<html><head></head><body><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/what-just-happened">What Just Happened</a>Exhibition starts September 1Zhou B Art Center&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418952/tecjxy1bleqhmnuiips2.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/small-expressions-the-art-may-be-small-but-it-is-intriguing-to-view">Small Wonders</a>Exhibition starts September 2Kavanagh Gallery at Fine Line Creative Arts Center&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418952/bmhecflgqxtuy6c61kjj.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/nancy-fritz-arc-members-show">Nancy Fritz</a>Exhibition starts September 2ARC Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418953/cbeumieom19w0hqijc9w.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/contemporary-chronicles">Contemporary Chronicles</a>Opening: Friday, September 3, 11&nbsp;am – 6&nbsp;pmSouth Asia Institute&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418954/mh8zlz7y3x3bp28yxs8c.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/claudia-hart-the-unfolding">Claudia Hart: The Unfolding</a>Exhibition starts September 3Haynes&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418955/ed1huv50kepcqwigwhyd.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/dredske-a-ridiculous-clusterf-k">Dredske: A Ridiculous Clusterf#*k</a>Opening: Friday, September 3, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmElephant Room Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418955/q3e3pvgo5lwcjpc4sbxu.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/no-space-between-us-teresa-james-fred-stonehouse">No Space Between Us: Teresa James &amp; Fred Stonehouse</a>Opening: Friday, September 3, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmHofheimer Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/bani-abidi-the-man-who-talked-until-he-disappeared">Bani Abidi: The Man Who Talked Until He Disappeared</a>Exhibition starts September 4Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA)&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/see-my-story-a89717b5-b4e3-47de-bc37-74e51ef940f8">See My Story</a>Opening: Saturday, September 4, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmPerspective Group + Photography Gallery, Ltd.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Start September 1 - 4

By CGN StaffSchool is in session (!), galleries are coming back from their last days of vacation before the final install for next week's shows, and everyone is eager to get into the districts to see art again. Things are happening, and it's about to feel like fall in Chicago.&nbsp;The new issue of CGN has just been published, covering news and exhibitions from September through the end of 2021. We're especially happy to welcome back a slate of strong new exhibitions as well as much loved opening receptions for the start of their big fall shows. The gallery buzz is a totally in-person experience, one that has been truly missing since 2019, so whether you will be visiting a gallery by appointment, during regular hours, or with friends for an opening gallery walk, art face-to-face is surely back, triumphantly in sprite of 2021's twists and turns.&nbsp;A handful of shows open this first weekend of September, including the new pop-up Neon and Light museum on West Huron, and then things really get going the Friday after Labor Day and through the first half of the month. Below are some highlights we have grouped for you so you can plan your outings by date and district.&nbsp;See you in the galleries!&nbsp;&nbsp;Labor Day Weekend Openings<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847579/luvdlef1yge5oinfb2f9.jpg"><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/no-space-between-us-teresa-james-fred-stonehouse" target="_blank">No Space Between Us: Teresa James &amp; Fred Stonehouse</a>Hofheimer GalleryOpening Reception: Friday, September 3, 5 to 8pmTeresa James's time secluded in the Wisconsin woods during the pandemic inspired her for this exhibition: No Space Between Us is a body of work that reminds us of our role here on Earth. We need each other, and even social distancing can’t keep us apart.&nbsp;The narratives in Fred Stonehouse's work suggest the mythic as seen through the lens of the everyday. Subjects as big as life and death, love and loss, culture and politics commingle with the mundane details of daily life.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847580/tgvqbj7zlgwcfke80gxe.jpg">GHULAM MOHAMMAD (Pakistani, b. 1979)Untitled2014Iranian Ink and Paper Collage on Wasli12 x 10 2/4 in. (30.5 x 26.5 cm).<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/contemporary-chronicles" target="_blank">Contemporary Chronicles</a>South Asia InstituteOpening: Friday, Sep 3, 11&nbsp;am – 6&nbsp;pmFeaturing 15 contemporary South Asian artists, this exhibition represents the manipulation of craft to further reflections on environments, languages, and identities. Artists trained in traditional techniques expand and contract these practices, utilizing new tools and media to complicate their global, national, and individual identities.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847581/qtzuuq9lpqrowcuvs72a.jpg"><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/dredske-a-ridiculous-clusterf-k" target="_blank">Dredske: A Ridiculous Clusterf#*k</a>Elephant RoomOpening: Friday, Sep 3, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmDredske is tapped into current moods and trends, translating that through imagery and collage. This particular body of work addresses intellectual property rights and its role in art. The artist focuses much of his attention on the Supreme brand and logo because of its prominence in the streetwear market and the fact that their logo, white text in italicized Futura Oblique font inside a red box, is an appropriation of artist Barbara Kruger’s text in her artwork.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847582/exyucidsk5ueqajcihgp.jpg">&nbsp;RNDD Gallery Walk: September 10The <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/6th-annual-river-north-design-district-fall-gallery-walk" target="_blank">River North Design District's</a> partnership with River North galleries means there will be a big crowd gathering in dozens of spaces on September 10. For the 6th year (after taking 2020 off) the RNDD showrooms will feature a variety of fine artists and designer vignettes along with special events throughout River North. Each participating showroom and art gallery will be exhibiting artwork created by contemporary artists. Chicago’s top designers will also be selecting their favorite art and creating inspirational vignettes in each showroom.The 2021 lineup begins with a VIP kickoff party at Calia Stone Boutique at 5:30pm, featuring design vignette and work curated by Yamini Designs and Interiors by Francesca. Headline artist is Linc Thelen also featuring art from philanthropic partner Aspire Art360.&nbsp;The walk concludes with an after party hosted by 210 Design House and PROjECT. interiors with artist Pat Sansone and philanthropic partner Digs with Dignity from 8-10pm.View the full list of participating galleries, artists and showrooms <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/6th-annual-river-north-design-district-fall-gallery-walk" target="_blank">here</a>, and buy your VIP and after party tickets as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847583/elpamyyahokafr6jbq3o.png">A summer crowd at Addington GalleryRiver North Gallery OpeningsWe will highlight individual River North gallery openings next week as well. You can <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?district=river-north&amp;filter=upcoming" target="_blank">see the full list here</a>.&nbsp;<h3>&nbsp;</h3>&nbsp;<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847584/aj9kdx9xtfbldj3vritq.png">The Neon and Light MuseumWe covered this earlier this summer, but for a few weeks this fall, there is a very bright pop-up coming to W Huron Street in River North. Dealer Ken Saunders had a light bulb moment earlier this year to highlight the various artists working in neon. The experience promises to be illuminating. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://neonandlightmuseum.com" target="_blank">Tickets</a> are available in advance for $40.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Logan Square, Garfield Park, West Town/Ukrainian Village<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847585/bpubft3nf55bmgbegr44.jpg"><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/an-abstract-universe" target="_blank">Abstract Expressionism – Stanley Dean Edwards</a>Oliva GalleryOpening Sep 10, 5-8pmThe paintings presented here by the artist meet at the nexus of spontaneity and control. Two emotional forces that collide on the canvas, expressing the Yin and Yang of the human psyche.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847586/h8blqxmnw7nuoqdl2r08.jpg"><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/group-ceramics-show" target="_blank">Tender to the Bone</a>GoldfinchOpening Sep 12, 12 - 4pmThrough a range of ceramic forms, the nine artists in “Tender to the Bone” expose relationships between malleability and calcification—the ossifying, changing, breaking, and “resoftening” parts of life.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847586/sbhuyuyot2ws8ct7ehgs.jpg"><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/david-heo-presence-solo-show" target="_blank">David Heo&nbsp;– Presence</a>Vertical GallerySaturday, Sep 11, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmA native of rural Acworth, Georgia, David Heo took his earliest creative inspiration from the drawings of his older brother. As a teen he immersed himself in tattooing, a craft that deeply influenced the hard edges, detailed imagery and bold color palette that are hallmarks of his work today. Heo received his Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; while at SAIC, he frequently employed non-traditional materials like crayons, house paint and construction paper.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1747847587/ohf0xjvlmfmrpcpbvagk.jpg"><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/susan-rothenberg-on-both-sides-of-my-line-1974-1979" target="_blank">Susan Rothenberg: On Both Sides of My Line, 1974-1979</a>Gray WarehouseSep 10 – Oct 9On Both Sides of My Line is a solo exhibition celebrating the life and work of renowned American painter Susan Rothenberg (1945 – 2020) through key examples of her most iconic series: the profile horse paintings.&nbsp;Coming In Part II: Sept 13–30• West Loop and West Town• Art Fairs as well as Other Shows at Museums and Art Institutions&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Fall Art Season Is Here: Part I (Sept 1 - 12)

