with a specialty EXPO CHICAGO cocktail and return to Truth Be Told, nestled off the lobby of The Study with a valid EXPO ticket or VIP pass April 11–16 for a buy-one get-one cocktail, beer, or wine by the glass.&nbsp;<h3>• "WHERE THE LIGHT CORRUPTS YOUR FACE..."&nbsp;</h3>Extended Gallery Hours | 4:00–7:00pm <a href="https://www.sscartcenter.org/">South Side Community Art Center</a> | 3831 S Michigan Ave&nbsp;In this exhibition, Chicago-based artists Roland Knowlden, Andres L. Hernandez, and Tonika Lewis Johnson explore the social, cultural, and racial implications of built spaces and natural environments. Encompassing elements of drawing, painting, collage, installation and architecture, both artists draw upon the possibilities of new spatial realities and speculative futures.&nbsp;<h3>• DIASPORA STORIES: SELECTIONS FROM THE CCH POUNDER COLLECTION&nbsp;</h3>Extended Gallery Hours + Walkthroughs | 4:00–9:00pm&nbsp; <a href="https://www.dusablemuseum.org/">The DuSable Black History Museum &amp; Education Center</a> | 740 E 56th Pl&nbsp;Join Danny Dunson of Legacy Brothers for guided tours throughout the evening of&nbsp;Diaspora Stories: Selections From The CCH Pounder Collection, featuring works from Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley and more. The CCH Pounder Collection is an ongoing, living narrative of ancestral memory and cultural tethers that connects African Americans to the Black Diaspora. As a native of Guyana, Pounder connected to the true story of Equiano, who spent much of his enslaved life in Barbados. Equiano's story contains observations of African-centered cultural practices retained by enslaved Africans in multiple regions throughout the Americas, such as Brazil and Venezuela. Admission free for EXPO ticketholders + VIPs.&nbsp;<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>&nbsp;</h3><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/wb0ijdrhu8fwfqbask16.jpg"><figcaption>Meg Lipke, Moon Tempo, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and DOCUMENT.&nbsp; &nbsp;</figcaption></figure><h3>Friday, April 14</h3><a href="https://www.expochicago.com/expo-art-week/art-after-hours">Art After Hours</a> takes place on the Friday evening during EXPO CHICAGO. A citywide open gallery night, EXPO invites fair visitors and the Chicago community to experience the city’s vibrant art scene during extended hours from 6:00 – 9:00pm on April 14.Find participating galleries and more with the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?hl=en&amp;mid=107ERXsfIzYVuH4_Yrl9ATB0k0kuzVOA&amp;ll=41.87197380415703%2C-87.66509882017242&amp;z=11">EXPO ART WEEK Map.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;View CGN's <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=openings">Openings List here.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;<h3>PARTICIPANTS:</h3>65GRAND*&nbsp; ACRE Projects&nbsp; ANDREW RAFACZ*&nbsp; AMFM*&nbsp; Anthony Gallery*&nbsp; Blanc&nbsp; Carl Hammer Gallery&nbsp; Cherry Mountain Arts&nbsp; Chicago Artists Coalition*&nbsp; David Salkin Creative&nbsp; DOCUMENT*&nbsp; Elephant Room Gallery&nbsp; ENGAGE Projects*&nbsp; Gallery Victor&nbsp; Goldfinch&nbsp; GRAY&nbsp; Hindman Auctions&nbsp; Ingress Gallery @Soho House Chicago&nbsp; Kavi Gupta*&nbsp; Ken Saunders Gallery&nbsp; LVL3&nbsp; Mana Contemporary&nbsp; Mariane Ibrahim&nbsp; MICKEY&nbsp; moniquemeloche*&nbsp; Paris London Hong Kong&nbsp; PATRON&nbsp; Prairie&nbsp; Produce Model&nbsp; Roots &amp; Culture&nbsp; Tiger&nbsp;Strikes&nbsp;Asteroid Volume Gallery*&nbsp; Watershed Studioworks&nbsp; Western Exhibitions*&nbsp; Zg Gallery&nbsp;*Galleries participating in EXPO CHICAGO&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

April 11 and 14: South Side Openings and EXPO Art After Hours 

<html><head></head><body>Spring is once again the season of the visual in Chicago. Knowing that all eyes will be on this year’s art fairs, markets and notable exhibitions, we spoke to five art community leaders about what they’re working on now and looking forward to next. – GV&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419193/eibbnb4xrvikd5fb54pr.jpg"><figcaption>Photo by Audia &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Tony Karman, Founder EXPO CHICAGO“As we approach our tenth anniversary edition, I am deeply proud of both our legacy, and the future of EXPO CHICAGO. Our annual exposition activates our great city in collaboration with, and in service of, our institutions, galleries, artists, and the broader cultural tourism and hospitality communities. Our core programs – /Dialogues, Curatorial Forum &amp; Exchange, Override, In/Situ and In/Situ Outside – and the Directors Summit continue to grow, while providing opportunities for international artists and generating important discourse for the global arts community. I remain proud that we make an annual contribution to the global image of our diverse, innovative and vibrant city and that we generate direct support to Chicago’s civic and cultural ecosystems.” &nbsp;• EXPO CHICAGO runs April 13-16 at Navy Pier.<a href="https://www.expochicago.com">expochicago.com</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419193/me9sctpprjflnwlxg3sw.jpg"><figcaption>Photo by M. Lindsay photography &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Sally Schwartz, Founder Randolph Street Market“I can’t believe how much the West Loop has grown – especially at the West end and Fulton Market area, just since we had to shut down for the pandemic in 2020. Since we reopened Randolph Street Market last summer, so many new visitors are coming who have never been to an antique flea market before. Art is actually the top purchase now, next to vintage fashion. I think no matter the size of a city dwelling, these buyers want to adorn their walls.&nbsp;We’re happy to give them a lot to choose from. What makes the Randolph Street Market so unique is the depth and quality of our vintage “pickers” who hit all the fanciest estate sales and flea markets throughout the U.S., plus dealers who bring global textiles and artifacts from France, Germany, Poland, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Columbia, Argentina, Guatemala, Turkey, Syria, Mexico and elsewhere.”• Randolph St. Market returns May 27 and 28.<a href="https://randolphstreetmarket.com">randolphstreetmarket.com</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419194/mnfth9huuqrzao1njd7c.jpg"></figure>Monique Brinkman-Hill, Exec. Dir., South Side Community Art Center“The South Side Community Art Center’s (SSCAC) exhibition, where the light corrupts your face, features artists Andres L. Hernandez, Roland Knowlden, and Tonika Lewis Johnson and is curated by Lola Ogbara, SSCAC Exhibitions Manager and Curator. These incredible Spatial griots – historians and storytellers – invite you to consider how socio-economic and geographic oppressions impact the way we see (or don’t see) our environments. Hernandez uncovers embedded histories and systems of power within built and speculative landscapes to imagine these spaces otherwise. Lewis Johnson advocates for urban communities by documenting disparities among Chicago residents who live on opposite ends of the same streets across the city’s racial and economic divides. Knowlden critically deconstructs the elements of our urban fabric and its architectural histories to reassemble them as cartographic abstractions and imagined landscapes. Gwendolyn Brooks, a brilliant author, poet, and life-long resident of the historic Bronzeville, becomes the Mecca of these stories as this exhibition interrogates dilapidation, buried histories, and what it could mean to be Black in space.”&nbsp;• Opening April 7, 5-8pm<a href="https://www.sscartcenter.org">sscartcenter.org</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419195/rn8bhoimpinjpprqlhim.jpg"><figcaption>Photo by Meg T. Noe. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Karsten Lund, Curator – The Renaissance Society“Intermissions at the Renaissance Society is an ongoing series of new performances staged twice a year in our empty cathedral-like space in between exhibitions. For the tenth installment in the series—on April 22nd and 23rd—I’m excited to present a new installation by the artist Özgür Kar that pushes the boundaries of what qualifies as a performance. Özgür creates striking black-and-white animations that lean into the idea of live performance, but a bit uncannily, without human actors. His works are effectively deconstructed theater pieces and multipart soundscapes: figures isolated on their own video screens become performers in looping scenes that are both austere and emotion-filled, with existentialist overtones. He has developed his own memorable style, but familiar things echo around inside too: hints of early animated film, Saturday morning cartoons, experimental theatre in the vein Samuel Beckett, or danse macabre like in medieval drawings. For one weekend, visitors can wander around freely in Özgür’s installation or settle in like you’re watching a play.”&nbsp;More info at <a href="https://renaissancesociety.org">renaissancesociety.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419196/rw9e1xpbxh885jtvdjo2.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Vincent Uribe, Gallerist – LVL3 and Arts of Life&nbsp;“LVL3 just opened up a show celebrating our 13-year anniversary as an artist-run space. It’s a tradition of ours to bring back several artists we have exhibited over the years, and this year’s roster made all new work I couldn’t be more excited about.At Arts of Life we have a small survey exhibition going on with INTUIT. Arts of Life will also be presenting work for the 2nd year in a row at EXPO CHICAGO. We are thrilled that one of our artists, Susan Pasowicz, is having her first solo show open up EXPO weekend at Ruschman Gallery.&nbsp;I’m staying busy as usual with multiple projects, but everyone should save the date, as I am in the middle of planning Arts of Life’s annual Benefit auction and dance party that is not to be missed, May 5th, where we will be honoring the one and only Jason Pickleman.”• Neon Dreams Benefit Auction takes place May 5.&nbsp;More info at <a href="https://artsoflife.org">artsoflife.org</a>More info <a href="https://lvl3official.com">lvl3official.com</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Anticipating a Season of Art: Five to Talk To

