<html><head></head><body>*This interview appears in CGN's fall 2024 magazine. To subscribe to the print edition <a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com">click here</a>.*&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/pj5orybf29krve1vhj3n.jpg"><figcaption>Artwork pictured on walls, starting from left of cabinet: Jason Lazurus, Cody Hudson, Jason Pickleman, Jeroen Nelemans, Adam Pendelton, Aron Gent, Brian Kapernekas, Laura Letinsky, Loyola Condenser, Stephen Eichorn, Tony Tasset, Dorothee Joachim, David Salkin (in background through door). Photo by CGN. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By BIANCA BOVA“The place that art holds is sacred ground,” Michelle Edwards tells me. An established collector, fashion icon to those in the know, cultural patron, and–more recently–a realtor, Edwards’ reverential attitude towards art, if not life itself, is immediately discernible upon entering her home. Seated in her living room, surrounded by sweeping 47th floor views that look north over Grant Park and east out onto Lake Michigan, there is a serenity to the space, despite the fact that its entirety is densely arrayed with objects of all modalities. The predominant feature is, of course, the art collection, alongside which can be found selections of transferware, Wedgewood, and silver service pieces. The furnishings are lush, and thoughtfully selected. In less careful hands, the aggregate of it might overwhelm, but here, to the contrary, Edwards has created an oasis. She concedes to having had some help, noting, “I have for many years worked with Patrick DiMichele on my spaces. I won’t–can’t–live in an environment he has not done.”*&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/jj1w5zmvajmxseujevfc.jpg"><figcaption>Michelle Edwards. Artwork pictured on wall: Jason Lazarus; Monika Bartholomé; in background, sculpture by Greg Stimac. Photo by CGN. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Edwards is not a lifelong art collector, or (to my surprise) even a lifelong art enthusiast. Her first love was fashion, with deep roots in the storied Oak Street boutique Ultimo.&nbsp;“During high school I was a waitress at the Oak Room in Marshall Fields in the Oak Brook Mall, and I would save my tips, then I would go into the city, to Ultimo, and buy stuff on sale. I just loved magazines, French Vogue was my favorite. And I knew that Ultimo had Norma Kamali and they had Thierry Mugler, so I would go there,” she tells me, “When I got out of college, I was trying to figure out what I would do, and I interviewed across all these different jobs. Then I went down to Ultimo one day and they just hired me. You weren’t allowed to talk to customers for, like, six months. It was really this apprentice program. By the time I left, I ran the whole thing: men’s department, women’s department, all of it. I do have a tendency to end up running the show, whatever I do.”“You have to understand that it was the equivalent of carrier pigeons compared to online shopping today. The access just wasn’t the same. There were really only four or five seminal boutiques in the world at that time, of which Ultimo was one. You relied on these boutiques for taste and for the edit. If it wasn’t in those stores, you didn’t need to have it, was the feeling.” &nbsp;&nbsp;<blockquote>“I can’t garden, I’m not a gardener. So this is my garden. The amount of time that I spend interacting with the art–and everything in my home–it brings me so much joy. I stop and look at it. I spend time with different pieces. I’m tending my garden.”– Michelle Edwards</blockquote>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/zzxvaj0do8felhuglh5s.jpg" 2.jpg=""><figcaption>Edwards's sitting room features a black and white photograph by Lenny Kravitz, who turned the camera back on the paparazzi that always followed him. Photo by CGN. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;It was through her years at the boutique, from 1984 to 1999, that Edwards came into contact with the art world.&nbsp;“When Art Chicago came around, it was a big deal at the boutique. It was the art crowd that traveled globally, and of course, they were shoppers. Everyone would come through that weekend.”When Edwards herself visited Art Chicago in the late 1980’s she acquired her first piece of art, a small painting by the English artist John Virtue. It still has pride of place in her home.&nbsp;“It was my first time ever at an art fair. I was with Lynn Sable, who was from Ultimo, and her brother is the art dealer Sean Kelly. He was there, and he was very passionate about his goal to have a gallery. And I don’t know–it was just infectious, it was so exciting. And this John Virtue, I just loved it.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/xdgbg7uvf17e0di7fqfi.jpg"><figcaption>Photo by CGN. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Despite this initial acquisition, buying work at fairs didn’t become a habit for Edwards, who still prefers a quieter approach.&nbsp;“When it comes to collecting, I’m not an art fair girl,” she admits, “I like to go for the excitement, the community. That’s fun, but I can’t do: big, little, far, near, color, everything all at once. I get a headache. That’s why I love the gallery experience. I love a curated little show. I love a conversation.”In fact, the acquisition of the Virtue did not give immediate way to collecting as a practice, or sustained participation in the art world. It wasn’t until the late 1990’s, after leaving Ultimo and being introduced to the Society for Contemporary Art (SCA) at the Art Institute of Chicago that her involvement became a more serious and intentional pursuit.&nbsp;“I had a very good friend who is active in the art world globally, who used to be in Chicago, but has since moved to Los Angeles. She knew the SCA and she said, ‘I want you to join this group because they’re really good.’ When I joined, I did not like contemporary art. I did not understand contemporary art. I thought, ‘My dog can do that, my child can do that.’ I just didn’t understand it. But through attending lectures and realizing how unbelievably highly educated these artists are, and how thoughtful the work is–even if it’s work I don’t respond to–just to hear their story is so special to me. I started to go once a month, then I went to literally everything. At first, I didn’t talk to anybody. It took me a really long time to even decide to go to a dinner. I was hooked though. The first talk I went to was Gaylen Gerber, who of course spoke about [the color] gray. I remember going home and trying to tell people about this brilliant lecture, how thought provoking it was. I always feel bigger, better, fuller, richer for having heard someone speak about their work.” Her involvement quickly deepened as she joined the organization’s board of directors.&nbsp;“Eventually they started to notice that I was attending with regularity. I believe it was Jay Dandy who called me then and said he’d like me to be on the board. And I said, ‘Well, what do I have to do?’ And he said, ‘Oh, you might have to make a batch of cookies or something like that.’ So, you know, a four year presidency term, four fundraising benefits, I don’t know how many years as secretary, three years as the acquisition chair, and over 20 years in total on the board later, I still haven’t made a batch of cookies. But it did change my life.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/k6ntawhvysx8smsaglj3.jpg"><figcaption>A view looking north from Edwards's apartment. Photo by CGN.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;As her long tenure on the SCA’s board comes to a close, Edwards continues to find new opportunities to support other institutions in the city, including the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP), with whom she has recently become involved.&nbsp;“I appreciate the accessibility of [MoCP Director] Natasha Egan. The ability to just speak to her, and that she just is this endless stream of brilliance, but so accessible. It’s really magic. It’s still a small institution, and it would be really fun to see them grow.” she adds.&nbsp;As much as Edwards’ art collection has been led by her relationships with artists, dealers, and curators, it has also been informed by the spaces that have housed it. For years, she resided in the Kenwood neighborhood, in a historic home designed by famed Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, a leader in the American Craftsman movement. Built in 1904, the 10,000 square foot English country-style house sits on three quarters of an acre.&nbsp;“It was a very experiential house,” Edwards tells me, “Living in Kenwood, too–it’s the cradle of art intellects in Chicago in some ways, and that was in the air. I loved that experience, but this–this apartment–this is where I belong. I see the collection differently now, because I can literally see it. There’s daylight. The light is different in the morning than it is in the evening. The light is different in the summer than it is in the winter. So the work also changes, in a way it just didn’t in a dark, brick and limestone house.”&nbsp;As for the decision to also move the antiques into the new, more modern space, Edwards says with a shrug, “I didn’t think twice. There’s just that richness to it. I can’t live without this layer of richness. I think there’s this rogue gene I have, it’s the only way I can explain it.”&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092763/ozqzgrdcf4xcf4y4njrv.jpg"><figcaption>Pictured above: Nancy Rosen, Rose Edwards, Gary Rattigan, Ken Fandell, Jenny Shanahan, Andrei Rabodzee, random broquante find (not Picasso (!), Instagram (fur). Photo by CGN. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;She points to several objects arranged on the coffee table between us, “This is my grandmother’s Bible. These were my great-grandfather’s buttons from his war jersey. Here are railroad spikes from when the SCA toured the 606. There really isn’t anything in this entire apartment–in my entire collecting existence–that there wasn’t some experience that it ties back to. A conversation, whether it was with the artist or with a gallerist, an event or a trip, or a memory of some kind.”&nbsp;Though her collection in some ways feels like an encyclopedic look at Chicago’s art scene in the past 30 years, there is a distinctive eye guiding it that mirrors the discerning eclecticism evident in all that Edwards involves herself with. Works by everyone from Laura Letinsky, Nathaniel Robinson, Jason Lazarus, Aron Gent, and Jenny Shanahan, to Judy Ledgerwood, Tony Tasset, Cowboy, Robert Brown Jr., and the Loyola Condenser may be found, alongside the occasional work by Lenny Kravitz or Ken Fandell.&nbsp;“I’ve never been a “checklist collector”–’Oh, I’ve got one of those, I got one of these, two of these’–those collectors working their way up the ladder hoping that they then get access to better stuff. I just don’t work like that,” she tells me, continuing, “And I’m not an impulse buyer. I have to go home and see how I feel about it in the morning. What I now have, what has developed over time, is just absolute confidence in what I collect. Plenty of works have come from galleries or from auctions, but I also have, for instance, a painting that I acquired off of Instagram, which was painted by a monkey. I love that monkey, I love the painting. I have a big, furry version of the Mona Lisa. I love the Mona Lisa, I have a real thing about the Mona Lisa, and I am also a fan of Sylvie Fleury’s fur paintings, so when I saw this, I thought–well, I just have to have it.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092764/ptg9d2vieelcw19ab1rj.jpg"><figcaption>A detailed view of works in Edwards's living room. Photo by CGN. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;This nonhierarchical attitude is typical of Edwards, who acknowledges, “It’s paralleled by how I orient my wardrobe. People assume everything I wear is something, but it may not be. I have a jacket everyone raves over that looks couture, but it is, in fact, a Zara swimsuit cover up. Same principle as art. It’s confidence in what you have. It’s the eye.”&nbsp;Whether it is her eye, her confidence, or, as she puts it, her “rogue gene” that acts as a guiding principle, Edwards can be counted on to bring the full impact of her experience to all that she does.&nbsp;“Now I’m engaged with the real estate thing. A year and half ago I went to work with @properties Christie’s International Real Estate. The thing is, I’ve lived in a Lincoln Park studio, and a Bucktown bungalow. I lived in a greystone in Wicker Park and in a significant Kenwood country house mansion. Now here I am in a contemporary highrise on the lakefront. I’ve been in so many properties. I know why apartments work, and why houses work, and I know why they don’t work. It’s not unrelated to the way I understand fashion, or the way I understand collecting art.&nbsp;I love to tend the flock, and I really enjoy guiding my people through incredibly emotional purchases, as with the passage of life that comes with finding a home,” she says.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092765/eeu1mb5pqfvxrriofwrb.jpg"><figcaption>Pictured above: Robert Burnier; Laurie Simmons. Photo by CGN. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;It is in Edwards’ own home that this ethos is exemplified, even celebrated. To move through its rooms is to be engaged, again and again, not just by the artwork, or by the furnishings, but by the stories that they each plainly tell. Great art and beautiful homes may be hallmarks of metropolitan life, but far fewer and farther between are such earnestly intentional collections, and striking, deeply personal domestic spaces as the ones Edwards has devoted herself to cultivating.&nbsp;“I can’t garden, I’m not a gardener. So this is my garden,” She says, “The amount of time that I spend interacting with the art–and everything in my home–it brings me so much joy. I stop and look at it. I spend time with different pieces. I’m tending my garden.”&nbsp;&nbsp;#&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092766/ejcukrtugtvana8ahiep.jpg"><figcaption>Photo by CGN. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;This interview is featured in CGN's fall 2024 magazine. To receive a print copy please <a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com">click here to subscribe.</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

