This is the third article in The Life of an Artwork, a three-part series about what happens to your artwork or collection over time, and what artists and collectors can do now to shape those outcomes. The series offers practical approaches to documentation, organization, valuation, and dispersal before those decisions are left to family members, executors, or chance. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780675774/dfmhdlftqfbctkmnpouu.jpg"> By Mary E. Longe What happens next is not one decision. It is a series of them. By the time artists and collectors ask, what happens to all of it? and the work has been inventoried, the issue is no longer what exists, but what to do with it. This is where intention becomes real.Ideally, the inventory process already includes a plan. Begin by identifying what exists, where it is, and what documentation accompanies it. For artists, the first distinction is between what represents the work now and what does not. Not every piece belongs in circulation. Some work carries forward, aligned with current direction and ready to be sold or placed through appropriate channels. Other work may still hold value, but requires a different path, gifts, direct sales, reuse, educational placement, or storage outside the core of the practice. Some works are meant to be destroyed. Collectors face a parallel decision. Collectors range from those who acquire major works to those who buy signed prints from graffiti artists, accumulate brass hose nozzles, inherit family artwork, or collect fiber art dolls, digital works, and NFTs. Eventually, the question becomes not only what to keep, but what to release, what to pass on, and how. Collections contain works with financial, historical, and personal value, and understanding the difference matters when planning dispersal. Selling is often the most visible option, but it is not a single path. For work already established within gallery, collector, or secondary market channels, artists can begin with direct outreach to current collectors and existing gallery relationships. Consignment galleries, where work is sold on behalf of the artist or estate, are another option. Galleries are approached by hundreds of artists, estates, and families each year, making it essential to research whether the work genuinely fits the gallery’s mission, audience, and review process before making contact. Specialty collections, from fiber art dolls to brass hose nozzles and graffiti prints, may be better served through collector groups, auctions, blogs, forums, and organizations where collectors gather. For unsold work, older work, or work outside traditional fine art markets, artists or inheritors may organize studio sales, temporary storefront sales, or estate sales. Existing galleries may help place selected work, while collectors and inheritors can contact local or online auction houses, such as Live Auctioneers, as well as online resale platforms, such as Chairish, Artsy, 1stDibs, for pieces better suited to secondary markets. Each route carries different implications for pricing, visibility, and continuity. Thoughtful placement can reinforce an artist’s trajectory. Resale introduces another layer. Auction houses and secondary platforms provide access, but also reduce control. Prices become public and sales histories become part of the record. Entering resale markets should be a deliberate decision, not simply the easiest option. Gifting and donation require planning. Work given to family, friends, or institutions should include receipts, photographs, exhibition history, and notes about when or why the piece was made. A signature somewhere on the work is imperative, even if discreet. Labels, exhibition title cards, or inventory numbers attached to the back of the work can prevent confusion years later. Without that information, artwork can quickly lose provenance, context, and value once it leaves the artist or collector. Donation to thrift or resale venues can weaken the perceived value of the work for existing collectors and the artist’s larger body of work. Offering the work back to the artist first is often the better option.Some decisions are more practical than sentimental. Large works, fragile materials, and storage costs often shape dispersal decisions. Work may return to the studio to be reworked, archived, or documented more clearly. Some work may need to be removed from circulation entirely when it no longer represents the artist’s direction. In closing an art practice, supplies, tools, and equipment can also be included in studio sales or donated to reuse organizations such as The WasteShed or Creative Reuse Exchange in Chicago. Digital work requires the same organization. Files should be named, backed up, and transferred with passwords, access instructions, and ownership records preserved. For NFTs, wallet information, keys, and contract details must remain accessible. Shared password records or designated digital executors can prevent work from becoming inaccessible. Documentation matters. Every sale, gift, donation, transfer, or removal should be recorded. Keeping receipts, photographs, and notes with the work preserves provenance and makes future decisions easier. Families should not be expected to identify artwork, understand markets, or reconstruct intentions without written guidance. These decisions are easiest when made before a health crisis, sudden move, or estate settlement forces them. For artists, the body of work does not end with its creation. The same is true for collectors. The best time to decide what happens to the work is while the artist or collector can still explain it. In the end, what happens to all of it is not solved by one path, but by making thoughtful decisions along the way. Work that moves with intention retains its meaning. Work that moves without it risks losing value. Mary E. Longe is the author of <a href="https://www.marylonge.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">Art Legacy Compass: Managing, Downsizing and Transitioning an Artist’s Studio and Estate</a>. She holds a certificate in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art (London), is former Executive Director, Plein Air Painters Chicago, a contributor to Plein Air Magazine and other art publications. She is the author of five published books in healthcare. Longe is also an artist, who creates multimedia artworks with an eye on the current socio-political experience. Longe’s collage art has been critiqued in Made in Bed Magazine, and her plein air art in New City online magazine. Besides her art and writing life, Mary Longe’s professional career included twenty years working for the American Hospital Association, and 17 years, as founder and CEO of Longe Life Libraries, which designed specialty consumer health libraries for health care organizations and other businesses. She can be reached at mary.longe@gmail.com.

Final part of series about what to do with an artist's estate

The Life of an Artwork: How It Moves On

<h3>These stand-alone creative stores are what make shopping and gift-giving fun as well as meaningful to an artist or store owner. Sometimes spending time in the following spaces is as good as stepping into an artist’s studio to see what catches their eye, and maybe yours too.&nbsp;</h3><h3> </h3><h3>– CGN</h3> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780374041/xajtzq8xuggnm92jq49e.jpg">Serizawa&nbsp;Bundle of&nbsp;Stationery Joy. $68.00 BARI ZAKI stocks many magical items in her North Lincoln Ave. store, including heirloom-quality hand-bound books and albums, washi tape, pencils, erasers and wrapping paper so pretty you can frame it. She also assembles seasonal paper bundles that are enveloped in materials like vintage calendar pages from the 1980’s beribboned with Japanese flat cord. Each bundle is unique and contains around 20 artist and designer notecards, envelopes and postcards from Zaki’s vast collection. You can order online, but you should definitely go in person. &nbsp; <a href="https://www.barizaki.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">barizaki.com</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780374043/lmzo2ron3jepa90w4rza.jpg">Monument Bookend. Italian White Carrara marble, black&nbsp;neoprene. Single bookend, 8” high, 6” deep and wide. $180.&nbsp; Artist and SAIC grad Jean Cate named her shop Martha Mae: Art Supplies &amp; Beautiful Things after her beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The store offers a curated selection of tools for writing, drawing, painting and ceramics as well as special supplies for everyday life – from puzzles and key rings to stemless wine glasses – crafted by brands and artisans from around the world. Many products use reusable, recycled or refillable formats. Cate’s sister shop, The Center of Order and Experimentation, is the home to the Martha Mae Outpost and is located in West Town.&nbsp; <a href="https://marthamae.info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">marthamae.info</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780374043/w4aexwadwflcrrnnjhlr.jpg">Chicago Sign Painter Tee. $35.00 MIDWEST NICE aims to genuinely celebrate the Midwest’s vibrant creativity and warm welcomes. Here you can discover one-of-a-kind gifts, apparel, and artwork from over 100 local artists and makers across the Midwest. Thoughtfully curated, community-driven and always full of heart you wear on your sleeves, head or wherever. Give this shirt to anyone who loves hand-painted grocer signs (who doesn’t?)&nbsp; Midwest Nice has store locations in Lincoln Square in Chicago and on Third Street in Geneva, IL. <a href="https://www.midwestnice.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">midwestnice.com</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780374044/jgtbnghf53f41qa197rp.jpg">Cloud Tissue Box Cover by JOYTOAST. 3D Printed to order in Chicago and made from&nbsp;eco BioPlastic from plants! $24.00&nbsp; HUMBOLDT HOUSE is a feminist home goods store founded in 2013 in Humboldt Park by Claire Tibbs as a celebration of the home and all its happenings — from nightly rituals to morning routines, snack time to candle hour. HH offers items unique to Chicago alongside beautiful pet toys, baby and kid gifts, paper goods, and very personal items... HH also offers monthly subscription boxes by theme–cooking or self-care plus pet treats–starting at $75/mo. <a href="https://humboldthouseco.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">humboldthouseco.com</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780374045/m4ua1wkc0b52tmnqtfto.jpg">Rachel Quinn. Crowned Skull Necklace. 14kt yellow gold skull with diamond eyes. Sapphire, diamond, ruby crown Tahitian Pearl drop. $ 2,050.00 VIRTU in Bucktown has been family owned and operated for over 25 years. They sell fine jewelry, whimsical children’s plush toys, witty greeting cards, artisan throw blankets, incense bundles, and much more. They are champions of artists, small business and community. Their long tenure in a rapidly changing part of the city is testament to how much the neighborhood loves and supports them.&nbsp; <a href="https://www.virtuforyou.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Virtuforyou.com</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780374045/o2ioyo4kgulfy8jdhnzb.jpg">Isabelle Gougenheim Designs | Scarf. 21 x 21”, 75% Modal 25% Cupro. Designed in Chicago. $ 235 Located in Hyde Park and founded by&nbsp;Eric Williams in 1997, THE SILVER ROOM has been supporting local designers, hosting events and building community for over 20 years. TSR features product categories like Chicago Made and Black Owned, with a range of offerings from enamel pins by Wicker Park’s Transit Tees, to luxury scarves by Isabelle Gougenhiem, jewelry, hand-painted trucker hats, soaps (made by Soap Distillery, one is called Beer and Cigarettes) and totes. Many items you won’t find easily anywhere else. <a href="https://thesilverroom.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thesilverroom.com</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780374046/llfy8y1gzltlb3s6e2at.jpg"> BUDDY, at the Chicago Cultural Center downtown, sells a range of art objects by local artists. Each of Chicago-based Mayumi Lake’s 6” x 6” ornaments feature colorful flower motifs from antique girl kimonos, mini works of art you can display on a holiday tree or anywhere all year long. $30 each.&nbsp; <a href="https://hi-buddy.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hi-buddy.org</a>

Shop Happy: Independent Stores with Art and More

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780408737/abgfruowqlyso4aekcwt.jpg">Francis Bacon, Figure with Meat, oil on canvas, 1954. Without frame: 129.9 × 121.9 cm (51 3/16 × 48 in.); 129.9 × 122 cm (51 1/8 × 48 in.) Harriott A. Fox Fund. © 2016 Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. / ARS, New York / DACS, London By MAC PIERCE In a version of Children of Men in which culture has consolidated and that which is valuable degrades, this is my Guernica. In this scenario my home has a few Richters, maybe a Goya from his Black Paintings, but Figure with Meat hangs alone in the living room. It is a vile painting that evokes dark truths, transfixing anyone that views it with its awful beauty. The figure appears to sit alone in featureless room composed of black walls that engulf the central figure. To the right of the figure is a wall that does not end at the furthest plane at the end of the room, implying that there is an exit to this space, forever out of view. Standing in front of this painting, I got the sense that the room may have had another treatment. Instead, the walls had been painted over with black reinforced by the uneven treatment of the seams between floor and ceiling. It’s an intentional application, with brushstrokes working towards a vanishing point instead of a consistent unidirectional application. It is a space without place – a nowhere that could be any sort of dungeon / blacksite / void - with the only way out is forever inaccessible. You are stuck with the figure and that figure is screaming. The face and hands of the pontiff that occupies the center of the frame are the color of dead flesh, grey with hints of colors that suggest other features. Its head is grotesque, a lopsided nose and lips drawn back over a slack mouth, one eye fully open but rendered as a pit and the other swollen closed like that of a boxer. It is not the face of a corpse laid gently to rest; violence has been enacted upon it. The rigor mortise of an image committed to dried paint set this pope so that it is locked looking at the viewer, all while it occupies the regal pose of a dignitary – seated in a ghostly throne with one arm crossing its lap. The robes of the pope are brighter than the figure, a deep unfaded blue unfitting the state of decay of the wearer. It’s discordant and to hazard a few guesses, could be gesturing at any number of things – the ways in which ideology and systems will outlive their creators, or simply how even the holiest of holies on earth – the voice of God on earth – will rot.&nbsp; Which is why, shadowing the figure like a pair of wings, the hanging sides of a slaughtered animal drive home that there is no life in this frame. Whatever it was, it is another living thing that has had violence enacted upon it, eviscerated and bifurcated, freshly having crossed the boundary in which a corpse instead becomes meat. Through the suspended meat, Bacon also depicts the most vibrant flesh as that which is unquestionably dead. The space between the gristle of the ribs is the crimson of fresh blood. The skin on the exterior is warm, having not yet gone grey. Between which elements is a visible underpainted layer of cobalt blue – more vibrant beyond the indigo of the papal robes. It has a purity to it, depicting something recognizable in an otherwise ghostly composition while also imparting a value judgement – the meat is real, while the figure of ideology is rotten. In the end though, this whole piece is allusion – even the most highly rendered object in the frame is blurred. Areas of the composition that may have been detailed appear to have had the broad side of a paint knife dragged over them while other aspects are constituted by blocks of color. The whole work has fuzzy edges of a dream (nightmare), if not for the graphic icon taking the form of an arrow pointing directly at the head of the seated pope. It’s another discordant addition, flexing the scene into something altogether different. The highlighting of an object through the use of a pointing arrow is the sort of addition usually reserved for didactic purposes, and within a composition as veiled in its intent as Figure with Meat, its meaning becomes further muddled. Is it a reference to the notation given to images attached to text ‘Figure A’? Or maybe it’s drawing from a heritage of forensic imagery – crime scene photographs where grisly details are called out with drawn arrows? Whatever the reason, it is pointed at the head of the pope, making sure the focus of the painting returns to the screaming face no matter where else on the painting the eye goes. It’s a grotesque image, but refreshingly one that doesn’t hide behind any sort of pleasantries to try and make itself more appealing. So much of the modern culture of images exists in a state where images act simultaneously as expression and advertising. Social media companies have captured most of the vehicles by which photos are shared, and through their very structure preference images that do not challenge the viewer. Depictions of disturbing or otherwise off-putting content are downranked in algorithmic feeds and substituted with unchallenging content that appeals to users and advertisers. Viral images gain velocity precisely because thay can be understood at a glance. Figure with Meat actively resists this; its intentions are nebulous, if understandable at all. It is not an image that brings joy. Instead, it allows the viewer to be uncomfortable without shirking away – and it is all the better for it. Francis Bacon’s Figure with Meat, is on view at&nbsp;the Art Institute of Chicago in the Modern Wing,&nbsp;Gallery 398&nbsp;•&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/4884/figure-with-meat" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">artic.edu</a> #

Artist to Artist: Spending Time With Francis Bacon’s Figure With Meat at the Art Institute