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/q7v7zkxx5zxxvjmzwq3g.png"></figure>&nbsp;By BIANCA BOVAFlatfiles have an inherent allure. There is a certain kind of person (often, unsurprisingly, art collectors) that tend to own them, that treat them as pieces of domestic furniture. Expensive, heavy, and sporting an industrial appearance incompatible with a substantial array of interior design aesthetics, their presence signals that their utility is so necessary, so practical to their owner, as to be worth the trouble. To own a flatfile is to be envied, at least in certain circles.&nbsp;The archivists, the registrars, and the simply nosy among us know the thrill of sliding open their drawers. Their pristine steel exterior, evocative of the golden age of downtown offices and high-heeled secretaries, just as often gives way to perfect organization as it does belie something far more exhilarating and chaotic. This is, after all, where the things loved sufficiently to be preserved, but which, for reasons of taste, vanity, or simply capacity, haven’t received the honor of being put on display are housed. To dig in the flatfiles is to peer into the psyche of their owner.&nbsp;Flatfiles are never merely storage. When a gallery maintains them, art dealers make their own equally telling promises: I just had to have this in my inventory. This is a great work, I just haven’t had the right exhibition for it. Come and see this, I’ve been saving it to show to the right collector. Being granted access to them becomes a quietly coveted marker of status, a nod to the deserving nature of those being led into the back room.So when a gallery builds a not insubstantial part of their program around keeping well-stocked flatfiles, it's worth taking note; and when they mount an exhibition that frees the work from the drawers and lets it live (at least for a little while) on the walls, as the Chicago gallery <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/goldfinch">Goldfinch</a> has done with their recently mounted and simply titled exhibition A Flatfiles Show, it's certainly worth having a look.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419199/l5jdmvbuycsjyegexkss.png"></figure>&nbsp;Goldfinch’s Flatfiles Program began in 2017, the year following the gallery’s opening. The program stocks work across painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, photography, mixed media, and (rather unconventionally) also includes modestly sized sculpture. The available works on paper range in scale, with dimensions varying from 4.3 x 6.8 inches to 40 x 38 inches. Pricing comes in at no less than $200 and no more than $1,500, a deliberate scale that gallerist Claudine Isé notes is, “geared towards beginning collectors, art consultants, and anyone looking to find contemporary artworks that are accessibly priced.”&nbsp;Unfortunately, the flatfiles are not open for perusal during gallery hours. Rather, interested viewers must browse an online database on <a href="https://website-artlogicwebsite0761.artlogic.net/store/artworks/">Goldfinch’s website</a>, and prearrange for works to be pulled for viewing at a private appointment. This makes the current exhibition, which is hung salon-style with new works rotated in each week, all the more pleasurable to stroll through. Nearly every artist included in the Flatfiles Program has work on view in the show, from the more established (Cameron Harvey, Kuras &amp; MacKenzie) to the emerging (Madeline Galluci, Mara Baker).&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419201/c1higfhw9ukr4igcoya8.png"></figure>&nbsp;By taking this broad approach, the show offers not just an opportunity to browse works viewers might not otherwise see in person, but provides a capsule version of what the gallery is about. The hand of the artist is almost always visible in the works in A Flatfiles Show; the works themselves often come across as cerebral or abject, delicate without crossing into decorative. Taken as a whole, it's a keener, more condensed version of Ise’s vision for the gallery’s overall program.&nbsp;To that end, it’s worth making your way to the space not just for the Flatfiles show, but to see two additional exhibitions currently on view, that exemplify the tenets of the gallery just as well: Irene Wa’s survey of ceramic sculptures and drawings that spring from the Mexican artist’s recent study of diphonic singing, Crisálida de sal and Sarah Leuchtner’s striking installation of three new sculptural drawings, Sequential Escapes. All three exhibitions promise great rewards for time devoted to close looking, and a worthwhile way to spend a Sunday afternoon.&nbsp;View Goldfinch's CGN listing <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/goldfinch">here</a>#</body></html>

Affordable Treasure in the Flatfiles at Goldfinch

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/g1g8rsouoke32ishues7.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/nicole-jacquard-stories-from-scotland">Nicole Jacquard: Stories from Scotland</a>Exhibition Begins April 6. Reception takes place May 4th.Pistachios Contemporary Jewelry GallerySolo exhibition featuring five pieces, each comprised of an enamel frame encompassing a laser etched piece of mica. This is then set forward in front of a graphic print so that the light passes through the mica and creates a moving story.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419198/zcky829175wwpfixt2uo.jpg"><figcaption>Jaume Plensa</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/forgotten-dreams-jaume-plensa">Forgotten Dreams: Jaume Plensa</a>Exhibition Begins April 7&nbsp;GRAYThe exhibition is centered around the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) text. Drafted by representatives from all regions of the world and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, the UDHR is a milestone document in the history of human rights, proclaiming a common standard of fundamental political liberties to be universally protected for all people and all nations. Plensa describes the UDHR as “one of the most beautiful and emotional poems ever written. &nbsp;Its extraordinary poetic power interrogates us; each article like a hand knocking on the door to our hearts.”&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419199/po9l50rawmdvfqsfdt3m.jpg"><figcaption>Spencer Finch, Image: Gutter (Brooklyn) coffe cup, listerine pack, cigaretter butt, bottle of urine, paper, leaf, potato chip bag,&nbsp;2019. Watercolor on paper. 21 x 29.5 inches. 24.25 x 32.25 inches, framed</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/spencer-finch-la-grande-jatte">Spencer Finch: La Grande Jatte</a>Opening: Friday, April 7, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmRhona Hoffman Gallery&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419200/lcrg9nwawzozqonsuos9.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/gregory-crewdson-eveningside">Gregory Crewdson: Eveningside</a>Opening: Friday, April 7, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmAlan Koppel Gallery&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419201/xzqwpizvfwfyjrouxnea.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/donnie-nie-envisaged-potentials">Donnie Nie: Envisaged Potentials</a>Opening Friday, April 7, 4–7pmFLXST ContemporaryDonny Nie is known for creating expressive paintings and highlighting the raw qualities of each medium she uses. Her art practice explores emotional and psychological states of being.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419202/giduu61pjeqhievkxja5.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/king-s-big-art-show">King's Big Art Show</a>Opening: Friday, April 7, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmKane SpaceKING’S BIG ART SHOW is a solo exhibition of 40 new works by Chicago-area artist King Cormack. King’s style mixes photography, found objects and ephemera in a visual style that’s bright, colorful and punchy with a blatant sense of humor.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419203/qt3rwbajdrerum1ddvk5.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/bryana-bibbs-numb">Bryana Bibbs: Numb</a>Opening: Friday, April 7, 5 – 9&nbsp;pmOliva GalleryNumb is an exhibition highlighting the fast and slow navigation of past and current experiences through the use of intricacy, color, and form.Telling stories of trauma and mental health is not always easy, based on the stigmas in our society, which is how it became a central motivation in my practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419204/v2q5zc7xzzri05rhsdks.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/art-shay-richard-shay-father-and-son-photographers">Art Shay/Richard Shay: Father and Son Photographers</a>On view starting April 7. Reception during EXPO Art After Hours on Friday, April 14, 5 – 9&nbsp;pmGallery Victor&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open April 6 & 7