Nurturing  a Garden of Art: Michelle Edwards Tends to Her Collection

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/l1e2qhtagjlifghu3di8.jpg" family="" day="" hero.jpg=""><figcaption>Families participate in Family Day | Unfreeze, April 13, 2019. Photo: Grace Duval</figcaption></figure>By CGN Staff via PRCHICAGO—Today, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago announces its fall 2024 <a href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=06f0825810&amp;e=95b957c616">Family Day</a> programming. Every second Saturday of the month, October through May, the MCA offers families free museum admission and interactive programming that redefines the way that youth and families explore and create art together. Family Day is an intentional time for families, both biological and chosen, to experience a fun and accommodating museum space that engages young visitors and their grown-ups through movement, artmaking, and learning activities.In the upcoming 2024–25 season, Family Day will be packed with artist-led activities built on themes that include “Patterns &amp; Portals” in October, “Screen Time” in November, and “Zines” in December. This year, Family Day Spanish-English bilingual facilitation will continue, as will the series’ longstanding engagement with artists. Families and youth will learn about art and community directly from artists including Sishi Wang, Niema Qureshi, DJ GIIVENS, and Norman Long.The Family Day series is organized by Alicia Sandoval Vadillo, Manager of Student and Family Programs. Admission is free to Family Day attendees. ASL interpretation is provided. Visit <a href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=531323abc3&amp;e=95b957c616">mcachicago.org/family-day </a>to find out more about Family Day and see dates for the upcoming season.&nbsp;FAMILY DAY PROGRAMS&nbsp;<a href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=09cfd84b3f&amp;e=95b957c616">Family Day: Patterns &amp; Portals</a>October 12, 2024 | 11 am—3 pmMuseum of Contemporary Art ChicagoExplore patterns and portals—and possibilities! This month, take inspiration from <a href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=18e28d465f&amp;e=95b957c616">Virginia Jaramillo: Principle of Equivalence</a> to play with the magic of color and line. Join artist Sishi Wang in creating individual portals as we play with string, wire, beads, and more.&nbsp;<a href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=4e15c06457&amp;e=95b957c616">Family Day: Screen Time</a>November 9, 2024 | 11 am–3 pmMuseum of Contemporary Art ChicagoJoin us on opening weekend of <a href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=77985c76c0&amp;e=95b957c616">The Living End: Painting and Other Technologies, 1970–2020 </a>to make some art in the digital world. Artist Norman Long will host an interactive sound performance in the theater. Also, DJ GIIVENS will put together an interactive installation for guests.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/npfmfuwbuxv4cmervnei.jpg" zines.jpg=""><figcaption>Families participate in Family Day | Pocket Con, December 9, 2023. Photo: Alexis Ellers.</figcaption></figure><a href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=7b4c68adf3&amp;e=95b957c616">Family Day: Zines!</a>December 14, 2024 | 11 am–3 pmMuseum of Contemporary Art ChicagoHosted in collaboration with MCA's Teen Creative Agency and their annual Zine Fest, participants at December’s Family Day will be invited to make and read zines (small, DIY magazines).<a href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=012a7c03f6&amp;e=95b957c616">The Teen Creative Agency</a> is the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's cultural leadership program for teens ages 15–19 years old. TCA members come together from all over the Chicago area to gain access to artistic resources and transform the MCA into a place that builds community through events including Zinefest and 21Minus.&nbsp;Family Day will continue on the second Saturday of each month into May 2025. Themes for the continued season include “Press Play” for January, “Comfy Cozy” for February, “Future Past” for March, “It’s Alive!” for April, and “Borderless Worlds” for May.</body></html>

MCA Announces Fall 2024 Family Programming

<html><head></head><body>*This preview appears in CGN's fall 2024 magazine. To subscribe to the print edition <a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com">click here</a>.*&nbsp;This fall the auctions heat up alongside the season of new art in area galleries and museums. Some notable dates from area auction houses are listed here, but CGN’s calendar is updated daily.Of course you may bid early and online, but it’s worth treating yourself to the experience of bidding in person at least once in your life. You never know what you might bring home to enjoy for years to come. – GV________________________________&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/fe6aqkd3gu0znosyxwkr.jpg"><figcaption>There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, Fisk Tire advertisement, 1919. Estimate | $800,000 - $1,200,000</figcaption></figure>American ArtHeritage Auctions ChicagoIncredible highlights from Heritage Auctions’ upcoming American Art auction visit the Chicago gallery this fall, featuring Maxfield Parrish’s 1919 painting, “There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.” Known for its vivid colors and enchanting interpretation of the nursery rhyme, the work exemplifies Parrish’s signature style. Don’t miss this early opportunity to view an exceptional curation of top lots from the remarkable November 15 auction, including work by Ernie Barnes, Joseph Christian Leyendecker, Joseph Stella, and more.Auction Preview: October 21–24 • Gallery Talk and Reception: October 24, 5 to 7 pm • Auction November 15222 W. Hubbard St. in River North&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ha.com">www.ha.com</a>________________________________&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/dwc3yhxmkrgvlvbeprvm.jpg"><figcaption>Bisa Butler (American, b. 1973), The Boss, c. 2004, quilted and appliquéd dyed cotton fabrics with collage stitched B. Butler (lower right), 52 1/2 x 37 inches. Provenance: The Artist. Acquired directly from the above by the present owner c. 2004. Est. $40,000.00 - $60,000.00 &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Post War and Contemporary ArtFreeman’s | HindmanFreeman’s | Hindman’s Post War and Contemporary Art auction will feature a compelling variety of paintings, sculptures, works on paper, textiles and photography ranging from the mid-40s Midwestern mixed media Surrealism of Julia Thecla to the very of-the-now dreamy figuration of Contemporary Ghanaian painter Gideon Appah. Highlights in the sale with hometown appeal include a stunning and rarely-seen-at-auction Bisa Butler quilted fabric portrait, The Boss, c. 2004. Butler’s work takes cues from, and carries on, the important visual and social traditions of Chicago’s AfriCOBRA movement, and our very own Art Institute of Chicago proudly gave Butler her first museum show in 2020. Also of note and with local links, are uncommon and top-notch three-dimensional paintings from Chicago Imagists Roger Brown and Karl Wirsum. Brown’s 1973-1974 Bus Stop is a fully realized, scaled down Greyhound station, with all the silhouetted window activity and signature Brown grays one could want. The articulated, sort of seated, fanciful Wirsum figure Please Don’t Get Up (1980) once belonged to legendary Chicago gallerist Phyllis Kind. Finally no Freeman’s | Hindman sale would be complete without an enchanting Gertrude Abercrombie. Her 1956 masterwork The Magician depicts a raven-haired Abercrombie alter ego levitating above a deep green chaise lounge by a spellcasting black cat, likely also a stand-in for the artist. Still housed in the original frame, the painting was purchased directly from Abercrombie at the famed 57th Street Art Fair the same year it was painted. A father and his ten-year-old son purchased the painting then, and the son is now current seller.&nbsp;&nbsp;– Zachary Wirsum, Freeman’s | Hindman Senior Vice President, Head of Department, Post War &amp; Contemporary ArtFreeman’s | Hindman&nbsp;Auction September 25 • 1550 W. Carroll Ave. in West Town&nbsp;www.hindmanauctions.com________________________________&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/w57mco62qetf5fmpma5a.jpg"></figure>Jewelry: Antique to Art Deco<a href="https://www.toomeyco.com">Toomey &amp; Co. Auctioneers&nbsp;</a>September 18________________________________&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/wnwlcjngrcm0nrpzkanp.jpg"></figure>Prints and Multiples&nbsp;<a href="https://hindmanauctions.com">Freeman's | Hindman</a>September 26 ________________________________&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092763/gsxmr2sps1eotdmqsnmz.jpg"></figure>Cabinet of Morbid Curiosities: The Richard Harris Collection<a href="https://www.potterauctions.com">Potter &amp; Potter Auctions</a>October 2 ________________________________&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092764/bqtpxekspz2vfdirllyv.jpg"></figure>Design<a href="https://www.wright20.com">WRIGHT</a>October 24&nbsp;</body></html>

This Fall’s Art Auctions

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/fvml6iktshpsrnuavjgx.jpg"><figcaption>&nbsp;CXW 2023 Friday Kickoff dinner. Courtesy of Gertie. Photo: Kyle Flubacker.&nbsp; &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/gertie-makes-no-little-plans-chicago-exhibition-weekend-2024">Read CGN Publisher Ginny Van Alyea's interview with Gertie's Abby Pucker and Chanelle Lacy here</a>&nbsp;By CGN Staff via PRWith the fall art season well underway, many in the art community are looking ahead to October's events in the galleries.&nbsp;In late August Gertie, the civic and cultural agency founded by Abby Pucker, announced plans for its second annual Chicago Exhibition Weekend (CXW). Presented in partnership with EXPO CHICAGO, CXW aims to launch a city-wide mobilization of art galleries and creative spaces from October 3–6, spotlighting Chicago’s vibrant cultural landscape and artistic spirit for locals and visitors alike. CXW 2024 participants feature a range of galleries and arts spaces, noting the participation this year of Blanc Gallery, DOCUMENT, GRAY, Mariane Ibrahim, moniquemeloche, PATRON, Rhona Hoffman, and many more who have timed exhibitions to coincide with the weekend, extended hours, and organized special public programs.Last year’s inaugural edition attracted approximately 5,000 attendees over three days, and this year's CXW 2024 plans to expand its footprint with 50 participating galleries. The weekend will bring together art collectors, enthusiasts, and local community members to engage with Chicago’s cultural community, helping artists and gallerists cultivate new collectors, broaden their audiences, and heighten global visibility for the local arts ecosystem.CXW 2024 will feature citywide programming, including a partner kick-off dinner, a public Night Market Art Bazaar on Saturday night, a Mana Studio Crawl hosted by Stoodio, and more. CXW has partnered with local arts leaders to curate their own customized routes with recommendations on galleries, non-profits, and local businesses to visit throughout the weekend, providing a multitude of ways to experience the weekend’s citywide offerings. CXW routes will be curated by Scott Vincent Campbell (curator, ICI), Nick Cave (artist), Bob Faust (artist), Laura Lester (art advisor), S.Y. Lim (arts organizer), and Carla Acevedo-Yates (curator, MCA Chicago). Programming details and routes will be published on Gertie’s website in early September.“Chicago has always been a place of unparalleled artistic production and creative talent, and our goal in forming CXW is to create a convening moment that galvanizes visual art spaces across our great city to work together to celebrate this ecosystem and forge new connections,” said Abby Pucker.“EXPO CHICAGO is proud to partner with Gertie to further support Chicago’s rich cultural community, and showcase the diversity of our galleries, institutions, and artists,” said Tony Karman, President and Director of EXPO CHICAGO. “We welcome both local and visiting arts patrons to explore the many featured exhibitions and events that have been planned for CXW 2024 and to continue to take advantage of the creative excellence of our community year-round.”<a href="https://www.gertie.co">gertie.co</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

