West Town, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Kinzie Corridor, Humboldt Park

West Town

Wisconsin

IL • MI • IN

West Loop, Fulton Market, East Garfield Park

West Loop and West Side

Evanston, The North Shore, Northern, Western and Southern Suburbs

Suburbs

Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, Rogers Park

North Side

Michigan Avenue, Streeterville, The Gold Coast, The Loop, and South Loop

Michigan Avenue

Pilsen, Bridgeport, Chinatown, plus Hyde Park, Jackson Park/Dorchester, and Bronzeville

South Side

Superior and Franklin streets, West Chicago Ave, and down to Merchandise Mart and the River

River North

Raissa Bailey’s upcoming solo show, “Venus Rising, Axiom Schema,” delves into the concepts of consciousness and evolution. This innovative showcase blends installation and mixed media art, inviting viewers to explore connections between prehistoric and modern modes of creation.Drawing terminology from theoretical math, Bailey connects the language of math to spirit and intuition, exploring the framework of our shared reality and evolution.The exhibition will feature a series of immersive installations that play with form and texture, utilizing materials from natural objects to digital elements. Each piece is designed to provoke thought and reflection, inviting viewers to consider their connections to evolution, consciousness, and creation.

Artist Talk: Raissa Bailey

A project by Mariane Ibrahim in collaboration with FUMI On view APRIL 22 - MAY 3, 2025 Wednesday, April 23: 6 PM I Conversation with Gallery FUMI5 - 7 PM I Reception (rsvp only) Friday, April 25After hours: Gallery opening until 8 PM GALLERY FUMI PRESENTS:JEREMY ANDERSONSAELIA APARICIOJAMESPLUMBMAX LAMBSAM ORLANDO MILLEREELKO MOORERJOHANNES NAGELSHINTA NAKAJIMAKUSTAA SAKSILUKAS WEGWERTH MARIANE IBRAHIM ARTISTS:PETER UKADARRYL RICHARDSON <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:collect@marianeibrahim.com?subject=Ad%20Libitum%20I%20Request%20Preview" target="_blank">REQUEST PREVIEW</a> On the occasion of Expo Art week, we are pleased to announce&nbsp;Ad Libitum, a project by Mariane Ibrahim. Featuring the work of artists and designers exploring the themes of improvisation, and materiality, and on view from April 22 – May 3, 2025, the exhibition connects the works of Nigerian painter Peter Uka, special guests Mexico City-based photographer Darryl Richardson and London’s Gallery FUMI.&nbsp;Ad Libitum, or "at one's pleasure", will create a space of material experimentation. "Ad Libitum," meaning both “at one’s pleasure” and a musical call to improvisation, serves as a metaphor for the convergence of artists, designers, and friends of the gallery. The presentation unveils a celebration of friendship, collective spirit, craftmanship and cultural multiplicity.&nbsp; Gallery FUMI marks its Chicago debut by presenting a curated selection of works from its designers and artists.&nbsp; <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://website-marianeibrahimgallery.artlogic.net/viewing-room/115/?_preview_uid=b52911138919469db6c53b432f8d3cfd&amp;version=ece1ba" target="_blank">EXHIBITION VIEWING ROOM</a>

Ad Libitum

Prints and Multiples <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://hindmanauctions.com/auctions/6339-c3f36c45-75a1-4684-b87a-672249545226?page=1&amp;per=48&amp;tab=overview" target="_blank">Details</a> May 7, 2025&nbsp;10:00AM CT Live / Chicago