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419192/dczrnm6qbrszr7yiylzj.jpg"><figcaption>From left: Hank Willis Thomas and Chance the Rapper; Marina Abramovic; Amy Sherald</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;EXPO CHICAGO marks its 10th anniversary this month. Borne from the city’s multi-decade legacy of ground-breaking, internationally recognized art fairs, EXPO CHICAGO’s founder and President Tony Karman forged a new era a decade ago through his vision to return the fair to Navy Pier, where it all began, and carefully tend to the quality of the exhibitor list and curatorial programming. Since 2012 he has grown EXPO despite significant obstacles, pandemic pauses and seasonal date changes. Karman, ever the tireless optimist has helped to foster countless artistic as well as civic opportunities and has secured EXPO’s reputation as an international, Chicago-based fair today and in the future.Since its inception, EXPO CHICAGO has remained dedicated to supporting local, regional, and international arts communities through its role as a leading contemporary art exposition, presenting one of the highest quality platforms for curatorial programming and discourse alongside its participating galleries. With strong regional support throughout the Greater Midwest, both coasts, and maintaining a growing international commitment from Europe, Asia, and Latin America, EXPO CHICAGO continues to leverage its strategic position in the center of the United States this spring as it celebrates a decade of artistic impact.&nbsp;Hundreds of exhibitions, openings and more are planned, and we encourage you to review the calendar in advance as much as possible. Many events are open to the public but some are for VIPs only. Please check dates and details.EXPO ART WEEK runs April 10—16<a href="https://www.expochicago.com/">expochicago.com</a>&nbsp;This feature is from the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of CGN. To subscribe in print <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/print-subscriptions">click here.</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419193/jscpzadfxzj9udnecie6.jpg"><figcaption>Hank Willis Thomas and Chance the Rapper</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.expochicago.com/programs/dialogues">CHANCE THE RAPPER AND HANK WILLIS THOMAS</a>For EXPO CHICAGO’s keynote conversation during its 10th&nbsp;Anniversary opening, Chance the Rapper will be in conversation&nbsp;with Hank Willis Thomas, each looking at recent public art projects and their&nbsp;community building potential. Chance will discuss his current and upcoming Star Line Gallery visual art collaborations and recent Black Star Line Festival in Ghana, while Hank will present&nbsp;his upcoming public art sculpture Reach in collaboration with Coby Kennedy at O’Hare International Airport in collaboration with&nbsp;the&nbsp;City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)&nbsp;and the many recent initiatives of For Freedoms including For Freedoms News. This panel is presented in partnership with CULTURED.April 13, 7–8pm&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419194/hlyg51zopu38gudyuere.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.expochicago.com/programs/special-projects">MICHELE RIZZO PERFORMS</a>Woo woo Woo: Curated by Jeanette Bisschops Performance |&nbsp;April 14, 3:00pm |&nbsp;West Terrace, Lower Level Screenings |&nbsp;April 13-16 |&nbsp;EXPO&nbsp;CHICAGO&nbsp;Booth #451&nbsp;&nbsp;Inspired by observations of the historical connections between religious rituals and collective dance; choreographer, dancer and artist Michele Rizzo navigates the transformative power of contemporary techno music in his performance&nbsp;HIGHER.xtn. Initially brought to life for the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 2018, the performance toured to several European art institutions. The presentation of&nbsp;HIGHER.xtn&nbsp;at EXPO CHICAGO will be Rizzo’s first-ever performance in the United States.&nbsp;Make sure to catch this performance on Friday, April 14 at 3:00pm on the First Floor, West Terrace near ticketing at EXPO CHICAGO.This performance is curated by Jeanette Bisschops as a part of her exhibition&nbsp;Woo woo Woo&nbsp;| Booth #451.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419194/ldewkczlpvkw1bswai80.jpg"><figcaption>Left: Derrick Adams, Light Tunnel Flyer, 2023. Courtesy of Derrick Adams Studio and The Channel Design © 2023. Right: Art onTHEMART</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;DERRICK ADAMS AT EXPO AND ON THEMARTDerrick Adams’ Funtime Unicorn, April 13–June 25 at <a href="https://www.expochicago.com/programs/in-situ-outside">Navy Pier’s Polk Bros Park</a>, is a continuation of Adams’ focus on play and leisure in the Black community.&nbsp;His nightly projections kick off on April 14 and are part of Art on theMART nightly through July 5, 8:30–10:00pm&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://www.themart.com/">The Merchandise Mart</a> | Viewable along Chicago's Riverwalk&nbsp;ART on THE MART, in partnership with Rhona Hoffman Gallery, presents the opening of Derrick Adams: Funtime Unicorn, viewable on Friday, April 14 at 8:30 pm. Projections are best enjoyed along the Chicago Riverwalk between Wells and Franklin Streets.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419195/lb8ackqlxkwnq889jdoy.jpg"><figcaption>Amy Sherald, All the Unforgotten Bliss (the Early Bird), 2017. Image courtesy of the artist, Beth Rudin DeWoody and The Peninsula Chicago.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.expochicago.com/expo-art-week/featured-alignments">A PENINSULA EXHIBITION: NEO CHICAGO</a>Neo Chicago is a contemporary art exhibition presented by The Peninsula Chicago, curated by Laura Dvorkin and Maynard Monrow. This exhibition is the second installment of the collaboration between The Peninsula Chicago, Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, and EXPO CHICAGO which commenced in 2016. This exhibit celebrates Chicago galleries, their passion in showing world-renowned artists, and DeWoody’s support of these cultural spaces over the past 20 years.&nbsp;April 13–Early June 2023&nbsp; <a href="https://www.peninsula.com/en/chicago/5-star-luxury-hotel-downtown-chicago">The Peninsula Chicago</a> | 108 E Superior St&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419196/dhworjesyydlwm6ofop0.jpg"><figcaption>Marina Abramović,&nbsp;Places of Power, Waterfall, 2013. Image credit: © Marina Abramović, courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives and Sean Kelly.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.expochicago.com/expo-art-week/featured-alignments">WATER + WITCHES</a>Curator Zoe Lukov and cultural producer Abby Pucker, co-founders of the nonprofit creative enterprise Art in Common, present the newest iteration of the large-scale group exhibition, Boil, Toil + Trouble. The exhibition features work by over 50 contemporary artists in a multigenerational grouping that examines water through the lens of magic, ritual, and the role of the ‘witch’, or medium, in contemporary art. Free to the public, the travelling exhibition evolves to address water-related issues in each city it inhabits through new site-specific commissions and community-based programming. The exhibition pairs work by Chicago-based artists including Armani Howard and Ricardo Partida in conversation with rarely exhibited works by canonical artists Marina Abramović, Radcliffe Bailey, Niki de Saint Phalle, David Hammons, Maya Lin, Ana Mendieta, Bruce Nauman, and many more.&nbsp;April 13–14 | 10:00am–5:00pm&nbsp; April 15–16 | 10:00am–7:00pm&nbsp;&nbsp; April 17–20 | 2:00pm–8:00pm&nbsp; April 21–23 | 8:00am–10:00pm<a href="https://www.artincommon.art/">Art in Common </a>| 400 N. Peoria St.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419197/ibi8tst6uvwauceyq6xp.jpg"><figcaption>Kenny Schachter</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.expochicago.com/expo-art-week/featured-alignments">KENNY SCHACHTER: CHICAGO IS, WAS, WILL BE…&nbsp;</a>Kenny Schachter’s immersive installation Chicago is, was, will be… was commissioned by the 150 Media Stream and created with Artificial Intelligence. The work features a hypothetical vision of Chicago as it might have appeared in prehistoric times, collaged with manipulated depictions of the city at present, and theoretical depictions of its appearance in the future. The images will be commingled with ChatGPT machine learning-generated text based upon the lyrics from the 1964 song My Kind of Town (Chicago is). The looping video will combine text and images to create a forward-looking remix that covers a wide spectrum of history and popular culture, put through the blender of artificial intelligence, which will define much human activity in the digital renaissance we are living through.&nbsp;On view April 13–June 30, 2023&nbsp; Opening Reception | April 14 | 6:00–8:00pm&nbsp; Artist Talk | 6:00pm | Kenny Schachter in conversation with Bianca Bova&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://150mediastream.com/">150 Media Stream</a> | 150 N Riverside Plaza&nbsp;<a href="https://www.expochicago.com">EXPOCHICAGO.COM</a>&nbsp;#</body></html>