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418944/amgcekxijhglorjnhmqo.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/jim-dine-american-icon">Jim Dine: American Icon</a>Opening: Thursday, August 26, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmSnite Museum of ArtAmong the most distinguished figures in Contemporary art, Jim Dine (b. 1935) is an inspiring presence as a painter, printmaker, sculptor, and poet.&nbsp;Fearlessly experimental, Dine helped define the Pop Art movement, then expanded his creative reach within and beyond the American art scene to become one of the most iconic and influential artists on the international stage.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418945/lbda4gvzuxfqs7g3rnu4.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/hal-fischer-photographs-seriality-sexuality-semiotics">Hal Fischer Photographs: Seriality, Sexuality, Semiotics</a>August 26Krannert Art Museum, University of IllinoisThe exhibition includes a generous selection from Fischer’s earlier work (some of it produced in Urbana), which has not been publicly displayed in decades. This earlier work contextualizes Fischer’s development as an artist, from his student days at the University of Illinois to his creative maturity in San Francisco.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418946/sdvfneqpbr1tzqxcynbm.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/duck-feet-guest-curated-by-ricardo-partida">Duck Feet: Guest Curated by Ricardo Partida</a>Opening: Friday, August 27, 5:30 – 8:30&nbsp;pmCircle Contemporary (Arts of Life)Ricardo Partida is a Mexican-born, Chicago-based painter and recent graduate from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago’s Master of Fine Arts in Studio program. His work largely critiques and illuminates depictions of gender and desire in the Western Art Canon by creating exalted alter egos that question conventional power structures while obscuring artist and subject.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418947/tkgvy0ge4o1gdktyu5v3.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/origins-paul-nicklen-cristina-mittermeier">Origins: Paul Nicklen &amp; Cristina Mittermeier</a>August 27Hilton | Asmus ContemporaryPaul Nicklen (Canadian) is a visual artist and marine biologist who has documented both the beauty and the plight of our planet for over 20 years.&nbsp;Paul’s photography informs and connects by creating an emotional bond with wild subjects in extreme conditions.&nbsp;Cristina is a pioneer in the use of powerful and emotive imagery to propel conservation efforts. Born in Mexico, Cristina is a marine biologist, photographer, and writer who specializes in issues surrounding fisheries and indigenous cultures. Cristina's work has exhibited at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, The Miller Gallery in Cincinnati, The Paul Nicklen Gallery in New York, Xposure in the UAE , Art Basel Miami, Terras de Salitre/Mar de Mares Festival in Santiago, The Museum of Plastic Pop-Up in New York, The United Nations Headquarters in association with Disney and Girl Up, and at Fotografiska in Stockholm, Sweden.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418948/lk5jes5uggxjcwjwznox.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/moment-like-this-juried-by-jessica-bingham">Moments Like This</a>Opening: Saturday, August 28, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmWoman Made GalleryA group exhibition juried by&nbsp;Jessica Bingham&nbsp;featuring the work of 42 women and non-binary artists. Moments Like This&nbsp;explores the Slow Living lifestyle, and considers the practice of rest and retreat as an anti-capitalist practice. The works invite the audience to contemplate, process, rest, and come back into ourselves and our communities.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418948/jo3rmdw27hfw4rye2l4s.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/sandra-leonard">Sandra Leonard</a>August 28Evanston Art Center&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Start August 26 - 28