This is the second article in The Life of an Artwork, a three-part series about what happens to your artwork or collection over time, and what artists and collectors can do now to shape those outcomes. The series offers practical approaches to documentation, organization, valuation, and dispersal before those decisions are left to family members, executors, or chance. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780675621/dlmeh3s7aoejcic1ovns.jpg"> By Mary E. Longe What happens to all of it? An artist walks into an overflowing studio. A collector no longer has space on a wall. The accumulation reflects years of effort, but not necessarily a clear sense of what belongs and what does not. For artists, work from different periods sits side by side, early pieces, recent work, finished paintings, unresolved ideas, some documented, some not, some clearly part of a larger direction, others less certain. For collectors, the pattern is similar. Collections may include fine art acquired for aesthetic, cultural, or investment value, works traded at art fairs or auctions, alongside works bought at craft fairs, postcards, turtle art, inherited family objects, or specialty collections built over decades. Not every piece carries the same weight. Some remain meaningful, others harder to place or explain, with records that are scattered or incomplete.And sometimes, it becomes someone else’s problem, family members or executors left with all of it and no clear direction. For artists and collectors, this is where a system becomes necessary, not optional. An inventory, whether in Excel or a platform like ArtworkArchive, needs to track each work with title, date, dimensions, medium, images, current location, and status, sold, placed, leased, donated, or in storage. Inventory numbers attached to the back of the work, consistent file names, and matching image folders make it possible to identify work later without relying on memory alone. Documentation is what preserves provenance. Receipts, invoices, exhibition histories, contracts, correspondence, certificates, and installation photographs should remain with the record of the work. Collectors should keep records of where and when a piece was acquired, while artists should maintain notes about series, exhibitions, and ownership history. If a work cannot be identified later, neither can its history, authorship, or value. The records themselves also need a system. Spreadsheets, cloud folders, external drives, printed binders, or shared estate files all work if they are organized consistently and backed up. The goal is not complexity. It is making sure someone else can understand the work without the artist or collector standing beside it. What happens to all of it is not answered by keeping work in place, unless the artist is deliberately holding it as part of a shift in direction. Inventorying a body of work or collection creates the opportunity to determine and document plans or suggestions for what happens next, which works can be sold, gifted, inherited, donated, archived, reworked, or removed from circulation entirely. It is also the practical moment to assess condition, noting damage, fading, framing issues, missing information, or conservation needs before problems worsen or records are lost. Artists may also identify unfinished or unrepresentative work that should not continue outward. These decisions apply differently to artists and collectors, but they depend on the same thing: knowing what exists, where it is, and what accompanies it. Without that structure, even strong work tends to remain in place, not by intention, but by default. Digital work requires the same level of attention. Files should be named consistently, backed up, and linked to the same information as physical work, title, date, format, dimensions or duration, and version. Where the work exists matters just as much, on a hard drive, in cloud storage, on a platform, or, in the case of NFTs, on a blockchain with associated wallet and contract details. Passwords, access instructions, and ownership records should be preserved as carefully as the files themselves. If the question is being asked because the artist is downsizing or closing an art practice, the business side must be inventoried as well. This includes documenting revenue sources, commissions, consignment and licensing agreements, leases, teaching contracts, grants, outstanding obligations, client and gallery relationships, digital accounts, equipment, supplies, furniture, and other assets or responsibilities connected to the work. Executors and family members will rarely understand the full scope of an art practice without clear records and written guidance. This process does not have to be done alone. Art history students can assist with organizing and documenting inventories, professional conservators may help assess condition and identify needed remediation, and professional appraisers can help establish realistic values and determine what matters most. The University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago have art history programs where students may be found locally. What happens to all of it ultimately depends on whether the work can still be identified, documented, and understood years from now. Without that, even important work becomes difficult to place, inherit, preserve, or value. Mary E. Longe is the author of <a href="https://www.marylonge.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">Art Legacy Compass: Managing, Downsizing and Transitioning an Artist’s Studio and Estate</a>. She holds a certificate in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art (London), is former Executive Director, Plein Air Painters Chicago, a contributor to Plein Air Magazine and other art publications. She is the author of five published books in healthcare. Longe is also an artist, who creates multimedia artworks with an eye on the current socio-political experience. Longe’s collage art has been critiqued in Made in Bed Magazine, and her plein air art in New City online magazine. Besides her art and writing life, Mary Longe’s professional career included twenty years working for the American Hospital Association, and 17 years, as founder and CEO of Longe Life Libraries, which designed specialty consumer health libraries for health care organizations and other businesses. She can be reached at mary.longe@gmail.com.

Second article about what to do with an artist's estate

The Life of an Artwork: When It All Adds Up

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780369102/bifxlcyeocqqt2noeiuy.jpg">Undated photo: Alexander Calder, Red Petals, 1942. Commissioned for the Club’s 400 N. Michigan Ave. location. <h4>This feature appears in CGN's spring/summer 2026 issue. To purchase a copy or subscribe&nbsp;<a href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">click here.</a></h4> By GINNY VAN ALYEA The Arts Club of Chicago has a long history of championing the arts in the city, and it’s been the site of many&nbsp;key events in Chicago’s cultural evolution. A venue for public exhibitions and installations, The Arts Club, as its name indicates, is also a private club with an engaged membership. We spoke with Executive Director,&nbsp;Curator Janine Mileaf about what makes the club unique in today’s art landscape as well as what it can offer the public and current and prospective members who wish to engage with art.&nbsp; CGN: For readers who may not know the club well, can you briefly share the story behind its founding and original purpose? Janine Mileaf: The Arts Club was founded in 1916, just after the Armory Show (the first major exhibition of modern art in the United States) exposed Chicago’s antipathy toward such radical art forms. Students at the School of the Art Institute, for example, burned a faux Matisse painting in response. As a result, a group of artists and tastemakers came together to form an institution that would raise Chicago’s level of awareness about the international vanguard through exhibitions, programs, and conversations that would be open to the public. As was said at the time, we would bring together “art lovers” and “art workers.” Early documents about the process of our founding insist that The Arts Club would be a place where people could come to see something new and decide for themselves whether or not to embrace the art--disagreement and debate was built into the idea. CGN: What does being a private club in today’s art ecosystem allow you to do differently from museums, galleries, or nonprofit art spaces? JM: Members of The Arts Club of Chicago pay dues to belong. For this, they get access to our community, dining facilities, and many private programs and events. However, their dues also support our public mission to make exhibitions and events accessible to a broad audience. In this way, members here participate in a deep, intimate conversation while providing a civic good. This model gives us flexibility in our program and allows us to support work that might not be broadly popular at the moment--this was exactly the impetus for our founding.&nbsp; CGN: How do public exhibitions fit into the club’s broader mission? JM: Public exhibitions remain at the core of our being--we exist to bring art and performance to the city of Chicago. Indeed, we have expanded our exhibition initiatives through a street-facing program in our garden to address spectators who might not think of coming to a gallery or museum. This outdoor space is situated at the very busy corner of Ontario and St. Clair--where pedestrians stream by constantly. The Garden Projects, which feature installations by Chicago-based artists, provide a moment for our neighbors to encounter art during their regular routines.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780369103/s9sbpxgen8ncl0khekzr.jpg">Angel Bat Dawid performs at the Arts Club in April 2025. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson. CGN: How does the club create opportunities for meaningful interaction between artists, collectors, and members? JM: Each of our exhibitions and Garden Projects are accompanied by a series of public events. We host gallery tours, panels, and artist talks, but also experimental performance and artist interactions. For an exhibition of work by Suzanne Jackson in 2022, we organized a panel about Black Abstraction with local artists and thought leaders including the late sculptor Richard Hunt. Last year, Cosmo Whyte invited clarinetist and Chicago icon Angel Bat Dawid to interpret his exhibition through improvisational music, and Temitayo Ogunbiyi engaged two local ice cream makers to invent custom flavors related to the botanical drawings she had on view. The ice cream, made of sorghum, corn, chili, or paw paw was distributed at community events both at The Arts Club and around the city--like at the Arboreal Society’s Humboldt Park dance party. These inventive engagements open a dialogue around the visual art on display and also extend an invitation to new circles of potential friends. Other times, a public conversation may be driven by a broader topic of concern or by artistic curiosity. By commissioning performance work, we support an artistic ecosystem and instigate new ideas. Black Being, a work by the duo Flutronix that we supported beginning in 2019 was just recorded by the Chicago Sinfonietta on Cedille Records. Upcoming on April 28th, the indigenous scholar Stephanie Morningstar will speak on the power of plants to connect people. CGN: Chicago has several independent, nonprofit as well as museum-affiliated collector groups today—what makes this club distinctive? JM: While we welcome the company of so many newer initiatives, we believe there is nothing comparable to The Arts Club of Chicago because of its world-class exhibitions, collection, and performances, its legacy, its facilities, and its 110-year commitment to the avant-garde. There is no other place in which you can sit in the the very seats that were in the building when Marcel Duchamp came to install an exhibition of sculpture by Constantin Brancusi, climb a staircase designed by Mies van der Rohe, or be on the descendent stage that welcomed one of the first concerts by John Cage or that hosted talks by Igor Stravinsky, Gertrude Stein, or Jean Dubuffet. And while we are not a museum, our rooms are filled with art works that echo that history and move it into the present. The Arts Club of Chicago makes a home for art of all kinds--this function is our commitment to the city and to our membership.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780369103/syt5nkongzsibvimafhw.jpg">Current Arts Club Fellow Erez Dessel &amp; Look Both Days perform in the Arts Club garden. Photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson. CGN: In an era when art spaces can sometimes feel either exclusive or driven by social scenes, how does The Arts Club think about fostering deeper engagement with artists and their work? JM: We established a fellowship for emerging artists to make sure we are engaged with the next generation and that they have a place to connect in Chicago. Exclusivity is actually part of our constitution, but not only do we take our public mission very seriously, but we also want to redefine what it means to be exclusive. We build our membership from people who are curious. We are not trendy or superficial, but rather we cultivate an audience and membership that commit themselves to the arts in myriad ways. Our members are innovators, patrons of other arts institutions, they are professionals who support the work of makers, they are collectors, performers, and readers. Private clubs are actually on the rise lately because of a need for social belonging, and as part of that, we appeal to those who are searching for their people in the realm of art. CGN: Can you share the process for someone to become a member of The Arts Club? JM: We invite applications from all those who are passionate about the arts, that includes anyone who might be new to Chicago or the art world. The best first step if you don’t have an organic connection to a current member is to email our Membership Manager David Merz at membership@artsclubchicago.org. There is a sliding scale of dues that depends upon one’s age and/or role in the arts. That makes it surprisingly affordable for younger people or artists to join. Another way to find out more about The Arts Club is to attend one of our public events and talk to members and/or staff who are in attendance. Our public events are announced through our website, instagram, and mailing list, and everyone is welcome. <a href="https://www.artsclubchicago.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">artsclubchicago.org</a> #

A Place for Art the Arts Club of Chicago's Timeless Relevance

<h3>In an age of mass-produced everything, collecting art can be a reprieve. When you purchase a work from a gallery, you are not just bringing an inspiring object into your life. You are often directly supporting a living artist and the creative ecosystem that sustains them.</h3><h3> </h3><h3>An art collection does not need to start big. It simply needs to start.</h3><h3> </h3><h3>The most compelling collections are built slowly, piece by piece, guided by curiosity and personal connection.&nbsp;</h3><h3> </h3><h3>– CGN</h3> • This feature is part of CGN's spring/summer 2026 edition. If you'd like to receive a print copy please <a href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">click here</a> to purchase or subscribe. • If you'd like to read CGN's extensive library of past collector profiles in order see the variety of collections in Chicago, <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/articles/interviews" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">click here</a>. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780366634/opzrctvx24gzveojptwi.jpg">CGN has interviewed dozens of art collectors over the years. Some images from collections are pictured above: Left, Melissa Weber and Jay Dandy's collection; Top right: <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/articles/a-living-collection-sundeep-mullangi-and-trissa-babrowski-support-their-city-through-art" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">Sundeep Mullangi and Trissa Babrowski</a>; Lower right: <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/articles/falling-in-love-how-collector-kate-neisser-discovers-art" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">Kate Neisser</a>. <h3>Start With What You Love</h3> For new collectors, the best advice is refreshingly simple: begin with the work you cannot stop thinking about. Don’t overthink where it will live.Don’t worry about what goes with what.Don’t wait until you have a grand plan.Buy the piece that speaks to you. You will live with it. The collection will grow naturally from there. <h3>Set a Comfortable Budget</h3> Before beginning the search for a new work, decide what you feel comfortable spending annually, whether it's for a single piece or several. You do not need to spend thousands to begin collecting. Many collectors start with works by emerging artists, editions, or smaller pieces in the $200–$500 range. Collecting is a long game. Building slowly and with a budget you can live with often leads to the most meaningful collections. <h3>Understand the Full Cost of a Purchase</h3> The price of the artwork is only part of the equation. When budgeting, consider the broader costs that come with collecting. <h3>Artist &amp; Market Value</h3> Established artists typically command higher prices, while emerging artists often provide more accessible entry points for new collectors. Works that are rare or art by artists no longer living can cost more because of limited availability.&nbsp; <h3>Medium &amp; Materials</h3> Unique works, such as paintings or sculpture, generally cost more than editioned work or multiples. Works on paper and photography can cost less. Materials and craftsmanship can also influence a work’s longevity and value. <h3>Handling, Framing, Shipping</h3> Proper framing, including protective materials like UV glass, preserves and enhances a work of art. Shipping costs vary depending on size, weight, and fragility. Custom crates can add a lot to cost. <h3>Care &amp; Insurance</h3> For higher-value works, collectors may wish to consider insurance or professional storage. <h3>Take Your Time</h3> Spend time looking before you buy. Attend gallery openings.Visit art fairs.Join exhibition tours and collector groups.Speak with gallerists and artists whenever possible. Over time, your eye will sharpen and your taste will develop. Relationships within the art world often lead to deeper insight into an artist’s practice—and sometimes early access to new work. <h3>A Few Final Tips</h3> •&nbsp;Collect what resonates with you. Don’t chase what's hot or what you think will rise in value fastest. •&nbsp;Keep simple records of your purchases (artist, title, medium, date, and price) somewhere you can easily access them. •&nbsp;Collecting art is not about perfection. It is about the process of discovery. It starts with one piece. Enjoy the process! # <h3>Please use CGN as a collecting resource! </h3><h3> </h3><h3>Keep up with our free weekly newsletter <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> or purchase a subscription <a href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. </h3>