Prints and Multiples

The Chicagoland non-profit&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://artsoflife.org/" target="_blank">Arts of Life</a>&nbsp;continues celebrating its&nbsp;25thAnniversary&nbsp;year with its upcoming&nbsp;Circle Contemporary&nbsp;exhibition titled&nbsp;What they said. Circle Contemporary is a rotating exhibition gallery space housed in the Arts of Life Chicago studio (2010 W Carroll Ave.), featuring recent works from Arts of Life artists and guest contemporary artists.&nbsp;What they said&nbsp;is guest curated by&nbsp;acclaimed artists&nbsp;Nick Cave&nbsp;and&nbsp;Bob Faust&nbsp;and opens with a public reception with the artists on Friday,&nbsp;March 28 from 5-9pm. With locations in Chicago (West Town and Woodlawn) and North Shore (Glenview), Arts of Life advances the creative arts community by providing artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities a collective space to expand their practice and strengthen their independence.&nbsp;Circle Contemporary is an extension of the Arts of Life studios' efforts to strengthen its creative community, aiming to provide a space and outlet for artistic inspiration and exploration. Featured artists in&nbsp;What they said&nbsp;include:&nbsp;John Bateman, Shenequa Brooks, Saumitra Chandratreya, Joel Ebner, Dan Gamble, Ted Gram-Boarini, Ted Hamel, David Krueger, Lawrence M., Tim Stone, James Schenck, Lisa Solar, Oly Trindl, Maria Vanik, Frank Vega&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jean Wilson. “We are overjoyed to be working with Bob and Nick on&nbsp;What they said,” shares Arts of Life Co-Founder and Executive Director&nbsp;Denny Fisher.&nbsp;“For 25 years, Arts of Life has worked to support the careers of our artists with disabilities. Collaborating with internationally recognized artists like Bob and Nick plays an essential role in increasing our artists’ opportunities for professional development and increased visibility.” Prolific artist and designer&nbsp;Bob Faust&nbsp;was inspired by the formal qualities of Arts of Life artists’ recent work. Faust&nbsp;said, “For&nbsp;What they said, Nick and I are making artwork selections based on the feelings that come up when we experience them. Whether it's a clash of color, build-up of material or an intensity coming through repetitive mark-making, each has a way of getting under the skin."&nbsp; Throughout its 25th anniversary year, Arts of Life looks back at its history, celebrates its impact, and casts eyes toward its future.&nbsp;What they said&nbsp;follows the recent launch of a new artwork-filled hardcover book,&nbsp;2wenty 5ive – Arts of Life 2000-2025, a&nbsp;retrospective highlighting the organization’s history of supporting artists with disabilities. After the book’s national launch at the&nbsp;Outsider Art Fair&nbsp;(February 27-March 2, 2025), the 25th&nbsp;anniversary year continues with&nbsp;a dedicated exhibition at the&nbsp;Design Museum of&nbsp;Chicago&nbsp;(August 11-September 30, 2025)&nbsp;and correlating&nbsp;Art on theMART&nbsp;feature projection (September 11-October 6, 2025); and the&nbsp;Arts of Life annual Benefit Art Auction&nbsp;(October 3, 2025). More information on Arts of Life and current and upcoming galleries and programming can be found at <a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://artsoflife.org/" target="_blank">artsoflife.org</a> About the CuratorsArtist and designer&nbsp;Bob Faust&nbsp;(b. 1967, Chicago, IL; lives and works in Chicago, IL)&nbsp;crafts work with typography at its core and viscerality on its surface. Faust has also been the principle and creative director of Faust, a cultural branding studio, for over 30 years. He makes his work with purpose first—to inform, empower, and/or instigate in the service and celebration of human difference.&nbsp;His conceptual art practice defies categorization and genre, with text, patterns, and the ideas of surprise and discovery emerging as throughlines.&nbsp;In addition,&nbsp;Faust is the professional and personal partner of artist Nick Cave. Together they founded&nbsp;Facility: a non-profit multi-use creative space in Chicago that seeks to build community and change the world through art and design. Nick Cave&nbsp;(b. 1959, Fulton, MO; lives and works in Chicago, IL) is an artist, educator and foremost a messenger, working between the visual and performing arts through a wide range of mediums including sculpture, installation, video, sound and performance. Cave is well known for his Soundsuits, sculptural forms based on the scale of his body, initially created in direct response to the police beating of Rodney King in 1991. Soundsuits camouflage the body, masking and creating a second skin that conceals race, gender and class, forcing the viewer to look without judgment. They serve as a visual embodiment of social justice that represent both brutality and empowerment. About Arts of LifeArts of Life advances the creative arts community by providing artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities a collective space to expand their practice and strengthen their leadership. Arts of Life is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded in January 2000 with a shared vision: to create a working, person-centric, artistic community while providing a work environment of equality in Chicago. Motivated by founding artist Veronica Cuculich along with two co-founders Arts of Life brought nine other individuals with developmental disabilities to create the organization. Their shared vision grew from a passion for artistic expression and a need for an alternative system.For artists at Arts of Life, a career in the visual arts is an opportunity for meaningful employment. Each artist has their own studio space and works independently from individualized project plans or receives one on one visual arts facilitation to increase their artistic skill set. Artists also receive 60% of art sales. Today, Arts of Life has two professional art studios and represent over 80 artists with varying levels of physical and intellectual disabilities. Each studio is 6,000 square feet and includes a community gallery that is open to the public. For more information on Arts of Life and its programs, visit&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://artsoflife.org/" target="_blank">artsoflife.org</a>. Connect with Arts of Life on<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://facebook.com/artsoflife" target="_blank">Facebook</a>,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://instagram.com/the_arts_of_life" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtube.com/artsoflife" target="_blank">YouTube</a>.