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418938/lb0wpjvnsgq7o6aehebq.jpg"><figcaption>The Chicago Architecture Biennial, opening September 17, reimagines city-owned vacant lots.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/september-2021/the-chicago-architecture-biennial-takes-a-fresh-approach/?fbclid=IwAR2KSzwpztPiA5v3BGZwe4t_ytW6PuJCbkQYef72YEMIOBtgXhAVfDC-dCE">The Chicago Architecture Biennial Takes a Fresh Approach</a>For many, the mention of “architecture” conjures thoughts of floor plans and blueprints that become houses and buildings and skylines — facts and figures about which are conveyed to us on riverboat tours of the built environment.But the fourth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, which opens September 17, centers on the unbuilt. Dubbed The Available City, the 2021 biennial pairs contributing architects and designers with community organizations to imagine — and, in some cases, implement — new projects for Chicago’s approximately 10,000 city-owned vacant lots.Via Chicago Magazine&nbsp;<a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/3aqvpk/dawoud-bey-early-photos?fbclid=IwAR3IM6S75yHa1de-yhR27JosJOWFg5ioSuVSAUKq3W1hG9_jwxzty1DKfg4">Dawoud Bey picks 8 of his favourite early images</a>Dawoud Bey began photographing the streets of Harlem in the mid 1970s after receiving a camera that belonged to his late godfather. He took a class at his local YMCA, purchased some books, and quietly began observing the street with this camera in hand. Almost 50 years later, Dawoud’s archive of portraiture traces seismic changes – social, political and technological – that play out in the grandest and smallest details of his images. This year, an exhibition of his work, <a href="https://whitney.org/exhibitions/dawoud-bey">Dawoud Bey: An American Project</a>, currently on show at the Whitney Museum, further cements his status as one of America’s most vital documentarians, and a pioneer of a medium that was once overlooked.Via I-D Vice&nbsp;<a href="">Dead Tree Near Loyola Beach Gets New Life As 16-Foot Sculpture</a>For decades, a massive locust tree at Loyola Beach provided shade to parkgoers, including chess players squaring off under its canopy. The tree has died, but it is being reborn as a 16-foot-tall sculpture.The <a href="http://www.chicagotreeproject.org/">Chicago Tree Project</a>, a joint effort from the Park District and Chicago Sculpture International, turns diseased and damaged trees into public art. Artist and sculptor Plamen Yordanov is using a chainsaw to reconfigure the Loyola tree into a stack of geometric shapes.Work started last week and will likely be complete in early September, making it the 46th tree transformed into a sculpture under the seven-year-old initiative.Via Block Club&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/chuck-close-portraits-photorealism-richard-serra-vija-celmins-roy-lichtenstein-cecily-brown-walker-art-center-11629481046?fbclid=IwAR31A9HMNYq1zVOQR0E_MtnYxBfZwhxNenlt1OTaRLBvWn0SS9e3MeP8-vU">Chuck Close (1940-2021): Painting Monumental Portraits, Chronicling the Art World</a>Chuck Close, one of the most important painters of the postwar era and a blue-chip name in the contemporary art world, died on Thursday at age 81. One of the last surviving pioneers of the old New York art scene in SoHo, where he moved in 1967, Mr. Close became a marquee figure thanks to his monumental portraits. Painted from photographs taken by Mr. Close and executed with such precision that he found himself included in the nascent Photorealism movement (an association he rejected), they were field-filling head shots in which every detail down to the smallest pore was meticulously recorded. While he experimented with style and medium across his long career—painting, printmaking, drawing, collage, photography, tapestry—Mr. Close will always be remembered for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-1388?mod=article_inline">his attentiveness to the human face,</a> for his regard for and manipulation of that most unique of physical characteristics.Via Wall Street Journal&nbsp;Thumbnail image: Chuck Close’s ‘Big Self-Portrait’ (1968) PHOTO: CHUCK CLOSE/PACE GALLERY&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 8/23