A Decade In: EXPO ART WEEK Highlights Span the City

<html><head></head><body>Request for Qualifications from Illinois ArtistsThe&nbsp;<a href="https://news.chicagoartistscoalition.org/t/i-l-qulfx-dlvzir-j/">Illinois Arts Council Agency</a>&nbsp;has partnered with the&nbsp;<a href="https://news.chicagoartistscoalition.org/t/i-l-qulfx-dlvzir-t/">Capital Development Board’s Art-in-Architecture Program</a>&nbsp;in promoting an opportunity for Illinois artists.&nbsp;CDB is now accepting Request for Qualifications from Illinois artists for three major capital projects across the state:<a href="https://cdb.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/cdb/professionalgrowth/art/documents/isu-arts-complex-rfq.pdf?fbclid=IwAR05LfMul0XWo6nvTLDp3Jcl2eng6OJ152vgz76vq3GEgsO6Szt2n8YY32w">Illinois State University Arts Complex</a><a href="https://cdb.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/cdb/professionalgrowth/art/documents/quincy-veterans-home-rfq.pdf?fbclid=IwAR27YjIS4bH9KZW9wJnrtoteggkWPXI7vUU3R6yDjjwVaGY7ETIzu_Vl4kY">Quincy Veterans Home</a><a href="https://cdb.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/cdb/professionalgrowth/art/documents/csu-simulation-lab-rfq.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2UYqNOQJuVyixJYwSqmS_EN-qe61f2I3lp0vTgwureiT6SyDSQP_m-GDQ">Chicago State University Health Simulation Lab</a>Various deadlines and requirements are explained in each project link.&nbsp;&nbsp;IL DCEO Grant OpportunityThe Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will distribute a historic $50 million in grant money to assist businesses, nonprofit organizations, and sole proprietors in the creative sector that have struggled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The DCEO Illinois Creative Recovery Grant application portal opens on Wednesday, April 5. If you operate in the creative space, we encourage you to <a href="https://artsandpubliclife.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6391eec5b88e626ff0deaa0a4&amp;id=e65f116652&amp;e=d57bd5477e">visit the DCEO's website</a> for details on eligibility guidelines and more information on how to apply.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419192/mrih7e7d2b6i3bz0gadd.jpg"><figcaption>Hunt Slonem, Black Diamond Nightly, 2023. Oil, Acrylic with Diamond Dust on Canvas, 40 x 40 inches. Signed, dated and entitled on reverse</figcaption></figure>Rosenthal Fine Art Now Represents Hunt Slonem&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rosenthalfineart.com">Rosenthal Fine Art</a> is pleased to represent the work of Hunt Slonem. Now on view is a sampling of the artist's work. Hunt's solo exhibition is planned for this coming fall.Slonem's obsessive and repetitive rendering of his subjects reflects his desire to explore issues of spatial complexity, compression and density in what Metropolitan Museum of Art curator&nbsp;Henry Geldzahler&nbsp;deemed "a consistent investigation of post-cubist abstraction."The repetitive imagery also makes a reference to Andy Warhol. "I was influenced by Warhol's repetition of soup cans and Marilyn," says Slonem. "But I'm more interested in doing it in the sense of prayer, with repetition... It's really a form of worship."&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419193/l0nnqyxztl3k2a0kgywd.jpg"><figcaption>*Invitation image image by Melissa Ann Pinney. Portrait of Jael. Ogden International High School, 2019. The Outwin: American Portraiture Today.</figcaption></figure>CPS Lives is Celebrating 5 Years This Month with Special CelebrationCPS Lives announced the celebration of their fifth anniversary this year and they will be hosting a benefit Wednesday, April 26, 2023 to commemorate this milestone. Over the past five years, CPS Lives has placed 60 incredibly talented artists in over 72 schools all over the city. They are excited to keep growing, uplifting artists, and sharing the unique stories of every public school in Chicago.Tickets available <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cps-lives-5th-anniversary-celebration-tickets-525777002167">here</a>.To contribute to CPS Lives<a href="https://one.bidpal.net/cpslives5thanniversary/browse/donation"> click here to donate</a>.&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 4/3/23

