Art for which the idea (or concept) behind the work is more important than the finished art object.&nbsp;

Conceptual / Performance

<h3>Developed during the Italian Renaissance, primarily for aesthetics or beauty, the highest art was that which allowed the full expression and display of the artist's imagination.</h3>

Fine Prints & Painting – Pre 18th Century

<h3>Graphic Art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional. It includes calligraphy, photography, painting, typography, computer graphics, and bindery.&nbsp;</h3>

Graphic Art

Works of art that utilize the form of the book. They are often published in small editions, though they are sometimes produced as one-of-a-kind objects.

Artists' Books

The exploration of video art and music or sound set, including visual music, abstract film, audiovisual performances and installations.

Video / Sound

The objects produced by shaping pieces of clay that are then hardened by baking, or the skill of making such objects.

Ceramics

An artistic form in which hard or plastic materials are carved, modeled, casted, and constructed into a three-dimensional art object.&nbsp;

Sculpture

The process of creating artworks by printing, typically on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints that have an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting.

Printmaking

<h3>Something made in an earlier period that is collected and considered to have value because it is beautiful, rare, old, or of high quality.</h3>

Antiques and Artifacts

Imagery where the subject matter centers around a view or depiction of Chicago.&nbsp;

Chicago Scenes & Regionalism

Old Masters refer to any painter of skill who worked in Europe before about 1800.

Old Masters

Socio-Political art is used to help the public understand a particular social or political issue.

Socio-Political

<h3>The attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, or implausible, exotic, and supernatural elements.</h3>

Realism

<h3>Artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real objects and is representational.</h3>

Figurative

<h3>Individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. Glass art ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces, to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including glass jewelry and tableware.</h3>

Glass

<h3>Artwork that often deals with Rococo, the Enlightenment, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism.</h3>

Fine Prints & Painting – 18th & 19th C.

From the Tate Museum's website: Modernism refers to a global movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the twentieth century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life. Building on late nineteenth-century precedents, artists around the world used new imagery, materials and techniques to create artworks that they felt better reflected the realities and hopes of modern societies.

Modernism

<h3>Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that continue to challenge boundaries.</h3>

Fine Prints & Painting – Contemporary

<h3>Art that is concerned with the design and decoration of objects that are chiefly prized for their utility, rather than for their purely aesthetic qualities including, ceramics, glassware, metalware, furniture, textiles, clothing, and more.</h3>

Furniture & Decorative Arts

<h3>Emerging art is work by artists who are still building their artistic careers and have not yet reached a more established and widely recognized status.&nbsp;</h3>

Emerging

<h3>Fiber art refers to fine art whose material consists of natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as fabric or yarn. It focuses on the materials and on the manual labour on the part of the artist as part of the works' significance, and prioritizes aesthetic value over utility.</h3>

Fiber Arts / Textiles

The quality of dealing with ideas rather than events. Freedom from representational qualities in art.

Abstraction

<h3>Art by African-American artists.</h3>

African-American

<h3>The art and science of designing and making buildings, or the style of a building.</h3>

Architecture

<h3>Impressionism is a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, an emphasis on light and its changing qualities, and inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience.</h3>

Impressionism

From the Tate Museum's website: Abstract expressionism is the term applied to new forms of abstract art developed by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning in the 1940s and 1950s. It is often characterized by gestural brush-strokes or mark-making, and the impression of spontaneity.

Abstract Expressionism

Numismatics

Relating to Africa or people of African descent.

African

Eastern European art is a product of recent history. It can be traced to the division of Europe into the Western and Soviet spheres of influence of the allied victory over Germany in World War two.

Eastern European

Considered one of the most influential periods of art, featuring movements including Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism.

Early 20th Century

Skill and experience, especially in relation to making objects by hand.

Craft

<h3>The skill of making plans, drawings, or arrangements to show how a building or product is made.</h3>

Design

Asian art is diverse and rich, spanning thousands of years and dozens of countries. It is known for its ritual bronzes, beautiful ceramics, calligraphy, jades, textiles, painted landscapes, garden design, pagodas and stupas, and woodblock prints.

Asian

<h3>An artistic genre of three-dimensional works that often are site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space.</h3>

Installations

An art form that combines visual art with dramatic performance.