<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/08/15/1025950962/black-lives-are-celebrated-in-bisa-butlers-extraordinary-technicolor-quilts">Black Lives Are Celebrated In Bisa Butler's Extraordinary, Technicolor Quilts</a>At the top of the Grand Staircase at the Art Institute of Chicago hang massive, colorful banners announcing the art work of Bisa Butler.Butler's specialty is fabric, specifically quilts. And the bold images of Black people she stitches together, using textiles like paint in an explosion of color, is quilting transformed.Via NPRThumbnail: Bisa Butler, Dear Mama, 2019, Collection of Scott and Cissy Wolfe. Photo by Margaret Fox. © Bisa Butler&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-ent-art-banksy-chicago-opens-20210814-hdbi5peonbhqrjzbvw3gxyw7eu-story.html">‘Art of Banksy’ opens in Chicago with the British street artist’s ‘Flower Thrower’ and ‘Flying Copper’ — but not his involvement</a>After a few bumps and curveballs, “The Art of Banksy” is finally open. With a month’s delay and a change of venue, the exhibit officially launched Saturday on the fourth floor of 360 N. State St., atop the Museum of Broadcast Communications.Via Chicago Tribune&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/new-york-book-fair-canceled-armory-show-pivots-1234601393/">In New York, Fair Weather Darkens As Books Show Cancels, Armory Pivots 55 Dealers&nbsp;Online</a>Because of the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus and uneven vaccination rates, as well as ongoing travel bans, plans for upcoming in-person trade fairs, including art fairs, are looking shaky. Two prominent New York events have been canceled within the last two weeks.Via ARTnews&nbsp;<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/stonehenge-secret-sandstone-quartz-crystal-1998477">Scientists Have Conducted Tests That Reveal Stonehenge Is Made From a Nearly Indestructible Ancient Material</a>A long lost piece of England’s Stonehenge monument is helping experts understand the mysterious prehistoric structure. Analysis of a core sample taken from one of the site’s massive slabs suggests that the stone’s&nbsp;geochemical composition may have made it uniquely well-equipped to stand the test of time.Made from 99.7 percent quartz crystals, the stones are practically indestructible, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0254760">Plos One</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

What We're Reading: 8/16

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418938/s5oymh9moev4rxnnp538.jpg"><figcaption>Joseph E. Yoakum, Mt Colbart of Nome Alaska, n.d., ballpoint pen, pastel, and colored pencil on paper, 12 by 19 in. PHOTO: ROBERT GERHARDT. COLLECTION OF CHERYL CIPRIANI</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/aia-reviews/joseph-yoakum-art-institute-chicago-1234601059/?fbclid=IwAR1sV9qM3bJhvEjUPvx0MCjGhhVbQQ2HYu1H2oaQPHROTFu80abgwWzOUec">The World on a Single Plane: Joseph E. Yoakum at the Art Institute of Chicago</a>Joseph E. Yoakum’s origin story has long been inseparable from the reception of his artwork. In 1962, when he was a 71-year-old retiree living in a storefront apartment on Chicago’s South Side, Yoakum had a dream in which he was urged to make art. He drew nearly every day for the remaining ten years of his life, using inexpensive paper, ballpoint pens, pastels, colored pencils, and sometimes watercolors to create more than two thousand pieces that constitute an atlas of his psychic geography. Among his best-known works are undulant landscapes that are almost psychedelic in their vertiginous perspectives. “What I Saw,” on view at the Art Institute of Chicago, gathers nearly one hundred of these works, plus portraits, sketchbooks, and ephemera—a small but revelatory fraction of Yoakum’s singular output. &nbsp;Via Art in America&nbsp;<a href="https://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org/more-in-common-a-review-of-the-sindhu-project-enigma-of-roots/">More in Common, a review of The Sindhu Project: Enigma of Root</a>Who could have imagined that a casual conversation in Chicago in 2016 between Mahwish Chisty, an American-based artist from Pakistan, and Gunjan Kumar, an American-based artist from India, would result in the compelling exhibition currently on view at South Asia Institute? During their chat, the artists discovered that their family homes were only four hours apart. But, in an interview with the artist Chisty notes, “Due to the tense political relations between India and Pakistan, we could not have met if we lived in our respective countries, even though we share the culture, traditions, and Punjabi language.” Their conversation and the realization that despite the political situation, they had more things in common than divided them became the genesis for The Sindhu Project: Enigma of Roots.Via Sixty Inches from the Center&nbsp;<a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2021/08/10/chicago-ugly-buildings-tour-is-an-educational-roast-of-downtowns-least-loved-buildings/?fbclid=IwAR35L1p4sIKMJsWbe1Dvd_PhKTr7TqDkAmFWJIMASFtPx1xvmvxKTjjyVHw">Chicago Ugly Buildings Tour Is An ‘Educational Roast’ Of Downtown’s Least-Loved Buildings</a>Chicago may be the architecture capital of the United States — but that doesn’t mean it’s without unsightly buildings.Mike McMains, of <a href="https://tourswithmike.com/">Tours With Mike</a>, is highlighting some of that ugliness with his tongue-in-cheek Ugly Buildings Tour. It starts Friday, with McMains helping attendees see Chicago’s best, worst buildings and understand why they’re just so hideous.Via Block Club Chicago&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 8/11

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418938/yuikrqfjwibrq3wsaucg.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/chop-it-up-black-wall-street-journey-7f74b3c8-9b4c-4d37-8e89-c890ea7eb2ec">CHOP IT UP: Black Wall Street Journey</a>Thursday, August 12, 5:30 – 7&nbsp;pmSmart Museum of Art&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418939/fnbjjtckbrmw7qgwsxog.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/photos-at-zoom-discussion-session-wardell-milan">Photos at Zoom Discussion Session: Wardell Milan</a>Friday, August 13, noon – 1&nbsp;pmMuseum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418940/jqkixb6qalzzzppu1hkt.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/special-musical-guest-rb-green">Special Musical Guest RB Green</a>Friday, August 13, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmEat Paint Studio&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418940/veclelwnkhk3brfczvyv.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/case-talks-presents-cathy-edelman-anette-skuggedal-in-conversation-with-leslie-thomas">Case Talks Presents: Cathy Edelman / Anette Skuggedal in conversation with Leslie Thomas</a>Saturday, August 14, 10 – 11&nbsp;amCASE Art Fund&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418941/ckwbxjy5rbxvqgolafrb.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/artist-talk-nereida-patricia-and-jack-schneider">Artist Talk: Nereida Patricia and Jack Schneider</a>Saturday, August 14, 1 – 2&nbsp;pmMuseum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Talks This Week: August 12 - 14