CXW 2024 Returns Oct 3-6 

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/rg1v9liodzjh3zhuuz2b.png"></figure>&nbsp;CHICAGO, IL (SEPTEMBER 9, 2024) – 3Arts, the Chicago-based nonprofit grantmaking organization, announces the recipients of this year’s 3Arts Awards, with over half a million dollars distributed to local artists. The 2024 recipients of the unrestricted $30,000 grants are dance artists Imania Fatima Detry and Robby Lee Williams; musicians Emily Beisel and Wanees Zarour; teaching artists Rich Robbins and Stephanie Manriquez; theater artists Shariba Rivers and Levi Wilkins; and visual artists Cecilia Beaven Gallegos and Farah Salem. The organization will honor the ten new recipients on Monday, October 21 at 5:30pm at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E Randolph Street. Tickets to the 2024 3Arts Awards Celebration include a welcome reception, awards program, and a jubilant after-party. Tickets cost $150-$300 and are available at <a href="file:///C:/Users/SaraSlawnik/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/EUGDXMS0/3arts.org">3arts.org</a>/tickets. Funds raised during the event will be split between 3Arts and Chicago nonprofit Center for Native Futures.&nbsp;This year’s awards celebration features boundary-breaking performances by three past 3Arts awardees, including Rika Lin (2023 awardee) presenting Feedback, an experimental dance work that bends conceptions of gender and genre with collaborator Takashi Shallow; Donnetta “LilBit” Jackson (2023 awardee) performing an excerpt from A M.A.D.D. Mixtape, a piece choreographed by Jackson that explores the African diasporic roots of tap and footwork with dancers from M.A.D.D Rhythms; and singer-songwriter Nashon Holloway (2022 awardee) performing the world premiere of Go Awf, an original new song from her forthcoming album. The awards are hosted by Co-Chairs Michelle T. Boone, Candace Hunter, and Whitney Hill and an event committee of arts and civic leaders.“It has always been a great honor for me to work on behalf of artists and the powerful ways they transform our city and our lives. They truly and truthfully help us reach for the stars and dream our futures into being,” said 3Arts Executive Director Esther Grimm. She added, “It was so heartening to welcome a record crowd to the 3Arts Awards Celebration last year when we summoned the most exuberant applause for Chicago artists in our organization’s history. I hope we can rally even more applause on October 21 by breaking our audience record when we celebrate a whopping 26 new awardees and the immense creative vitality of our region. Artists deserve our cheers, our support, and, above all else, our gratitude.”In its 17-year history, 3Arts has distributed more than $8.1 million in grants to more than 2,300 Chicagoland artists. 3Arts awardees include 68% women artists, 73% artists of color, and 22% Deaf or disabled artists.&nbsp;&nbsp;VISUAL ARTSCecilia Beaven (she/her) is a Chicago-based visual artist from Mexico City. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the School of Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from ENPEG La Esmeralda. Her multidisciplinary artwork has been showcased in solo exhibitions in Mexico City, Houston, and Chicago, and in group shows internationally. Beaven has painted murals in various cities such as Hiketa, Paris, Houston, Chicago, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Pachuca, Tepoztlan, and Tijuana, where she painted a segment of the border wall between Mexico and the U.S. Beaven is the current 2024 Chicago Artists Coalition Resident, and has also received awards including the Radicle Studio Residency at Hyde Park Art Center, the Leroy Neiman Foundation Fellowship at Ox-Bow School of Art, and a Fulbright Scholarship. In 2022 she was named one of the “100 Most Creative Mexicans in the World” by Forbes Mexico, and in 2023, Newcity included her in the Art 50 – Chicago’s Artists' Artists list.&nbsp;Farah Salem (she/her) is a Kuwaiti-Iraqi interdisciplinary artist and art therapist based in Chicago. Salem’s studio practice is rooted in photography, and expands through video, performance, fiber-materials, and installation. Her practice examines themes of agency, making the invisible visible, and potential erosion of socio-cultural conditioning distorting our shared realities. Salem holds a Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her artwork has been featured at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago), EXPO CHICAGO, American University Museum (Washington D.C.), United Photo Industries/Photoville (New York), Patel Brown (Toronto), Engage (Chicago), Bolivia Biennial, Paris Contemporary Art Fair, Sharjah Art Foundation (UAE), and Contemporary Art Platform (Kuwait). Salem completed the Radicle Studio Residency at Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago), Hatch Residency at Chicago Artist Coalition, ACRE Artist Residency (Steuben), Per|Form at Contemporary Art Platform (Kuwait) and Journey to Turkey Residency with Crossway Foundation (UK).&nbsp;NEXT LEVEL AWARDS AND MAKE A WAVE AWARDSIn addition to the ten $30,000 3Arts Awards, six $50,000 Next Level Awards and ten $2,000 Make a Wave Awards&nbsp;will be announced at the awards event on October 21, bringing the total funds distributed to $620,000.Next Level Awards are $50,000 unrestricted cash awards given to past 3Arts awardees to help fuel the next stages of their careers.&nbsp;Make a Wave is a groundbreaking artist-to-artist grant program in which past 3Arts Awards recipients select another ten Chicago artists to receive surprise cash awards, sending a “wave” of support through Chicago’s cultural communities. Make a Wave artists receive $2,000 each, thanks to the generous partnership of the Siragusa Family Foundation.&nbsp;For more information about 3Arts and to view all the awardees, please visit <a href="http://www.3arts.org/">www.3arts.org</a>.&nbsp;ABOUT 3ARTSFounded in 1912, with a history centered on women artists, 3Arts is a nonprofit organization that supports artists working in the performing, teaching, and visual arts in the Chicago metropolitan area, including women artists, artists of color, and Deaf or disabled artists. By providing unrestricted awards, project funding, residencies, professional development, and promotion, 3Arts helps artists take risks, experiment, and build momentum in their careers over time.3Arts extends special thanks to the 2024 Award Partners: The Chandler Family, The HMS Fund, Stan Lipkin &amp; Evelyn Appell Lipkin, The Reva &amp; David Logan Foundation, Michigan State Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU), the Morrison-Shearer Foundation, and the estate of Alison Zehr. One of the ten 3Arts Awards, the 2024 3Arts/MSUFCU Community Award, is named in honor of the 110 community donors who contributed to a crowdfunding campaign to fund the award. 3Arts also recognizes support for the Next Level Awards from an anonymous donor at The Chicago Community Foundation, Good Chaos, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as well as Make a Wave Partner: The Siragusa Family Foundation. 3Arts gratefully acknowledges the generous support of our sponsors: Presenting Partner, Allstate Insurance Company and Lead Sponsors, Blue Cross &amp; Blue Shield of Illinois, Morningstar, and Xfinity.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

2024's 3Arts Awards Announced

<html><head></head><body>Via PRToday the Museum of Contemporary Photography announced the 2024 Snider Prize Winner, Claire Warden, and Snider Prize Honorable Mentions, Maximiliano Cervantes and Louis Roth. <a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=3fc291bad4&amp;e=d76e1da35a">The Snider Prize</a>&nbsp;is a purchase award given to emerging artists in their final year of graduate study. The winner receives $3,000 and the two honorable mentions each receive $500. Their purchased work is added to the MoCP’s renowned permanent collection. Sponsored by Lawrence K. and Maxine Snider in 2013, the Snider Prize forms a part of the museum’s ongoing commitment to supporting new talent in the field of contemporary photography.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/mkijniliyz1g7xcv0ztq.jpg"><figcaption>Claire Warden,&nbsp;Lespirit De Lescalier, 2023</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;2024&nbsp;Snider Prize Winner<a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=d2deb89097&amp;e=d76e1da35a">Claire Warden</a><a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=a3a2691427&amp;e=d76e1da35a">’s</a> work engages questions of identity, representation, and language through abstraction and experimental image-making. Warden’s work resists definition as well as the hegemonic gaze and, instead, emphasizes opacity and illegibility. Warden’s work subverts the historical problematics of representation and agency in photography, particularly in addressing experiences of people of color. &nbsp; Warden received the New Artist Society full merit scholarship from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2022, 2023, and 2024. &nbsp;She was a selected participant in the 2023 Review Santa Fe Symposium, the recipient of a Puffin Foundation Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, as well as Phoenix’s Art for Good Grant. Warden earned an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2024 and holds a BFA in Photography and a BA in Art History, both from Arizona State University. &nbsp;2024&nbsp;Snider Prize Honorable Mentions&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/q7oopdcxepd63gdrkw7m.jpg"><figcaption>Maxamiliano Cervantes, Backside of National Geographic Mars Map, 2023</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/mdvhohjynwk9jeqv4e5m.jpg"><figcaption>Louis Roth,&nbsp;Skyline der New Administrative Capital, from the series fata morgana, 2023-2024</figcaption></figure>&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=89d4249ffe&amp;e=d76e1da35a">Maximiliano Cervantes</a> creates images that explore power dynamics at the US/Mexico border and beyond, through examinations of surveillance and labor in the borderlands. Cervantes holds an MFA in Art, Theory, and Practice from Northwestern University and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Cervantes was awarded the Fred Endsley Memorial Fellowship, a Dean’s Grant, and a Merit Scholarship from SAIC. Group exhibitions include Half &amp; Half at the Bloch Museum at Northwestern University; The Buried Line, Murmuration, Chicago; El Otro Lado, Filter Photo, Chicago; and El Otro Lado, Visual Arts Center, the University of Texas Austin.&nbsp;<a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=e50f1e5de0&amp;e=d76e1da35a">Louis Roth’s</a> photographs of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital question the construction of monumental built structures as &nbsp;symbols of power. Roth studied at Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie in Berlin and participated in the Canon Student Development Program. Roth’s work has been exhibited in group exhibitions in Düsseldorf, Dresden, and Berlin among others. Solo exhibitions include Biesentales Wokule, Biesenthal, DE; Entlang der Oder, Müllrose, DE; and Entlang der Oder, Kurpark Bad Saarow, DE among others.<a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=67b2d4713b&amp;e=d76e1da35a">Learn More About the Snider Prize</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/open.php?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=e3d98b3230&amp;e=d76e1da35a" alt=""></figure></body></html>

MoCP Announces 2024 Snider Prize Recipients

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/mcohenu3oshmwupgeyys.jpg" copy.jpg=""><figcaption>Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed Clineé Hedspeth as Chicago’s Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in March.City of Chicago YouTube</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wbez.org/culture-the-arts/2024/09/09/chicago-cultural-affairs-special-events-dcase-clinee-hedspeth-brandon-johnson">Turnover, hiring freeze roil Chicago’s cultural affairs department under new commissioner Clinée Hedspeth</a>At least 13 staff members, including some top deputies, have departed Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) since March, according to public records and interviews. That means about 18% of the department has turned over in the six months since Mayor Brandon Johnson <a href="https://www.wbez.org/culture-the-arts/2024/03/18/chicago-names-clinee-hedspeth-cultural-commissioner">appointed a new commissioner</a>.A former DCASE employee who did not want to be named told WBEZ the internal culture of the department had become “discouraging” and “disconnected” under Hedspeth.WBEZ made several requests to speak with Hedspeth. A DCASE spokesperson said she was not available for an interview and did not reply to emailed questions.Via WBEZ&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/k1cwo7pxzhvgkz2balst.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Obama Foundation Announces Julie Mehretu Work at Obama Presidential CenterThe Obama Foundation announced the installation of an 83 ft. x 25 ft. commissioned work of art by world-renowned Ethiopian-American artist Julie Mehretu. The piece, titled “Uprising of the Sun,” is now featured on the north facade of the future Obama Presidential Center’s Museum Building. Inspired by President Obama’s remarks at the 50th anniversary of the marches from Selma to Montgomery, Mehretu’s “Uprising of the Sun“ is a vibrant series of 35 abstract, painted glass panels. The piece reflects on the historical context of President Obama’s legacy, and will inspire viewers and draw visitors to the Center on the South Side of Chicago.&nbsp;<a href="https://click.email.obama.org/?qs=7dddb8cc93b500a1bef5358bf4c0a9c4dd53fd172c62cedbbec66508a9fa7fd8b0825c8505f544c22fa1d2b74b2e362868d243ad37088f6e">Watch this video to learn more about Mehretu and Obama’s vision for the piece on the Presidential Center campus.</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/mnydzfx8uxipntliccdt.jpg"></figure>SoNa Call for Artists&nbsp;SoNa Chicago invites artists to submit applications for a Group Show - Submissions Due Sept 20Artists of all backgrounds and mediums are invited to participate in this call for art. Artists should reside within the Chicagoland area. The theme is open to interpretation by each artist.&nbsp; New or previously created works are welcome.The exhibit will open on Friday, November 8, 2024 and run through Saturday, January 11, 2025.&nbsp; An opening reception will be held Friday, Nov. 8, from 6:00 - 9:00 PM.Submissions Due: Sept 20, 2024.&nbsp;<a href="https://sonachicagoart.com/news-events">Details here.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/srw02rebwppslfcf2xfq.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Freeman's | Hindman Announces For the Love of Barnes: The Collection of Dr. Richard J. WattenmakerFreeman's | Hindman announced the upcoming auction of the Collection of Dr. Richard J. Wattenmaker on September 22, 2024.This exceptional single-owner sale highlights Wattenmaker’s eclectic taste and profound knowledge in American and European Fine Art, Furniture, and Decorative Arts.A revered scholar and curator, Wattenmaker's legacy includes roles at prestigious institutions such as the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art and the Barnes Foundation. His collection reflects a lifetime dedicated to art, featuring works by artists like William Glackens and Jean Hugo, along with remarkable examples of redware, stoneware, and ironwork.<a href="https://hindmanauctions.com/auctions/2083-For-the-Love-of-Barnes-The-Collection-of-Dr-Richard-J-Wattenmaker?tab=lots&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawFMDm5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRlvLQGSEuIPmWt4y_nYpN4sseb2IwlU_jMIPBAQXimZedvgn2054EEHPQ_aem_nYv7fD_9PHBtQRsHCn3iGg">Details</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 9/9/24