 What they said

﻿ENGAGE Projects is pleased to announce Cameron Gainer’s solo Chicago debut with our upcoming exhibition “Temporal Dispersions.” Using the open desert as his studio space, this new photo-based work elucidates enduring themes in Gainer’s art, addressing the ineffable nature of time and the mysteries of perception—recurrent themes that span his artistic career. Over the last two decades, Gainer has combined scientific and artistic inquiry in his expansive practice. His past works include using the world’s most light-sensitive camera to capture bioluminescence, casting time out of 4-billion-year-old meteorites, and painting photo-realistic canvases based on satellite images of impact craters named for notable artists, scientists, and thinkers. A conceptual landscape artist at heart, this recent work, the Temporal Dispersions, pushes the limits of photography in what Gainer calls “an interrogation of the photographic process and the representation of landscape at the edge of form.” Working in the arroyos (seasonal riverbeds) of the Sonoran desert, Gainer begins creating these works by marking a section of land the size of the photographic material. He carefully removes the desert topsoil, which consists of insects, bones, plant material, scat, and primarily silica—the raw material from which photographic lenses are made. He then places this material in a temporary container and lays the photographic substrate onto the prepared ground. The artist then acts as a human hourglass, letting time pass as he methodically pours the removed soil onto the surface of the paper or fabric. This durational element allows the light-sensitive material underneath to slowly record the time it takes for the displaced landscape to settle and be “exposed” by the elements of gravity, wind, time, and light. The earth acts as the camera, the raw silica the lens, and the desert functions as the focal point. For the work’s final stages, Gainer removes the photographic material from the soil and returns the land to its original condition, removing any trace of a human presence. The resultant images are vibrant blue materially direct abstractions, the color of the sky and the ocean—the earth’s counterparts. Simultaneously evoking the most advanced imagery of deep space and a birds-eye view of the melting arctic ice, these meditations resonate with our contemporary ecological condition. For Gainer, the process remains a point of emphasis: he establishes the photographic conditions for an image to be formed, but the results are created by the elements and the landscape itself. Cameron Gainer is the founder of The Third Rail, an internationally distributed publication devoted to a discussion of modern and contemporary art, politics, philosophy, and culture. He has had solo museum exhibitions at The New Temporary Contemporary at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, and the Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Group exhibitions include “Spectators, Rendered and Regulated” at Koenig and Clinton Gallery New York, New York; “Midnight Party” at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; “The Paranoia of Time” at Carter &amp; Citizen Gallery, Los Angeles; “The Moon is a Lantern” at Lisa Sette Gallery, Phoenix; and “Portal” at McClain Gallery, Houston. Awards and fellowships include a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, Pollock-Krasner grant, James L. McKnight Fellowship, and a Jerome Foundation grant for research. Image: Cameron Gainer, Temporal Dispersion: Sonoran Landscape #10, 2023, Cyanotype on cotton, trace elements of, silica, plant materials, bone, scat, 60 x 88 inches mounted