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418938/lymhsu0ldgwk2xqazxjz.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/hard-soft-the-work-of-daniel-flood-and-marc-benja">Hard/Soft: The work of Daniel Flood and Marc Benja</a>Opening: Friday, August 13, 5 – 10&nbsp;pmOliva Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418939/fwdgd9ehul2mdfymupbc.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/deborah-butterfield-new-sculptures">Deborah Butterfield: New Sculptures</a>August 13Zolla / Lieberman Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418940/ked4kpnaqafvakjqso5g.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/sue-julien-83377e01-0194-4d4f-b52c-94ce60ad00ff">Sue Julien</a>Opening: Friday, August 13, 7 – 10&nbsp;pmFirecat Projects&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418940/qh6frtfj6m1n3rljn530.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/survey-3-i-sense-something-has-changed">Survey 3: I Sense Something Has Changed</a>Opening: Friday, August 13, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmHatch Projects&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418941/nz6exvm6npsskfbqz6fe.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/art-resuscitation-celebration">Art Resuscitation Celebration</a>Friday, August 13, 6 – 7&nbsp;pmARC Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418942/haljrvz7t6xbydh733qh.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/wingchow-solo-show">Wingchow – solo show</a>August 14Vertical Project Space&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Start August 13

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418938/jsopoijaaw3rfjfebsvt.png"><figcaption>Theaster Gates via his Instagram Account on August 3, 2021</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.instagram.com/theastergates/">Theaster Gates Was Turned Away from Gold Coast Restaurant</a>&nbsp;Truluck's, a high-end chain seafood restaurant at Chestnut and Rush, told the internationally renowned, barrier breaking artist that his hoodie and sweats didn't meet their dress code.On Instagram Gates posted to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theastergates/">followers</a> on August 3, "CHICAGO’S TRULUCK RESTAURANT DENIED ME BECAUSE I HAD ON A HOODY AND “SWEATS!!!!... I was shocked and confused. I asked for the manager and he didn’t back down. It was movie material. I’m not big on boycotts, but damn, CAN’T A BROTHER EAT!"&nbsp;The Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art Both Now Require Masks for All Visitors&nbsp;As of July 31 AIC's new (or renewed) policy is in accordance with an advisory in place from the City of Chicago, following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued due to concern about the potential of vaccinated people to spread the <a href="https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/07/30/contagious-delta-variant-chicago/">Delta variant</a> of the novel coronavirus. – <a href="https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/07/31/art-institute-of-chicago-requires-masks/">Via CBS2</a>The <a href="https://mcachicago.org">MCA requests</a> that visitors reserve tickets online in advance and says that masks are required inside the museum.&nbsp;<a href="https://news.wttw.com/2021/07/29/lollapalooza-organizers-donating-22m-expand-arts-education-cps">Lollapalooza Organizers Donating $2.2M to Expand Arts Education in CPS</a>Lollapalooza event organizers announced the launch of a fund that will support arts education over the next five years&nbsp;for more than 100,000 students within Chicago Public Schools.The music fest organizers are donating $2.2 million to CPS to create the <a href="https://www.ingenuity-inc.org/creative-schools-fund/lolla-arts-ed-fund/">Lollapalooza Arts Education Fund</a>, a new partnership with <a href="https://www.ingenuity-inc.org/about/news-update/lolla-faqs/">Ingenuity</a> that will help pay for arts programs in CPS schools for students who currently have the least access to such instruction.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.21cmuseumhotels.com/offer/art-lovers-package/">21C Hotel in Chicago Now Offering Hotel Stay Called "Art Lovers Package"</a>21c Museum Hotel Chicago is one of nine locations that form North America’s only multi-venue museum dedicated to collecting and exhibiting the art of the 21st&nbsp;century. Complementing its 10,000+ square feet of exhibition space and current exhibition on view,&nbsp;This We Believe, 21c Museum Hotel Chicago has put together a one-of-a-kind experience that allows art lovers to explore the best of the city’s art scene in one convenient package.Those who purchase the Art Lovers Packages will receive two general admission tickets to three area museums: The Art Institute of Chicago, The MCA and The Driehaus Museum.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 8/4/21

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418938/epswhmuwkryrvrctumco.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/photos-at-zoom-discussion-session-ike-ude">Photos at Zoom Discussion Session: Iké Udé</a>Friday, August 6, 12 – 1&nbsp;pmMuseum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP)Join our Curator of Academic Programs and Collections every Friday at noon for a casual drop-in session where we closely read and discuss one photograph together in the museum's collection. This week we will look at&nbsp;Savoy #3, 2003, by Iké Udé.Presented virtually on Zoom | Register&nbsp;<a href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=778a1d28dc&amp;e=62775191de">here</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418939/acyr9oeanmohjm7syyea.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/artist-talk-tracy-ostmann-haschke-a97ea81a-c58e-4afa-9ae9-b78c7b8827e6">Artist Talk: Tracy Ostmann Haschke</a>Friday, August 6, 6 – 7&nbsp;pmSpringboard ArtsMeet Chicago artist Tracy Ostmann Haschke, whose paintings are&nbsp;now on display in our Paradigm exhibit.&nbsp;<a href="https://springboardarts.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75badec5b84b5e7f40a5a74cb&amp;id=2bb8b56afb&amp;e=5a553c7ecf">Reserve a ticket</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418939/b7tpl3sigxa3jbqrbesq.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/social-justice-sewing-academy-workshop">Social Justice Sewing Academy Workshop</a>Saturday, August 7, 12 – 3&nbsp;pmIntuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider ArtJoin the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) in a workshop aimed at bridging artistic expression with activism. In the virtual program led by SJSA Executive Director Lauren Black, participants will design quilt blocks that reflect social issues significant to them.<a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0019_KAKQqyFJwyF9UKGIFe1AG5jw2amMuCclOj3aY8kMsqXtqFPr3TOPso2B5OnaGsIBItzQnbDYpCv84R5v01JIfSVPYx41USkGp8e0E8Q_AG8lm7C844Be00BUy-1RlYLD3J0nmQYZhJ9c08hVP4q-Ntky0Bo4X9dygebTNmWyUcBGU40cYOb02bH1MnOgUdrqx3BU_fF0QT8vFSJ75dCjvalP-ItBA5NtXSTJhGxTU=&amp;c=-Gd0zsR33QMgN95Pg7iPwAKr1or06XHnFp0c_Sr_nDPcoJEpa8qExg==&amp;ch=gaBpnb1dTP0rM4o7A2_kKwuqsqCj4GTi39Wu60myWDfHlaMJWji1-A==">Register Here</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Talks This Week: August 6 - 7