<html><head></head><body>Fall is a busy season of art, offering new gallery and museum exhibitions. the Art world figures working hard behind the scenes give us so much to look forward to. we spoke to five (technically six this time!) art community figures about what they’re excited about now and looking forward to next.The following preview is one of five conversations that appear in our fall 2024 magazine. To receive a copy of the print edition&nbsp;<a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com/">click here.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/xaieeyz5sb6wxyz7a5fc.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Lisa Key – Director, <a href="https://driehausmuseum.org">Driehaus Museum</a>“There’s so much we’re looking forward to—and much of it involves capitalizing on our recent addition of the Murphy Auditorium building to our campus. On October 24, we open Photographing Frank Lloyd. The exhibition focuses on the lesser-known role photography played in Wright’s work and success as an architect and includes his own photography and that of esteemed artists like Chicago’s own Hedrich-Blessing.&nbsp;Our Free Third Wednesday Nights series has been a big hit, too, and we anticipate its continued success this fall.&nbsp;Finally, this holiday season we’re turning the Murphy Auditorium into a holiday market that will be a delight for children of all ages!”#&nbsp;Read Fall 2024's 5 to Talk to with:<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-jessica-cochran-and-angee-lennard-process-process">Jessica Cochran and Angee Lennard – Process/Process&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-jake-troyli">Jake Troyli – Artist</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-anne-loucks">Anne Loucks – Anne Loucks Gallery</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-emma-mckee">Emma McKee – Chicago Dir., Mariane Ibrahim</a></body></html>

Anticipating a Season of Art: Five to Talk to – Lisa Key

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/f1snf6hpyt9wzuk4qhnb.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/chris-cj-pyle-about-face">Chris CJ Pyle:&nbsp;About&nbsp;Face</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pm*Carl Hammer Gallery – River North*Note: the gallery is celebrating 45 years&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/i8ganexa9rmk76lms7sf.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/paul-nicklen-reverence">Paul Nicklen: REVERENCE</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmHilton Contemporary – River North&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/xerkfmvpbhpqup6omwam.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/jeff-hirst">Jeff Hirst</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmAddington Gallery – River North&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/uudbktkup1wrqeez4ubz.jpg" copy.jpg=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/riva-lehrer">Riva Lehrer: The Monster Studio</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmZolla/Lieberman Gallery – River North&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092763/lfdi6mi8nemte3hnhvt5.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/new-exhibition-and-opening-reception-288bb52e-bcb8-4743-9d2e-a08fdb69b89f">Evoke / Provoke: Humanity in Art</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmGallery Victor – River North&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092763/cuqxtj6mlgmuzgb3otox.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-9th-annual-river-north-design-district-fall-gallery-walk">The 9th Annual River North Design District Fall Gallery Walk</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmRiver North&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Fall Openings: Sept 6 Part II / River North

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/tq8bvbw9fosuxumxeztx.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/filtered-through-time">Filtered Through Time</a>Opening: Friday, Sept 6, 5 – 9&nbsp;pmOliva Gallery – Logan Square&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/mw4xpyi30fj7th6uja31.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/tamar-kander">Tamar Kander</a>Opening: Friday, Sept 6, 5 – 7 pmVivid Gallery – Winnetka, IL&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/xi7nncercuqi52qc9fnn.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-faraway-and-the-nearby-natural-world">Doug Haight: Wandering the Sahara</a>Opening: Saturday, Sept 7, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmPerspective Photography, Evanston, IL&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/gy2luiknxgozg1na2icg.jpg"></figure>Defying the Laws | Sarah SmelserOpening: Sunday, Sept 8, 1 – 4&nbsp;pmEvanston Art Center, Evanston, IL&nbsp;</body></html>

Fall Openings: Sept 6-8 Part III / Logan Sq and Suburbs

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/in8nl9uhsgfux2sacxui.jpg" holder.="" 2023,="" 600dpi.jpeg=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/nicholas-sistler-torque">Nicholas Sistler: TORQUE</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmSoNA Chicago&nbsp; – West Town / Wicker Park&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/itmj4udeplhvtprnurpq.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/adam-augustyn-solo-show">Adam Augustyn ‘Hero’s Journey’, Solo Show</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmVertical Gallery – West Town&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/mqqye3abj0mzplmh27ar.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/art-in-chicago-1995-2025">Art in Chicago 1995-2025</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmDavid Salkin Creative&nbsp; – West Town&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/ibifg77rnngoqtvldp4b.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/tromarama-12baec39-15e2-4842-badd-bea97ef422ff">Tromarama: Auto Ally</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmDOCUMENT – West Town&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/j6tgtxlhjdrs9fr7bgol.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/suzanne-harris-gordon-matta-clark-1971-1978">Suzanne Harris &amp; Gordon Matta-Clark 1971 - 1978</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmRhona Hoffman Gallery – West Town&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092763/eowcerl9klqkor6pgglb.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/ross-hansen-of-human-feelings">Ross Hansen: of human feelings</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmVolume – West Town&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092764/vpfuwajiflrdwyhdnxzs.jpg" bellezzo.jpg=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/denise-bellezzo-new-work-altered-pages">Denise Bellezzo: NEW WORK: ALTERED PAGES</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmARC Gallery – West Town&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092764/ivnxtcyskzojbxrhpj7w.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/cathrine-whited-great">Cathrine Whited: Great!</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmWestern Exhibitions – West Town&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092765/chkfic1mjlwx6crlivkj.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/youree-kim-alex-belardo-kostiw">There Between Light and Shadow: Youree Kim + Alex Belardo Kostiw</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmChicago Artists Coalition – West Town&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Fall Openings: Sept 6 Part I / West Town

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/u5o4r7xvscvbapq0is2j.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/how-to-traverse-a-vessel-lauren-woods-nikita-vishnevskiy">How to Traverse a Vessel: Lauren Woods &amp; Nikita Vishnevskiy</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmJames May Gallery – Milwaukee, WI&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/d4gj0qaidzp37oodofjm.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/line-to-form-richard-hunt-s-prints-and-sculptures">Line to Form: Richard Hunt’s Prints and Sculpture</a>September 5–January 5, 2025Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA)&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/zjme1ivulfkutb2ltbcj.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/up-north">Up North</a>Opening: Friday, September 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmKim Storage – Milwaukee, WI&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/gun7gyehfm1b9rmq2yno.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.jmkac.org/exhibition/mad-dash-50-years-of-arts-industry/">Mad Dash: 50 Years of Arts/Industry</a>Thru January 12, 2025John Michael Kohler Art Center – Sheboygan, WI&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/fcwmhvhfnct0nadbldcp.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/zero-waste-objects">Zero Waste: Objects</a>Thru October 12Racine Art Museum – Racine, WI&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092763/vjlyntwz39victskiuq6.png" bielefeld.png=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/lois-bielefeld">Lois Bielefeld: its own pristine devices</a>Thru October 12OS Projects – Racine, WI&nbsp;</body></html>

Fall Openings and Exhibitions: Wisconsin 

<html><head></head><body>Fall is a busy season of art, offering new gallery and museum exhibitions. the Art world figures working hard behind the scenes give us so much to look forward to. we spoke to five (technically six this time!) art community figures about what they’re excited about now and looking forward to next.The following preview is one of five conversations that appear in our fall 2024 magazine. To receive a copy of the print edition&nbsp;<a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com/">click here.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/k6qq16gq2huyvbzm1ttm.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Anne Loucks – <a href="http://loucksgallery.com">Anne Loucks Gallery</a>“We are incredibly excited for the fall season – both in our Glencoe and Winnetka galleries, and with all that’s going on around us in the Chicago art scene. (Don’t miss Lost and Found at the Chicago Botanic Garden and Every Brilliant Thing at our neighbor, Writers Theater).In Glencoe, we have an exhibition of paintings by artists Sara MacCulloch and Hannah Bureau, alongside a collection of Fairfield Porter lithographs from 1969–1975,&nbsp; on view through Oct 15. This will be followed by a show of new paintings by northern Michigan artists Melanie Parke and Richard Kooyman Oct 25–Dec 31.In our newly opened Winnetka space, we continue our series of solo exhibitions featuring Madeline Denaro’s abstract paintings in September, Stephen Dinsmore’s figurative work in October, and ending the year with an exhibition of work by celebrated photographer Rodney Smith (1946-2016).Art is more important than ever in today’s world. As we approach our 25th year, we continue to be inspired and energized by the artists we represent and the vibrant, creative and supportive community that surrounds us.”#&nbsp;Read Fall 2024's 5 to Talk to with:<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-lisa-key">Lisa Key – Director, Driehaus Museum</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-jessica-cochran-and-angee-lennard-process-process">Jessica Cochran and Angee Lennard – Process/Process&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-jake-troyli">Jake Troyli – Artist</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-emma-mckee">Emma McKee – Chicago Dir., Mariane Ibrahim</a></body></html>

