Fall Preview Part I: September 8 Openings + Annual River North Design District Art Walk
The first Friday after Labor Day is the traditional opening of the fall gallery season in Chicago – a back to school for the art world, if you will. This year the evening of September 8 begins the first of many opening nights to take place this month. There are dozens of new exhibitions opening, and many represent the highlight of the gallery's programming for the entire year.
Kicking off the evening, the 3rd Annual River North Design District (RNDD) Gallery Walk promises to be better than ever. The pairing of this event with traditional opening of the fall gallery season has solidifed the relationship between art and design in this unique neighborhood of Chicago. While River North has traditionally been home to many galleries over the years, more recently it has also become a base for area design showrooms that have opened their doors outside of the Merchandise Mart. Each participating showroom will stay open until 9pm and exhibit designer vignettes from Chicago’s top designers alongside living settings with artwork created by some of the brightest stars in the art world today. On opening night there will be a kick-off event at Lightology, featuring the art of Rubem Robierb. From 8-10pm design fans can wander over to the Golden Triangle, 330 N Clark, where artist Adam Siegel presents his new series Wabi-Sabi in collaboration with Vosges Chocolate for a closing reception and a special artistic journey of the senses with art, chocolate pairings and live music. Tickets are $25/ea, space is limited. There will be a free trolley running from 5:45 – 8:45pm to shuttle attendees from Lightology to Moderne Living, Glenview Haus, and Chicago Luxury Furniture Centre, then to Wells and Illinois where the majority of the other showrooms are located.
The River North Art District is of course planning their own splashy opening night of new exhibitions in the galleries. Following the success of their summer opening event in July, the first expanded event in the district in several years, area galleries will be open from 5-8pm, and several area businesses will be partnering to offer associated events, such as an after party from 8-10pm at Bar Lupo on Huron St.
River North opening highlights include new work by Korean artist Young June Lew at Andrew Bae. Lew's work comes to the gallery every couple of years. Her large scale portraits in thick gold and other paint are unmistakeable.
Around the corner, a gallery new to the area this summer, Gallery Victor Armendariz, will open Figure8, a group show of figurative work by eight gallery artists. Amrendariz worked at Ann Nathan Gallery for many years, and during these first few months on his own he has consistently welcomed packed crowds at his openings. He has also introduced a space in the gallery geared towards new or first time collectors, called The Studio, where works are very affordably priced.
Chicago artist Phyllis Bramson opens a show of new work at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, and the exhibition has arguably the best title of the season: Opulent Flim Flam.
Nicholas Sistler's new show at Printworks, Stutter, will feature his signature bold colors and precious detail on a small scale. This show means you must get up close to see the artist's mastery.
Many other shows are opening in River North this evening. If you can't see them all in one night, come back on Saturday morning for the first free gallery tour of the season from 11am-12:30pm.
Exhibitions opening in other parts of the city include notable shows on the south side: the Logan Center opens Cinthia Marcelle and Tiago Mata Machado: Divine Violence. Representing moments of order and chaos through compellingly staged and abstracted scenes of bodies and inanimate objects, the works on view speculate on the poetics and politics of urban life in Brazil and other global locations. Read our interview with the Logan Center's new curator here.
In Pilsen East as part of 2nd Friday Gallery Night, Teresa Hofheimer, Erwin Overes and Lisa Stefania open a show at Studio Oh! on South Halsted. Full Circle, a group show featuring a range of mediums, is where a circle is not just the supporting role, but the starring lead of the piece...
In the West Loop, the Chicago Artists Coalition opens The ANNUAL: An Exhibition of New Chicago Art, its once a year sales exhibition celebrating cutting-edge Chicago-based artists. Arranged by a guest curator, The ANNUAL creates an accessible forum for emerging collectors to discover affordable new work and engage directly with its creators. This year The ANNUAL will run for three weeks on either end of EXPO Chicago, opening Friday, September 8 and closing on Thursday, September 28. The third edition is titled, The Shortest Distance Between Two Points and is curated by Caroline Picard. The show features work by Candida Alvarez, Jorge Méndez Blake, Robert Burnier, Julietta Cheung, Assaf Evron, Roberto Harrison, Dominika Jackuliakova, Betsy Odom, Stephen Lapthisophon, Nazafarin Lotfi, Heather Mekkelson, Matt Morris, Michael Milano, Bailey Romaine, Josh Rios + Anthony Romero, Ellen Rothenberg, Selina Trepp, Anne Wilson, and Fo Wilson.
There is a lot of great art to see, and there are just a few highlights of Friday, September 8, 2017 around the city. View the entire calendar here.
Stay tuned for Part II of our Fall Preview. featuring shows opening September 9 and into the following week, including many shows on the city's West Side as well as EXPO Art Week.
Top image: Phyllis Bramson, Glow, 60 x 70 in, mixed media, oil, and collage on canvas, 2017