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418938/isq3ox8edjflcoli8ojz.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/larry-chait-the-sky-from-the-air">Larry Chait: The Sky from the Air</a>August 5 – 29Perspective Group + Photography Gallery, Ltd.Larry Chait is a Chicago-based photographer who has been pursuing his artistic vision since 2002. He studied photography at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and Columbia College, Chicago. His work has been included in the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, the Block Museum at Northwestern University and the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis. He has exhibited widely throughout the U.S. and internationally in more than 100 solo and group exhibitions.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418939/tttcuh38n5nlsw0d2fqo.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/howard-hart-remains">Howard Hart: Remains</a>August 5 – 29Perspective Group + Photography Gallery, Ltd.What does an urban street photographer do when there is no one on the streets? Although he shot plenty of empty streetscapes, like many people last year, Howard Hart spent more time in the natural world than in the city. There he learned to slow down and look at things more closely. Consequently, he found that silence and stillness have a different type of visual interest that can be just as captivating as the chaos of the street. In his exhibition, "Remains," at Perspective Gallery in Evanston, Hart presents us with his discovery of subtle and intricate patterns of light, texture and color that he discovered in the decomposing remains of plant life exposed by the melting snow of Spring.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418940/p9kaphcqvornbh4t8esg.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/larry-chait-the-sky-from-the-air">A Quiet Impression</a>Opening: Thursday, August 5, 6 – 7&nbsp;pmThe Silver RoomJazmine Harris deconstructs personal, communal, and political narratives through photography, video, and text, Memory, both found and fabricated, serves as her primary material; the acts of remembrance inform and shape the processes she employs. As she addresses the beauty and failure of collective memory, Jazmine. seeks to mine, archive, and reimagine impressions left on the personal as one navigates the everyday familiar and unknown.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418940/dgt7drwaaxgvgjfzhmiw.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/words-matter">Words Matter</a>Opening: Friday, August 6, 5:30 – 8&nbsp;pmThe Art Center Highland ParkWith ‘Words Matter’, The Art Center Highland Park sought art that exists in the intersection between visual art and language. The featured artist/ guest juror, Makeba Kadem-DuBose uses vintage newsprint as a form of activism by shedding light on the lack of “news” about women, especially those who had gone missing. She states, “stories of women positive or otherwise that were missing from the “official” media archives...&nbsp; America Me: Missing 1930s through 2021 is intended as an homage, an ongoing series in honor of, and to bring light to the many women who’ve gone missing, and those who’ve survived attempts to disappear us."&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418941/i33qjkth80osoepfpq9p.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/b222a646-ca45-49a6-a593-8af9b29fab3f">Ed Valentine : Good Paintings</a>Opening: Friday, August 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmHofheimer Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418942/beymrqq6369qwdutqw7i.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/nicholas-sistler-reverence">Nicholas Sistler : Reverence</a>Opening: Friday, August 6, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmHofheimer GalleryFor “REVERENCE,” Sistler has focused on inventive playfulness through an intuitive process developed over decades of practice. "I'm fascinated by optical illusions and how visual information can be ambiguous, first appearing one way, then morphing into something entirely different," says Sistler. “My art is about spaces and spacial distortion. Appearing tiny on an expanse of wall, they counterintuitively enlarge our notions of space and perspective. The precise, diminutive work encourages close inspection, even magnification. Upon being pulled into the work, one discovers sharp detail that demands immersion into the proportionately enormous experience.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418943/hiocuiztkxhoi95kxmaq.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/thresholds-perspectives-on-y-ourselves-10dc6000-54ba-4162-b474-58f0195bbe78">Opening Reception: Thresholds: Perspectives on (Y)OURselves</a>Opening: Friday, August 6, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmEpiphany Center for the ArtsIdentity: Perspectives on Y(OUR)selves presents artwork created in Thresholds’ Art Therapy Program. The exhibition examines the topic of identity through the lens of creative expression. These artists all participated in art therapy sessions and were asked to consider how they fit into their created communities at the micro, mezzo and macro levels. They were also encouraged to explore how these communities themselves are formed.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Start August 5 - 6