Anticipating a Season of Art: Five to Talk to – Anne Loucks

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/relkssxy8n4uf12z5sqy.jpg"><figcaption>Fall gallery openings are the place to be. Flashback to 2021 when Whitney Bradshaw exhibited OUTCRY at McCormick Gallery's former West Loop space.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;By GINNY VAN ALYEAAugust at CGN is a nail-biter. My kids are still out of school and in summer vacation mode, but the CGN office has to work on-the-go with its team of two (plus some stellar helpers!) We do everything we can to get the big fall issue to the printer on time so that it's out before the fall openings. Days are spent writing articles and completing interviews. Sometimes we go out to someone's home to photograph a collection. Then we confirm reams of information about upcoming exhibitions and openings, sending reminders to send in missing information and ad materials, then we size and convert images for print. We proofread, fact check, make last minute changes, prepare shipping lists, and then we send the files to the printer and cross our fingers. While we wait for the magazines to arrive we go back to updating the CGN website with all the info coming up in a couple of weeks. I've been at CGN for 22 years as of this November. That's half my life! Still, it's always so exciting (3 x a year) to have the hard copies of CGN arrive and to see something we actually made. I really love print – CGN is a magazine about art, so I also really believe in print, but it's worth remembering that our digital inclinations and bad habits are new. Print is the OG, and it's still here, helping to make everyone excited about fall in the art world. At least at CGN, for 42 years we have been printing and promoting. When opening night is over the Instagram stories are gone, you can enjoy your morning coffee on Saturday while flipping through a copy of CGN. I hope you pick up one in a gallery this weekend or, even better, subscribe to get it all year.&nbsp;Following is an overview of all that is happening this fall and how you might take advantage of it on your own.*&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/jetabfstgqmeogjwr9fe.png"><figcaption>RNDD hosts its gallery walk Friday, September 6. Exhibitions and vignettes are on view for a few weeks.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Friday, September 6 dozens of spaces throughout Chicago and farther afield will open their fall exhibitions. For many galleries these fall shows are the biggest of the year. The River North Design District is hosting its 9th annual RNDD Gallery Walk in River North and there are many other art events happening as well.&nbsp;In the spirit of 'back to school' in the art world, there is new art, new energy and returning crowds of collectors, artists and gallery hoppers. Then, the following weekend on September 13 and 14, more galleries will open their exhibitions – many in West Town. Randolph Street Market also takes place at the end of the month as well as other seasonal shopping opportunities. And in early October there is the second Chicago Exhibition Weekend, happening October 3–6 in dozens of galleries and institutions around the city.&nbsp;&nbsp;• Please sign up for CGN's twice-weekly <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/contact/newsletter">newsletter</a>. This is your best guide to what's happening in galleries and museums. It's free!&nbsp;• While I could give you a breakdown of the shows and events coming up, I encourage you to use <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events">CGN's calendar</a> to find what you would like to do and to do it on your own time. You can browse openings, talks, tours, fundraisers and more on our calendar. If Friday nights don't work for you, galleries are open on Saturdays, and visiting on a weekend morning is a great habit to start. Attend a talk or program – many galleries have artist talks during the course of an exhibition, and sometimes opening night is just too busy to hear from the artist while you're catching up with friends and running from space to space. Find a museum or art space you love and commit to attending an annual fundraiser.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/rphlcmhelntbdpnt923m.jpg"><figcaption>SCA's 2023 Annual Meeting beneath Margaret Honda's Double Feature with Short Subject at the Art Institute of Chicago</figcaption></figure>• Several <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/services/arts-groups-and-assoc">collector groups</a> in the area organize tours and exclusive programming for members, offering more intimate access to a range of spaces and programs all year long. Along the way you can meet artist, curators and other collectors. Many are museum-affiliated, like the Art Institute's Society for Contemporary Art, but not all. Most have a membership fee or donation level and offer tickets to special events and dinners.&nbsp;• Fall is also very busy in the auction world, and since we have several excellent Chicago-based houses right here you can preview lots in person. Check out this fall's <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?category=auctions-sales">auction lineup.</a>Enjoy this new season of art and I wish you good luck finding you own way to enjoy it all!&nbsp;&nbsp;Thumbnail: Just for fun – Tom McCormick with artist Whitney Bradshaw at her 2021 exhibition OUTCRY at the gallery.</body></html>

The 2024 Fall Art Season Kicks Off This Weekend: River North and Beyond

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/unbohyfvi2ax2kn1d8vp.jpg"><figcaption>Dawit L. Petros, Untitled (Itineraries of Dispersal, Burnham Park, Chicago, I), 2024. Archival monochrome print, 20” x 26”. Courtesy of the artist.</figcaption></figure>Dawit L. Petros: Prospetto a MareMUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHYNestled in a green space between Soldier Field and Lake Michigan, the often-forgotten Balbo Monument was gifted to the city of Chicago by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to commemorate controversial air marshal Italo Balbo’s 1933 transatlantic flight from Italy to Chicago during the city’s World’s Fair. Prospetto a Mare is the latest chapter of Eritrea-born artist Dawit L. Petros’s long-term investigation of the impact of Italian colonialism and its subsequent imprint on the visual cultures, populations and built environments of Africa, Europe and North America.&nbsp;Aug 30–Dec 20 • 600 S. Michigan (60605)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mocp.org/exhibition/prospetto-a-mare/">mocp.org</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/zxhqmbvdbkfs0yua0wq5.jpg"></figure>Riva Lehrer –The Monster StudioZOLLA/LIEBERMAN GALLERYLehrer’s work is celebrated for its exploration into the marginalized and stigmatized body. Through drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture, she challenges viewers to reconsider their assumptions about beauty and difference. For the show’s run, Lehrer will be performing a public portrait studio and has invited a selection of distinguished collaborators who will be asked to describe—and collaboratively draw—an image depicting their inner “monsterselves,” resulting in portraits created through deep conversation.Sept 6–Oct 12 • 325 W. Huron (60654)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.zollaliebermangallery.com">zollalieberman.com</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/rfhm1wrgslm7jwfd3toi.jpg"></figure>Indigenous ChicagoNEWBERRY LIBRARYHome to the Potawatomi, Odawa, Ojibwe, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Myaamia, Wea, Sauk, Meskwaki, and Ho-Chunk peoples, the place we now call Chicago has long been a historic crossroads for many Indigenous people and remains home to an extensive urban Native community. Yet most Chicagoans are unaware of the city’s history as a home to diverse Indigenous peoples and the vibrant Indigenous communities present today. Part of a multifaceted initiative developed in partnership between the Newberry, advisors from the Chicago Native community, and representatives from tribal nations with historic connections to Chicago, this exhibition reflects the dynamic and complex aspects of Native life in Chicago from the seventeenth century to the present. The exhibition draws largely on the Newberry’s collection while also showcasing new work by contemporary Native artists, including Jason Wesaw (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi), Camille Billie (Oneida), and Jim Terry (Ho-Chunk).Sep 12–Jan 4, 202560 W. Walton (60610) • <a href="https://www.newberry.org/calendar/exhibitions">newberry.org</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/epyrwbtfv1jxl4zbjpiy.jpg"></figure>Edgar Miller: Anti-Modern, 1917–1967&nbsp;DEPAUL ART MUSEUMEdgar Miller (1899–1993) arrived in Chicago in 1917, and over the next 50 years worked as an architect, artist, craftsperson, curator, designer, and illustrator during a particularly rich period that saw the ascendancy of modernism across the visual culture of the city. Miller’s tremendous body of work spanned multiple mediums, materials, and disciplines and he was unconcerned with trends, labels, or what became the established tenets of modern art. He was committed to figurative storytelling and representing the natural world, creating work intended to be experienced across the built environment.Sept 12–Feb 23, 2025 • 935 W. Fullerton (60614)&nbsp;<a href="https://resources.depaul.edu/art-museum/Pages/default.aspx">depaul.edu</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092763/gyawoltdpw5ocl0q0frx.jpg"><figcaption>Haegue Yang, Splashing Volcano Ash Gaze – Mesmerizing Mesh, Hanji on alu-dibond, framed. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Studio Haegue Yang</figcaption></figure>Hague Yang: Flat WorksTHE ARTS CLUB OF CHICAGOThis defining exhibition marking the artist’s first North American retrospective to survey the artist’s two-dimensional explorations over the last three decades. Through a select number of key works, the ambitious exhibition identifies underlying connections and motivations across the artist’s oeuvre, offering a scholarly perspective on this aspect of Yang’s career for the first time.&nbsp;Sept 18–Dec 20201 E. Ontario • <a href="https://www.artsclubchicago.org">artsclubchicago.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092764/teihm5uojqszjsnheekx.jpg"><figcaption>David Smith, The Forest, 1950. Painted steel on wood base, 37×39×4”. Photo: Larry Bercow Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas © 2024 The Estate of David Smith / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;David Smith: The Nature of SculptureFREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS &amp; SCULPTURE PARK&nbsp;The art of David Smith is profuse and marvelously inventive. Working in multiple media, formats, and scales, he blurred boundaries between painting and sculpture and between traditional genres such as landscape and figuration. Smith’s bountiful oeuvre has secured him a firm place within art history and his adventurous approach to three-dimensional form has permanently expanded the vocabulary and range of sculptural practice.Sept 23–Mar 2, 2025 • 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE., Grand Rapids MI (49525) • <a href="https://www.meijergardens.org">meijergardens.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092765/gkfoodcnxnsfzveslp1x.jpg"><figcaption>Joan Mitchell, Untitled, ca. 1961, Oil on canvas. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Gift of Katharine Kuh, 1968.3 © Estate of Joan Mitchell.</figcaption></figure>The 50th: An Anniversary Exhibition&nbsp;THE SMART MUSEUM OF ARTThe 50th: An Anniversary Exhibition explores what makes and defines a university art museum. A pioneer in arts-based learning, the Smart and its mission have evolved since the Museum opened its doors in the fall of 1974.&nbsp;This exhibition traces the layered, sometimes hidden, histories that have made up the Smart Museum of Art. These histories range from fraught beginnings of building a teaching collection and important relationships with local artists, critics, and community leaders, to opportunities presented by unexpected gifts and partnerships. It reconsiders the impact of the Museum’s past exhibitions that have told different narratives, programs that have pushed boundaries, and acquisitions that have altered the course of the collection. Drawn from the collection, the exhibition presents over a hundred works from across the breadth and depth of the Museum’s holdings, including paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and archival materials.Sept 24–Mar 2, 2025The University of Chicago5550 S. Greenwood, Chicago, IL 60637&nbsp; • <a href="https://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu">smartmuseum.uchicago.edu</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092766/grgozscptq5p4doqnbwv.jpg"><figcaption>Elsa Muñoz, Controlled Burn, 2023.</figcaption></figure>Positions: New LandscapesHYDE PARK ART CENTERThis a group exhibition features works by six Chicago-based contemporary artists who explore the radical potential of landscape to address timely conversations about land stewardship, environmental justice, immigration, and racial violence in US history. Approaching landscape from a diverse range of perspectives, artists Lydia Cheshewalla, Kelly Kristin Jones, Norman Long, zakkiyyah najeebah dumas o’neal, Elsa Muñoz, and Leticia Pardo&nbsp; break boundaries of the traditional landscape genre to intervene in civic dialogues rooted in sites and their histories.&nbsp;Oct 26–Feb 23, 2025 • 5020 S. Cornell (60615)<a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org">hydeparkart.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092766/h4yhmqag1p6num9kwhjy.jpg"></figure>The Living End: Painting and Other Technologies, 1970–2020&nbsp;MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ARTThis international, intergenerational group exhibition examines the different methods artists have used to challenge or intervene in the practice of painting and the role of painters over the past 50 years. Countering the recycled discourse that “painting is dead,” the exhibition suggests that painting remains in a constant state of renewal and rebirth.Nov 9–Apr 13, 2025 • 220 E. Chicago Ave. (60611) • <a href="https://visit.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/the-living-end-painting-and-other-technologies-1970-2020/">mcachicago.org</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092767/ragcqrblmmnhbgbqn95a.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Staple + Stitch Art Book and Print Fair21C MUSEUM HOTEL CHICAGOA celebration and engagement with art, text, print, and paper hosted at 21c Museum Hotel Chicago. Fair exhibitors include arts publishers, small and independent presses, book artists, zine makers, and printmakers across the 2nd-floor spaces of the 21c Chicago. Tandem programming includes book signings, workshops, and demonstrations open to all ages. Look for local exhibitors like Process/Process, as well as others from around the country. The three-day fair is free and open to the public.November 15, 16 and 17 • 55 E. Ontario St. (60611)<a href="https://www.stapleandstitchfair.com">stapleandstitchfair.com</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