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419183/zf4zieer7ecethcokkop.jpg"><figcaption>Anna Kunz, UNSEEING GREEN, 2021, 66” x 60,” acrylic on canvas. photo: Dario Lasagni NYC &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;This interview is CGN's spring 2023 cover story. To subscribe to the print edition <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/print-subscriptions">please click here.</a>&nbsp;By Alison Reilly&nbsp;In 2022, Anna Kunz stepped down as Associate Professor in the Art and Art History department at Columbia College. Throughout her 20 years at the school, she mentored many young artists as they began their careers. As part of her legacy, Kunz generously established a scholarship called the AK Prism Award. “For ambition and kindness, my initials - AK,” she told me. She explained that she wants to use her work as an artist to help others. During our recent conversation, I found myself wishing I could have sat in on one of her color theory courses. Her warmth, compassion, and creativity were evident during our time together. Kunz, who recently created an ambitious and immersive solo exhibition at Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco and will be showing with McCormick Gallery and Manneken Press at EXPO Chicago, told me about her process, inspirations, and other new projects.&nbsp;CGN: When did you know that you wanted to be an artist?&nbsp;AK: I loved to listen to the WFMT radio show hosted by Harry Bouras (the Harry&nbsp; whose name inspired the artist group the Harry Who) called “On Art and Artists‚“ when I was a teen. When he said, “An artist’s job is to continually reinvent themselves,” I thought, that would be a great job.&nbsp;CGN: I read that your father worked at the Art Institute of Chicago and you used to sit in front of the Rothko painting and watch visitors’ reactions. What did you observe?&nbsp;AK: Yes. My father was in the hospitality industry. I’d have to go to work with him as a kid, and I’d sit in the gallery that housed a Rothko painting. People would stop to look, sometimes laugh, get angry, become emotional. It made quite an impression upon me–how color, and the “exterior form”, painting, could invite all of that in the viewer.&nbsp;CGN: You have talked about choreographing color - what does that mean to you?&nbsp;AK: I always feel like I understand dance, poetry and music better than painting. Choreography and dance use the body as material and turn ritual actions into a kind of poetry. It is very similar to the way I approach my process. Colors are stand-ins for relationships I observe in nature’s structures, or even the social sphere. I think of color as a body that generates forms and creates relationships and movement. My approach to choreography in painting means I pay attention to time and space on the surface to generate compositions. There is a word choreographers use–kinesphere–the arena or the space around the body. I translate this in painting to be the canvas or architectural space (in the case of my installations).&nbsp;CGN: What is a typical day in your studio like?&nbsp;AK: I arrive early and begin each day by moving around many works in progress to create new conversations between the paintings. I decide on color. I work usually with one or two specific hues at a time and apply it in a ritualistic way. I play to develop new approaches and processes in another area of the studio with smaller paintings or paper, or collages. If I’m in my studio in Michigan, I work outside and let unexpected things happen.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419184/oegjk6rrxx38uzruaktv.jpg"><figcaption>Installation view, Color Cast, The Hyde Park Art Center, CHICAGO, IL 2018. Mixed Media, sound by Beth Bradfish, 20’ x 40’ x 125’. Photo: Tom Van Endye, Chicago&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: Tell me more about your studio in Michigan.AK: Yes, it’s in Buchanan, Michigan. My husband, Bryan, and I bought the property about 16 years ago. Little by little we’ve been transforming it into a sanctuary space. There are a lot of building projects going on, so I work in a space that’s pretty raw. I have a very large deck, so I can work in sunlight or outside. A lot of times I try to do some things more experimentally, like work in the forest, or see the work juxtaposed with nature. Sometimes I leave work outside and chance things happen – leaves will fall, or insects, or rain. Things will fold in the wind differently. And I take a lot of photographs of my work in different situations. That helps me get ideas for new work. Outside is more unruly.&nbsp;I also love to work with water as a material. If there’s a water source that I am around, I can incorporate that, but even the paintings in my studio are very water based. Instead of thinking of the water as just as vehicle to send paint, I think about the water as a material, as a life force.&nbsp;CGN: What are some of your earliest memories making art?&nbsp; &nbsp;AK: My grandfather worked at the Hammermill paper factory in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was a pulp stirrer, and every time he’d visit me, he would gift me a ream of paper and new Crayolas. I would think of it as the best present and color every sheet. I got very good at inventing colors and arranging the drawings on the floor.&nbsp;CGN: And you still work on the floor, right?&nbsp;AK: Yes, in my studio I have several large paintings going at once because I envision them as one continuous work. Even though they all end up as individual paintings, in my mind, I’m still thinking about building this immersive environment. I work on the floor‚ 360°, turning them. It’s extremely physical work. There’s arranging, and a rearranging, so I can see what kind of conversations are generated through the different relationships I create. I also work on planks, which allow me to perform on top of the painting, if you will, or traverse the painting. I also use them as a measuring device sometimes.&nbsp;CGN: And you are working mostly on canvas along with paper?AK: Yes, I work in different scales. But the scales are all specific to my body. If I work on paper it’s usually 11 by 13” or 13 by 15”, which are my head size and neck size. Sometimes I work in a small format like the palm of my hand. Sometimes I work in 60 by 66, which is my personal wing span, my body measurement. They’re all scaled according to my body proportions.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419185/azn4bem4v37motckayon.jpg"><figcaption>Installation view, 2O22, Anna Kunz, Drawing With Scissors Group Exhibition. Pictured: Half Ocean, ink and dye on silk, 14’ x 8 x 3’ d. Berggruen, San Francisco, CA. Photo: Glen Creriton Impart Photography, San Francisco.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: Have you always worked that way?AK: It started out intuitively with my works on paper. Sometimes those paintings end up as fabric work or they inform fabric works that are a little more ephemeral and meant to be suspended in space. I was given an opportunity at Hyde Park Art Center and it’s this giant space. I looked back at the last 10 or 15 years of my artistic output and reassigned new material identities to some of the work I’ve done. For example, a small, intimate work on paper, gouache on Sakamoto paper, would then inform a new large work on silk. The vocabulary would stay the same. It’s a way for me to almost have my own retrospective. I reinvented my previous work to inform the larger and more ephemeral work. Everything in that show was familiar to me from a previous version or iteration. Instead of just showing working from the past, I reinvented my old work in new forms.&nbsp;CGN: Can you describe your approach to designing and planning an exhibition?&nbsp;AK: I like to take a lot of time thinking about any exhibition. I never like to make work for a show, so I just keep a continuum in my studio of lots of different kinds of work. Bryan is an exhibit designer and has an architecture studio. We have had many conversations about space and scale. Planning an exhibition always starts with a small to scale model and a feeling for what kind of experience I want to present to the viewer. I do really look at the site lines of painting to painting and the relationships so that the viewer’s perception is wholly engaged, not just on a head-on vision of looking at a painting. I consider what might be happening in the periphery of vision, and multiple viewpoints.&nbsp;CGN: What are you working on in your studio now? What projects do you have coming up for this spring and summer?AK: I just closed a large show of paintings and works on paper at <a href="https://www.berggruen.com">Berggruen Gallery</a> in San Francisco.&nbsp;In April at EXPO CHICAGO I’ll show monoprints at <a href="https://mannekenpress.com">Manneken Press</a>, and paintings with <a href="https://www.thomasmccormick.com">McCormick Gallery</a>. I’ve worked with Tom [McCormick] forever – I’ve known him for more than 25 years. I’m also planning another show at McCormick for the fall, which will be more experimental.&nbsp;And I’m planning to make two different books. One is a project that is an homage to artists who have lost their mothers. I also have some non-commercial projects to think about. &nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419185/k87fwlggotgtlq3b7efs.jpg"><figcaption>&nbsp;Installation View, Anna Kunz: With Rays, 2021, Alexander Berggruen, NYC. Pictured, L to R: Saved Hour, Difficult Rhythm, Early. Each 66” x 60”, 2021, Acrylic on canvas&nbsp; photo: Dario Lasagni &nbsp;NYC&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: Can you tell me more about the homage?&nbsp;The writer Ocean Vuong has written that after losing his mom, he is “half” forever more. I’m just using that spiritual event, the right of passage that we all go through, or will have in common, to inform some of his artwork. The thought of the mother as the creator. Honoring mothers for the gift of life, but also modeling creativity. I started to experience through friends, artist friends, women friends, their thoughts about their personal losses and how they use them and try to find a way to transition sorrow into something more meaningful for their artwork.&nbsp;My mom was a really amazing reconstructive surgical nurse. She worked a lot in volunteer groups. One was called Operation Smile, which would take surgical helicopters into different parts of the world where children were suffering facial deformities. She taught me a lot about the transformative power of using your creativity. That is always in my mind when I think about why I am an artist, how did I arrive at this.&nbsp;When my mom left the planet, she left behind an enormous amount of costume jewelry. She was a pretty eccentric person! I had the jewelry, and then I noticed a lot of women friends who had caregiven their mothers had been gifted their mother’s jewelry collection when they passed on. This book, which is in the preliminary stages, is exploring that. The artist Judith Brotman and I will see where we find commonalities and similar feelings. We both had the extraordinary experience of caregiving our moms. A lot of other artist friends have also expressed that once you lose your mom you’re never really the same.&nbsp;CGN: What impact has Chicago had on your formation as an artist?&nbsp;AK: My family has been in Chicago since 1885. They came here with nothing. I feel pride about belonging here, reflecting on the many generations before me over near Wayne Avenue. The city’s grid, its hospitality, the traditions in theater and comedy all end up in my mind when I’m asked about Chicago. There is a work ethic here and an attention to craft and style that I think about.&nbsp;#&nbsp;Visit <a href="http://www.annakunz.net">annakunz.net</a> for more works by and information about the artist.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