Performance

Some of the most prominent, highly influential artists, who challenged preconceptions and pushed the limits of visual art, shaping the art world of our time.

Modern Contemporary Masters

Created in accordance with the vision of the artist as a photographer, using photography as a medium to bring something to life that only lives in the artist's mind.

Photography

The design movement in interior, product, graphic design, architecture, and urban development from roughly the 1930's to 1965.

Mid-Century

A movement in art and literature that flourished in the early 20th-century. Surrealism aimed at expressing imaginative dreams and visions free from conscious rational control.&nbsp;

Surrealism

An innovative discipline which seeks to unify a large range of art forms. This is creatively achieved by combining an array of artistic insights and crafts such as film, literature, performance, music and sound, drama, visual arts, or design.

Multi-Media

<h3>The depiction of landscapes in art—natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composition.</h3>

Landscape

Plein air is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look.

Plein-air

Printed 2-D artwork which is designed to be affixed to a vertical surface, may consist exclusively of images, or images and text.

Poster / Lithography

<h3>A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.</h3>

Portraits / Portraiture

<h3>These works are often stunningly beautiful, and encourage the viewer to engage with the rich history of research and experimentation that led to the piece’s conception.</h3>

Scientific

<h3>The Art of the American West is defined by geographical subject, consists of historic and contemporary works of art which focus on varying expressions of individuals, landscapes, ideals, and myths of the American West.</h3>

Western (The American West)

<h3>Borrowed from Wikipedia: In visual arts, music, and other mediums, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Dan Flavin, Robert Morris, Anne Truitt, and Frank Stella. It derives from the reductive aspects of modernism and is often interpreted as a reaction against abstract expressionism and a bridge to postminimal art practices.</h3>

Minimalism

<h3>Occupying the space between fine art and the everyday, functional art refers to aesthetic objects that serve utilitarian purposes. The genre is remarkably inclusive, it encompasses everything from furniture and lighting to dishes and even books.</h3>

Functional Art - Jewelry / Fashion

A range of artistic practices encompassing both historical approaches to nature in art and more recent ecological and politically motivated types of works.

Wildlife / Nature

Watches & Timepieces

Sports Collectibles

3-Dimensonal

Rare Books / Manuscripts

Western European art represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition from antiquity until the present time. Until the mid-19th century it was primarily concerned with representational and Classical modes of production. After the mid-19th century modern, abstract and conceptual forms gained favor.

Western European

<h3>Artistic expression of Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, as well as Latin and Hispanic Americans living in other regions. Latin American art has roots in the many different indigenous cultures that inhabited the Americas before European colonization in the 16th-century.</h3>

Latin American and Hispanic

Comics

Large Scale (over 6')

Visual art created in public locations, usually unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of traditional art venues. Common forms and media include spray paint graffiti, stencil graffiti, poster art, sticker art, street installations, and sculpture.

Pop / Street Art / Graffiti

Medieval / Renaissance 

Non-Western

<h3>Art produced by self-taught or naïve art makers. Typically, those labeled as outsider artists have little or no contact with the mainstream art world or art institutions. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrates extreme mental states, unconventional ideas, or elaborate fantasy worlds.</h3>

Folk / Outsider / Self Taught

American Regionalism

Literary Arts

Mosiac

Includes manuscripts, prints, drawings, collages, and paintings on paper.

Works on Paper

Prints and Drawings

The International Currents Gallery of the John David Mooney Foundation exhibits and offers residencies to international artists whose challenging work push boundaries and explore new territories. Lectures, workshops, and Master Classes are interwoven into Chicago’s diverse creative communities; exhibitions run concurrently in three galleries, each 4,000 sq.ft.A special emergency fund, the Ukrainian Art Bridge Fellowship, was created after the Russian invasion to give safety and respite to at-risk artists and their families. Ten displaced Ukrainians have been supported to date with more residencies planned for 2024.The Albert I. Goodman Collection of wartime paintings, posters, and drawings from the 1960 and 70’s is on view in the third-floor gallery This unique and important collection serves as a study center for cross-cultural investigations. Ongoing are the Foundation’s environmental projects helping to control Climate Change in vibrant new ways through Art.&nbsp; The Foundation’s Apprentices and Interns are directly engaged in Mooney’s “Highway for Trees,” helping reduce the nation’s carbon footprint and offering the Beauty of Nature as a means and an award.The JDMF is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 educational arts organization.Image: Gallery view&nbsp;