Fall's Art Highlights

<html><head></head><body>Fall is a busy season of art, offering new gallery and museum exhibitions. the Art world figures working hard behind the scenes give us so much to look forward to. we spoke to five (technically six this time!) art community figures about what they’re excited about now and looking forward to next.The following preview is one of five conversations that appear in our fall 2024 magazine. To receive a copy of the print edition&nbsp;<a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com/">click here.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/wgevpsvusznavk31sf9p.jpg"><figcaption>Photo by Z. Najeebah Dumas-O’Neal</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Emma McKee – Chicago Dir., <a href="https://marianeibrahim.com">Mariane Ibrahim</a>“While enjoying the summer, we were preparing for our busiest months of the year, September and October. We wrapped up an important group exhibition, Palimpsest, which brought together our gallery artists with renowned Chicago-based artists McArthur Binion, Bethany Collins, Michael Rakowitz, and Edra Soto—pillars of the local art scene. Their associated galleries—Rhona Hoffman, PATRON, and GRAY—have graciously contributed works to the show. At the opening, someone remarked that Palimpsest is a true love letter to the city, a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.In late August we unveiled a solo exhibition by Chicago-based artist Leasho Johnson, on view through the end of October. Johnson’s show will be part of Chicago Exhibition Weekend (CXW), hosted by Gertie and EXPO Chicago, an event we are eagerly anticipating for another year. Last year’s CXW was a beautiful moment for the city, and I am confident this year’s program will be even more robust.”#&nbsp;Read Fall 2024's 5 to Talk to with:<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-jessica-cochran-and-angee-lennard-process-process">Jessica Cochran and Angee Lennard – Process/Process&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-jake-troyli">Jake Troyli – Artist</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-anne-loucks">Anne Loucks – Anne Loucks Gallery</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-lisa-key">Lisa Key – Director, Driehaus Museum</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

Anticipating a Season of Art: Five to Talk to – Emma McKee

<html><head></head><body>Fall is a busy season of art, offering new gallery and museum exhibitions. the Art world figures working hard behind the scenes give us so much to look forward to. we spoke to five (technically six this time!) art community figures about what they’re excited about now and looking forward to next.The following preview is one of five conversations that appear in our fall 2024 magazine. To receive a copy of the print edition&nbsp;<a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com/">click here.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/nd82gyngkisv9io904g9.jpg"><figcaption>Headshot courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery. Photo: Raphael Lugassy.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Jake Troyli – Artist“For me, 2024 has already been incredibly productive and demanding but also super exciting. I just finished (in collaboration with the amazing team at Gertie) my first public art commission, a 30-foot-tall mural for the new westside location of SkyArt, a west-and-south-side-Chicago-based organization that uses art to provide new avenues of generative thinking for young people in the city. I’ve wanted to do a large-scale mural project for a while, and this felt like the perfect first step into the possibilities of community-facing art. In the studio, I just finished paintings for a group show that opened in August in Düsseldorf, Germany, and I will have work in another group show opening in NYC later this year. I’ll also make my San Francisco debut as part of the expansive group show, Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture which opens at the San Francisco MOMA in October. And finally, I’m most excited about my upcoming solo show with Monique Meloche Gallery, opening November 9th (mark your calendars!) which I’m working on right now in my studio.”#&nbsp;Read Fall 2024's 5 to Talk to with:<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-jessica-cochran-and-angee-lennard-process-process">Jessica Cochran and Angee Lennard – Process/Process&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-anne-loucks">Anne Loucks – Anne Loucks Gallery</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-lisa-key">Lisa Key – Director, Driehaus Museum</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-emma-mckee">Emma McKee – Chicago Dir., Mariane Ibrahim</a></body></html>

Anticipating a Season of Art: Five to Talk to – Jake Troyli

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/noo5irn1xy3gzwhu6dty.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;*To subscribe to the fall 2024 print edition <a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com">click here</a>.*&nbsp;By CGN StaffThe fall art season begins next week, and we are thrilled to announce that CGN's fall 2024 magazine is arriving throughout the city and region starting now. The 80-page issue covers dozens of art exhibitions, gallery openings, notable events and cultural highlights from September through December 2024 in Chicago, the suburbs and the Lake Michigan region. This fall marks CGN's 42nd year.&nbsp;Our cover interview features Chicago-based artist <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/caroline-kent-confidence-on-canvas">Caroline Kent</a>. Alison Reilly spoke with Kent this summer about how she became an artist, her process and her current projects taking share in Chicago and well beyond.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/a8ngy5kdc1u7gj0isrnh.jpg"><figcaption>Caroline Kent, A witness comes, beckoned from beyond, 2024, Acrylic on canvas. Photo: Evan Jenkins, Courtesy PATRON Gallery.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The issue came together during a busy summer while the city prepared to host the Democratic Convention. CGN Publisher <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/fall-2024-publisher-s-letter">Ginny Van Alyea's fall letter</a> looks at all that has happened in Chicago's cultural landscape since 1968, since that is a year that has been on everyone's mind as of late.<ul><li>We talked to 5 (technically 6!) art world figures who have many plans to share. The first part of that series is online now, featuring <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-jessica-cochran-and-angee-lennard-process-process">Jessica Cochran and Angee Lennard</a>, with more coming in the next few days.</li><li>Carl Hammer Gallery is marking 45 years this fall, opening two shows next week on September 6. We spoke with Hammer about how he got his start.</li><li>Bianca Bova interviewed art collector and Chicago style maven Michelle Edwards. Edwards shared her collecting journey and her philosophy of living with art, and we have some gorgeous photos of her home in the magazine.</li><li>Jackie Lewis previewed photographer Mark Ballogg's coming artistic collaboration at Alma Art &amp; Interiors.</li><li>We preview what's happening this fall in some of the area's newest galleries, from Mayfield to Old Friends Gallery.</li><li>Tom McCormick reflects on what it's like to make a big move after 24 years in the West Loop.</li><li>Publisher Ginny Van Alyea interviewed a young up-and-coming artist, Georgie Miller, as she navigates group shows and endless residency applications.</li><li>Bianca Bova went up to Wisconsin to share what's so special about the creative outpost founded by Michelle Grabner and Brad Killam, the Poor Farm.</li><li>And we also offer some more fall road trip inspiration, from Michigan to Madison all the way out to Cambridge, MA.</li></ul>&nbsp;Content from our print edition will be posted online in the coming weeks, but if you'd like to get your hands on a copy of the fall CGN, visit one of CGN's partner galleries, museums or hotels, or please consider <a href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com">subscribing</a> for $25/year or $8 for the fall issue. An annual subscription also includes the 2025 Arts Guide and the spring 2025 magazine.&nbsp;Happy fall, and enjoy all the art coming your way throughout the season!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/rvjoxdigymdshx2ef0up.jpg"><figcaption>CGN's fall issue is out now</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN's New Fall 2024 Issue is Out Now! 

<html><head></head><body>Fall is a busy season of art, offering new gallery and museum exhibitions. the Art world figures working hard behind the scenes give us so much to look forward to. we spoke to five (technically six this time!) art community figures about what they’re excited about now and looking forward to next.The following preview is one of five conversations that appear in our fall 2024 magazine. To receive a copy of the print edition&nbsp;<a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com/">click here.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/sgwzn3id7sdhau3cra8k.jpg"><figcaption>Left: Jessica Cochran; right: Angee Lennard</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Jessica Cochran and Angee Lennard – <a href="https://process-process.com">Process/Process</a>“As a new print publishing venture, this is our very first fall art season! Process/Process will launch five editions on September 5 at Filter Space, with prints by Zarouhie Abdalian, Selva Arapicio, Barber, Michelle Grabner, and Matthew Metzger. Later this fall, we’ll release works by Selina Trepp and Alice Tippit, whose solo exhibition opens September 14 at PATRON.&nbsp;Chicago’s incredible tempo makes it the perfect city for our work with artists. We won’t miss November’s Staple and Stitch Art Book and Print Fair at the 21c Museum Hotel. And this September 6, Barber–one of our collaborating artists–opens a solo exhibition at Ignition Project Space.”#&nbsp;Read Fall 2024's 5 to Talk to with:<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/8/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-jake-troyli">Jake Troyli – Artist</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-anne-loucks">Anne Loucks – Anne Loucks Gallery</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-lisa-key">Lisa Key – Director, Driehaus Museum</a><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2024/9/anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-emma-mckee">Emma McKee – Chicago Dir., Mariane Ibrahim</a></body></html>

Anticipating a Season of Art: Five to Talk to – Jessica Cochran and Angee Lennard – Process/Process

<html><head></head><body>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/cyw5owgo9ymmq8k9peff.jpg" father="" and="" daughter.jpg=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/wisconsin-photography-2024">Wisconsin Photography 2024</a>Opening: Tuesday, August 27, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmRacine Art Museum&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/iwnkdzzrhgk1snkl68r3.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/spirituality-heritage-and-health">Portraiture Suite</a>Exhibition begins August 28Northern Illinois University (NIU) Art Museum&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/rtlz1wddr3lqznueorqj.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/public-lecture-and-reception-stephen-burks-spirit-houses">Public Lecture and Reception | Stephen Burks: Spirit Houses</a>Wednesday, August 28, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmIllinois Institute of Technology&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/jkquvo0weiqcntyxcxxz.png" wilson.png=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/millie-wilson-the-museum-of-lesbian-dreams">Millie Wilson: The Museum of Lesbian Dreams</a>Exhibition begins August 29Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/ucpnzpqhjsggifrdxg5i.png" l.="" petros.png=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/prospetto-a-mare">Dawit L. Petros: Prospetto a Mare</a>Exhibition begins August 30Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092763/w04o9vxopsy19a5mmysz.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/leash-johnson-escaping-the-tyranny-of-meaning">Leasho Johnson: Escaping the Tyranny of Meaning</a>Opening: Thursday, August 29, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmMariane Ibrahim&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092764/wiwnykzdvdaowvhkhsc5.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/gwen-yen-chiu">Language as Form: Calligraphy &amp; Sculpture by Gwen Yen Chiu</a>Exhibition begins August 31Krasl Art Center&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092765/lqliqpu91fk9yym4fdfo.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/defying-the-laws-sarah-smelser">Defying the Laws | Sarah Smelser</a>Exhibition begins August 31Evanston Art Center&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092766/fc0umiunnibxe6i1rdjh.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/breaking-bread-therese-mulgrew-wendy-s-rolfe">Breaking Bread Thérèse Mulgrew – Wendy S. Rolfe</a>Exhibition begins August 30Povos West Town&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions August 27 - 31