CGN Collecting 101

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780683245/p8kux1betq7mijxg5dvt.jpg">Curtis Anthony Bozif, Day's End, installation view By SUSAN GESCHEIDLE I traveled to Door County, WI, for the first time over Memorial Day weekend to check out Curtis Anthony Bozif's exhibition, Day's End. I timed my trip perfectly to attend his artist talk on the closing day, Saturday, May 23rd. Hosted at the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek, the show was part of the school's Spotlight Exhibition Series, curated by Shane McAdams. The series uniquely presented concurrent, concept-driven solo exhibitions by two distinct artists. Bozif's work was installed inside the Guenzel Gallery, a striking ten-sided space inspired by Wisconsin’s historic round barns. During his talk, Bozif explained that he created this new body of work specifically with this geometric layout in mind, utilizing the ten walls to hang seven large horizontal canvases and three small tondo paintings. The afternoon sun streamed through the windows, and the shifting light brought out the moody, atmospheric layers in the paintings. A nice touch was the way the tondos provided a subtle echo of the circular window above, playing off the room's unique architecture. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780683245/okf6chpefbehsbpeunbf.jpg">Number 11 (Vespers) (Sun Painting)2024oil on canvas78 x 54 x 1.25” (198.12 x 137.16 x 3.175 cm) From a distance, Bozif’s paintings look ethereal, almost spectral. They seem to glow from within, as if you are looking through a thin scarf of iridescent silk. This illusion gives the flat canvas a surprising three-dimensional depth, evoking the soft, radiant haze of a real sunset. The effect ties in beautifully with Bozif’s own words regarding his career-long fascination with the "atmospheric phenomena of sunsets." Closer to the wall, that illusion of transparent silk gives way to physical brushwork. It reveals a solid surface—smooth and meticulous—with a shimmery finish. Standing at this close range, the pure lusciousness of the medium is obvious. The colors are deep and vibrant, shifting seamlessly across the canvas with a smooth, saturated depth. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780683246/pqa9wijtemrepkperomt.jpg">Curtis Anthony Bozif, Day's End, installation view This play of color is especially lovely in pieces like Number 11 (Vespers) (Sun Painting), with its gold, yellow, and light brown tones. Meanwhile, a personal favorite, Number 18 (Vespers), features moody violet hues. Bozif noted that this palette was a nod to fellow Chicago artist Nick Schutzenhofer's recent show, Dust Jacket, at Mickey, as he was drawn to Schutzenhofer's heavy use of purple shades. Finally, the exhibition turned to night with my favorite piece, Number 16 (Vespers). It shifted into a darker palette, feeling nocturnal and moody. There is a subtle drama to it—a bit subdued, yet gorgeous. Addressing the crowd, Bozif shared the unique process behind these textures. Working in his Rogers Park studio, he leaned the canvases against the wall and used a precise technique to create a fine mist of paint. He constantly flicked the stiff bristles of a nylon brush, letting tiny droplets drift through the air and naturally fall downward. This paint slowly built up into misty pillars of color, shadow, and light. His physical process forced the paint to behave similarly to the floating haze he was capturing. This series was influenced by the Canadian wildfires of 2023 through 2025, which drifted over Chicago with residual ash, producing bold sunrises and blazing orange sunsets. Seeing these beautiful yet toxic skies filled Bozif with both awe and a deep unease, leading to what he described as “a kind of contemplation at a day’s end that comes close to prayer.” While Bozif’s sunset canvases line the outside walls, Siri Stensberg’s concurrent exhibition, Constellations from Unspoken Sentences, hung in the center of the gallery as a floating sculpture of painted ribbon and salvaged plastic. Both artists pull from the same core inspiration—capturing the fleeting moods of daylight and the air around us. While Bozif’s show was the primary reason for my trip, the entire experience was well worth the long drive. Leaving the gallery, I headed out to a nearby state park, shifting my gaze from the painted sunsets on the walls to the real ones over the lake. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780683247/nn6kkofacof2mzhynsho.jpg">Number 18 (Vespers)2026oil on canvas78 x 54 x 1.5” (198.12 x 137.16 x 3.81 cm)

A feature on Curtis Anthony Bozif's show at PenArt in Door County Wisconsin

Curtis Anthony Bozif's Sunsets, Both Real and Creative, Summon a Visit to Wisconsin

This is the first article in The Life of an Artwork, a three-part series about what happens to your artwork or collection over time and what artists and collectors can do now to shape those outcomes. The series offers practical approaches to documentation, organization, valuation, and dispersal before those decisions are left to family members, executors, or chance.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780675436/rah5akxlnduhgdvyyezj.jpg"> By Mary E. Longe There is a question that tends to arrive late, usually much later than anyone would prefer: what will happen to it all? For artists, it emerges gradually. A studio crosses from productive to crowded. Finished work leans against walls, wrapped pieces disappear behind shelves, studies mix with completed work, and records of sales, exhibitions, pricing, or location become incomplete or inconsistent. Some works are signed, others are not. Photographs, provenance, and contracts may exist, in manilla or online folders, bins or a pile on a dusty taboret. At that point, the studio is no longer only a place to make work. It also requires organization, documentation, and decisions about what continues forward and what does not. For collectors, the signs are practical. Storage fills, records are incomplete, and pieces acquired over decades can no longer be easily identified, valued, insured, or passed on. Collections may include investment level fine art, paintings bought while traveling, craft fair ceramics, vintage posters, folk art, artist made jewelry, postcards, handmade quilts, family heirlooms, or specialized collections built over decades. At that point, the collection needs more than appreciation. It needs organization, documentation, and decisions about what should remain, what should move on, and why. For families, it arrives all at once, when a door to a studio opens and what is inside is not just objects, but decisions, what stays, what is sold, and what has value, often without clear records or guidance from either the artist or the collector. No matter who faces it, by the time the question surfaces, the answers are rarely simple. Which is why it is worth asking earlier, at the point where almost no one thinks to ask it: in the studio, at the moment of creation. There is a persistent belief that value is assigned later by galleries, collectors, and the market. Those forces matter, but they do not start the story. Value begins earlier, embedded in decisions that can look like routine studio practice rather than strategy. For artists, that includes the materials chosen, whether the work is signed and dated, whether pieces are photographed before leaving the studio, whether titles remain consistent, whether records are kept, and whether a body of work can still be understood years later. Even decisions that feel temporary, stacked canvases without labels, missing invoices, lost artist statements, unfinished provenance, become part of how the work is eventually understood, trusted, and valued. Over time, these decisions accumulate into something more structured than they appear. A body of work either holds together or it does not. Collectors encounter the result of that accumulation. For artists, it means leaving behind work that can be understood without being there to explain it. For collectors, it means keeping enough information so someone else can understand it later. I recently visited a studio where the work was strong and clearly the result of years of effort, but the surrounding structure told a different story. Paintings were unlabeled, finished works sat beside studies, and there was no consistent record of titles, dates, or where pieces had been. When I asked about a particular work, the artist had to reconstruct its history, and without that context, even strong work becomes harder to understand and value. Artists with years of work are pressed to remember specifics. Collectors rarely think of themselves as evaluating documentation, but it shapes their decisions, including whether a work feels right to live with and eventually pass on. It is why people buy paintings directly off the street from plein air artists, they see the work being made and feel, in real time, what the artist is expressing. When that immediacy is gone, the information around the work has to carry more of that understanding. They need the basics in a simple, usable form, a labeled work with title, date, dimensions, and medium, along with a record, whether a printed sheet, invoice, or digital file, that notes where the work has been and how it fits within a larger body of work. That clarity depends on artists providing it at the point of creation, so the work can be understood later without explanation. Galleries expect the same consistency, relying on it to present, place, and stand behind the work with confidence.&nbsp; What will happen to it all is often treated as a late question, or one left to families to resolve. In practice, it has the most impact when asked earlier. Not as a constraint, but as a way of thinking about what remains.For artists, it means leaving behind work that can be understood without you in the room. For collectors, it means keeping enough information so the work does not lose its meaning over time. The market will always have its influence. But it is not the starting point. The first and most consistent point of control remains the studio, whether that is a formal workspace or the sidewalk where a painting is made, it is where the work takes shape and where its meaning is first established. That is where the artist determines how the work will be understood, and where the collector’s future decisions are quietly shaped. The records collectors keep, receipts, provenance, correspondence, and installation photographs, become part of that meaning over time. Long before anything is sold, exhibited, or inherited, the groundwork is already in place. Or there is a gap where it should be. And that difference tends to reveal itself later, when the question finally arrives. What will happen to it all? Mary E. Longe is the author of <a href="https://www.marylonge.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">Art Legacy Compass: Managing, Downsizing and Transitioning an Artist’s Studio and Estate</a>. She holds a certificate in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art (London), is former Executive Director, Plein Air Painters Chicago, a contributor to Plein Air Magazine and other art publications. She is the author of five published books in healthcare. Longe is also an artist, who creates multimedia artworks with an eye on the current socio-political experience. Longe’s collage art has been critiqued in Made in Bed Magazine, and her plein air art in New City online magazine. Besides her art and writing life, Mary Longe’s professional career included twenty years working for the American Hospital Association, and 17 years, as founder and CEO of Longe Life Libraries, which designed specialty consumer health libraries for health care organizations and other businesses. She can be reached at mary.longe@gmail.com.

An article series about what happens to artists' work after they die by Mary Longe

The Life of an Artwork: Where Value Actually Begins

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780369144/g5pqsxkaqq4ymkdw8hzh.jpg">A team of trained Columbia College students work on an installation at MoCP <h4> This feature appears in CGN's spring/summer 2026 issue. To purchase a copy or subscribe&nbsp;<a href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">click here.</a></h4> By Elisa Shoenberger Every few weeks galleries open their doors to show off new art exhibitions that put artists center-stage to interested collectors and art enthusiasts. This is the familiar cycle of the contemporary art world. But before the plastic cups are set out and the wine is poured, there is a tremendous amount of planning and coordination that takes place behind the scenes, long before any artworks can be displayed. Many expert hands of gallerists and preparators use a range of tools and tricks to fit in late nights and execute quick-turnarounds to conceptualize, realize and promote the latest exhibition. Four Chicago gallerists and one museum chief curator recently shared with me just some of what it takes to put a stellar show together from start to finish. The Spark of a Show First and foremost, a gallerist needs to come up with an exhibition concept. For many galleries, it will be artist driven. Scott Speh, founder and director of <a href="http://westernexhibitions.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Western Exhibitions</a>, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, explains that his gallery represents about 20 artists, with each one exhibiting approximately every three years. He tracks this rotation via spreadsheet and reaches out&nbsp;to artists regularly to see when they will be ready for a future show, typically one year prior to opening. Speh says within that three-year rotation, he will opt to do a group show around a theme he curates every two years.&nbsp; Grace Ebert and Christopher Jobson, co-founders and owners of the barely one-year-old gallery <a href="https://joymachine.art" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Joy Machine</a> on Chicago’s northwest side, say they find artists they want to work with and then build a show around them. Some times they offer an artist a solo show, and other times the gallerists may build a group exhibition around that artist. When the art is ready, there’s a chance Ebert and Jobson are seeing works for the first time when they open the crates to install the show. At the <a href="https://www.mocp.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP)</a> at Columbia College Chicago, Chief Curator Karen Irvine explains that MoCP has a similar approach to galleries: Irvine will see a photographer’s work and develop a show around that artist’s aesthetic or a related theme. Sometimes MoCP will hire a guest curator to do a show based on works in the museum’s collection, or based on their own expertise in a particular area, such as a photographer’s archive. Generally, the museum plans about 18 months out, but currently, shares Irvine, MoCP&nbsp;is booked into summer of 2028. Since Kimberly Oliva, owner and curator of <a href="https://www.olivagallery.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oliva Gallery</a>, schedules her namesake gallery’s exhibitions 2–3 years in advance, often she bases her plans on what an artist has produced previously so she can see existing examples, instead of developing a show that for her is still conceptual. She shared, “It’s easier [for me] to be able to choose work based on what I have seen, as opposed to [just looking at] renderings or process shots.”&nbsp; Contracts, Loans, and Prepping the Art After a show is scheduled verbally or informally, it’s likely a gallery sends a contract to an exhibiting artist in order to establish the working terms of the relationship between the artist and the gallery. A gallery with a stable of represented artists likely has a standard operating agreement they use, though not all galleries do. Such a&nbsp;contract would cover terms including what percentage the gallery and artist will make from the sale, who pays which expenses, and whether the art will be held by the gallery for a period of time after the show ends. For museums like MoCP, there may need to be additional requests to borrow works for forthcoming shows from other museums and galleries. Irvine explains that earlier is always better when it comes to asking for loans. Ideally, the request should be made a year to a year and half before a work is needed; some museums may charge a larger, or rush, fee if a request is made close to an exhibition opening date, since getting a work ready, prepared and delivered in short order can be expensive. Then there are photographs. Some gallerists expect an artist to provide high resolution photos of their own work in advance; while other gallerists and curators may arrange to have photos taken once the works are installed in the gallery. Likely there is a need for advance or promotional photos as well as shots of the installed exhibition.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780369145/ood8orfi0wtgy0wm04xo.jpg">An installation view at Western Exhibitions The Road to Installation As the scheduled show nears, galleries have to receive artworks, ready them for display, install them, determine prices and finalize any additional on-site materials, such as wall text and exhibition statements. The gallery website, social media channels and mailing lists also need to be updated. Receiving the artworks can present challenges. While local artists may sometimes be able to transport their own work, particularly if it’s smaller-scale, artists who live and work elsewhere have to ship art. Oliva says she has key reasons she uses her own shippers. “I have people that I can call. I’m not going to send it through FedEx,” she explains, “It’s going to go white-glove” from doorstep to doorstep. She notes that insurance often only covers the art when it’s physically in the gallery, not in transit.&nbsp; To ensure that art works arrive in advance of the show, Speh says he sometimes has to give earlier deadlines. “I used to be an artist. I know how some artists think and work,” Speh explains, “Sometimes you have to use little tricks to actually get things on time.” However, not all art is ready to be displayed when it arrives. Speh notes, “if it’s a work on paper, most of the time we need to frame the work.” That means allowing time for the framing, which takes at least a month. Irvine says that MoCP works with Columbia College students to mat and frame pieces for upcoming exhibitions.&nbsp;Before installation can begin, galleries may opt to paint and patch the walls to prepare for the new show. Occasionally, an exhibition requires something more involved, such as painting the walls a different color or adding vinyl sketches. But for the most part galleries aim to stick to the predictability of white walls. Speh notes that he discourages artists from deviating from white walls because he is the gallery’s lone staff member and he usually has only a few days between shows. One exhibition will close Saturday afternoon and the next one must open the following Friday evening. When it comes to figuring out where exactly to install the art for a new exhibition MoCP’s Irvine says she and her team often create a mock-up of the exhibition using the software SketchUp. However, inevitably there will be changes to make once photographs are installed. Figuring out which work goes where is often a collaborative process with the artist. There is also timing to consider because of what is needed to prepare the walls, since trained student workers will help paint and spackle the galleries and then put up the wall texts and more once the work placement is set. Oliva takes a more intuitive approach. She never really knows where the pieces will go until the works are in the gallery. She outsources the labor to someone with expertise hanging work, but she makes the choices of where to hang or install the art. Since Oliva regularly participates in art fairs around the country, she’s used to having to put pieces in place quickly with a limited amount of time, whether pieces hang on a wall or sit on a pedestal. Thinking about, arranging for, receiving and placing art is its own process. There is also the question of pricing artwork that is for sale. The gallerists I spoke with said it’s common to let an artist take the lead on discussing pricing, especially if the artist has an established market or is represented elsewhere, since pricing must be consistent in the market. Speh explains that for a younger artist, or one who has not previously exhibited in a commercial gallery, pricing discussions can be a collaboration between the gallerist, artist and sometimes curator in order to establish the appropriate sales goals and figures and address all costs related to the exhibition.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780369146/ttrp786pgyvxqhdwc2rf.jpg">A mix of paintings and sculpture on view at Oliva Gallery. The decision of whether or not to include a lot of accompanying text, on the gallery walls or elsewhere, varies by artist and by exhibition. Many commercial galleries do not have wall tags, since too much explanation could potentially detract from the art itself as well as clutter the wall space. Instead, a gallery will often make a binder or packet available at the main desk with thumbnail images and additional information. Most galleries opt to list prices on a price sheet, and works that have been sold will have a small red dot sticker next to the image on the sheet. Gallery visitors should always feel welcome to ask about prices, individual information and availability if it’s not readily available.&nbsp; MoCP includes wall tags for pieces on display that include the artist’s name, nationality, birth year, work title, date, medium, and credit line, according to Irvine. But not all pieces have an explanatory text, since there can be many pieces in an exhibition. Usually the curator writes text that will help the viewer understand the exhibition on a deeper level. In addition to setting pricing and producing text for wall tags, curators and gallerists must write an exhibition statement, often in collaboration with the exhibiting artist. For instance, Ebert and Jobson say they will talk with an artist several times to understand their work before putting together written materials for the exhibition.&nbsp; Promotional materials should go out a few weeks or in some cases, a few months prior to the opening of the show. There is an ideal timeline, and then there is reality. Ebert and Jobson, like most gallerists, often have to wait until they can get photographs of the art work in order to put together any promotional materials. In addition to running Joy Machine, Jobson and Ebert lead the online art publication Colossal. They understand well, as they say, that “you need images if you’re going to write about art.” Once they receive images, they can start sending press releases out via email.&nbsp; Oliva says she will have postcards made that she sends to clients. She also puts together a catalogue, which is&nbsp;a way to make an exhibition last long after it’s opened and closed. For the majority of galleries, sending out carefully crafted emails is the most cost effective way to spread the word about a new show to collectors, curators and the press.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780369146/rbqtndt49u2txzdxftkj.jpg">A sculpture by Sydnie Jimenez at Joy Machine Closing the Show At the end of the show’s run, gallerists must organize pick-ups and deliveries for local collectors as well as pack up any art to be shipped, either to buyers, back to the artist or to someone who loaned a work for the exhibition. Some galleries may decide–or be obligated–to keep any unsold pieces at the gallery for a period to see if the piece may still be sold. Any unsold works that are not on display likely have to be packaged for storage or displayed in a private area of the gallery.&nbsp; Irvine notes that the first thing they do at MoCP at the close of an exhibition is review all the works to ensure that they are in good condition before being returned.&nbsp; Once the works are taken down, a gallery may need to repaint and patch the walls to prepare for the next show. The ehibition process begins all over again. The next time you visit a gallery to see a new exhibition, consider what happened before the work you are admiring got there. There is so much happening behind the scenes, before the doors even open to the public, that it is an art form in and of itself.