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417815/rnvvp6nptpgeolkjft4n.jpg"><figcaption>(Courtesy Whitney Bradshaw / “Outcry”)</figcaption></figure><a href="https://news.wttw.com/2018/11/27/photographer-s-scream-sessions-aim-challenge-stereotypes">Photographer’s ‘Scream Sessions’ Aim to Challenge Stereotypes</a>Since January 2018, Whitney Bradshaw has photographed more than 375 women who participated in her “Scream Sessions.” All portraits are now on display together for the first time in a new exhibit at the McCormick Gallery called “<a href="https://www.thomasmccormick.com/exhibitions/129">Outcry</a>.”The photos will be up through September 4.&nbsp;And those interested in signing up for a “Scream Session,” can contact Whitney Bradshaw&nbsp;<a href="http://whitneybradshaw.com/contact/">here</a>.Via WTTW&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/09/the-epic-style-of-kerry-james-marshall">The Epic Style of Kerry James Marshall</a>For the first thirty years of his career, Kerry James Marshall was a successful but little known artist. His figurative paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and videos appeared in gallery and museum shows here and abroad, and selling them was never a problem. He won awards, residencies, and grants, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 1997, but in the contemporary-art world, which started to look more closely at Black artists in the nineties, Marshall was an outlier, and happy to be one. He had an unshakable confidence in himself as an artist, and the undistracted solitude of his practice allowed him to spend most of his time in the studio. The curator Helen Molesworth told me that during the three years it took to put together “Mastry,” Marshall’s first major retrospective in the United States, which opened in 2016 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and travelled to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, “there were still people in the art world who didn’t know who he was.”This is no longer the case.Via The New Yorker&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/sevierville-sevier/three-people-hospitalized-after-iceberg-wall-collapses-at-the-titanic-museum-in-pigeon-forge/51-03b562fc-1d26-4800-8ea3-6c514599183e">'Wall of ice' display falls at Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, hospitalizing 3 people</a>The collapse of an icy display that injured three at the Titanic Museum attraction in Pigeon Forge, TN appears to be an accident, according to the Pigeon Forge Police Department."Officers arrived to find that a wall of ice display fell and injured several visitors," according to an update Tuesday from the Police Department.The wall is located on the Promenade Deck, meant to give an example of the bitter nighttime conditions on the night the ship sank. Patrons can touch a large wall of ice.Via WBIR&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/anish-kapoor-foundation-venice-palazzo">Anish Kapoor is converting a vast, crumbling Venetian palace into his permanent exhibition space and workshop</a>The foundation of the British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor has begun renovating a palazzo in Venice that will eventually become the organisation's headquarters.Earlier this year, the Venice city council green-lit construction plans for the Anish Kapoor Foundation to convert the dilapidated 18th-century Palazzo Priuli Manfrin into an exhibition venue, artist studio and repository for a number of Kapoor's most significant works.Via The Art Newspaper&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 8/3/21

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418938/kdjbh2b3gqnf7d8oyexd.jpg"><figcaption>Chicago: Where Comics Came to Life (1880-1960). Credit: Vashon Jordan Jr. Image courtesy of Chicago Tribune</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.saic.edu/news/alum-chris-ware-curates-and-designs-comics-exhibition-chicago-cultural-center?utm_source=&amp;utm_medium=&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_campaign=VAP&amp;fbclid=IwAR0URNiNPHDPLGw8fMnn8tJX8YGJgXwKdYtF0Ie6No1R5iazAeERHYo8Zt4">Alum Chris Ware Curates and Designs Comics Exhibition at Chicago Cultural Center</a>Artist, writer, and alum Chris Ware (SAIC 1991–93, HON 2019) and Chicago Cultural Historian Emeritus Tim Samuelson curated and designed the Chicago Cultural Center’s <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-cultural-center-comics-shows-chris-ware-20210701-ln3djwfctvhf5ig5h6w7ommvwe-story.html">newest exhibition</a>. Chicago: Where Comics Came to Life (1880–1960) spans almost a century of content from Chicago’s early comics scene, including pieces from Ware and Samuelson’s own collections. According to the Chicago Cultural Center’s website, the exhibition is an “intentional historical companion to the concurrently appearing survey of contemporary Chicago comics” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Chicago: Where Comics Came to Life (1880–1960) will be exhibited through October 3 in the Sidney Yates Gallery at the Chicago Cultural Center.Via SAIC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-nighthawks-is-a-play-0727-20210727-ops64vvcubcjxk6kfx5axasume-story.html?fbclid=IwAR30tUJkvyq0Yuf9iBDFqCE6wdBjoslNRssqAVt_oqVQOh-U8FaTiD-qcLE">New play will bring Edward Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks,’ one of Art Institute’s most popular paintings, to theatrical life</a>A little boy was trying energetically to climb atop one of the two lions that have long “guarded” the Art Institute as people poured through the doors on Saturday, becoming the latest of the millions of people who have gotten pleasure from the art inside.Some of those creations have provided inspiration for artists in other realms — writers, musicians, playwrights — and the latest of these is June Sawyers, who has created a show titled “Nighthawks: A Theatrical Meditation on Solitude and Loneliness.”Via Chicago Tribune&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/real-estate/ct-re-kenwood-gardens-theaster-gates-0726-20210728-u2y3gcee2ng55gdrsfw34ov3ua-story.html">Theaster Gates is transforming a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side one project at a time. Next up? The $4.5M Kenwood Gardens.</a>A 1.3-acre garden on the South Side filled with crab apple, Musclewood and Korean dogwood trees is being molded into a green oasis where residents will be able to enjoy the environment alongside educational programming and community-focused gardening.Chris Abraham, head of the planting for Kenwood Gardens, has plans to add Minnie Pearl Phlox, Lilac Squirrel and other plants, but those aren’t the only seeds being laid. The garden is part of an ongoing effort led by artist, developer, urban planner and community activist Theaster Gates to transform neglected areas of the South Side neighborhood into sustainable community spaces.Via Chicago Tribune&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 7/28