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/k5tq2bosbycxkywoaw8l.png" x="" graft="" opening="" 9.4.png=""></figure><a href="Made" from="" corten="" steel="" and="" terrazzo,="" graft="" is="" a="" monument="" to="" working="" class="" puerto="" rican="" communi-="" ties="" soto’s="" first="" sculpture="" inspired="" by="" specific="" house="" façade.="" tables="" seating="" invite="" visitors="" enjoy="" moment="" of="" rest,="" connection,="" reflection.="" the="" creates="" threshold,="" with="" one="" side="" representing="" home’s="" exterior;="" other,="" more="" intimate="" atmosphere="" an="" interior.="" work’s="" ti-="" tle="" addresses="" complex="" sentiments="" around="" migrating="" chicago="" while="" remaining="" connected="" rico.="" for="" soto,="" feelings="" dislocation="" are="" compounded="" island’s="" ambiguous="" status="" as="" unincorporated="" territory="" united="" states.="" opens="" connections="" between="" com-="" munities="" across="" city="" reminds="" us="" centrality="" caribbean="" history="" new="" york="">Edra Soto: GRAFT! opening in Central Park in New York Sept 4</a>Made from corten steel and terrazzo, Graft is a monument to working class Puerto Rican communi- ties and Soto’s first sculpture inspired by a specific house façade. Tables and seating invite visitors to enjoy a moment of rest, connection, and reflection. The sculpture creates a threshold, with one side representing a home’s exterior; the other, the more intimate atmosphere of an interior. The work’s ti- tle addresses Soto’s complex sentiments around migrating to Chicago while remaining connected to Puerto Rico. For Soto, feelings of dislocation are compounded by the island’s ambiguous status as an unincorporated territory of the United States. Graft opens connections between Puerto Rican com- munities across the city and reminds us of the centrality of the Caribbean to the history of New York City and the United States.<a href="Made" from="" corten="" steel="" and="" terrazzo,="" graft="" is="" a="" monument="" to="" working="" class="" puerto="" rican="" communi-="" ties="" soto’s="" first="" sculpture="" inspired="" by="" specific="" house="" façade.="" tables="" seating="" invite="" visitors="" enjoy="" moment="" of="" rest,="" connection,="" reflection.="" the="" creates="" threshold,="" with="" one="" side="" representing="" home’s="" exterior;="" other,="" more="" intimate="" atmosphere="" an="" interior.="" work’s="" ti-="" tle="" addresses="" complex="" sentiments="" around="" migrating="" chicago="" while="" remaining="" connected="" rico.="" for="" soto,="" feelings="" dislocation="" are="" compounded="" island’s="" ambiguous="" status="" as="" unincorporated="" territory="" united="" states.="" opens="" connections="" between="" com-="" munities="" across="" city="" reminds="" us="" centrality="" caribbean="" history="" new="" york="">Details at Public Art Fund</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/sqcstceuaz1rimezg9hr.jpg"><figcaption>Rashid Johnson. Photo by Joshua Woods via NYT</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/26/arts/design/rashid-johnson-guggenheim.html#">Rashid Johnson Will Have Career Survey at Guggenheim in 2025</a>Next spring, [Rashid] Johnson will get to take on the entirety of Wright’s dramatic rotunda in a midcareer survey that opens April 18 and remains on view through Jan. 18, 2026. Titled “A Poem for Deep Thinkers,” it will include almost 90 works in photography, video, film, mixed-media paintings, sculpture and installation that scale the space and explore themes of identity, social alienation and rebirth in ways both political and deeply personal.Johnson's first solo show was in 2003 at moniquemeloche. The gallery shared on Facebook that works from that early history will be included in this monumental exhibition.&nbsp;Via NYT• Read 2012 CGN's interview with Johnson <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2012/4/artist-insights-rashid-johnson">here</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/lvmhywhj0wawv0tqgpgj.jpg"><figcaption>Various Project 270 posters</figcaption></figure>Nick Cave and Bob Faust Co-Design Project 270 Get Out the Vote PosterFaust shared recently that he and partner artist Nick Cave are proud to be part of this amazing group of artists creating a series of posters for Project 270, a national 'Get out the Vote' campaign created and sponsored by Mana Public Arts.Details are on <a href="https://manapublicarts.com/project-270/">manapublicarts.com.project-270</a>Anyone can download the free digital poster and share it on socials as well as buy any of the 7 limited edition, Giclée fine art prints. Sales of these posters will help fund Project 270 2024 programs.&nbsp;The Artists: Bony Ramirez, Hugo Crosthwaite, Machine Dazzle, Marilyn Minter, Nick Cave &amp; Bob Faust, Vincent Valdez, Zaria Forman&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/wxdinqouubhqcmbjrpit.jpg"></figure>Fine Line Creative Arts Center's Great Orb Hunt is backIn partnership with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/forestpreserve?__cft__[0]=AZUMbBUR905lfIZe0p4AEEAWT-s-1Dc2tqIb0gOXwacatMHnTCyBWNT0fzbW_oTWqb6lTRDtfGWhHNOn6c1FAOaniVfpFFHlAFKJNJfqN1rzYgMRjffJS4p_rixIZYNDYp4EIWUEgN1EqQyBj9TUXGVIlX93XiecbN6dTp0NyigWlin9vJyThYPE5OFZgtd2pazszaR5P4eRMoJszXwA3UhV&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Forest Preserve District of Kane County</a> Orb hunting season opens on September 5th and runs until September 30. Once again, handcrafted glass and ceramic orbs created by Fine Line Creative Arts Center artists will be hidden on trail edges for you to find.&nbsp;150 orbs will be hidden in small batches five days each week at different times and on different days of the week. No announcement will be made when orbs are hidden, but an announcement will be made via social media when an orb has been found and registered. Finders keepers, but please, only one per person.If you find an orb, please register your find by using the QR code, or by visiting <a href="https://buff.ly/45GlXt2?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0cZowUSA_Na6iZ5phSJ6skaimeNqsv4PsKkhx5ITcXcuLf2SOx0weA4_Y_aem_jF3f3RIqMIqQtmfyLujrNg">https://buff.ly/45GlXt2</a> so we know how many are still left to find.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 8/27/24

<a href=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/26/arts/design/indianapolis-museum-le-monte-booker.html>Another New Leader for Indianapolis Museum Roiled by Racism Outcry</a>The Indianapolis Museum of Art is getting its third leader in four years as it continues to deal with the <a href=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/13/arts/design/indianapolis-museum-job-posting.html>fallout from a racially insensitive job posting</a> that led to its longtime leader’s departure in 2021.Newfields, whose campus includes the museum, announced on Monday that Le Monte G. Booker Sr., the chief financial officer of Chicago’s Field Museum, would serve as its next president and chief executive. Booker replaces Colette Pierce Burnette, the first Black woman in the role, who <a href=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/13/arts/design/newfields-indianapolis-colette-pierce-burnette.html>departed last November for unclear reasons</a> after just over a year on the job.Via NYT&nbsp;<a href=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/18/arts/design/young-artists-auctions-collectors.html>Young Artists Rode a $712 Million Boom. Then Came the Bust.</a>How did the best years of Amani Lewis’s career turn into the worst time of the artist’s life?First came the meteoric rise. A haunting painting Lewis made in 2020 sold at auction <a href=https://www.phillips.com/detail/amani-lewis/NY010921/303>just a year later</a> for $107,100, more than double its estimate. Two other works had recently tripled expectations, and a collector offered $150,000 in cash for new pieces fresh from the studio. There were shows in Paris and Miami — Lewis had seemingly conquered the market at age 26, upgrading to a new art studio and a Tesla.But when the original painting re-emerged at auction in <a href=https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/first-open-post-war-contemporary-art/amani-lewis-b-1994-32/221874>June and its price</a> plunged to $10,080 — losing 90 percent of its value — the party was over. By then, Lewis had stopped renting a $7,000-a-month luxury apartment in Miami and temporarily moved in with their brother.Via NYT&nbsp;<a href=https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/columns/ai-generated-images-paranoia-misinformation-art-historians-provenance-1234715037/>AI-Generated Images Are Spreading Paranoia and Misinformation. Can Art Historians&nbsp;Help?&nbsp;</a>If recent headlines are any indication, one of the most pressing issues right now is the threat posed by fake or manipulated images. The wide availability of generative AI, along with the increasingly user-friendly interface of image editing software like Photoshop, has enabled most people with a computer and internet access to produce images that are liable to deceive. The potential dangers range from art forgery to identity fraud to political disinformation. The message is clear: images can mislead, and the stakes are high. You should learn to detect the real from the fake.Via Art in America&nbsp;<a href=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/venus-williams-carnegie-museum-podcast-2524537>Venus Williams on the Latest Stop in Her Art Journey: Hosting a Photography Podcast</a>Tennis star Venus Williams has teamed up with the <a href=https://carnegieart.org/>Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh</a> to <a href=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/carnegie-museums-podcast-venus-williams-2480349>host the institution’s new podcast</a>, “<a href=https://carnegieart.org/art/hillman-photography-initiative/cycle-4-widening-the-lens/widening-the-lens-podcast-series/>Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape</a>.”The six-episode series is a companion piece to the institution’s exhibition of the same name, which opened in May and is on view through January 2025. The show features 19 artists, including <a href=https://www.artnet.com/artists/tomas-saraceno/>Tomás Saraceno</a>, <a href=https://www.artnet.com/artists/justine-kurland/>Justine Kurland</a>, and <a href=https://www.artnet.com/artists/cyprien-gaillard/>Cyprien Gaillard</a>. It represents the fourth <a href=https://carnegieart.org/art/hillman-photography-initiative/cycle-4-widening-the-lens/>cycle</a> of the museum’s <a href=https://carnegieart.org/art/hillman-photography-initiative/>Hillman Photography Initiative</a>, launched in 2013 to bring new ideas about photography to museum audiences.Via ArtnetThumbnail image: Venus Williams recording the podcast Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape in May 2024 Photo by Stefano Ceccarelli, courtesy of the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