The Many Colors of  Anna Kunz

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419193/zhz2wmvrfvc0o1l9z4pe.jpg"><figcaption>The Spring/Summer 2023 Issue of CGN.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By GINNY VAN ALYEAEvery morning Lin Brehmer proclaimed on the radio, “It’s great to be alive.”We each understand that life is short, but we feel it acutely when we lose someone or when time seems to move too fast. In January Brehmer, DJ here in Chicago at WXRT for decades, died. His death from cancer was one of too many recent reminders that what he said on air every day is indeed worth remembering. I listened to him on the radio for half my life. Lin was known for staying out late at concerts until the wee hours and then waking up practically in the middle of the night to go back on the air at 6am. He loved music, art, literature, the Cubs, and Chicago. He had lots of friends. I admired him so much. His time was too short, but he made it count.&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;So what can we recommit to doing while we’re here for such a short time? Looking through past issues of CGN, I came across a <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2016/8/collector-jason-pickleman-s-creative-life">2016 interview</a> with designer, artist, collector and all-around art lover Jason Pickleman, who said then that art is a kind of memory device. Art can remind us of the past, and it can outlast our short time on earth. He admitted then to buying almost everything for his collection at first sight. If it piques his interest, he buys it immediately. He does not hem, haw, think, or research. He abides by a sort of “seize the art” motto. His words are also a reminder to enjoy art as well as life. Life is short. Art lasts longer.&nbsp;In this spring issue, we record how fast time flies. EXPO is 10. ARC Gallery is 50. Richard Hunt is 87. We aim to capture stories about working to make a difference through art. Each person we interviewed expressed a gratitude for being part of this community as well as a wish to creatively give back to it, either by creating, celebrating or collecting art every precious day.&nbsp;William Lieberman is both a dealer and a collector committed to supporting living artists. Artist <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2023/3/the-many-colors-of-anna-kunz">Anna Kunz</a> talks about depicting relationships through color and her pride of being from Chicago all her life. MCA Director Madeleine Grynstezjn makes the case for Chicago’s gift to the art world right now. We also share insights from five art world leaders who are each making new things happen in 2023 and beyond.&nbsp;Through the end of the summer there are anniversaries to celebrate, road trips to take and exhibitions to explore, hopefully with someone you’re close to. Maybe you will stay up a little later and wake up a little earlier to do it all. Through art we have the opportunity to glimpse the past, make new memories and make each day count.&nbsp;Happy spring. It’s great to be alive.&nbsp;#This letter is from the Spring 2023 issue of CGN. More stories from the print magazine will be posted online in the coming weeks. To subscribe to the print edition <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/print-subscriptions">please click here.</a>Note: the Spring cover features art by Anna Kunz: The Tide, 2021, 66” x 60”, Acrylic on canvas. photo: Dario Lisagne NYC&nbsp;</body></html>

Spring 2023 Publisher's Letter: It's Great to Be Alive

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419183/xcbbuwlps6npbvjuil34.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/alexander-gonzalez-process">Alexander Gonzalez: Process</a>Opening: Friday, March 31, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmInternational Museum of Surgical Science&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419184/tmjqd77qdunsrzdkpv4r.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/julian-adon-alexander-spine">Julian Adon Alexander: Spine.</a>Opening: Friday, March 31, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmEpiphany Center for the Arts&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419185/p6wlnwoowlaw90k5uasn.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/coming-into-view-group-mfa-thesis-exhibition">Coming into View: Group MFA Thesis Exhibition</a>Opening: Friday, March 31, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmARC Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419186/nwniwvwwhtjxqbhvg0dp.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/giving-shape-yollocalli-artistic-practice-through-the-years">Giving Shape: Yollocalli Artistic Practice Through the Years</a>Opening: Friday, March 31, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmNational Museum of Mexican Art&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open March 31 & April 1 (Part I)

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419183/zmgkjxeyjzhcqommnhai.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/vertical-gallery-s-10-year-anniversary-show-part-2">Vertical Gallery's 10-Year Anniversary Show Part 2</a>Opening: Saturday, April 1, 12 – 6&nbsp;pmVertical Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419184/bx6jwmypbuh4dvbpchur.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/artist-s-reception">Artist’s Reception for Erin Garrity-Duffey</a>Opening: Saturday, April 1, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmMadron Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419185/oqypasxpumlswfqcdiyy.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/dianne-kittle-primordial-collection">Dianne Kittle: Primordial Collection</a>Opening: Saturday, April 1, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmPerspective Photo Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419185/zmt1ddn8bycfne7zagzy.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/maia-cruz-palileo-days-later-down-river">Maia Cruz Palileo: Days Later, Down River</a>Opening: Saturday, April 1, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmmoniquemeloche&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419186/baxttr0fsvtluaesrmlf.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/beth-adler">We&nbsp;Are&nbsp;All&nbsp;Vessels: Beth Herman Adler</a>Opening: Saturday, April 1, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmFirecat Projects&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open March 31 & April 1 (Part II)

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419183/ijmptmz6lazrfysszyzy.jpg"><figcaption>Candida Alvarez, Zip Me Up, Courtesy of James Prinz Photography</figcaption></figure>right: art by Ivelisse JiménezTwo Chicago-based artists have been commissioned to create new works at <a href="https://www.fashionoutletsofchicago.com/TheCollection">THE COLLECTION: Where Art Meets Fashion</a>, a multifaceted contemporary art program located in an unconventional setting: within Macerich’s Fashion Outlets of Chicago in suburban Rosemont, IL. On site are 19 permanent commissions as well as a rotating exhibition series. Other artists with work on site to date include Daniel Arsham, Derrick Adams, Matthew Hoffman, and more.&nbsp;The program’s latest site-specific installation is a two-story abstract mural by Puerto Rican-American artist Candida Alvarez. “Much like clothes in the closet that we love and pull out to wear from time to time, ‘zip me up’ is a return to, and remix of, an earlier painting of a dahlia flower that lived on a Chicago rooftop,” said Alvarez. “This commission by Fashion Outlets was a wonderful opportunity to dive back into my own archive and remix this painting to give it a bold, evocative new life.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419184/wqmuuuaalklduiyh2z3n.jpg"><figcaption>More rose than crimson by Ivelisse Jimenez. &nbsp;Courtesy of James Prinz Photography</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;A new rotating exhibition, featuring sculptural works by Puerto Rican artist Ivelisse Jiménez, is also now on view. “Fading Through Gradations” will fill THE COLLECTION’s three rotating exhibition cases through May 2023. Playing upon the experience of color and its afterimage as an element that produces constant change for our eyes, Jiménez’s works speak to the transformative space of process and the transitory merging of traces.&nbsp;</body></html>