John David Mooney Foundation

Located one block east of the historic Water Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, the MCA champions the provocative side of contemporary art and culture.&nbsp;Founded in 1967 as a Kunsthalle, or non-collecting art gallery, the MCA is now one of the world’s largest museums dedicated to art. Since our inception, it has been our mission to exhibit new and experimental work in all media, paired with ambitious education programs. In 1974, we expanded our mission to include collecting and preserving contemporary art for future generations with the inauguration of a permanent collection that has grown to include more than 2,000 works. After 29 years in a storefront on Ontario Street, the museum moved to our current location in 1996, giving our collection, exhibitions, performances, and programming room to evolve to&nbsp; meet the needs of art, artists, and audiences of todayTuesdays are free for Illinois residents&nbsp;and we are open until 9 pm; we are closed on Mondays.The MCA also offers FREE admission for youth 18 and under all year long.Visit <a href="http://www.mcachicago.org">website</a> to reserve ticketsPhoto: The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA)

Free and open to the public.Since 1916, The Arts Club of Chicago has been a preeminent exhibitor of international art, a forum for established and emerging artists, and a celebrated venue for performers from around the world. For over 100 years, The Arts Club has opened its membership to artists and patrons of the arts, and its exhibitions to the public.&nbsp;Image: Rathin Barman, artist. Photo: Michael Tropea

The Arts Club of Chicago

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) is a nationally acclaimed visual and performing arts complex located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It is known worldwide for preserving and exhibiting artist-built environments—where artists transform their surroundings into exceptional, multifaceted works of art, and visitors experience art in a deeply personal way that speaks to them and also reflects our common humanity.JMKAC’s mission is to generate a creative exchange between artists and the public. The Arts Center features rotating contemporary art exhibitions and hosts multidisciplinary artist residencies throughout the year. Onsite are eight gallery spaces, a performing arts theatre, and a family-friendly café serving fresh, seasonal fare. The museum gift shop features unique gifts and handmade artist creations. Classes and workshops are offered throughout the year for students of all ages. A hands-on art studio and award-winning, artist-designed washrooms round out the experience. During the summer months, JMKAC presents a free outdoor concert series and a popular arts festival.&nbsp;Admission and parking are always free.&nbsp;Winner of the 2023 Governor’s Tourism Award for Arts, Culture &amp; Heritage.Image: John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2023. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC)

The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago presents contemporary art exhibitions, events, and publications. “The Ren”—as we are known by many—is an independent, non-collecting museum driven by an uncompromising commitment to artists and their ideas.For artists, we offer an unfettered platform for bold experimentation. Our work with artists frequently results in newly commissioned art, and these presentations in our gallery at the University of Chicago spur further scholarly and creative reflections in our publications and public programs.&nbsp; Events—including artist talks, lectures, screenings, concerts, readings, and more—offer further opportunities for discovery and discussion.&nbsp;All exhibitions and events are free to attend.Join The Ren's mailing list <a href="https://renaissancesociety.org/about/ ">here.</a>&nbsp;The Renaissance Society is a registered 501(c)(3). We are a member of Mod/Co, Common Field, and UChicago Arts, and we are an independent affiliate of the University of Chicago.Image: Dala Nasser, Adonis River, installation view, 2023. Photo by Bob.&nbsp;

The Renaissance Society

The premiere home for arts and culture on the North Shore. Exhibits, Wedding and Events Venue, Classes for All Ages and Skill Levels.Located in the boutique town of Highland Park, The Art Center Highland Park presents museum-quality galleries with ever-changing exhibitions of local, international, emerging, and established artists. Vibrant programming has everything from annual events to monthly artist talks and collaborations with other local cultural arts providers. Your home for creative exploration on the North Shore of Chicago.Check our website for Calls for Artists entry dates and details throughout the year.&nbsp;Image: 2022 Exhibit Fiber • Fashion • Feminism in the Center Gallery at the Art Center Highland Park