Behind the Scenes: What It Takes to Ready an Exhibition

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1779484389/v7irwy1hu30ikbl6rc5w.jpg"> By CGN STAFF Wisconsin’s summer art season gets a fresh spark this June with the second annual <a href="https://www.doorcountycontemporary.com/about" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Door County Contemporary</a>, returning June 4–7 at PenArt in Fish Creek. The fair brings together galleries, artists, talks, installations, and curated events in a setting better known for shoreline sunsets and cherry orchards, creating an unexpectedly sophisticated cultural weekend in northern Wisconsin. Door County has long been associated with summer getaways and charming stores and local galleries, and DCC was founded to elevate the regional reputation of the art that is made and exhibited in Wisconsin. Smaller in scale than a fair like EXPO CHICAGO, DCC's exhibitor list still boasts a strong list of established contemporary galleries from throughout the Midwest–many from Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Kansas City, but also from Japan and Denmark–offering a unique market encounter for visitors and collectors that cannot be found elsewhere. This year's fair counts 24 galleries, up from the inaugural year's 17. Familiar Chicago galleries include Western Exhbitions, Andrew Rafacz, Oliva and 65Grand, among others. From Wisconsin are OS Projects, Kim Storage and others. Visitors can make Fish Creek their home base and spend the weekend moving between the fair and Door County’s established arts institutions. The event itself takes place at the Peninsula School of Art campus and will feature galleries from Wisconsin and beyond, along with sculpture installations, artist conversations, food trucks, and evening receptions. As with any art fair, it's important to get offsite if possible to see what else is offered locally, and here the peninsula offers a distinct gallery scene. In Fish Creek, Edgewood Orchard Galleries pairs contemporary and regional art with sculpture gardens and wooded paths that feel distinctly Door County. Nearby Egg Harbor, Cappaert Contemporary Gallery showcases contemporary painting, ceramics, sculpture, and mixed media in a restored historic log home, while Idea Gallery offers another stop for visitors interested in contemporary and craft-driven work. For museumgoers, downtown Sturgeon Bay provides an easy cultural detour. Miller Art Museum focuses on Wisconsin artists through rotating exhibitions and a growing permanent collection, while the nearby Door County Museum and Archives offers historical context for the peninsula itself. The appeal of Door County Contemporary is that it blends serious contemporary art with the relaxed rhythms of a summer lake getaway. Visitors can spend time at the fair wandering booths and attending talks (there is a collector panel on Saturday, and artist Claire Ashley is talking on Sunday) as well as outdoors hiking Peninsula State Park. In the evening catch a waterfront fish boil (likely on Friday!) or visit a wine bar in Sister Bay. The result is a distinctly Midwestern art weekend, equal parts cultural immersion and summer escape, perhaps the perfect art fair model of the future. FAIR HOURS:June 4, Thursday VIP 4 PM - 7 PMJune 5, Friday 11 AM - 6 PMJune 6, Saturday 11 AM - 6 PMJune 7, Sunday 11 AM - 5 PM <a href="https://www.doorcountycontemporary.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">doorcountycontemporary.com</a> #

Head North: An Art-Filled Weekend to Door County and Back

<h3>Several area galleries and institutions are hosting exhibitions in 2026 timed for the 250th birthday of the United States. Inspired by permanent holdings as well as contemporary themes, several exhibitions demonstrate how art can be a bridge between the past and the future.&nbsp;Following are a few exhibitions, in Chicago and beyond, that are not your typical sesquicentennial celebration. </h3><h3> </h3><h3>– CGN</h3> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429785/s88jnfr8llldldsu7xis.jpg"> Cutting and Pasting a World: The Paper Craft of Henry Darger at Intuit Art Museum is part of the 250th anniversary celebration of American craft, Handwork 2026, organized by Craft in America. The exhibition explores the connection between Henry Darger’s art and traditional American paper crafts. Drawing on research by guest curator and art historian Dr. Mary Trent (College of Charleston), the exhibition illustrates how the turn-of-the-century practices of making paper dolls and paper dollhouse scrapbooks may have influenced Darger’s evolution as an artist and maker. By showcasing both finished artworks and original source materials, the exhibition demonstrates how Darger adapted these humble pastimes into sophisticated methods for constructing large-scale, mixed-media narratives. The exhibition provides context for these crafts within the early 20th-century movement to instill middle-class American&nbsp;​“taste” in a burgeoning immigrant population. Likely exposed to these practices within social welfare institutions as a child, Darger ultimately subverted them—transforming decorative domestic crafts into a profound and complex commentary on the vulnerabilities of marginalized children.&nbsp; Apr 22–Jan 31, 2027<a href="https://art.org/exhibitions/cutting-and-pasting-a-world-the-paper-craft-of-henry-darger" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Intuit Art Museum</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429786/wufwbdw6mcsfon5nuhg3.jpg"> Conceived in Liberty: Cartoons, Caricatures, and&nbsp;Illustrations in the Wartime US, 1812-1918 draws on the Newberry’s collection to show how artists living through wartime “conceived” cartoons, caricatures, and illustrations that grappled with questions about liberty. Whether patriotic or dissenting, available to the masses or only to a few, wartime imagery reveals in dramatic, visually compelling ways how the people of the US have used the occasion of war to question, revise, challenge, and champion this core value of the country since its founding 250 years ago. Jun 11–Sept 19<a href="https://www.newberry.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Newberry Library </a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429787/xwrbi3nikzy83jfn9vtz.jpg"> For the People, By the People: America at 250&nbsp;looks to the nation’s impending semiquincentennial as an opportunity to reflect on America’s enduring ties to liberty, justice, and identity. Drawing inspiration from the democratic ideals articulated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, this exhibition considers how the promise of freedom has been expressed, questioned, and reimagined across generations. Organized into four thematic sections,&nbsp;For the People, By the People&nbsp;brings together artworks from the KIA’s collection and loans of historic significance and bold contemporary voices to examine the symbols, struggles, and aspirations that shaped and continue to inform American life. Spanning photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and installation-based works, this exhibition juxtaposes notable artists such as Dorothea Lange, Jacob Lawrence, Alfred Stieglitz, Hank Willis Thomas, and Andy Warhol with rising artists like Erica Lord, Julio Cesar Morales, and Cara Romero, among many others.&nbsp; Jun 27, 2026 - Oct 4, 2026<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/kalamazoo-institute-of-arts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kalamazoo Institute of Arts</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429787/usxsroqsbxa4bdnqssio.jpg"> On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Chicago History Museum is asking questions about our nation’s democracy in progress. Are all people equal in our city? What happens in Chicago when workers or people of color stand up for their rights? How do we honor the Indigenous stewards of the land we now call Chicago? What can we do to create “a more perfect union” today in Chicago and the United States? Anchored in CHM’s collection materials relating to the United States’ founding and Chicago’s civic legacies,&nbsp;US at 250: Civic Action in Chicago&nbsp;invites visitors to engage with these questions and their own lived experiences through artistic interpretation, exhibitions, and educational programming, including lessons from historical clothing and stories of ongoing civic participation. Ongoing in 2026<a href="https://www.chicagohistory.org/us-at-250-civic-action-in-chicago/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chicago History Museum</a>