What We're Reading: 8/27/24

<html><head></head><body>*This interview is CGN's fall 2024 cover feature. To subscribe to the print edition <a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com">click here</a>.*&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/fqcasmvf5trm4cvwhwdo.jpg"><figcaption>Caroline Kent. Photo: Evan Jenkins. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By ALISON REILLYWhen Caroline Kent and I spoke in late July, she was attending a writing workshop at Northwestern University. Working from what felt like a Victorian-era study at Scott Hall, she cherished the opportunity to sit with her ideas, without interruption. By the third day, she said she was hitting her stride and started writing as soon as she arrived in the morning. An athlete who found art as an undergraduate student at Illinois State University, Kent uses writing to gain clarity about her visual art practice. She trusts the process of making, values hard work and practice, and has an acute understanding of herself. Her compelling abstract paintings, works on paper, and installations showcase her own visual language. This fall, through a collaboration with Amtrak, Kent will present her work in a large-scale public installation at Chicago’s Union Station.&nbsp;CGN: Could you tell me about your own writing?&nbsp;Caroline Kent: My relationship to writing comes out of having kept a journal for a long time and using it as a creative space, even in how I once documented my days. I don’t have that practice anymore. But when I get time to write, I try to always write about my practice, always thinking of it having legs and arms that can go in different directions.&nbsp;CGN: How does your writing affect your visual art?CK: My practice has painting as its center but branches off into text-based works or ideas around language. And more recently, I’ve been using this writing workshop at Northwestern to work on a one-act play, to write expanded ideas around different projects like Victoria/Veronica. Writing helps deepen and bring breath to the work that then can move outside of painting and speak to other mediums, whether that’s installation or considering an entire room as opposed to an art object.Right now I’m working on a project for La Trienal with El Museo del Barrio (New York) that’s coming up this fall. I was invited to present some of my work, and they gave me a wall. Am I going to hang an art object on it? Am I going to paint something on it? The writing ends up helping me make formal decisions and choices about how I want the work to function in the presentation of the exhibition, whether it’s the abstract language painted on a large canvas or whether it needs to be reduced down to simple shapes on Belgian linen. Those kinds of distinctions are interesting for me to be really selective about when I am presenting the work– what kind of narrative do I want to build in the work and what do I want to say this time?&nbsp;&nbsp;CGN: When you’re in your studio, how do all the different media that you’re working with come together?&nbsp;CK: In the studio, what I really appreciate is that I can work on the wall on something large and then I can move immediately and look over to the table. They’re all in the same room. And even when I’m making works on paper, I like to have them sit out in the room together, because they start to speak to one another. What happens on a larger canvas ends up happening on a work on paper. They all end up getting influenced.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/zl1dez682so8wuvm6t6m.jpg"><figcaption>Caroline Kent: Space | Shadow | Script, PATRON Gallery, Chicago, September 2022. Photo: Evan Jenkins. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>CGN: What is a typical day in your studio?&nbsp;CK: My studio is in my home. In the morning, once I get in there–I learned this trick from someone I don’t remember where, but they told me, if you have a problem when you first go into your studio in the morning of knowing where to start, it’s always good to leave something for yourself to do the day before so that you can go in and start without having to think and make decisions, but continue something. I always try to leave some painting for myself to do.It’s my warmup. It gets me into it.I’ve got headphones on, and typically I’m listening to / watching a BBC crime drama. I’m not always looking at the screen, but I’m listening to the dialogue and it gives my mind something to grab onto while I’m working. I usually work until lunch, then I break and come back and check email and things like that, but I get back into the studio. I would say on average, it’s about a five- to six-hour day. Then it goes back to kids, husband, life. All the other stuff that’s so easy to get distracted by when you’re in your house. I try to stay pretty focused.&nbsp;&nbsp;CGN: What are some of your earliest memories making art?&nbsp;CK: This is a funny question because there are two things that stick out to me from my childhood. One of them is that I used to leave writings around the house–just scribbles on a notepad. Recently, my mother has been sending me these as she’s been combing through boxes and bins of things. We had a typewriter at one point, and I remember typing up these conversations about my sister’s boyfriend and asking what his intentions were. I read them now and I’m thinking, this is exactly somehow related to what I’m doing now.&nbsp;And then another thing while I was growing up–this is much more abstract. I didn’t have a name for it. There were moments like during a car ride across the flat land of driving from Sterling, Illinois to Rockford, staring out at cornfields and bean fields. I would have the strangest ideas about things I would do. And I can’t give you an example because they’re so weird for me now, but I remember later on in life, recognizing a lot of these abstract ideas I had really fit into the language of art. Those are some of my earliest memories.&nbsp;CGN: You grew up in Sterling?&nbsp;CK: I went to elementary and high school in Sterling,and my parents still live there.&nbsp;&nbsp;CGN: And Rockford, you visited?&nbsp;CK: My grandparents lived in Rockford, and so my father would drive us there all the time. There were six of us in a station wagon, four girls in my family. And we would all drive to and from Rockford.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092760/u0z9wshojjf4gfqlxggl.jpg"><figcaption>Caroline Kent, A witness comes, beckoned from beyond, 2024, Acrylic on canvas. Photo: Evan Jenkins, Courtesy PATRON Gallery.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: You said leaving notes for yourself relates to what you’re doing now. Could you talk more about that?&nbsp;CK: The notes were these small scenarios. They’re little snippets of theatrical descriptions of life. Some of the things that I’ve even been working on more recently–I have a series called Typewriter Works, where I pair different descriptions of characters with abstract paintings on paper. I make a painting, and it dries on the paper and then I feed it through the typewriter. In this way, I am synthesizing a character that I have seen in a film or in my imagination. I think that’s the connection I can see clearly. When I was younger, I was inventing a lens on how I was perceiving myself, my teachers, how my parents viewed me, writing about my sisters’ lives and making these funny, inflated, idealistic writings.&nbsp;CGN: When did you start identifying as an artist or make the decision to be an artist?&nbsp;CK: I feel like I was late in the game in some ways. Art didn’t awaken in me until I was in college. I was at university, and it was there that I walked into a gallery. My twin sister and I, we would go around and check everything out from the theater department to watch plays, to the art gallery, coffee shops. It was the nineties, the alternative scene. I remember the nineties aesthetics in art. Collage was big. I have such a clear idea of going back to my dorm room and starting to work in collage. That was the moment when I was like, this is the thing I want to do, but I didn’t know how to get there until a mentor friend of mine guided me to really consider making art my major. And I remember thinking, but I don’t know how to draw, I don’t know how to paint, and just telling myself, okay, I guess I’m just going to be the artist who learns when they’re 20.That kind of confidence, I would call it confidence looking back because it was such a big decision to tell yourself, when you feel there’s a deficiency, maybe I should have been doing this since I was three or four. But I think it came out of athletics and being able to push my body and know what pain was, getting to the other side of physical challenges. I think because of track and field, it helped me decide, well, I guess I’m going to do it in a non-traditional way.&nbsp;CGN: I love that. How long do you think it took you to get confident in your own skills? Was it something you picked up immediately?&nbsp;CK: I invited it immediately and it brought a satisfaction, but I don’t think that I felt confident in art making. I wasn’t thinking about it because I did feel such a freedom with it. I finished up my undergrad degree and I had taken a lot of intro classes, but after that I took seven years off before I went to grad school. In that interim time I ran into a charming professor from Illinois State, Harold Boyd, who I really adored. I ran into him on the street in Minneapolis. I said, I’m about to go to the Peace Corps, and what do I do with art? How do I continue making it if I’m doing this completely other thing? And he said, well, you need something to make art about. You need some depth, you need experience, you need life, and so don’t consider this not conducive to your art practice. That was so helpful. The confidence came probably after graduate school. That’s when I felt confident and understood what I was doing. And to be honest, I wasn’t pursuing confidence, but I was getting confident by really understanding my own practice and developing it and getting legs under it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/qsfbqtisv98k9gp8y9en.jpg"><figcaption>Caroline Kent: This Space for Correspondence, Casey Kaplan, New York, November 2023.&nbsp; &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: How was your experience being part of the Peace Corps in Romania?&nbsp;CK: It was a super interesting time because it was such a contrast to American life. I knew that I was feeling a certain way about American culture, and I wanted a kind of diversity that I only saw watching international films. Going [to Romania] gratified this desire to have a very different kind of experience other than an American one, though it also was very challenging. It was hard to be away from the familiar, but it helped me grow and experience a lot of really wonderful things, not only the foods and the culture and the people I met and the children I taught, but the landscape was incredible, as was visiting monasteries and learning another language and going to these Romanian Orthodox churches where most people stand the entire service. Going through the forest and traveling with friends for an hour, and then running into an old woman there who’s gathering up pussy willows, giant ones – I was like, ‘Where am I?’&nbsp;&nbsp;CGN: How did you decide to pursue an MFA and go to graduate school?&nbsp;CK: I had been living in Minneapolis for a while and I had traveled, lived abroad. I’d come back home and had a temp job to reintroduce myself back into American life. I knew I needed something more. That was the moment when I was like, okay, what do I want to do? I’m at another kind of crossroads. I liked art, but I had been out of any connection with the contemporary art world. I ended up taking advanced painting and drawing at the University of Minnesota. I was really incredibly zealous. I was excited, and I overproduced. My professors saw something in that and were like, you really should consider the MFA program. So I put together my portfolio. Three people were accepted that year for painting and drawing, and I was one of them. That was the most encouraging and exciting news. I still remember to this day the phone call I received when they told me I was chosen out of 130 applicants. I really felt it marked a moment in my life that illuminated a path forward.&nbsp;&nbsp;CGN: How long have you been in Chicago, and how has living here affected your practice as an artist?&nbsp;CK: I’ve been in Chicago since 2017. I was living in Minneapolis, and it had a rich art community, but I was ready for more. I think any artist that works in a smaller city, at some point, you either make a commitment to be there for the long term or you start getting the itch to move. My husband was offered a position here at UIC in the art department. It expanded our practices in many ways. Part of that was more visibility, connecting to a larger network of artists. It took me a couple of years before I really got comfortable here in Chicago and maybe even longer. I moved to Garfield Park and the intensity was of high contrast. It took me a while, but there are so many great things that I love about Chicago. It was great to see such diversity having come from Minnesota. And the city has a kind of energy, seeing Lake Michigan, there’s nothing like it. The cultural history here, there’s still so much for me to discover in Chicago.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/cbfzayzmwu0nwp1ckr1k.jpg"><figcaption>Caroline Kent: A short play about watching shadows move across the room, The Queens Museum, Queens, NY. December 2023. Photo: Hai Zhang&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: You mentioned the upcoming triennial with Museo del Barrio. What else are you working on?CK: I’m working on a project for Amtrak right now, and it’s going to debut at Union Station in the fall. It is a vinyl mural project that I’m designing for interior windows in their downstairs space. I feel like it’s really going to transform Union Station. I’m also working on a commission with the U.S. Embassies Project, a program where artists are commissioned to make work for different U.S. embassies around the world. Then I’m making work for my own practice. Sometimes as an artist, my artwork leaves my studio so fast. I don’t live with it. If I have an exhibition coming up, and there’s some really lovely works that I want to live with for a while. Well, it goes to the exhibition. And if it does get placed with a collector or an institution, it never comes back. And so what did I have? Six months with that piece, that’s it. It’s nice to always be making work that will live with me, that will stay in the studio, that I can keep, that I can continue to think about and be inspired by. I’m often making work for my own personal archive.&nbsp;CGN: Do you keep an archive of your work?&nbsp;CK: It can be tricky. But I’m just getting better at learning to save things and hold on to them. Not only for myself, but thinking about what I will leave to my children. I have three children and I want them to keep the archives of their parents’ work.&nbsp;CGN: Are they interested in art at all?&nbsp;CK: My daughter, Nina is eight, my son, Kent is ten, and Ysabella my stepdaughter is the oldest, she’s 19. They were each very creative when they were young. We definitely are a home of makers. They’re always making something, gluing something, whether it’s my son making a contraption for Legos, or my daughter is making bookmarks, painting or gluing something together. She’s a sewer. My youngest, Nina, is really in a creative moment with sewing, crochet, drawing, making, all of it.&nbsp;CGN: That’s great to kind of watch them experiment with all those things.&nbsp;CK: It’s helpful being parents that are makers, because when your kids are like, ‘Oh, I want to do this thing.’ We just go into our studios and we’re like, ‘All right, let’s do it. What do you need? We’ll do it this way. We’ll build it.’ Those are really great teaching moments.&nbsp;CGN: What about teaching at Northwestern? How has that affected your art practice?CK: As an artist, it can be such an isolating, singular path. When you’re making in your studio and you’re trying to exhibit, it can feel like your peers aren’t always on the same path with you. Teaching is such a great balance for my soul, because it gives me opportunities regularly to give back and pour into other students and share with them and break bread with them. In a way, that feels counter to thinking about the art market. It’s a hard topic for a lot of artists to talk about, because it’s about money in exchange for art. What can be rewarding is when I have an exhibition–for example, I have a mural up at the Queens Museum right now–and I can talk about that experience and share what I learned and gained from working with an institution and be able to share that with graduate students. When I can give in a way that can plant seeds and inspire something alongside academia, that is really a rich and holistic piece of my life.&nbsp;*This interview is CGN's fall 2024 cover feature. To subscribe to the print edition <a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com">click here</a>.*&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/jzkab2jvty5uwxfpoa7y.jpg"><figcaption>Subscribe to the print edition&nbsp;<a href="https://835ba3.myshopify.com"> here</a>.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;</body></html>

Caroline Kent: Confidence On Canvas

<html><head></head><body>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/u9hn9r86hnza1orhitfk.jpg" fountain.jpg=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/ardor-ellie-vergura">Ardor: Ellie Vergura</a>Opening: Friday, August 23, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmJackson Junge Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092759/wdftfoelmqzqiscapn8l.png" beaucoup.png=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/merci-beaucoup">Merci Beaucoup | Isabelle Gougenheim solo show</a>Opening: Friday, August 23, 4 – 8&nbsp;pmChicago Truborn&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092761/zwibxatmm3ueodixyomc.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-spirit-of-nature">The Spirit of Nature</a>Opening: Saturday, August 24, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmBlue Moon Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/m1cazhyn4m2vtpj456bt.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/closing-reception-and-performances-and-now-stories-from-the-edge">Closing Reception and Performances | AND NOW: Stories from the Edge</a>Saturday, August 24, 6 – 10&nbsp;pmAgitator Artist Collective&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1731092762/oaucyicf7rho5f26v0zc.jpg" gallery="" news="" sobczyk="" 700x500="" copy.jpeg=""></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/motherwell-melanesia-monsters">MOTHERWELL, MELANESIA &amp; MONSTERS</a>Exhibition begins August 26Wadsworth Family Gallery at Lewis University&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

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