Where Art Meets Fashion: The Collection's New Commissions

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419183/veapxklii3dlumyid7bi.png"></figure>Woman Made Gallery Call for Art:Woman Made Gallery (WMG) seeks entries for the Absurdity: In Dada We Trust exhibition, juried by WMG co-founders, Kelly P Hensen and Beate Minkovski and on display from July 22 to August 19, 2023.Absurdity, In Dada We Trust, is inspired by a collaboration between The Art Center Highland Park, Chicago Women’s Caucus for Art, and Stola Contemporary Art and in honor of artist Helene Romer Smith who died in March 2022.First Entry Due Date: May 27, 2023, 11:59 PM CST | Final Entry Due Date (fee increase to $35): June 3, 2023, 11:59 PM CST<a href="https://womanmadegallery.submittable.com/submit/251058/absurdity-in-dada-we-trust?fbclid=IwAR0ZBNATnDm6vkIl5yZ6fQU1fQI1gxECr-lkTzUyL-YJPmHw1zY12Uq1F9M">Submission details here</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419184/vcu7o5umsw0ldtixzhjk.jpg"><figcaption>President Elissa Tenny</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.saic.edu/news/message-from-president-announcing-my-retirement?fbclid=IwAR0KoKNOLjSfpRUu3piPy_VpvIdxN-HH8cuByVYjAjZJh-Gn5J64ad4iuUc">SAIC President Elissa Tenny to Retire</a>In a personal message Tenny wrote this week, "Founded by 35 artists 157 years ago, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has long been a home for generations of artists, designers, and scholars of critical insight and compassionate engagement. Since 2010, it has also been a home for me. Today, after a career in higher education of more than 45 years, I write to share that I will retire at the end of the 2023–24 academic year. I do so with enthusiasm for all you have done to shape the remarkable legacy that you, and I, and so many before us, share."&nbsp;<a href="https://www.saic.edu/news/message-from-president-announcing-my-retirement?fbclid=IwAR0KoKNOLjSfpRUu3piPy_VpvIdxN-HH8cuByVYjAjZJh-Gn5J64ad4iuUc">Read more...</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/market/art-basel-hong-kong-2023-best-booths-1234661821/layo-bright-at-monique-meloche/">Art News Names moniquemeloche Gallery's Booth One of Top 8 at Art Hong Kong</a>"Yet another intriguing solo presentation was of works by Nigerian artist Layo Bright, offered by renowned Chicago gallery Monique Meloche. Taken from the artist’s investigations into the influence of materials on culture and politics found within personal archives and collective experiences, the sculptures placed on the wall and pedestals evoke an immediate sense of ancient nowness."Via Artnews&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 3/22/23

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419183/ebwdgtdt38sl8lojcavz.png"><figcaption>New Growth 2 (triptych), 2021Gio Swaby. Collection of Rasheed Newson. © Gio Swaby. Opening April 8 at the Art Institute of Chicago</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Our calendar is full this spring, and we want to call your attention to just a few notable upcoming events. They take place in the city, suburbs, and in neighboring states. We include gallery shows, land art, and museum blockbusters. Plan ahead and enjoy what's on view now through May.&nbsp;The only thing they each have in common is that they will all end, so don't miss out! We will share a summer preview later this season.&nbsp;Note: exhibitions are listed in chronological order and begin in April and May, 2023.– CGN&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419184/exkv64mkgbpaxpsy212l.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Vertical Gallery 10 Year Anniversary Show&nbsp;March 11 – April 29Featuring AlexFace, Martin Whatson, Flog, 2CHOEY, Hama&nbsp;Woods, Sergio Farfan, Collin Van Der Sluijs, Mr. Kreme,&nbsp;Mau Mau, and Pipsqueak Was Here!!!&nbsp;The exhibition celebration will take place in two parts:<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/vertical-gallery-s-10-year-anniversary-show-part-1">• Part I - at Vertical Project Space</a>This special exhibit will feature 4 works each from 10 Chicago-based artists:&nbsp;Chris Uphues, Rae Denise (Rachael Scotland), AJ Ainscough, Laura Catherwood, Van Dam One, Goosenek, Melissa Villareal, Angel Onofre, Matt Zuska and Jordan Ferguson.<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/vertical-gallery-s-10-year-anniversary-show-part-2">• Part II - at Vertical Gallery&nbsp;</a>Featuring 4 new paintings each from: AlexFace (TH), Martin Whatson (NO), Flog (FR), 2CHOEY (TH), Hama Woods (NO), Sergio Farfan (US), Collin Van Der Sluijs (NL), Mr. Kreme (TH), Mau Mau (UK), and Pipsqueak Was Here!!! (NL)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419185/eo3qf15g3fxgqb0g6xl8.jpg"></figure><a href="https://jeanalbanogallery.com">Michiko Itatani: Infinite Hope</a>April 5–June 3. Opening April 14• Jean Albano GalleryJean Albano Gallery recently welcomed Michiko Itatani to the gallery's roster and this is her first exhibition with the gallery. &nbsp;Michiko Itatani’s artmaking process starts with gathering various fragments from experiences, events, documents, literature, history, science, myths, customs, etc. She catalogues those fragments, mutates them, makes images, and lets them interact with each other. Itatani’s painting is a painted diagram of some of the possibilities, consisting of painting vocabularies that are both fascinating and painful at the same time: it is incomplete, fragmented and under inquiry.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419186/mev6ouanf7g3q8jhym0z.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/forgotten-dreams-jaume-plensa">Jaume Plensa: Forgotten Dreams</a>April 7–June 3 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;GRAYThe exhibition is centered around the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) text. Drafted by representatives from all regions of the world and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, the UDHR is a milestone document in the history of human rights, proclaiming a common standard of fundamental political liberties to be universally protected for all people and all nations. Plensa describes the UDHR as “one of the most beautiful and emotional poems ever written. &nbsp;Its extraordinary poetic power interrogates us; each article like a hand knocking on the door to our hearts.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419187/jtayl2immelrupbt721y.jpg"><figcaption>Alone Against It All, 2022. 5.5’ x 5.5’. Hand-felted wool, handwoven hand-spun wool, angelina fiber, bamboo fiber, silk, and recycled sari silk.</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/bryana-bibbs-numb">Bryana Bibbs: Numb</a>April 7–May 6 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Oliva GalleryNumb is an exhibition highlighting the fast and slow navigation of past and current experiences through the use of intricacy, color, and form.Telling stories of trauma and mental health is not always easy, based on the stigmas in our society, which is how it became a central motivation in my practice. There are parallels between the slow navigation of personal experiences and the rhythmic textile techniques of hand-carding, hand-spinning, and handweaving, both of which are a form of transformative repetition. While working between traditional and experimental processes, my large-scale pieces navigate past experiences in what I consider to be "chapters." Whereas small-scale works are similar to journaling, channeling day-to-day observations.With ongoing tactility and material investigation, the works inspire an internal space that is externalized through the play of intricacy, color, and form, often inspired by the fluidity of mark-making and tone associated with painting.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419187/y5kifwqnaqr9arv4qgys.png"><figcaption>Love Letter 1, 2018. Gio Swaby. Collection of Roxane Gay and Debbie Millman. © Gio Swaby</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9869/gio-swaby-fresh-up">Gio Swaby: Fresh Up</a>April 8–July 3The Art Institute of ChicagoGio Swaby is a multidisciplinary artist whose textile-based practice explores the intersections of Blackness and womanhood.Her embroidered portraits are anchored in the connections she forges with her subjects: each portrait begins with a photo shoot in which her sitters are captured in a moment of self-awareness and empowerment. In her textile interpretations, Swaby foregrounds their&nbsp;hair, clothing, and jewelry—highlighting and celebrating the subjects’ use of fashion as unapologetic self-definition and self-expression. Having grown up in the Bahamas surrounded by the materials her seamstress mother used, Swaby chose to work in textiles—a medium traditionally associated with domesticity and femininity—as a means to imbue her works with both familiarity and labor-intensive care. She upends tradition, however.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419188/qrsykhpzvyylwzuprzfg.png"></figure> Patrick Eugène, 50 LBSApr 13–May 20Mariane Ibrahim Gallery“50 pounds” is a common weight restriction airline companies enforce on travelers. But what if you had to carry your entire life with you? With just fifty pounds of luggage, is one meant to summon up and journey with the entirety of their life?Patrick Eugène’s paintings are tributes, ones formed not from reference photographs, but from a natural likeness and resemblance to his ancestry. The paintings persist and evoke dignity, refinement, and optimism. Clothing is thrown into bags in fury and with urgency. The figures' expressions are full of hope, worry, and slight anticipation. Through portraits of subjects on the outset of a journey, both physical and mental, Eugène emphasizes the radical effect migration can have on countries and people, even uninvolved.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419189/ornlqwdgxrfxtsexslyp.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-lunch-drawings-tony-fitzpatrick">The Lunch Drawings: Tony Fitzpatrick</a>April 12–May 21Povos GalleryThe Lunch Drawings: Tony Fitzpatrick with Hannah Chavez, Owen Spryszak, Messejah Washington, Sierra Severson. Works of art created by Fitzpatrick during his lunch breaks in 2022.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419190/f8fqp6ams1od94li4voy.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/patric-mccoy-take-my-picture">Patric McCoy: Take My Picture&nbsp;</a>Apr 14–Jul 15, 2023Wrightwood 659In the 1980s, Patric McCoy traveled around Chicago on his bike, always with his camera, finding no shortage of Black men who wanted their picture taken. The exhibition is a selection of 50 photographs from this rich document of 1980s Black gay Chicago. HIV/AIDS hit Black men especially hard. Thousands would die by the end of the decade. Take My Picture is marker of place, time, and memory. It is an altar to those lost.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419191/cvhvndgmzdifypmjwe48.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/edra-soto-destination-el-destino">Edra Soto: Destination/El Destino</a>Apr 22–Aug 6, 2023&nbsp;Hyde Park Art CenterDestination/El Destino: a decade of GRAFT is the largest exhibition to date of Puerto Rican artist Edra Soto. Rooted in themes of cultural hybridity, the exhibition addresses the unsung influence of Afro-diasporic cultures on Puerto Rico’s decorative architecture. An exhibition highlight is a new, large-scale commission of the artist’s GRAFT series with porous sculptures, documentary photographs, drawings, and games that activate the Art Center’s indoor/outdoor main gallery.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419191/cei49d0nwovq3qtfnzfk.jpg"><figcaption>Robert LostutterNight Garden 2015 graphite on paper 20 1/2 x 31 inches signed bottom right</figcaption></figure>Robert Lostutter<a href="https://www.corbettvsdempsey.com">Corbett vs. Dempsey</a>May 5–Jun 17Robert Lostutter is best known for his brightly colored paintings of mysterious male figures wearing elaborate feathered and flowered masks. However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s Lostutter produced a number of small watercolors and drawings of female subjects where he began to explore many of the elements seen in his later paintings. Inspired by Richard Lindner’s practice of taking trips to Bloomingdale’s and watching women self-consciously trying on clothes, the girls in these watercolors share both the fascination with costume that would come to characterize Lostutter’s later work, and the preoccupation with complicated undergarments held by many of his Imagist colleagues. In contrast to the overt imagery of the women and their clothing, Lostutter also introduces ambiguous surreal elements like a bizarre floating gloved hand, dancing zaps and splashes that are made three-dimensional, and strategically placed, exuberantly blooming flowers.&nbsp;Lostutter often made these works on paper in preparation for larger paintings on canvas.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Spring 2023 Preview