Using Art to View History America’s 250th Birthday

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780368771/fkdimodo2fzwtmxs6tgg.jpg">A rendering of the Obama Presidential Center site and Julie Mehretu’s commissioned artwork, an 83-foot-tall painted glass window titled Uprising of the Sun.&nbsp;Image Courtesy The Obama Foundation. <h4>This feature appears in CGN's spring/summer 2026 issue. To purchase a copy or subscribe&nbsp;<a href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">click here.</a></h4> By ALISON REILLY&nbsp; The expansive, 19.3-acre Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park will open to the public on June 19 after nearly five years of construction. The Center features an ambitious art program with more than 25 commissions of new work from some of today’s most prominent contemporary artists – like Carrie Mae Weems, Mark Bradford, Julie Mehretu, Jenny Holzer, and Richard Hunt – along with recent School of the Art Institute graduate Lindsay Adams, Washington D.C.-based artist Nekisha Durrett, and Mexican and American painter Aliza Nisenbaum. These permanent works will be installed throughout the campus. For example, Maya Lin’s Seeing Through the Universe serves as a focal point in an outdoor space dedicated to President Obama’s mother, while Mark Bradford’s immense City of the Big Shoulders scales the three-story west wall of the museum atrium. Together, the commissions articulate a vision of the Center as a cultural hub where art, civic life, and education intersect.&nbsp; I spoke with Dr. Louise Bernard, Founding Director of the Obama Presidential Center Museum, and Virginia Shore, Curator of the Obama Presidential Center Art Commissions about the Center’s innovative art program. Our conversation explored how these commissions shape the institution’s identity, reflect the Obamas’ longstanding commitment to artists and arts education, and expand the possibilities of what a civic and cultural institution can achieve. * <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780368772/rwsyamrr6oin6lddnhz4.jpg">Installation in progress of Julie Mehretu’s Uprising of the Sun at the Obama Presidential Center. Image Courtesy The Obama Foundation. CGN: How do the artist commissions for the Obama Presidential Center shape the institution’s identity compared to what we think of as a traditional presidential library? Louise Bernard: The Obama Presidential Center is in many ways a living legacy. We think about the continued work of the Obama administration, the work that the Obamas did together in the White House, the relationship between the West Wing and the East Wing, and Mrs. Obama’s initiatives. The Obamas lifted up the importance of art, not only rehanging the collection within the White House, but really thinking about the important relationship between the arts and education. We know that there is a positive impact through arts education in terms of curricular development, the impact that it has on young people, and so that was a particular focus and emphasis for the Obamas, thinking not only about the visual arts, but the arts across disciplines. That’s something that we wanted to continue and lift up through the foundation’s mission, which is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. We’re building this 19.3-acre complex rooted in community on the South Side of Chicago. We know the arts are engaging, uplifting, and energizing. We really thought about how art in public spaces can continue to foster that sense of connection and possibility.&nbsp; Virginia Shore: It is a community center. It is a cultural hub. It’s a museum, library, auditorium, recording studio, cafe. It’s the first of its kind in terms of calling it a presidential center and what that means. The spaces are spectacular, and the art brings it to life in this whole other way. Each artist has a different vision, different materials, and a different focus. CGN: When you look at the breadth of artists involved from Carrie Mae Weems to Theaster Gates to Nick Cave, is there a unifying vision that connects them? You spoke about possibility, but are there other themes that emerge from bringing these artists with very different practices together? VS: There’s an underlying thread that connects them all. They are changemakers, civically engaged, and trying to build community. Through each one of the works, regardless of theme or material, the artists themselves are changemakers in their own right.&nbsp; LB: We wanted to ensure that we had a mix of luminary figures as well as emerging artists. To your point, there is a real mix of materiality, the various practices that the artists bring to bear on very site-specific spaces. Virginia was also thinking about artists in relationship to space and scale. We were often asking artists to really push their own practice, working in materials that they hadn’t necessarily worked in before. Julie Mehretu was working in glass for the first time, which has impacted and shaped her continued practice as she’s working with new materiality around transparency or translucency. We also thought about the full range of diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, queer identity, Indigenous representation. We wanted to ensure that we had artists from Chicago with a connection back to the city and its rich history of the arts and civic engagement.&nbsp; It’s also important to note that while the commissions are understood to be permanent, they’re site specific, they will have real longevity and presence at the Center. They will be activated programmatically so that they are brought to life in new ways. We really think about placing these artists in dialogue with other artists, across disciplines.&nbsp; CGN: For Julie Mehretu’s work, Uprising of the Sun, what guided your decision to commission her for that significant space in the museum tower? What made her work and her approach right for the Obama Presidential Center?&nbsp; VS: One of the many exciting things about working on this project was that it really became a dialogue. The President, Louise, and the team were open to my suggestions. That window wall looked like this perfect space for art to transform the museum tower and become a beacon of hope for the Center, the north facing wall of the museum. I presented a couple of ideas in terms of artists that might be able to address that window wall, and we all landed on Julie. Julie was both excited and, as she has said, a little daunted by it, because she had never worked in glass before. But there’s an incredible fabricator [Franz Mayer Studio] that I had the opportunity to work with a few times in my previous career. They are one of the most renowned artist glass makers in the world. I think that helped allay her fears as well. She was really excited by the challenge.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780368773/xpan2qr6o2qu5ct21ode.jpg">Aliza Nisenbaum, Reading Circles/ Weaving Dreams/ Seeding Futures (detail), 2025. Oil on linen. Photo by Izzy Leung. Courtesy the artist, Anton Kern gallery, and Regen Projects. CGN: When you are commissioning someone like Mark Bradford for a monumental painting, what is the process like? Where do you begin? VS: Mark was unique because that space inside the museum is incredibly complicated. From the ground level all the way looking up, it’s interrupted by floors and balconies jutting out, so it’s not a symmetrical space. But Mark is so fluid, he’s able to take over monumental spaces. LB: With Mark we saw the evolution of his piece. He worked and reworked it for several years with rounds of concepting, testing, prototyping, and modeling. He built a model of the space in his studio so that he could really understand the scale and how the idea of the mapping played out–the connection between Chicago, the city and the lake. I think it’s been a remarkable journey for him. He also worked on other projects simultaneously and so his work evolved across time and these pieces spoke to each other. That was also remarkable to see.&nbsp; CGN: Did anything surprise you in the way the artists responded to the Obama legacy or to Chicago itself? VS: There are so many thoughtful concepts that we did not anticipate. Spencer Finch [Memory Landscape (Nairobi, Chicago, Honolulu, Jakarta)], the way that he incorporated the president’s story, by reading all of the President’s books and using color [in the tile wall mural installation] to connect back to place, history, and his personal memories. The artists who have been commissioned for this project have spent serious time thinking about how best to make this connection to the Center.&nbsp; LB: I would add one example of the frieze, the large-scale works by Theaster Gates [To See What They Could See and American Vista in the Forum Atrium]. Theaster is local to Chicago, born and raised on the West Side, very much rooted on the South Side in terms of his artistic practice and Rebuild Foundation. But within Theaster’s practice, he thinks a lot about the figure of the Black woman, the idea of the Black Madonna, being able to lift up this idea of blackness and beauty, Black modernity is central to his practice. He is thinking through the legacy, the idea of the first Black first lady and how that resonates in terms of Mrs. Obama being born and raised in South Shore, adjacent to the Center itself. We see these references to the idea of blackness and beauty and power and presence in these wonderful archival images drawn from the Johnson Publishing Company archive and from the personal collection of Howard Simmons. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780368773/oue9o1oibyagu63j0yv7.jpg">Theaster Gates, Studies for Gates’ installation at his studio in Chicago, 2025. Courtesy of Theaster Gates Studio. CGN: You have commissioned works that are tied directly to Chicago’s cultural history, like the Gates frieze you mentioned. How did you approach selecting work that referenced Chicago and its history? VS: There was always intent to include artists with connections to Chicago. Aliza Nisenbaum, for example, is creating this fantastic expansive mural for the public library. She works in community and shines light on people who are not always front and center through her portraiture. She spent so much time doing research about librarians, about the purpose of the libraries in Chicago, how expansive they are, thinking of it as a place for people without homes, and then what is possible inside a library and looking at it as this community space that’s free and open and a space to go and learn and feel welcome.&nbsp; To an artist like Tyanna J. Buie who has done a screenprint piece [Be the Change!] inside the Forum building. She grew up in many different foster homes. Now she is the head of printmaking at RISD. She was in a Bud Billiken parade [on the South Side of Chicago] when President Obama was running for Senate, and so her work has this other history of being connected to him in this way as a young adult. There’s so many different stories like that where there’s a connection that maybe wouldn’t be anticipated.&nbsp; LB: We think again about the power of place in the most dynamic sense. The Center is rooted in community. The connection to Chicago’s rich history is very much front and center. But at the same time, we tell a national story with an international reach. We’re always thinking about the synergy between the local and the global, the way in which we’re drawing people in, we’re bringing the world to the South Side and the South Side to the world. There is that exchange that takes place. I think that is embedded throughout many of the works. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780368774/jqqsjxuubvne5qswdgoa.jpg">Spencer Finch, Obama Presidential Center Forum Garden Level, Rendering. Image Courtesy The Obama Foundation. CGN: Chicago has a long history of investing in and supporting public art. I’m curious how you see the Center’s art program entering into that civic tradition. LB: We are obviously not a traditional art museum, we’re a non-traditional platform for the arts. But we have this global reach in terms of the foundation’s international sensibility as well as a connection to the idea of locality and proximity. We have a public high school literally across the street. We think about how through our engagement with the arts, we’re also able to lift up the idea of the business of the arts, which is to say that the arts are themselves a billion-dollar, international industry, and there’s a whole ecosystem of career pathways within this industry, which continues to evolve and change over time. Through the foundation’s mission, we’re able to model for young people connections to careers they may not have anticipated and really lift the hood, so to speak, on how this particular ecosystem works. We think about the city as a school. We want to ensure that young people have a behind-the-scenes understanding of how different cultural institutions work.&nbsp; CGN: In what ways does the art program reflect President Obama and Mrs. Obama’s own relationship to culture, creativity, and civic imagination? VS: Looking back at their time during the White House and all the artists that they included, both in the residences and in the West Wing, they highlighted the arts throughout their eight years in office. There were more artists that performed in the White House during the Obama administration than at any other time. This is their legacy. It feels like an extension of their time in the White House and of the power of arts to transform possibility. LB: We saw how the National Portrait Gallery portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald looked unlike any other presidential portraiture before them. Kim Sajet, who was then the director of the National Portrait Gallery, talked about the “pilgrimage effect” of those portraits, their power to draw people to the National Portrait Gallery, to the museum, to pay homage to that history and everything they represent. At the same time, President and Mrs. Obama speak about the idea of on whose shoulders we stand. They’re very mindful of the fact that their journeys were only made possible because of the many people, the movements, the milestones that came before them. The arts are tapping into that sense of possibility and collectivity, but they have a way, as we saw with the National Portrait Gallery portraits, of pushing the envelope of what is possible and how that resonates with the power of representation itself. We think of that wonderful photo of the little girl captured looking up at the Amy Sherald portrait with a sense of wonder and awe and also seeing herself reflected back. While the President and Mrs. Obama are phenomenal figures and iconic in their own right, we always want to ensure for the museum experience that everyday people, visitors, see themselves reflected in their stories. The President began his career as a community organizer. Mrs. Obama was born and raised on the South Side. And so, again, there is that sense of possibility.&nbsp; VS: The President said, “We believe that the arts and the humanities are, in many ways, reflective of our national soul. They’re central to who we are as Americans–dreamers and storytellers, and innovators and visionaries.” I feel like that says it all. Visit <a href="https://obama.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">obama.org</a>

Art at The Obama Center: Raising the Future of Art and Possibility 

<h3>In spite of the influencer times we are living in, where daily life is shared and documented by everyone with a phone, fine art photographers still have wide-reaching power to accessibly share viewpoints and realities through images that, not long ago, were not even considered art. A handful of photo-centric exhibitions take place this season amidst some big milestones and news. –CGN</h3><h3> </h3><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429723/drfbibkdwuibzi3oktpg.jpg">Nelson W. Armour, Teaching #2 Perspective Photo Gallery in Evanston presents Teaching, Nelson W. Armour’s ode to the challenges, triumphs, hard work and effort of classroom teachers. This photographic essay resulted from a two-year residency with Artists in the Public Schools, formerly CPSLives. On view Apr 2-May 3. Opening: Sa, Apr 4, 5–7pm&nbsp; <a href="https://perspectivegallery.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">perspectivegallery.org</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429723/zocg1go3dsqxhj0ldsqc.jpg">Widline Cadet (Haitian, b. 1992), Seremoni Disparisyon #1&nbsp;(Ritual [Dis]Appearance #1), 2019. Inkjet print. 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.64 cm). Collection of Anne-Laure Lemaitre © Widline Cadet&nbsp; Currents 40: Widline Cadet is the first solo museum exhibition in the U.S. by artist Widline Cadet and the first full presentation of her nearly decade-long project Seremoni Disparisyon (Ritual [Dis]Appearance). Coming to the Milwaukee Art Museum the exhibition is both a defining moment in Cadet’s career and a major contribution to contemporary photography and media-based art Cadet explores Black diasporic life through themes of migration, memory, absence, and belonging in her photography, video, and installation. On view May 8–Aug 9 <a href="https://mam.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mam.org</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429724/vcepwfr95kxt2odjq4ja.jpg">Dan Tamarkin at Tamarkin Camera Tamarkin Camera has been a family business since 1971, and it was Dan Tamarkin who took over the oldest Leica dealership in the U.S. in 2010 and moved Tamarkin Camera to Chicago. An authorized Leica Camera and Sport Optics dealer, today Dan also runs Rangefinder Gallery in River North, which showcases images made with the legendary Leica M. Dan sometimes offers neighborhood walking tours, and you can bring or borrow a Leica to take photos. And while you can visit Tamarkin Camera online, Dan says he doesn’t have an e-commerce site, since he prefers to talk to customers and fellow Leicaphiles face-to-face. The German-made Leica has endured as a coveted and collectible brand, and there is much to talk about and admire in-person. Don’t miss Dan’s alter-ego on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bosco_arnack/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram @bosco_arnack</a> <a href="https://www.tamarkin.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tamarkin.com</a>&nbsp;•&nbsp;(800) BUY-LEICA <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429725/hi3jzn4fwqbvg2foxans.jpg">Raul Corrales, Maria and Mario. Dos Fotografos, Dos Epocas, Dos Estados, 1980. 2006:296 The Museum of Contemporary&nbsp;Photography turns 50 in 2026. Since opening in 1976 and initiating collecting in 1979, the MoCP has acquired over 18,000 objects by more than 2,000 artists. The variety of work collected has allowed the museum to engage in conversations across political, social, and cultural landscapes. The milestone exhibition MoCP at Fifty examines the evolving practice of building a dynamic collection that reflects on the role of cultural institutions in shaping the photographic canon.&nbsp;•&nbsp;Thru May 16 <a href="https://www.mocp.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mocp.org</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429725/eh94lqbxksp6rhbxkymh.jpg">Photo by&nbsp;Nolis&nbsp;Anderson Newly open in Chicago is the&nbsp;Leica Store and Gallery Chicago, the newest addition to Leica’s global network of corporate-owned stores. Situated on Michigan Avenue near the historic Water Tower, the flagship location aims be a space where visitors and tourists will find rotating gallery exhibitions showcasing established and emerging artists as well as workshops and educational programs offered through the Leica Akademie.&nbsp;The Leica gallery in Chicago is directed by Lucas Zenk, who previously worked at Stephen Daiter Gallery in River North for 20 years. <a href="https://leicacamerausa.com/leica-store-chicago/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">leicacamerausa.com</a>

Photography Focus

Zolla/Lieberman: A Golden Vision for a 50th Anniversary

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1776121427/qka5vhmala60qrah6uei.jpg">Visitors to EXPO CHICAGO Thursday afternoon during preview hours By GINNY VAN ALYEA <a href="https://www.expochicago.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13);" target="_blank">EXPO CHICAGO</a> 2026 wrapped with a steady energy that held throughout the week—consistently busy, but not overwhelming, and with a sense that people were there to look closely and engage. Early sales set a confident tone: GRAY reported placements including Theaster Gates’s 3 Women (2025) at $340,000, works by Candida Alvarez at $100,000 and $55,000, Torkwase Dyson at $55,000, McArthur Binion at $35,000, and a Rashid Johnson work at $25,000. Secrist | Beach, meanwhile, placed Luftwerk’s Open Frame (2025) with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art at $150,000, underscoring strong institutional activity from the outset. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1776121428/dt0iynns5f6kpkcbkjtb.jpg">A viewer studies Luftwerk's work at SECRIST | BEACH This year’s edition felt more streamlined, and that shift paid off. The fair was easier to navigate, and the overall rhythm encouraged longer conversations and repeat encounters. Familiar collectors were out in force, but there was also a noticeable presence of new faces—always a promising sign for the city’s ecosystem. Across the floor, the quality of work felt strong and cohesive. What stood out most, though, was a subtle but persistent thread: many artists seemed to be looking toward nature. In some cases it was direct—landscapes, organic forms, environmental references—but just as often it came through in palette, with earthy tones and atmospheric color dominating booth after booth. It’s a direction that feels very much in sync with the current moment, as artists continue to process instability, climate concerns, and a broader cultural shift toward reflection and recalibration. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1776121430/hebk2pyhshg36h5jbbnf.jpg">Youngwook Choi, Galley Dasun, Korea There was also a stronger sense of curatorial intention this year, with more tightly conceived presentations and projects that added texture without overwhelming the fair. Institutional presence felt particularly active, and conversations around placements and future collaborations seemed to be happening at every turn. As Sibylle Friche, Partner at DOCUMENT, noted, “The 2026 edition of EXPO was a real success for us; we placed several artists from our program into good collections. We enjoyed meeting new clients and connecting with the many curators participating in the curatorial and directors' program.” <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1776121431/ecsu4qfut860mhbgnrlo.jpg"><a href="https://www.regenprojects.com/artists/aliza-nisenbaum" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">Aliza Nisenbaum</a> at a joint booth by Regen Projects and Anton Kern. Nisenbaum will have a monumental mural at the Obama Presidential Center when it opens. That sense of momentum extended to galleries across the fair, alongside positive feedback from collectors and museum groups. Valerie Carberry, President &amp; CEO of GRAY, pointed to the impact of new leadership, noting that Director Kate Sierzputowski’s first year has brought “dynamic partnerships” that reflect the collaborative energy Chicago is known for. Sales remained steady across a wide range of price points, with a mix of major placements and quieter, consistent activity—another indicator of a healthy, engaged market. Outside of the commercial market, EXPO also gave an early preview of the Obama Presidential Center's June opening, inviting fair visitors to view a scale model of the campus and to look more closely at works that have been commissioned for the collection. Taken together, this year’s EXPO CHICAGO felt grounded but optimistic: a fair that’s refining its identity while staying closely attuned to both its audience and the larger cultural climate shaping the work on view. Through its collaboration with the Obama Presidential Center, EXPO CHICAGO presented&nbsp;Embodiment,&nbsp;a curated section by&nbsp;Dr. Louise Bernard,&nbsp;Founding Director of the&nbsp;Obama Presidential Center Museum. The section presented a selection of galleries inspired by the architecture and commissioned artists of the Obama Presidential Center, offering visitors an early preview ahead of the Center's public opening on June 19, 2026.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1776121432/n6cvihvqqbruh4merh25.jpg">An installation of work by Melissa Leandro at Andrew Rafacz's booth Strong programming of course continues to be an important and centralizing element of EXPO CHICAGO. Curated by&nbsp;Katie A. Pfohl of the Detroit Institute of Arts,&nbsp;Focus&nbsp;highlighted emerging galleries and artistic practices, creating an accessible entry point to the fair. Titled&nbsp;Gathering of Waters, the section explored landscape, migration, and adaptive practices of craft and care, connecting artists and galleries from the Mississippi River Basin with work from across the African, Latin American, and Caribbean diasporas. Curated by&nbsp;Essence Harden,&nbsp;Profile&nbsp;presented solo booths and focused group projects by established international galleries, offering depth, context, and sustained engagement. The fair’s success has always mattered to Chicago and the broader Midwest art community, and even in a year without some of its usual components—like the nonprofit and print sections—its role remains essential. EXPO continues to serve as a central gathering point and calendar anchor, around which so much of the season takes shape, from the RenBen to the Intuit Art Museum gala, alongside the return of Barely Fair and the debut of Neighbors in the Gold Coast. It’s worth recognizing how important that consistency is—and to be grateful for the continued evolution of the fair under new leadership and ideas. # <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1776121433/z3epe9i5nbwgw2y0rmek.jpg">Michael DuMontier and Neil Farber at Patel Brown from Montreal