The Art Center Highland Park

ARC Gallery is an internationally recognized exhibition space that has been an integral part of the Chicago art scene since its inception in 1973. Founded during the women’s movement as an alternative to the mainstream gallery system, ARC is one of the longest running art spaces of its kind in the country. As a non-profit, woman artist-run cooperative, ARC continues its feminist tradition by providing exhibition opportunities for professional and emerging artists working in all media based on excellence of artwork, without discrimination toward ethnicity, race, gender, age, class, religious, sexual or political orientation. Image: ARC Gallery, 2022.&nbsp;Image by Nathan Keay

ARC Gallery

Rhona Hoffman Gallery, founded originally as Young Hoffman Gallery in 1976,&nbsp;specializesin international contemporary art in all media, and art that is conceptually, formally, or socio-politically based. From its inception, the gallery has launched emerging artists’ careers. In the seventies, Young Hoffman Gallery was one of the first galleries to offer exhibitions to women artists including Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer,&nbsp;and Sylvia Plimack Mangold. Since 1983, when Rhona Hoffman and Donald Young announced the establishment of separate galleries, Rhona Hoffman Gallery has continued to show young and emerging artists alongside established ones. Among the artists the gallery has exhibited and/or continues to exhibit are Vito Acconci, Derrick Adams, Spencer Finch, Leon Golub,&nbsp;Robert Heinecken, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Sol LeWitt, Gordon Matta-Clark,&nbsp;Robert Ryman, Fred Sandback, Lorna Simpson, Nancy Spero, Richard Tuttle,&nbsp;Carrie Mae Weems, Kehinde Wiley, and Amanda Williams. Rhona Hoffman Gallery is very active in the Chicago arts community and maintains&nbsp;strong relationships with museums, helping to place important works in their collections and within their programs. Additionally, the gallery gives exposure to artists currently&nbsp;living in Chicago such as, Julia Fish, Judy Ledgerwood, Michael Rakowitz, Richard Rezac, David Schutter, Amanda Williams, and Anne Wilson. Image: View of&nbsp;Rhona Hoffman Gallery

Rhona Hoffman Gallery

Hyde Park Art Center is a hub for contemporary arts in Chicago, serving as a gathering and production space for artists and the broader community to cultivate ideas, impact social change, and connect with new networks. The Art Center functions as an amplifier for today and tomorrow’s creative voices, providing the space to cultivate and create new work and connections.&nbsp;We offer a comprehensive set of programs that serve the creative and resource needs of artists and our communities. Through our exhibitions, artist talks, studio art classes, international and local residency program, free public events, satellite class sites, and professional development opportunities we work to provide the space for artists at every age and stage to cultivate their practice, build connections, and impact our world.Our mission is to stimulate and sustain the visual arts in Chicago.All exhibitions and events are free and open to the public. Visit our <a href="http://www.hydeparkart.org">website</a> for updated hours and info.Image: Installation view of the exhibition Artists Run Chicago 2.0, held at the Hyde Park Art Center. Photography by Marc Monaghan

Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC)

PATRON is a contemporary art gallery in Chicago founded in collaboration by Julia Fischbach and Emanuel Aguilar. PATRON is founded on the defining characteristics of a patron of the arts, that is, a person chosen, named or honored as a special guardian, protector or supporter. With this foundation set as a cornerstone, the gallery hopes to open new and traditional avenues of helping audiences of patrons from all walks of life engage and find access to contemporary art.Member Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA).Installation view, SAMUEL LEVI JONES: No color in the pages, PATRON Gallery. Photo by Evan Jenkins.&nbsp;&nbsp;

PATRON 

DOCUMENT is a contemporary art gallery located in Chicago and Lisbon with a focus on image-based practices, sculpture, and installation art. Since its inception in Chicago in 2012, the gallery has organized over 100 exhibitions. In 2017, DOCUMENT relocated to West Town and has since anchored its program as a conversation between emerging voices and established figures. The gallery has developed a reputation for championing artists and exhibiting challenging works across disciplines. In 2022, the gallery opened a second location in Lisbon, Portugal. Operating conjointly as a professional printmaking studio, DOCUMENT facilitates the production of works by artists from the region and beyond, making a wide range of printing techniques available for gallery artists to realize their works. Image:&nbsp;Paul Mpagi Sepuya: Infinite Like Night, installation view at DOCUMENT Chicago, 2024