Cameron Gainer: Temporal Dispersions

<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/" target="_blank">Jackson Junge Gallery</a>&nbsp;is proud to present&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/exhibitions/upcoming" target="_blank">“The Wait We Carry,”</a>&nbsp;a solo exhibition by Chicago photographer,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Clifton Henri</a>. This series features eight photographs representing the experience of being Black in America. So often Black Americans are told to “wait” for change. However, waiting holds “weight” and that weight is heavy. The weight and heaviness that Black people have been carrying for 100’s of years continue to pass on, essentially passing the weight/wait on to the next generation.&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/exhibitions/upcoming" target="_blank">“The Wait We Carry”</a>&nbsp;is a collection that has now become&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri’s</a>&nbsp;most well-known and vulnerable body of work to date. <a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/exhibitions/upcoming" target="_blank">“The Wait We Carry”</a>&nbsp;is a series that began in 2020, a year of social unrest, racial inequities, national news stories of police brutality, and personal changes in&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri’s</a>&nbsp;life; all during a worldwide pandemic. This was a time in&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri’s</a>&nbsp;life and career where he felt it was time to get more vulnerable with his work, and create a series as a form of expression, representation, and activism. “The murder of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter protests, the isolation of the pandemic – it was all so heavy. But I kept coming back to this idea of waiting. How we, as Black people have been told to wait for justice, for equality, for things to change. And then I started thinking about the weight of that waiting – how we carry it, how it gets passed down. That’s when I knew I had to create&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/exhibitions/upcoming" target="_blank">“The Wait We Carry.”</a> <a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/exhibitions/upcoming" target="_blank">“The Wait We Carry”</a>&nbsp;combines multiple elements of&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri’s</a>&nbsp;existing photography style as well as new additions collectors have not seen in previous works. Each photograph in this series layers texture, color, and narrative to create an entirely new concept for this series. Behind the subject of each photograph shows a textured background, most of which came from locations in Chicago, New Orleans, Ghana, and Cuba. The subject matter is the center of each photograph; all of which are children, a very intentional detail. “I feel like our children take on the burden of the inequities in our society. We do our best to protect them as they trek through life but also pass on to them a heaviness a child shouldn’t have to wear.”&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>&nbsp;also incorporates color and typography to not only draw the viewer in, but to additionally nod towards his background and interest in graphic design. All these elements create a new style of photography for&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>, which helps emphasize the shift in the conceptual themes for this collection.&nbsp; When creating the title piece for this series,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>&nbsp;wanted to translate the heaviness most Black parents feel of passing on trauma and struggle to their children.&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/store/artists/clifton-henri/the-wait-we-carry" target="_blank">“The Wait We Carry”</a>&nbsp;shows a young boy looking tired and defeated while carrying a large duffle bag. Military symbolism in this piece conveys the burden passed down through generations. “War is a battle fought by those who didn’t start it. Our children walk into a world that’s already stacked against them, and we try to protect them, but we also pass on the knowledge of survival, the weight of history. The helmet in the piece is armor, but it’s also a reminder that these battles shouldn’t be theirs to fight. The duffle bag is both a literal and figurative weight – what we carry, what we inherit.”&nbsp; Another piece in this series that conveys struggle and fight is&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/store/artists/clifton-henri/heavy-wait-champ" target="_blank">“Heavy Weight Champ,”</a>&nbsp;which depicts a young boy in boxing headgear. “Boxing is survival. It’s strategy, endurance, knowing when to hit, and when to take a hit. Being Black in America is the same.&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/store/artists/clifton-henri/heavy-wait-champ" target="_blank">‘Heavy Weight Champ’</a>&nbsp;is about the exhaustion of constant fighting. The headgear, the stance – it’s preparation, but it’s also fatigue.” The boy’s headgear shows the branding “Everlast”, a detail that takes a whole new meaning. “The word ‘Everlast’ hit me hard. Because the fight isn’t new. It’s everlasting. But we don’t have the luxury of sitting it out. We have to keep swinging, even when the gloves feel too heavy.” Horrific news stories of police brutality and violence against Black people in America is not a new occurrence, but in recent years has been getting more attention and awareness due to the Black Lives Matter movement and social media.&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>&nbsp;took inspiration from some of these news stories to create pieces that touch on the alarming rate of violence against Black Americans and the real names and stories behind the victims involved. In his piece titled,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/store/artists/clifton-henri/now-i-lay" target="_blank">"Now I Lay,"</a>&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>&nbsp;memorializes Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old medical worker who was killed by police in her home. "Breonna Taylor was asleep in her own home. That fact alone is terrifying. When I created&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/store/artists/clifton-henri/now-i-lay" target="_blank">'Now I Lay'</a>&nbsp;I wanted to bridge the innocence of a bedtime prayer with the horror of her reality. Writing directly on the helmet was my way of making her memory inescapable. Breonna's murder is part of a cycle of sanctioned violence against Black women that this country often ignores. We can't let her name fade. We must say it over and over." Another piece in this series with a specific victim in mind is&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/store/artists/clifton-henri/point-shoot" target="_blank">"Point and Shoot,"</a>&nbsp;which touches on the murder of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old who was fatally shot in 2012. Trayvon Martin's life was taken due to racial profiling, a topic that&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>&nbsp;highlights in this piece. "I wanted to make it plain - Black people are being targeted. The hoodie references Trayvon Martin, and the arrows point to the intentionality of this violence. America has demonstrated restraint when it wants to - there are mass shooters who walk away unharmed - but when the suspect is Black, it feels like there's no hesitation. The very act of being Black in public can be a death sentence."&nbsp; Since its creation,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/exhibitions/upcoming" target="_blank">"The Wait We Carry"</a>&nbsp;has traveled across the country with&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>&nbsp;and received a variety of responses from viewers. Overall&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>reflects on the emotion that people feel when viewing this series. Tears are often a common response, but not always out of sadness and rather for being seen. He notices the response from parents and how this series relates to their feelings of parenthood. Children are also drawn to this series due to the bright colors and seeing themselves in the children subjects.&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>&nbsp;specifically points out the response from non-black parents and hearing how they talk to their children about the series. “Many parents create carefully crafted responses; some are bland and sugarcoated while others are much deeper.” Overall, emotion and feeling are something that&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Henri</a>&nbsp;wants viewers to receive from this series. "I want people to see themselves in these images. To feel the weight. To recognize the patience and resilience but also the frustration and fatigue. But more than anything, I want people to understand that we can't just wait. Change doesn't happen in stillness - it happens in movement, in action. We've been carrying this weight for centuries. It's time we start putting some of it down."&nbsp; See&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/about/artists/clifton-henri" target="_blank">Clifton Henri's</a>&nbsp;award-winning series&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/exhibitions/upcoming" target="_blank">"The Wait We Carry"</a>&nbsp;on view at&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://j2gallery.com/" target="_blank">Jackson Junge Gallery</a>&nbsp;April 7th&nbsp;- May 11th, 2025. The gallery will be celebrating this exhibition's opening reception on Friday, April 25th, coinciding with EXPO Chicago Art After Hours from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.&nbsp;This exhibition is curated by Gallery Director Kaitlyn Miller and Gallery Assistant Marisa Taravella.