EXPO CHICAGO 2026: Focused, Busy, and In Step

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1775526730/pnfvcskghmzw9iztbkxq.jpg">Mark Wagner, Self-Styled, 2 color Letterpress print, Edition of 25, 17.5 x 22”, 2024. Published by Bert Green Fine Art. Note: this article appears in CGN's spring/summer 2026 magazine. To purchase a print copy or subscription <a href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">click here</a>. By JACQUELINE LEWIS Prints have always held an interesting place in the art world. They can introduce new collectors to artists and galleries while also offering seasoned collectors the opportunity to pursue works by artists whose paintings or sculptures might otherwise be out of reach. In 2026, prints continue to occupy this wide range of roles within the art market. At the same time, shifts in the art fair landscape, particularly between events like EXPO Chicago and IFPDA Print Fair, are influencing where print dealers, galleries, and publishers choose to show their work. Looking at these decisions offers a window into the current state of prints, the collectors who buy them, and the spaces where they are most often encountered today. Prints – Thriving in the 2026 Art Market In 2026, prints occupy a solid and increasingly visible position within the global art market. Jessica Cochran from <a href="https://process-process.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Process/Process</a> has noticed, “The art market has cooled. Of course some of this is geopolitics and economic pressures, but some see this as a correction. Prices just got too high, and so now we are seeing a rebalancing happening higher up in the market. I don’t know that this has affected prints too much. I mean, most of the print market is well below $20,000 (or even $10,000!) where I think the collectors are still showing up and market data does indicate that.” Statistics back up her experience. The segment of the market under $50,000, where most prints and editions are priced, has grown steadily, with prints and multiples now accounting for roughly 7% of overall art market share and rising. There is a varying accessibility to prints that can attract a wide audience. New art collectors often begin their journey through prints since their nature often lowers the price since there are multiple copies available for purchase. As Jonathan Higgins of <a href="https://mannekenpress.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Manneken Press</a> states, “I have had families come to print fairs to purchase a first piece for their child’s collection, newlywed couples choosing a piece for their home. It is precisely because of the lower prices of prints that collectors can focus on pieces that really speak to them, rather than letting investment value enter into the equation.”&nbsp; Deborah Maris Lader and Lauren Steinert, Co-Directors of <a href="https://chicagoprintmakers.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chicago Printmakers Collaborative</a>, say they see a varied group of people walking through their doors in search of prints. To them contemporary artists have been selling, while once more established print artists from the 80’s are seeing a decline in market value. That being said, prints can sell for high prices and attract seasoned collectors. The fact that there may be multiple copies does not mean all prints are accessible for all buyers. Artists such as Rembrant Van Rijn, Albrecht Dürer, and many others are known printmakers with works that can be valued in millions of dollars, depending on quality. Collectors of these artists often look for early print impressions (pieces printed before the press was used many times, as evidenced through the quality of the line work) and highly preserved paper.&nbsp; Some print collectors work tirelessly to complete a collection. For example, there are collectors set on acquiring all prints in Dürer’s Life of the Virgin series of 19 woodcuts from 1500–1510 or his Apocalypse series of 15 woodcuts from 1498. Others are forever on the hunt for another Rembrandt to add to a collection. Prints are often the only works available to collectors because paintings and drawings by artists at this level have values high enough they are limited to museums or rare collections. Collectors in this market relied on R. Stanley Johnson at R.S. Johnson Fine Art, an Old Master and Modern Prints dealer in Chicago for decades. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1775526730/eexdlbke1xwxz8dgsc9r.jpg">Hiroshi Ariyama demonstration of screen printing at Chicago Printmakers Collaborative during Open House Chicago Fairs &amp; Influence on the Market in General Print collecting attracts a wide variety of art enthusiasts, from those just starting out to premier collectors, and in each case it’s prints that allow engagement with artists and artworks that may otherwise be out of reach in another medium like painting or sculpture. One major way that new collectors are exposed to the opportunities of prints, and collecting in general, is through fairs like IFPDA Print Fair in New York City and at EXPO Chicago. Over the years, foot traffic to art galleries has declined as online spaces for collecting have grown. This can be a great method for more experienced collectors to add to their oeuvre but it makes it more difficult for new collectors to learn about their possibilities and for galleries, dealers, and publishers to expand their clientele. Art fairs can play a huge role in finding and developing new collector relationships. Bert Green of <a href="https://bgfa.us/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bert Green Fine Art</a> speaks on how integral, for better or worse, fairs have become to galleries. “Unfortunately, fairs have become one of the only ways to reach new collectors, as the primary way that many collectors engage with galleries is at fairs (if they are not already connected to the gallery). I have been in business for almost 27 years and have seen walk-in traffic largely disappear due to the internet and the pandemic. I’ve reduced my open hours to a minimum and the vast majority of people who come in reach out first and make an appointment. Random visitors and spontaneous discussion are much rarer than they once were.”&nbsp; Green states that it can be rough to rely so heavily on fairs because, “At their core they are fundamentally real estate operations and not curatorial projects. Galleries are somewhat constrained by them in that they need to get exposure via fairs, but the high cost is very risky. I’ve seen young galleries splurge on fairs thinking they would sell well only to find that they face insolvency. On the other hand, many established galleries thrive in the fair system. It’s complicated.” <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1775526731/g0z7xkd9vbrartlaxysl.jpg">Bert Green Fine Art’s booth at EXPO CHICAGO in 2025 Cochran from Process/Process feels that fairs are incredibly important to publishers. “They allow us to introduce our program to new collectors which is crucial. Each fair offers a slightly different opportunity to contextualize our work. At EXPO, for example, we could show our limited edition prints by artists like Candida Alvarez or Michelle Grabner (and others) who had paintings or art on view in other booths at the fair. This allowed us to tell the story of print and what we do: not only is our print an expression of that artist’s practice in the form of an original, signed artwork, but also it is probably more affordable (accessible) to more collectors.” With all of this in mind, it can be incredibly important for exhibitors to choose the correct fair to reach their target audience. There are a multitude of factors that print sellers consider when determining whether or not to show at an art fair. Most dealers I spoke with agreed about the top factors: cost and audience. Jonathan Higgins owns Manneken Press in Bloomington, Illinois and is a veteran at fairs. Most of the 31 he says he has attended since 2008 are independent (meaning they are not owned by a parent corporation like Frieze) because those tend to be very highly priced. “It has taken me years of trial and error to determine which art fairs are right for me,” he says. “One of the main considerations, of course, is cost.” Due to the nature of most print prices, dealers need to sell many impressions to be sure that they at least break even. Audience is also important. In a broader fair with many types of media, print booths can offer dealers an unique opportunity to inform and teach art enthusiasts about printmaking and its value, while print–specific fairs can be a great way to find active print collectors who may not be familiar with a specific gallery or publisher. Either way, before purchasing an expensive booth, dealers want to be sure that their art would be of interest for the audience of the fair and that it will meet the dealer’s goals for the show. Collector engagement is key. Other aspects Higgins considers are a fair’s reputation, regional market, location, and exhibitor list. He also cares how fair management takes care of exhibitors. If a fair is only taking booth money, he says, and not supporting exhibitors, with marketing, services or programming, it becomes less worth the cost and time, though he acknowledges that is hard to determine before arriving. Finally, there are travel logistics, costs and fair timing to balance. This year the IFPDA Print Fair in New York City is running simultaneously ith EXPO Chicago. Other than large galleries with massive inventory and a larger staff, most dealers had to choose one over the other, with the IFPDA fair considered very important to print galleries.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1775526732/kfclin3fiob4cumlapn3.jpg">Left: Glenn Goldberg: Empyrean (1), 2026. Etching and aquatint, edition of 20. Image size:“18 x 12”, sheet size: 27” x 20”. Published by Manneken Press.Right: Glenn Goldberg: Empyrean (2), 2026. Etching and aquatint, edition of 20. Image size: “18 x 12”, sheet size: 27” x 20”. Published by Manneken Press. IFPDA and EXPO CHICAGO – Direct Competition and the End of EDITIONS For the first time since 2014, EXPO Chicago will no longer offer its Editions + Books showcase. The section, which included 11 exhibitors in 2025, offered galleries that show a diverse array of print media and object-based practices a space to show their work at a lower rental cost. This was a benefit utilized by exhibitors such as Bert Green Fine Art, F.L. Braswell Fine Art, Process/Process, Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, Manneken Press, and the MCA, all from Illinois, as well as spaces as far away as Berlin and Dublin. Tandem Press, from Madison, Wisconsin was not part of Editions + Books last year, but they are a long-standing exhibitor at EXPO and they are opting to participate at IFPDA instead this year.&nbsp; The elimination of Editions + Books has shaken up plans for exhibitors who are used to showing at EXPO. Green is concerned what this means for the Chicago print community. “I had always participated in the Editions section and found it to be reliably consistent, with excellent engagement and sales. I am unable to participate [in EXPO] now because I would have to pay the higher booth cost. I’m also concerned that there is no decent alternative for the print community in Chicago. It would be very useful if there were a new, standalone print fair. I am hoping to work with some print publisher colleagues to make that happen.” Lader and Steinert of Chicago Printmakers Collaborative are also not exhibiting at EXPO due to the end of Editions but are considering other ways to continue showing a broader audience their prints. “We liked EXPO because it put printmaking on the international stage, and we easily held our own amongst the broader art world spectrum. We also did well financially,” says Lader. “We are disappointed to lose that opportunity this year, but we will continue to look for a way to bring more attention to the beauty of etching, lithography, screenprinting, monoprint, relief, and experimental and photo print processes to the world.” <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1775526733/xhozbolrdspwjxvkafx4.jpg">Alice Tippit, Flute, 2024. $ 1,800.00 (framed from $2,250). Courtesy of Process/Process Some dealers are opting to exhibit at IFPDA Print Fair instead. Higgins needs the fair to kick-start his revenue for the year. “Sales have been pretty sluggish these first two months of 2026. I will be exhibiting at IFPDA in April and hope that I, and my fellow exhibitors, do okay.” He also mentions that the IFPDA Print Fair is a great fair to be a part of and that the organization has a stellar reputation and promotional team.&nbsp; For Higgins, “EXPO Chicago was the pillar around which I built my publishing and fair schedule. The IFPDA fair has now taken that place. As the landscape of art fairs changes and the economy shifts, I may look more toward fairs run by dealer organizations, IFPDA, NADA, etc., which prioritize their exhibitors, rather than corporate entities whose motives can be pretty obscured.” Despite shifts in the broader art market and the changing structure of art fairs, prints remain one of the most accessible ways for collectors to engage with art and are often a gateway for those new to collecting as well as a means of deepening an area of interest for seasoned collectors. Prints are sure to balance the space between accessibility and expertise, beautifully connecting a wide range of collectors with artists’ work.&nbsp; #

Prints, Prints, Prints: Accessibility, Sales, Exposure and Fairs

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1777306664/jhvb6fcprwb2l3s0yw4a.jpg">On the cover:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/articles/andrea-carlson-mapping-new-futures" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);" target="_blank">Andrea Carlson</a>.&nbsp;Pictured: The Host, 2025,&nbsp;Detail view. Courtesy of the&nbsp;artist and Jessica Silverman.&nbsp;Photo: Philip Maisel. By GINNY VAN ALYEA There has been a collective interest lately in everything analog. After years of living in an always-monitored, notification-saturated world many of us understand how constant digital attention can steal time and focus. It’s no surprise that people are beginning to seek out spaces and objects that offer a purposeful, slower, tactile disconnection. I’m encouraged to see a renewed interest in ephemera that draws people offline and, hopefully, toward a lasting commitment to the ecosystem of support that comes from engaging with artists and their ideas. One generation tends to repeat the natural cycle of rediscovering what appealed in the past — I’m waiting for Swatch phones, celebrity magazine collages, mix tapes, and thrift store corduroys to make a comeback any day now — but more than nostalgia, the desire to have objects and images that are personal, interesting to observe and touch, even repurpose or pass along, speaks to the particular satisfaction of making something common into something else unique through creative modification.&nbsp; Encountering art conceived and made real by human imagination is an important social connection. In this issue of CGN, we highlight places and exhibitions we hope you’ll see in person. William Lieberman reflects on the 50-year history of <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/articles/zollalieberman-a-golden-vision-for-a-50th-anniversary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Zolla/Lieberman Gallery</a> and the many relationships that have sustained it across generations. What might sound old-fashioned about how the gallery began is also what some of us now find ourselves longing for: spontaneous lunches, cheap wine, good old-fashioned cold-calling, and pavement pounding. Sending emails into the void isn’t fulfilling. I know William will use his Rolodex to mail copies of this issue to his many friends — glad there is a printed magazine to page through and share. We also look ahead to the June opening of the Obama Presidential Center, the first center of its kind to emerge from a digital presidency but designed to bring visitors together in a physical space — not just to sightsee, but to connect and experience commissioned public works by some of today’s most important contemporary artists. Collector Kate Neisser shares her personal approach to discovering, falling in love with, and living with art that can surprise her. It’s what fills her home with life.&nbsp; I often say there isn’t enough time to see everything. But there may be more time than we think — if we make the effort to choose how we spend it. # To subscribe to CGN and receive the Spring/Summer 2026 magazine <a href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">click here</a>