DOCUMENT

moniquemeloche was founded in October 2000, with its debut exhibition Homewrecker at Meloche’s home, and officially opened to the public in May 2001.&nbsp;Diverse and inclusive since its inception, the gallery promotes politically minded contemporary art, aiming to be a bellwether for artistic talents early or under-recognized in their careers. Working with an international group of emerging and established artists in all media, the gallery presents conceptually challenging installations in Chicago and at art fairs internationally, with an emphasis on curatorial and institutional outreach.Represented artists include: Luke Agada, Candida Alvarez, Sanford Biggers, Antonius-Tín Bui, David Antonio Cruz, Brendan Fernandes, Dan Gunn, Sheree Hovsepian, Rashid Johnson, Kajahl, Lavar Munroe, Ben Murray, Maia Cruz Palileo, Ebony G. Patterson, Cheryl Pope, Karen Reimer, Joel Ross, David Shrobe, Arvie Smith, Jake Troyli, Nate Young.&nbsp;Opening receptions take place on the frst night of the exhibition. Closed the week prior to each new exhibition.Image: Courtesy of the Artist and Monique Meloche Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/xH1TOwBoDrdTIA8klE8xwhd4Ouk1CFdognfHCBOciKXfpfu0Tydi98h0UCOfZyRSLINmJn6IeqnvqAjPd9tl1FMCA9DbCarnvFbWj-GDn5K87HfZLsckXJ5T5-nf_JPX39LBAWIH"></figure>&nbsp;

moniquemeloche

David Salkin Creative is a collaborative textile and surface-design studio that hosts a diverse exhibition program, located at the 1709 Gallery Building in West Town, Chicago. Recent educational exhibits of historic figures include Fluxus founder Dick Higgins, queer underground filmmaker Jack Smith, and Architect/Engineer Myron Goldsmith. Solo Exhibits of contemporary artists include Dominic Palarchio, Katie Rauth, Aron Gent, fields harrington, Austen Brown, Paul Levack and Rami George.Image: Dominic Palarchio "You had done nothing wrong", 2022. Image Credit: Aron Gent

David Salkin Creative

Conceived with the vision to return Epiphany to a place for people to once again congregate, the shuttered historic Church of the Epiphany has been preserved and adapted into an iconic cultural hub ‘For the Good of Art, Entertainment and Events. Thoughtfully designed, the exemplary 42,000 square foot campus boasts three distinct venues and a stunning array of amenities, including eight art galleries, a commercial and catering kitchen, cafe and bar, VIP suite and a collection of artistically appointed outdoor spaces: a charming quarter-acre courtyard, spacious terrace and stunning patio with lounge seating. Epiphany’s diverse and inclusive arts programming serves to unite artists, while bringing the community together at Chicago’s newest cultural destination for art, music, and entertainment. For more information about art exhibitions and events, contact <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:art@epiphanychi.com" target="_blank">art@epiphanychi.com</a> Photo: Tom McDonald

Epiphany Center for the Arts

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art is an independent organization that exhibits, collects, and preserves modern and contemporary art to provide transformative experiences that educate, reflect, and inspire us as individuals and a community.MMoCA will be a vibrant organization that will foster the exchange of ideas and create experiences that will inspire a wide audience; a nexus for the work of emerging and established artists, welcoming compelling new work, presenting this and existing work in a dynamic and extraordinary space; a catalyst for the continued development of a vigorous community of artists; a forum that will encourage people to be challenged by, reflect on, and make connections between art and the world around them.Following 105 years of presenting exhibitions and education programs in borrowed and refurbished spaces, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art opened to the public on April 23, 2006, in a brand new facility connected to Overture Center for the Arts.Designed by world-renowned architect César Pelli, the Museum’s exhilarating facility offers 51,500 square feet of interior space, as well as the 7,100-square-foot Rooftop Sculpture Garden. Public amenities include spacious galleries, a 230-seat lecture hall, a children’s classroom, a new-media gallery, and a study center for drawings, prints, and photographs. The facility was made possible by the extraordinary generosity of W. Jerome Frautschi, a long-time friend of the Museum.Museum exhibitions and most education programs at MMoCA are free to the public.Image: exterior view of the museum.

Conceptual / Performance

Other Specialties

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