The Wait We Carry

Two Opening ReceptionsFri., April 11, 5-8 pmWed., April 23, 6-10 pm&nbsp;SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art is proud to present the exhibition, Article 1: Human Dignity Shall Be Inviolable, featuring the artwork of Kermit Berg. The exhibit highlights both the beauty and the vulnerability of democracy.&nbsp;In 2015, the American artist Kermit Berg was invited by the German government to photograph the buildings of the German Parliament in Berlin, known as the Bundestag. The building design includes architectural elements that highlight attributes of democracy such as transparency in government and governance by the people. Berg's photographs of the building capture these elements in his signature style.&nbsp;The exhibition was to be shown in the newly constructed Library of Parliament building in Germany. The exhibition never happened due to lengthy construction delays, although the work was acquired by the Collection of the Federal Republic of Germany. Several years later, his body of work was slated for a show at the German Embassy in Moscow. However, criticism by the Russian government derailed these plans. An alternative location outside of Moscow was ultimately abandoned when Russia invaded Ukraine.&nbsp;Today, democracy is palpably under threat around the world. For Berg, this means introspection, revisiting, and literally ripping up some of his earlier works. The result is his photographic series: “Torn” where he destroys and reassembles his prints with their fragments to represent the fragile nature of democracy.Berg's “Bundestag” portfolio is not the first time he has examined democracy and political systems through his own very subtle lens. His 2013 series “Nuclear Family’’ documents the post-World War II relationship between a West Berlin family and an American family in rural Indiana. “Nuclear Family” led to a solo museum exhibition at Maerkisches Museum in Berlin, and has since been shown as part of the Kermit Berg retrospective at the Christel De Hahn Fine Arts Center in Indianapolis. Several of his works from the Nuclear Family portfolio are also in the exhibition at SoNa Chicago. As with “Article 1” his keen eye explores and reveals the heart of the theme, in this case, the nascent democracy in West Germany.&nbsp;Article 1 is the first of nineteen proclamations of basic human rights comprising the beginning of the newly developed constitution of the Federal Republic of West Germany. It was ratified in 1949 and later adopted upon the reunification of Germany in 1990. This conscious intention to spell out basic rights at the very beginning of Germany’s new constitution paved the binding path forward for the emerging democracy. The framers of the basic rights document went on to say that to respect and protect human dignity is so important that it shall be the duty of all government authority to protect it, and that Article I cannot be changed or removed.Yet this fundamental right is under strain in Germany, the U.S., and around the world.Kermit Berg has developed a refined language in photography. His attention to detail is exquisite, visually sharing powerful observations and messages on a broader scale. The exhibition at SoNa Chicago features never before shown selections from the Bundestag and Torn portfolios, as well as selections from Nuclear Family, and other works from his 25 years as a practicing artist. Berg creates photography-based archival prints where he lives and works in Palm Springs, California, after living in Chicago, Berlin, New York, San Francisco, and Shanghai. He is grateful to his longtime representative in Germany, Nicole von Vietinghof, for arranging the project with the German government at the Bundestag.SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art is located at 1527 N. Ashland Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. The gallery is open Fridays from 5–7 pm, Saturdays from 12-4 pm, and by appointment.&nbsp;

Kermit Berg | Article 1: Human Dignity Shall Be Inviolable

Image: Jonathan Worcester, Untitled,&nbsp;2024, acrylic on canvas wrapped panel 48 x 68.75 x 3.5 inches

Jonathan Worcester: Dead Reckoning

Early 20th Century Design <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://hindmanauctions.com/auctions/6326-early-20th-century-design?page=1&amp;per=48&amp;tab=overview" target="_blank">Details</a> May 20, 2025&nbsp;9:00AM CT Live / Chicago

Early 20th Century Design

Modern Design <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://hindmanauctions.com/auctions/6327-modern-design?page=1&amp;per=48&amp;tab=overview" target="_blank">Details</a> May 20, 2025&nbsp;12:00PM CT Live / Chicago

Modern Design

Antiquities and Ancient Art <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://hindmanauctions.com/auctions/6344-c11173d8-3cc7-45c0-80c1-aed333949d35?page=1&amp;per=48&amp;tab=overview" target="_blank">Details</a> May 22, 2025&nbsp;10:00AM CT Live / Chicago