Publisher’s Letter: Spring 2026

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429223/jdp37bgdxpdsjbaclnn7.jpg">Marika Thunder, Demolition Derby (2025), metal and oil paint on aluminum, 24 x 36 in (61 x 91 cm) By SUSAN GESCHEIDLE Any show titled Demolition is bound to feel heavy in today’s climate. It’s hard not to think about the destructive forces around us or wonder if we’re staring down the “end times.” Fortunately, Marika Thunder’s solo debut in Chicago at M. LeBlanc pulls us back from the edge of those big, global fears. It’s a killer exploration of mechanical force—one where demolition isn’t a metaphor for global ruin, but a focus on heavy steel, machinery, and the grit of the American road. There is a badass, rebellious energy in seeing a female artist take on subjects traditionally claimed by men. Thunder, a New York-based artist born in 1998, leans into the raw, nostalgic world of graffiti-covered wreckage and the “boys’ games” thrill of a demolition derby. There’s a high-octane excitement in the idea of cars crashing, yet the paintings themselves feel surprisingly poetic and elegant. While most of the pieces in the exhibition are of abstract parts, one piece, Demolition Derby (2025),&nbsp;features a solitary figure leaning into a graffiti-covered car in a junkyard. It’s a beautiful, melancholic, quiet image that makes the discarded vehicle feel like it’s a story still being written.&nbsp; Thunder also filmed a video playing in the back of the gallery, of a demolition derby at the Lebanon Valley Speedway--upstate New York’s famous “Valley of Speed.” This obsession with the machine suggests the Cannes-winning film Titane (2021), which touches on the erotic relationship between people and automobiles. Thunder’s paintings are undeniably sexy in this same way, making the steel look almost like skin. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429223/uldfoaksxyu86khqthgc.jpg">Installation view at M. LeBlanc. On wall: Marika Thunder, Egyptian Chevy (2024 -2025), oil on canvas, 48 x 72 in (122 x 183 cm). In far room: Marika Thunder, Demolition Derby, (2025), metal and oil paint on aluminum, 24 x 36 in (61 x 91 cm). Photography by Ian Vecchiotti Thunder’s works all tap into a deep sentimental fondness for discarded things. All old objects tell a story--they are “has-beens,” whether they are old toys, vintage clothes, or, in this case, heavy American steel. Looking at these wrecks, one can’t help but wonder about their past lives: Who drove them? What road trips did they take? Were they once the pride of a driveway, driven to proms, weddings, funerals, or local parades? <blockquote>There is a badass, rebellious energy in seeing a female artist take on subjects traditionally claimed by men. Thunder leans into the raw, nostalgic world of graffiti-covered wreckage and the “boys’ games” thrill of a demolition derby.&nbsp;</blockquote> This appreciation for the soulful and the storied feels right at home at M. LeBlanc, a gallery that doesn’t shy away from deeper, darker, or more challenging work. The space has a decidedly European sensibility that adds an unexpected elegance to the grit of Thunder’s subject matter. Instead of the typical white cube, the gallery has a soulful character—from the built-in wood bench as you enter that feels like a church pew, to the old mosaic tiles on the front gallery space floor leading to an interior of warm wood floors. It’s a setting that feels purpose-built for showing solid, serious work. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429224/xoc7yitivgid5x9ivyna.jpg">Marika Thunder, Car Doors B&amp;W (2025), oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in (61 x 76 cm) Some of these paintings, like the 48 x 72-inch Egyptian Chevy, are massive in scale and anchor the room with their gleaming parts. Others are more intimate, inviting a closer look. This intimacy is captured in smaller works like the 16 x 20-inch Junkyard Snowday (2025)—an oil and coarse medium on aluminum—and the black and bubble gum pink Soviet Cartoon Wolf (2025), which is oil on canvas mounted on panel.&nbsp; Thunder, whose mother was born in Hungary during the Soviet era, tells us the title, Soviet Cartoon Wolf, is a nod to “Volk,” the chain-smoking, troublemaker wolf from the classic Soviet cartoon Nu, pogodi! As she puts it, she watched the cartoon growing up and “was obsessed with the wolf and his outfit. So, the color combination of pink and black is always associated with that for me.”&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429225/tztrohrywve6ok0gmawx.jpg">Marika Thunder, Egyptian Chevy (2024-2025), oil on canvas, 48 x 72 in (122 x 183 cm) It’s these kinds of personal touches that make the mechanical decay feel so human. This raw energy and Thunder’s technical skills are exactly what drew LeBlanc to her work; he notes he feels “very fortunate” to have met the artist, finding her a “natural fit for his program and taste.”&nbsp; That fit is evident in the work itself. These are real-deal painterly paintings; you can see the artist’s hand in every stroke, finding a haunting kind of beauty in twisted metal. It’s a reminder that even in the things we’ve tossed aside to rot, there’s still a story worth telling.&nbsp; <a href="https://marikathunder.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">marikathunder.com</a>&nbsp;•&nbsp;<a href="https://mleblancchicago.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mleblancchicago.com</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429226/lmnaqggbz64komrqnthl.jpg">Marika Thunder, Soviet Cartoon Wolf (2025), oil on canvas mounted on wood panel, 16 x 20 in (41 x 51 cm)

Demolition: Marika Thunder at M. LeBlanc

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429034/w8rilmn20hshxnx3genx.jpg">Eric N. Mack, And Re said: Ras Protective Collection, 2019. Silk scarves, fabric, thread, tape, pins, and wool blanket, 79 x 75 x 58 inches By SUSAN GESCHEIDLE I finally made it back to <a href="https://www.hansgoodrich.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hans Goodrich</a>, where those Sunday hours are a total lifesaver. I knew the current exhibit, “Bias Cut,” was fashion-focused, but was surprised at how much it resonated. It’s one of the more engaging exhibitions I’ve seen lately; while there is a strong fashion thread running through each piece, the way these artists’ histories and styles talk to each other across generations is what really makes it work. The gallery continues to hit its stride. “Bias Cut” is a perfect example of what Peter Anastos and Daisy Sanchez have been building in Pilsen since opening in fall of 2024. They’ve carved a niche by mixing emerging artists with mature and historical figures. It’s a smart balance. There’s plenty of room for newer voices, but it’s refreshing to see a gallery give this much space to mature artists and established legacies.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429035/tg8yvjkndi0p8grbqvin.jpg">Installation view: Left: Antonio Lopez, New York City, Shoe Series with graffiti backdrop, Liliana Cavendish, 1976, Unique Kodak Instamtic prints, 13 x 14.75 inches. Right: Cheryl Donegan, Untitled (Dress, Kuba), 2011, Spray paint on canvas, 36 x 24 inches. Take Antonio Lopez, the creative force who defined the look of 70s icons like Grace Jones and Jerry Hall. His “New York City, Shoe Series”—specifically the grid of Kodak Instamatic prints of Liliana Cavendish—uses vibrant pink boots and yellow ribbons binding the model’s limbs, dragging subcultural eroticism straight into high fashion. Cheryl Donegan’s, “Untitled (Dress, Kuba,)” fits right in here; her spray paint depiction of a torso bound in red gingham mirrors Lopez’s ribbons but adds a sharper sense of physical constriction.&nbsp;That feeling of being boxed in is a direct cousin to Christina Ramberg’s famous sketches of corsets and girdles. A longtime staple at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, her piece, “Untitled,” captures that tension where garments make you feel powerful yet physically held back all at once. The youngest artist in the show, Hannah Taurins, maintains the exhibit’s charged energy with her colored pencil drawing, “Runway Nurse.” Depicting Naomi Campbell in a clinical yet provocative Marc Jacobs-era outfit from the Louis Vuitton x Richard Prince Spring 2008 collaboration, the work bridges the age gap to veterans like Lopez, Ramberg, and Donegan through its shared use of pop culture, fashion, and sensuality.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429036/anjh3t4gwhkacgba1fk1.jpg">Andre Walker, Iggy and Bliss: Visible Timeline, 2016. Watercolor, thread, string, cotton. 21 x 13 inches (each), 21 x 26 inches (total) That high-intensity lens shifts from the clinical to the tactile in Andre Walker’s “Iggy and Bliss: Visible Timeline” diptych. Against a soft violet background, the green eyes and juicy red lips jump out at you—the lips have the hyper-real, silicone look of girls with fresh lip filler. Walker’s work sits in that sweet spot between fashion and fine art; instead of sticking to a flat canvas, he builds the piece by sewing on the watercolors and stuffing them like a quilt. It’s a clever, hands-on technique that hits the “Bias Cut” theme perfectly, playing with the way fabric—and art—can be draped and manipulated. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1780429037/pammjfthfktlu4ho5i8u.jpg">Lil Picard, Burned Bow Tie, 1968, Unique edition from S.M.S. No. 4, Fabric bow tie, 2.5 x 4 inches Eric N. Mack picks up that tactile thread in “And Re said: Ras Protective Collection.” By mounting Pendleton blankets and silk scarves across the floor and wall, he nods to Walker’s DIY style and iconic Pendleton coat collection from 2018. He’s essentially painting with fabric; seeing his work next to Walker’s makes the influence feel like a direct conversation.That conversation takes a sharp turn with Lil Picard’s 1968 piece, “Burned Bow Tie.”&nbsp;The oldest artist in the show, a Madison Avenue milliner and avant-garde rebel who lived to 94, Picard proved that revenge is best served scorched. After catching her husband in an affair, she torched his bowtie collection, an act that led to her producing 2,000 singed pieces for the S.M.S. (Shit Must Stop) portfolio and cementing her role in the Destruction in Art movement. At first glance, the tiny polka-dot bowtie is charming, but the charred edges carry the weight of betrayal. It’s a “sleeper” hit that rewards anyone who doesn’t pass it by. “Bias Cut” works because it swaps formal gallery stiffness for the energy of a family reunion. The curation is so precise that you can feel the pieces talking to each other across generations—like the mother and daughter collaboration, “Restlessness and Life Does Not Exist,” by artist Susan Cianciolo and her daughter Lilac Sky.&nbsp;The exhibit is a rare look at an art world where the backstory is just as compelling as the aesthetic. Anastos and Sanchez have hit the mark here, showing that evolution of style belongs right alongside the history of fine art. # Bias Cut is on view through February 22, 2026Hans Goodrich1747 S. Halsted StreetChicago, IL 60608

Bias Cut at Hans Goodrich: History and Style Threads through Artistic Generations

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1774446706/wuwxbdrm8ngahnxlgxk4.jpg">Installation view of Throat. Photo by Robert Chase Heishman for Bob. By MAC PIERCE Illusions and allusions. A play across the shades of gray. Smooth surfaces and careful entrances. This is the dance of communication, the grammar of the sensual, and the visual language that KC Crow Maddux employs in the recently opened exhibition “Throat” at Tala gallery in Chicago. Curated by Susan Gescheidle, the artworks of “Throat” form a cohesive body of work that articulates the body in flux. The seven artworks in the show take the form of mid-sized wall-mounted dioramas consisting of smooth shallow frames that each bear cutouts in the shape of appendages (and other bits) of the human body in contour. Looking into the openings of each frame, the viewer sees collages of layered airbrush paintings on paper. Formally, the painting depicts abstracted greyscale motifs, composed in a way to illude a traditional depiction of depth. Which isn’t to say that these pieces come across as flat; the depth between the front plane of the box and the stacked paintings imparts perspective as the viewer investigates the cutouts. The contents of these paintings vary widely, with some containing suggestions of meteorological phenomena and others bearing distinct architectural motifs. Additionally, there are several details not immediately apparent that add to the refinement of this work. A detail that I particularly appreciated was the selected embellishing of some areas of the cutout through rounded edges, a small gesture that tickled the sculptor in me. Another was the high degree of finish on the construction of the box, leaving no visible panel gaps to distract from the content of the work. Content that, despite its sparing palette, is deftly composed.&nbsp; Through the sparing openings of the frame and their flat white treatment, Maddux draws the viewer to investigate the interior of the diorama, working through a confused mess of limbs to make out the overall composition. It is work that allows itself to be revealed to the viewer by denying apprehension from afar. You have to be close. You must look into the hole, if only to see what’s inside. The limited palette also works in favor of the content – it’s also a direct denial of the binary; whereby smooth gradients of tone allow for oscillation along a binary that resists bifurcated opposites. In addition, by restricting the whole work to shades of grey, the painted elements are bold without being overwhelming up close. It’s the distinction between the intimate vs. the explicit; inviting the viewer in close as opposed to demanding the viewer pay attention. The very structure of the work reinforcing this feeling–the prominent exterior frames that reference the outward body, while the contents of the diorama, a series of stack pieces of paper, a material classically used to convey the printed word–depicts abstractions of content that suggest an interior domain at the edge of language.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1774446707/w2yhqwqq7f61eratt6ok.jpg">KC Crow Maddux, The Garden, 2025 – Acrylic, Wood, Paper, Museum Acrylic – 24” x 19” x 1.5” - Photo by Tala In sitting with the work, my attention lingered on the openings in the diorama boxes. The average tone of the interior paintings skews towards darker values, which contrast well with the stark white of the box. The shape of the cutouts is unique to each diorama, but all feature repeating motifs of naked limbs, spiraling and entangled, distinct and too frequent to belong to any singular body. Attached to the messes of limbs are other recognizable profiles, like occasional pairs of breasts or the open gullet featuring dangling uvula, after the show’s namesake. Feet, hands, arms, legs, breasts, lips, throats – parts of bodies that never fully resolve into any individual, suggesting multiple bodies or plural identities. Maddux’s artist statement states that he views these works as being “about being trapped in signification,” a claim supported by the work through the illusory way it employs signs. The work is descriptive without being prescriptive, poetry not prose. Each piece takes on an inherent plurality, reflective of an artist who has defined gender on their own terms. Maddux, who is trans, has composed work that deploys sleight of hand against strict classifications – it is paintings and sculpture, spectrums of grey, figurative without a figure. All of which is rendered deftly within expertly constructed artworks. Even the peculiarities of Tala supported this multiplicity, with the gallery being home to white walls, a reading room, storefront, and dance floor. In speaking with Maddux after seeing the work, one of the reoccurring motifs of the show came into sharp focus – that of the maw, the open throat. Each of the works in the show has it depicted as an aspect of the frame cutouts. As explained by Maddux, the throat is a highly charged area, a bidirectional passage through which the individual sustains themselves, while also being the way through which an individual externalizes their own interiority – asserting being. Those two directions allow a person to be, in both the physical the self, and the locus of the throat constitutes an area “where concept meets body.”&nbsp; I struggled to find faults within the exhibition, a rare occurrence for me in a city that has a fetish for unpolished art. Almeda of Tala took a risk in working with a new-to-the-gallery curator, but the presentation of this work is precise and Gescheidle has created a tight presentation of Maddux’s art, a show that thrives in the grey areas it slyly depicts.&nbsp;The work is expertly crafted and thoughtfully composed, an excellent presentation by an artist who excels at his craft. ThroatExtended through February 7, 2026Open Th–Sa 1-6pm and by appt.Tala1644 W. Chicago Ave. (60622)<a href="https://talachicago.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">talachicago.com</a> # <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1774446709/d8do2rirx97fbld64heu.jpg">Detail of The Specter by KC Crow Maddux, 2025 – Acrylic, Wood, Paper, Museum Acrylic - Photo by Tala