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419183/fxt2qzrdpj93i8bucc6o.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/hand-drawn-circle">Hand Drawn Circle</a>Opening: Thursday, March 23, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmIntuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419184/k8ne77cxdlxrp5dhpwdy.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/olo-exhibition-of-works-by-kim-piotrowski">Kim Piotrowski: Joy Experiment</a>Opening: Thursday, March 23, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmMcCormick Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419185/l5ion8lpfnmt4lney6zu.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/strips-needles-a-day-in-the-life">Strips &amp; Needles—A Day in the Life</a>Opening: Friday, March 24, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmInternational Museum of Surgical Science&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419186/pd1acdimfw0hmpe5lqco.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/oh-the-terms-of-ambiguity-carisa-mitchell">Oh, the terms of ambiguity: Carisa Mitchell</a>Opening: Friday, Mar 24, 2023 7 – 9&nbsp;pmParlor and Ramp&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419187/uglddsvnn4qjo6v9hpsd.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/2023-collective-artists-monthly-group-exhibition">2023 Collective Artists Monthly&nbsp;Group Exhibition</a>Opening: Saturday, March 25, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmBlue Moon Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open March 23 - 25

<html><head></head><body><a href="https://www.chicagobusiness.com/arts-entertainment/art-institute-chicago-nepal-looted-art-concerns?utm_source=editorial-promos&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=20230320&amp;utm_content=hero-image">She was the queen of Chicago’s arts community. But her collection now means trouble for the Art Institute.</a>Eying a rare collection of Asian artifacts, the Art Institute of Chicago turned on the charm to woo a local benefactor.It arranged a major exhibit to showcase the South and Southeast Asian art that Marilynn Alsdorf had accumulated over decades and published an elegant catalog to commemorate the event. The museum even hired a longtime Alsdorf friend as a curator.It was “like a card game, or a minuet … a little dancing,” Alsdorf said at the time.That effort paid off. In 1997, Alsdorf announced at a party of the museum’s Woman’s Board that she would leave approximately 500 objects from Nepal, India and other countries to the Art Institute, saving it the millions of dollars it would have had to spend to build such a collection. And in 2008, the Art Institute opened the Alsdorf Galleries, a tribute to Marilynn and her late husband, James.But the Alsdorf collection, once so desired, has increasingly become a problem for the Art Institute as it faces questions of ownership history that cast doubt on the museum’s commitment to keeping its galleries free of looted antiquities.Via Crain's Chicago&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/17/upshot/vermeer-light-buildings-apartments.html?unlocked_article_code=EZNFwYXXComtw7-FuY3kAs-FYrgHjSHEanVkGfjS7CdAGVwbS0WvAETjGeEqCRqOmFIhbPJudngjlyrNRXadowPY8_q6nzvxYxnb9uB2P7Lzh9_AjNBh7-y5CgLT1MFMXSF1Czbp_S6sgR55Awvw2m_BLqv_q9LFR8eiOn3NVx8GqYZht3yCGw8Oq_AG5j_d17Kt7cEUnCQ-IHA1kDTW8IlxPT9mQiuZqbIkl5XWTgRVo88MSFhtC0eS8oK5ZGQf5jX0H_zqz_98xQ9FlsVA1iCvHpT8L9UqIgrKz4svqW1pXXrAm-uBLX0U7l9wST4SYSu7f7NCpLunc6ZBeCoNjMasIYOaaYLCULyt&amp;smid=url-share">Why We Want to Live (and Work) in That Vermeer Light</a>Sunlight wields enormous power in our interior spaces. It can drive up the value of real estate and alter the mood of a room. It can clarify the work on your desktop and create warmth on a cool day. No light bulb can do all that.Via NYT&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-waters-art-collector-baltimore-museum-of-art/">John Waters, connoisseur of quirky art</a>Welcome to the wacky and wonderful world of art collected by John Waters, on view now at the <a href="https://artbma.org/exhibition/coming-attractions-the-john-waters-collection">Baltimore Museum of Art</a> – works like Richard Tuttle's "Peace and Time": "I love this piece, because it basically looks like I had a niece that failed shop class in summer camp," Waters said.Via CBS Sunday Morning<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419183/itsutrw4eggxbsdkunot.png"><figcaption>Ai Weiwei at his studio in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal / Ai Weiwei's superimposed hand flips off The Art Newspaper's London office© Morgan Sinclair for Avant Arte / Courtesy Avant Arte</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/03/17/stick-em-up-ai-weiwei-invites-you-to-give-the-middle-finger-in-new-online-art-project">Stick 'em up! Ai Weiwei invites you to give the middle finger in new online art project</a>The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is known for raising his middle finger to authority in one of his most famous series Study of Perspective. But now, members of the public can post their own “raised finger” works for a new online digital work.Via the Art Newspaper&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

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