Antiquities and Ancient Art

moniquemeloche proudly presents&nbsp;25!&nbsp;—a landmark exhibition celebrating the gallery’s 25th anniversary featuring&nbsp;Luke Agada, Candida Alvarez, Arocha-Schraenen, Sanford Biggers, Antonius-Tín Bui, Justin Cooper, David Antonio Cruz, Davis/Langlois, Brendan Fernandes, Dan Gunn, Chase Hall, Sheree Hovsepian, Rashid Johnson, Cindy Loehr, Jason Middlebrook, Lavar Munroe, Ben Murray, Maia Cruz Palileo, Ebony G. Patterson, Cheryl Pope, Karen Reimer, Carlos Rolón, Joel Ross, Carrie Schneider, David Shrobe, Arvie Smith, Shinique Smith, Jake Troyli,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Nate Young.&nbsp; Since its founding in 2000 by Monique Meloche, the gallery has been a driving force in Chicago’s contemporary art scene, championing diverse and politically engaged voices while serving as an early advocate for groundbreaking talent. Artists such as Rashid Johnson, Amy Sherald, Ebony G. Patterson, and Sanford Biggers launched pivotal moments of their careers at moniquemeloche, contributing to the gallery’s far-reaching influence—both within the city and across the international art world.&nbsp;Beyond the gallery walls, moniquemeloche has been deeply committed to curatorial and institutional outreach, ensuring its artists gain lasting recognition. Works by the gallery’s artists have entered the permanent collections of major institutions, including The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, while their practices have been highlighted in significant museum solo exhibitions at El Museo del Barrio, The Pérez Art Museum Miami, and many others.&nbsp;Renowned for its conceptually rigorous programming and dynamic, cross-media installations, moniquemeloche continues to push boundaries and spark critical dialogue both in its Chicago gallery and at art fairs globally.&nbsp;25!&nbsp;honors the artists who have shaped its legacy, presenting a powerful mix of historic and new works that will span the entire gallery.

Contemporary Curated is an art exhibition running from April 10 to May 23 at McCormick Gallery's new location at 2251 W. Grand Ave, Chicago, IL. The exhibition features a curated selection of contemporary artists, including Gwen Yen Chiu, Michael Hedges, Anna Kunz, Melanie Pankau, Kim Piotrowski, Pooja Pittie, Gordon Powell, Janis Pozzi-Johnson, Sheri Rush, John Sabraw, John Santoro, Ben Tinsley, and Vidvuds Zviedris.Artist talks will be held during EXPO weekend on Saturday, April 26, with Michael Hedges speaking at 11 AM and Janis Pozzi-Johnson at 2 PM.

Contemporary Curated

Opening Reception: Friday, May 2, 2025, 5-8pm ﻿I am interested in how information is realized, interpreted, and shared. My work is inspired by my surroundings and observations of transitory states in the environment. Viewers should think they are looking at a familiar object when in fact they are not; I love the reversal of expectations. These&nbsp;ceramics&nbsp;serve no utilitarian purpose other&nbsp;than to express the world around me. The inspiration for my pieces comes from the eight-block daily dog walk, which includes shadows reflecting off street signs, thrown away to-go containers littering the street, discarded boxes run over by cars, and telephone poles having graffiti, pipes, and wires attached to them.&nbsp;

Pat Stephens: Earthy Stories

Opening Reception: Friday, May 2, 2025, 5-8pm ﻿Join the Affiliate Member artists of A.R.C. for an exhibition showcasing their artwork. Affiliates of ARC have served in the past as working volunteer members of the gallery. Artists Residents of Chicago (A.R.C.) was founded in 1973 as a women-run artists’ cooperative at a time when the art world largely dismissed women’s voices. In 2025, We continue to champion innovative, emerging, and experimental visual art, reaching a broad audience—including our wonderful West Town community. As a non-commercial gallery, we foster an environment of artistic experimentation and dialogue. Exhibiting Affiliate Members : Amy Zucker, Jessica Gondeck, Granite Amit, Virginia Carstarphen, Jane Stevens, Nancy Bechtol

A.R.C. Affiliate: Member Show

Opening Reception: Friday, May 2, 2025, 5-8pm ﻿Artist Talk: Saturday, May 3, 1:00pm Raissa Bailey’s upcoming solo show, “Venus Rising, Axiom Schema,” delves into the concepts of consciousness and evolution. This innovative showcase blends installation and mixed media art, inviting viewers to explore connections between prehistoric and modern modes of creation. Drawing terminology from theoretical math, Bailey connects the language of math to spirit and intuition, exploring the framework of our shared reality and evolution. The exhibition will feature a series of immersive installations that play with form and texture, utilizing materials from natural objects to digital elements. Each piece is designed to provoke thought and reflection, inviting viewers to consider their connections to evolution, consciousness, and creation.