Getting Head(y): "Throat" by KC Crow Maddux at Tala

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1774446776/usg6iwehkkdl03v88erx.jpg">Left: Amanda Williams. Right: Esther Grimm. Photo by&nbsp;Z Marciniak for Bob. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1774446778/ld9coeuzsfawohchawow.jpg">Left: Amanda Williams and Nora Daley. Right: Esther Grimm and Norman Teague. Photo by&nbsp;Z Marciniak for Bob. By GINNY VAN ALYEA In the busy lead up to the holidays, <a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/gala/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hyde Park Art Center</a> hosted its 86th annual gala at the Center on Saturday, November 15, 2025. The lively event honored arts leader&nbsp;Esther Grimm&nbsp;and artist&nbsp;Amanda Williams,&nbsp;and was co-chaired by&nbsp;Mirja Spooner Haffner, Founder of The Laksmi Project,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Christy MacLear,&nbsp;President of&nbsp;Good Chaos.&nbsp; More than 300 attendees wore&nbsp;“creative cocktail” attire and mingled with collectors, curators, arts supporters and of course artists. Cocktail hour was a chance to peek into&nbsp;resident artist open studios and explore various spaces on both floors of HPAC.&nbsp;At a packed, seated dinner in the Art Center’s main space, and amidst a buzzy, celebratory atmosphere&nbsp;Art Center leadership shared remarks about HPAC’s storied history of supporting artists at key moments in their career and how they have come to be one of the most significant creative incubators on the South Side and throughout the city.&nbsp;The large crowd was accommodated with seating in a large white tent that temporarily expanded HPAC's main gallery 1 space. When it came time to honor Grimm and Williams, both women were equally excited to be in each other’s company, with Grimm sharing how&nbsp;deeply humbled but also giddy she felt to be on stage with Williams. Williams emphasized just how important it is to watch what happens at Hyde Park Art Center. "Supporting artists makes this city&nbsp;great,” she said. “I can&nbsp;imagine no other&nbsp;pairing of organizations that have been as important 3arts and Hyde Park Art Center.&nbsp;We are so spoiled in Chicago. This is where it happens before it’s cute.” Williams pointed out that she got her first big award from HPAC in 2015, and that she hasn’t slept since. She said she’s not the only one, pointing to other artists like Edra Soto, Sabina Ott, Turtel Onli, Joyce Owens and Kerry James Marshall, all of whom were championed and invested in locally before gaining national reputations. “Things happen here,” Williams said.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1774446779/nhgf4nvotkj64eotmdr2.jpg">Aaron Rodgers and Jeannette Tremblay Chambers. Photo by&nbsp;Z Marciniak for Bob.&nbsp;During the event, the Art Center’s co-Executive Directors&nbsp;Jeannette Tremblay Chambers&nbsp;and&nbsp;Aaron Rodgers&nbsp;announced a partnership with 3Arts on a new residency program at the Art Center.&nbsp;Beyond Bodies of Work, a six-month residency for artists with disabilities who have previously completed a 3Arts/Bodies of Work Residency, will be held at the Art Center starting in 2026. Its first resident,&nbsp;Pooja Pittie, is a self-taught painter and fiber artist based in Chicago. Living with a progressive form of muscular dystrophy, Pittie’s work draws on the dynamics of a slowing body and an active, curious mind.&nbsp;The event saw its largest attendance since before the pandemic and also raised&nbsp;$515,000. According to the Hyde Park Herald, this significant number is particularly notable and needed, considering HPAC's decision in 2025 not to apply for funding from the National Endowment for the Arts because of federal guidelines that prohibit funding organizations that offer diversity, equity and inclusion programs. As a result HPAC knew they would grapple with a $100,000 funding deficit. The gala has a reputation as one of the city’s most “hands-on” art parties, and though I didn’t stay for the after-party in collaboration with Lumpen Radio, many others did, continuing the revelry and participating in Interactive Artist Interventions, enjoying&nbsp;performances, DJs, and late-night bites. The chance to be together was a night to celebrate artists as well as this special South Side institution and its impact for years to come.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1774446780/mirzbj2jwdrjlzuciizx.jpg">Artists in a HPAC studio space. Photo by&nbsp;Z Marciniak for Bob. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1774446781/pzpgkwa4baqimfpasi2g.jpg">Photo by&nbsp;CGN

Hyde Park Art Center Honors Amanda Williams and Esther Grimm at Annual Gala

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1772054390/zhjdkb4rhtghf15fhlqi.jpg">Ten years of CGN Arts Guides. Artists from left: Carlos Rolon, Scott Reeder, Judy Ledgerwood, Bethany Collins, Tony Tasset, Andrew Holmquist, Amanda Williams, Christina Ramberg, Jonathan Higgins, Diego Marcon In 2018, when we published our second edition of the Arts Guide, we evolved our founding name, Chicago Gallery News, to the more inclusive CGN. This was partly to indicate that we not only include arts programming and events in galleries in our coverage but we also highlight museums, auction houses, studios, sculpture gardens and other places where art exists. It was also time to signal that our reach extends beyond Chicago’s city limits. The name CGN represents an evolution of key aspects of the publication while keeping our supportive mission very much the same. CGN has been around for over 43 years. This is the 10th edition of the annual Arts Guide, which we launched in 2017 as a replacement for our winter magazine. Celebrating milestones is also bittersweet. Some spaces listed&nbsp;in 2017 have closed their doors, but many more are still here, while others have opened and showcase new gallery and institutional models to promote the artists they champion and engage their communities. The staying power of CGN’s Arts Guide has become an important visual and physical representation of the art, creativity and culture that happens each year in Chicago’s neighborhoods, its suburbs and throughout the near-Midwest.&nbsp; * Continuing in print is part of CGN’s commitment to being a contemporary resource as well as a repository of decades’ worth of names and places recorded for history. Paging through past issues, you can look up who was open when and in which part of town, or point to which artists showed where, and what art fairs came and went. Future arts researchers can will trace institutional and gallery changes in the context of the local art scene at a particular moment–when Young Hoffman parted ways to become Donald Young and Rhona Hoffman; when the 1987 market crash shuttered many doors, and when the 1989 River North fire jumbled addresses and new districts were established. These ten editions of the Arts Guide complement our other, more editorial magazines. They stack up–annual volumes of art in the Midwest.&nbsp; Each year I am proud of what we produce in CGN. There is tremendous history and innovation in Chicago to draw from and an exciting next generation to engage with and support. Thank you for your support of CGN, and of the art community! Subscribe to the 2026 Arts Guide and to CGN all year long <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. &nbsp;– Ginny Van Alyea

Publisher's Letter: The CGN Arts Guide Turns Ten

<h3><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.wbez.org/museums/2025/12/02/dusable-black-history-museum-chicago-director-kim-dulaney-whistleblower-lawsuit-perri-irmer" target="_blank">DuSable Black History Museum, CEO misused public funds, whistleblower alleges</a></h3> An ex-employee of the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center has filed a lawsuit against the institution and its president and CEO, Perri Irmer, alleging misuse of public funds, harassment and retaliation. The lawsuit is the latest in an ongoing whistleblower campaign by Kim Dulaney, a retired Chicago State University professor who joined the South Side museum in 2021 as director of education and programs. She later became the vice president of the same department. Via WBEZ <h3><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/louvre-leak-strike-2725275" target="_blank">Louvre Workers Announce Strike After Water Leak Drenches Egyptian Archives</a></h3> Last month, a water pipe at the Musée de Louvre rained unexpectedly on scores of archival documents relating to Egyptian history. The Parisian museum’s latest misfortune has marked a breaking point. Today, employees announced their plans to strike. Via Artnet <h3><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/arts/design/frank-gehry-buildings-photos.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7U8.Klvq.PlbVeHekki-B&amp;smid=url-share" target="_blank">Frank Gehry: 12 Essential, Stunning Projects</a></h3> The most celebrated architect of his age, a wry, pugnacious, singular genius, Frank Gehry, who&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/arts/design/frank-gehry-dead.html" target="_blank">died Friday at 96</a>, redefined American architecture and became so famous that he was even a character on “The Simpsons.” In Bilbao and Berlin, New York and, especially, Los Angeles — where the Canadian-born Gehry settled and became inseparable from the city — he left behind playful, polarizing, materially and technologically stunning buildings.&nbsp; Via NYT Image: Frank Bienewald/LightRocket, via Getty Images <h3><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/martin-parr-dead-photographer-magnum-1234765602/" target="_blank">Martin Parr, Photographer of Tourists with a Wry Sense of Humor, Dies at 73</a></h3> <a style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(229, 75, 39);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.artnews.com/t/martin-parr/" target="_blank">Martin Parr</a>, a photographer known for pictures of tourists that were both genuinely curious explorations of their lifestyle and wry indictments of it, has died on December 6 at his home in Bristol, England. His death, at age 73, was announced on Sunday by the namesake foundation that he founded in Bristol in 2017. Via ARTnews

What We're Reading: 12/9/25

<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1772054400/jdse4qciszasiermalfu.jpg"> By CGN Staff This season, we’re highlighting some of our favorite places to find artful, meaningful gifts — all while supporting Chicago’s independent galleries and cultural institutions. Part 2 here focuses on museum stores and markets offering unique objects, books, prints, memberships and curiosities. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/articles/2025-cgn-holiday-gift-guide-part-1-museum-stores-markets" target="_blank">Part 1</a> spotlights museum stores and area markets. These sources offer gifts and works of art for even the toughest gift recipients on your list and buying art or shopping at local institutions also supports artists and other members of the cultural community. Of course it's wonderful to enjoy and buy art any time of year, not just during the holidays! You can also purchase a copy of CGN"s new 2026 Arts Guide or share an annual <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chicagogallerynews.myshopify.com/products/cgn-gift-card" target="_blank">gift subscription</a> with someone! *<h2> </h2><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1772054401/wq6hvgbqjofs6njnrsas.jpg"> <h2>McCormick Gallery</h2> McCormick gallery hosts its Annual Holiday Sale with 50 works and terrific discounts, up to 50% through December 19 Pictured above is a work by Roy Lichtenstein&nbsp;(1923-1997), As I Opened Fire...color offset lithograph on heavy wove paper, 1966. Full price is $6,000. Sale Price $4,000. You can visit the gallery's website for the complete list of available deals and pricing. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.thomasmccormick.com/exhibitions/164" target="_blank">Shop here</a> <h2><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1772054402/iaukcpszfo7piomdvshn.jpg"></h2> <h2>Kim Storage Gallery</h2> Kim Storage in Milwaukee's Third Ward is hosting a holiday sale and exhibition through December 20. Pictured above is a piece by Hector Acuna,&nbsp;12/30, Egg tempera on panel, 5 x 4”, $200. You can visit the gallery's website for the complete list of available deals and pricing. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://kimstoragegallery.com/show/kim-storage-gallery-the-holiday-gift-guide-2025" target="_blank">Shop here</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1772054402/ke06qold69hlvwvxwf8i.jpg">Bunnie Reiss, Flower Magic, $450 <h2>Joy Machine </h2> This gallery's name makes it a happy place to find an artful gift. it's not too late to stop by&nbsp;General Strike, their inaugural matchbox show, up through December 20!&nbsp;If you're looking for a special gift this holiday season, the gallery has several&nbsp;works under $500 to make a certain recipient extremely excited. Scroll down to see the collection. And don't forget, they also have a selection of&nbsp;phenomenal silkscreen prints&nbsp;available in conjunction with The Jaunt.&nbsp;&nbsp; <a style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://joymachine.art/" target="_blank">Shop here</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1772054403/ipgbnwuhijiv2g60muub.jpg"> <h2>Oliva Gallery </h2> The Logan Square gallery's Timeless Bodies Holiday Gift Party is set for Friday, Dec 19, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM Timeless Bodies&nbsp;interprets the human form through sculptural realism and abstraction. Throughout history, the human form has been symbolized as a container of life, emotion, and spirit, reflecting both fragility and resilience. How does the body hold and convey our stories, memories, or cultural history? Artists were encouraged to celebrate the interplay of form and storytelling in clay. <a style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/timeless-bodies-holiday-gift-party" target="_blank">Details</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1772054403/rn0obuz19xd0yyexuyrd.jpg"> <h2>The Grove Gallery </h2> This gallery in Evanston just celebrated their first anniversary and is celebrating with a Small Works Holiday Show thru Dec 22 Celebrate the holidays by shopping for unique, affordable, small works of art handmade by local artists.&nbsp;This curated selection of paintings, drawings and prints range from abstraction, Impressionist landscapes, interiors and figurative work. Made to fit any budget.&nbsp;The gallery is collaborating with Evanston Made, a local arts nonprofit which celebrates community.&nbsp; <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/small-works-holiday-show" target="_blank">Details</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1772054404/nxcvpxuvcyou1aevcnmg.png"> <h2>Woman Made Gallery</h2> Woman Made Gallery's (WMG) 2025&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(45, 79, 101);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://womanmade.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=77610ec6940e4a7c0d652a863&amp;id=859054d66c&amp;e=a3993dd90f" target="_blank">Small Works Members Show</a> is an annual exhibition celebrating the creativity and achievements of WMG’s vibrant community of artists. Curated by&nbsp;Astrid Houzé&nbsp;de l’Aulnoit&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mary King, this year’s exhibition features an exceptional selection of small-scale works by&nbsp;107 member artists. Artworks measure under 20 inches, showcasing the power of intimate expression across diverse mediums—including painting, sculpture, mixed media, printmaking, fiber, and photography. All works are priced at&nbsp;$400 or less, offering an ideal opportunity for art lovers and new collectors to acquire original pieces from local and regional artists. Closing Reception: December 20, 2025 | 2–4 p.m.&nbsp; <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/small-works-members-show" target="_blank">Details</a> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1772054405/bntf4gxzbr0hkini1duu.png"> <h2>Evanston Art Center</h2> EAC's 23rd Annual Winter Arts &amp; Crafts Expo is on through Dec 20. The&nbsp;Winter Arts &amp; Crafts Expo&nbsp;includes original, handmade works of jewelry, ceramics, fiber, metal, glass, painting, photography, mixed media, and more. All proceeds from the Expo will benefit the ongoing exhibition, education, and outreach programs at the Art Center. The Winter Expo is also the perfect opportunity for families to shop for everyone on their holiday gift list. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/23rd-annual-winter-arts-crafts-expo" target="_blank">Details</a>