Raissa Bailey: Venus Rising, Axiom Schema

‘Right Back at It Again,’ on display May 2-31, unpacks the art of making art, drawing on the slapstick surrealism of classic cartoons to affectionately lampoon the day-after-day struggles and sacrifices that creatives face. Its 27 acrylic paintings depict the beginningless and endless cycle of artistic life, death and rebirth via the hyper-exaggerated visual grammar of Looney Tunes-style mayhem: i.e., heads spontaneously combusting, anvils falling from the sky and all the other stuff that Wile E. Coyote’s nightmares are made of.&nbsp;

Steve Seeley: Right Back At It Again

As an early kick off to Chicago art week, we are pleased to announce the opening of Fracture to Flourish, a showcase featuring 10 national artists. Featuring:Adrian AvilaMarcos AlvaradoGretchen AdelMaria LaurenoJacob RochesterMason Pott&nbsp;Lindsey KircherTara Lewis&nbsp;Liz Flores&nbsp;True Markham

Fracture to Flourish

22 April - 31 May 2025Chicago Mariane Ibrahim is pleased to present&nbsp;Under&nbsp;the&nbsp;Flickering Light of&nbsp;the&nbsp;North Star,&nbsp;the gallery’s inaugural solo exhibition&nbsp;with&nbsp;Atlanta-based artist Michi Meko.&nbsp;On paper and canvas, his work layers tactile materials as narrative elements, taking the viewer from moments of stillness to bursts of action that explores the artist's contemplations on the legacies of critical geographies, particularly those of the American&nbsp;South.&nbsp;&nbsp;Through his abstract landscape&nbsp;paintings, Meko guides audiences into the quiet anxieties of terrains that&nbsp;conjure&nbsp;ecological&nbsp;histories as&nbsp;wisdom.&nbsp;His&nbsp;brushstrokes&nbsp;map&nbsp;the dichotomies of rebellion and reflection through the contrasting use of a an imposing and often monumental dimly lit dusk, and the application of phosphorescent light and textural details that pop up from the canvas, as if offering a mediative look at the inherent tensions within landscapes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Meko’s cartographic&nbsp;perspective, shaped by geographic storytelling, reveals&nbsp;the ecological memory embedded in the land,&nbsp;which&nbsp;informs and shapes his studio practice. His rebellious mark-making creates layered narratives of fugitivity and survival, where the American landscape serves as both a backdrop and a starting point for his examination of race, place, and memory.&nbsp;&nbsp;By limiting himself to five core materials, Meko forges a cohesive yet evolving dialogue&nbsp;that&nbsp;resounds&nbsp;Southern ingenuity to build&nbsp;density&nbsp;from&nbsp;minimalism.&nbsp;This constraint&nbsp;foregrounds&nbsp;the&nbsp;thesis&nbsp;of freedom and&nbsp;conflict between&nbsp;humans and&nbsp;nature, inviting the viewer to uncover oppositional&nbsp;textures and connections&nbsp;between the acrylic, aerosol, oil pastel, colored pencil, and gold leaf in each piece.&nbsp;&nbsp;Meko’s material rolodex&nbsp;captures&nbsp;the speed and immediacy of his gestures.&nbsp;&nbsp;His&nbsp;proficiency&nbsp;in&nbsp;layering—overlaying materials&nbsp;that&nbsp;shift chemistries and reveal new textures and hues—enables the emergence of&nbsp;new forms&nbsp;based&nbsp;on&nbsp;the chronology of each layer.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The navigational syntax within&nbsp;You Good? Signal fire., 2024 is signature structure within Meko’s compositions. Drawing from the tradition of signal fires—used historically for urgent long-distance communication—Meko imbues these symbols with contemporary resonance.&nbsp;His marks&nbsp;are at once pragmatic and&nbsp;intuitive,&nbsp;building&nbsp;immense perceptual depth upon paper and canvas. These works invite introspection on the duality of the natural world, where the stillness of night awakens the horrors and histories that have shaped the land. Through these layers Meko builds upon an intergenerational vision, rooted in both contemporary and ancestral practices of&nbsp;escape&nbsp;and&nbsp;perseverance.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Michi Meko will open a solo exhibition at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Museum of Art this August in Savannah, Georgia.&nbsp;Under&nbsp;the Flickering Light of the North Star&nbsp;will open on April 22&nbsp;and&nbsp;continue through&nbsp;May 31, 2025.&nbsp; Image: Michi Meko, The Big Mental Pause, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

Michi Meko: Under the Flickering Light of the North Star

Tony Tasset

Robell Awake’s chairs are skillfully handmade with great reverence and appreciation for the work and techniques of under-recognized Black craftspeople throughout history. Awake continues a rich tradition of updating the ladder back chair, using inlaid materials and carved patterns rife with meaning and relevance.&nbsp; Six new chairs are replete with allusions to spiritual practices, echoing historically sacred imagery calling for divine healing and protection. They feature carved faces, symbols, and creatures drawing from various talismanic practices of the African diaspora. Patterns of eyes reference a 2000-year-old tradition of Ethiopian magic scrolls, custom protective scrolls prescribed by healers combining sacred symbols with written prayers. Imposing faces with bared teeth are reminiscent of Edgefield face jugs, face-shaped ceramic vessels made by enslaved potters in South Carolina. Awake’s use of meaningful objects for protection alludes to a deep history including Hoodoo and Conjure, magical traditions in which spiritual power is invoked for healing and self-defense, and African American yard shows, an assemblage tradition going back generations. The yard shows of America’s Black Belt, ambitious outdoor art installations where ordinary materials are sanctified, reflect the resilience of people using the materials at hand to express themselves. With these new chairs, Awake is exploring the spectral nature of our digital lives with inlaid cords, cables, and arrangements of zeroes and ones from bygone numerical systems, embedding the language of the virtual into the physical. Concerned with the fragility of identity formation online, he examines the precarity of our digital selves—simultaneously fabricated and highly visible. His chairs become talismanic objects, crafted not just as functional seats but as protective wards in the digital realm. By merging traditional craftsmanship with symbols of the online world, Awake transforms everyday furniture into sacred artifacts, offering a tangible anchor in an era where identity is often elusive, overdetermined, and over policed. Awake’s process is rooted in pre-industrial technique, relying on hand tools and working with green (or unprocessed) wood. He begins by splitting whole logs—primarily oak, with hickory used for the rungs. After carving the backs and legs, he adds intricate visual details, incorporating line drawing and relief carving, which are then painted to highlight the textures and forms.&nbsp; Awake’s work centers Black aesthetic traditions and histories, creating objects that are both deeply rooted and radically forward-looking. By intertwining traditional modalities with contemporary anxieties about the digital self, he highlights the ways in which technology both connects and destabilizes us as well as the countries that bear the brunt of resource extraction and technological production. His chairs serve as bridges between past and present, between tangible heritage and intangible existence, urging us to consider how we ground ourselves in an increasingly spectral world. They embody the weight of history while addressing the urgent realities of our present—an era of collapsing empires and ecological crisis, in which both people and the planet are endangered. By merging ancestral practices with contemporary concerns, Awake’s talismanic chairs serve as acts of resistance and resilience, grounding us in traditions of survival, expression, and protection. The exhibition’s title, Human Resources, is a pointed nod to the insidious nature of the term, which reduces people to mere assets to be managed, extracted, and exploited—an unsettling parallel to the historical and ongoing commodification of labor, identity, and even digital existence. Human Resources will be on view through June 7, 2025. Robell Awake is a recipient of the Center for Craft’s Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship and has taught at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Penland School of Craft, and the Woodworking School at Pine Croft. He has presented at the Furniture Society, Warren Wilson College, Berea College, Washington College, and the North Bennet Street School. Awake was recently selected as one of the Dwell 24, Dwell magazine’s awards for the best emerging designers from around the world. His recent book, A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects, published through Princeton Architectural Press (2025), features ten illustrated essays on handcrafted objects and their makers, providing invaluable insight into Black history and craftsmanship, and was the subject of an exclusive segment on National Public Radio. His work is included in important public collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, and he is producing a forthcoming commission for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Robell Awake: Human Resources

Faheem Majeed (b. 1976) is an artist, curator, educator, and non-profit administrator whose work focuses on institutional critique and centers collaboration as a tool to engage communities in meaningful dialogue. He received his BFA from Howard University and an MFA from the University of Illinois Chicago, where he is currently an Assistant Professor of Art. He is the recipient of the Field and MacArthur Foundation’s Leaders for a New Chicago Award, the Joyce Foundation Award, and the Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant, and has been recognized as a Harpo Foundation Awardee. Majeed served as the Executive Director of the South Side Community Art Center from 2005 to 2011 and currently serves as the Co-Director and Founder of the Floating Museum, an arts collective and non-profit that creates new models to explore relationships between art, community, architecture, and public institutions. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Centre Pompidou, Highline, and the Hyde Park Art Center. Majeed’s sculpture highlights marginalized objects, histories, people, and places into powerful narratives that challenge and recontextualize their value, fostering dialogue and broader social change. Image: Faheem Majeed,&nbsp;Constellation - John Henry's 11th Hour, 2024-2025 (detail).&nbsp;Cedar, steel, and nails; 47 1/8 x 33 7/8 x 5 in.

Faheem Majeed

Sports Memorabilia <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://hindmanauctions.com/auctions/6350-sports-memorabilia?page=1&amp;per=48&amp;tab=overview" target="_blank">Details</a> Jun 12, 2025&nbsp;10:00AM CT Timed Online / Chicago

Sports Memorabilia

A Springtime Group Show

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