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418936/vysw8aejilb3qnvyxb9s.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/eulogy-a-show-with-jovan-c-speller">Eulogy, a show with Jovan C. Speller</a>Exhibition Begins July 29Aspect/Ratio ProjectsEulogy is a mixed media series by artist Jovan C. Speller that documents the artist’s notions of reincarnation. The works represented in this series are materializations of distant recollections of a past life - accepting the unreliability of memory itself, and exploring the myths that remain instead. With this body of work Speller reflects on memory and the transient nature of consciousness.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418936/rdaynfzsvf2jt5rv5wu4.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/paul-nudd">Paul Nudd’s Purple Mayonnaisery + The Uncollected Pictures of Paul Nudd</a>Exhibition Begins July 31Western ExhibitionsIn art ltd in 2011, James Yood wrote of Paul Nudd, “If the body is a temple, Nudd offers it as crumbling and collapsing, as an amazing remnant soon to be food for very busy worms.” Nudd is committed to central themes of primal sludge, growth and disease, systems of classification, mutation and life, patterning and mark making.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418937/cj2sypiyemsfrj9kfiji.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/heather-brammeier-maybe-never">Heather Brammeier: Maybe Never</a>Exhibition Begins July 31Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC)Heather Brammeier is a sculptor, painter and installation artist whose work engages the function of childhood play into adulthood. Brammeier creates visual puzzles that invite movement in and around the artwork, testing physical and perceptual boundaries, mirroring emotional and psychological limits.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Start July 29 - 31

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418936/kkh5habwltc2txslwy18.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.saic.edu/news/saic-saddened-passing-alum-and-faculty-member-gregory-bae">Artist and SAIC Faculty Member Greg Bae Has Died</a>Via SAIC Interim Dean of Faculty and Vice President of Academic Affairs Shawn Michelle Smith &nbsp;and Chicago Artists CoalitionSAIC alum and faculty member Gregory Bae (MFA 2012) passed away recently. He is remembered by those who worked with him as a generous leader and friend who traveled widely, always making time to connect with fellow artists and devoting himself to organizing for justice.While a student in the Department of Painting and Drawing, Greg shared his welcoming nature as a graduate admissions student ambassador and later, as a faculty member and a reviewer for undergraduate admissions. Greg began teaching for the department in fall of 2019 and has since also taught in Contemporary Practices and Continuing Studies, finishing his most recent class, online, earlier this month.&nbsp;His own practice was multidisciplinary, often using accumulated detritus to speak to the impact of global forces (both physical, like gravity, and diasporic) and investigate the malleability of time and the magnetism of presence. He was the co-director for&nbsp;<a href="http://click.email.saic.edu/?qs=32b01a740201558c6f2a10989a11164d1190c8ff369fd88fce33cca3ec57ecae95c88775ede3e3218964d4755372512ce8c280c0a2438b69">Bill's Auto</a>, an exhibition space founded in 2018, and most recently curated an&nbsp;<a href="http://click.email.saic.edu/?qs=32b01a740201558c3138bd53a88f5a81328cf234599d899a44aaf4d93298f580ac15f9cb788fa911ec7b51359823f21db8eee9440d1ae1e5">exhibition</a>&nbsp;at&nbsp;<a href="http://click.email.saic.edu/?qs=32b01a740201558cce00124a43dbfb7a47eb4e2a10ada9571890ad00e2a7400417ef1c1b56453e0099bceb6b00606268b05e977be4fc74db">Buddy</a>, the new artist-run venue at the Chicago Cultural Center. In active response to anti-Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAAPI) sentiment, Greg was central to the organization Chicago API Artists United (<a href="http://click.email.saic.edu/?qs=32b01a740201558c38f955c4a09c675c41c55dc16b5a222d2a5356ac0da55e97f509475bcaac4d5c1492c227ec4cc02bbff12b52145e778e">CAAU</a>), successfully raising funds for&nbsp;<a href="http://click.email.saic.edu/?qs=32b01a740201558c7911c318a0a5127569a6baa6db60ebd1918e322d26cf6b3c32fe47cc46cbb8487aa6462670ee146c4eaae2f9455ae926">Asian Americans Advancing Justice</a>&nbsp;and mobilizing generations of AAAPI artists to stand in solidarity against injustice.*CAC is saddened to learn of the sudden passing of artist and SPARK Grant recipient (2018-19), Greg Bae. Greg shared with CAC Executive and Artistic Director, Teresa Silva, recently that the SPARK Grant funds spearheaded a solidarity support group for Asian and Asian-American artists. Greg is a true artists' artist and community builder.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/louise-fishman-painter-dead-1234599995/">Painter Louise Fishman, Graduate of University of Illinois, Champaign Has Died at&nbsp;82</a>Louise Fishman, whose stylish paintings synthesized modernist abstraction with her identity as a queer Jewish feminist, died in New York on Monday at 82.For much of her career, Fishman’s art went under-recognized by the mainstream art world, but in recent years, it has been the subject of various solo shows, including surveys at the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, New York, the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, and Cheim &amp; Read gallery in New York, her longtime representative.The Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois is scheduled to open an <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/a-question-of-emphasis-louise-fishman-drawing">exhibition of Fishman's work</a> in one month, on August 26.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418936/rxvsfwoncsi6kar4khnh.jpg"></figure><a href="https://lighthouseimmersive.com/artistinresidence/#apply">Lighthouse Art Space Calls for Artists to Apply for Van Gogh Residency&nbsp;</a>Via PRLighthouse ArtSpace Chicago, the venue housed in the Germania Club Building, announced a call for artists for the ongoing Artist-In-Residence program at 108 W. Germania Place. The program is designed to enable both established and emerging artists to engage with the legacy of Vincent van Gogh, in connection with Immersive Van Gogh running now through Sept. 6.Artists are encouraged to create and cultivate work during their residency around the theme of van Gogh – all while surrounded by a community of art enthusiasts at the Immersive Van Gogh venue. This is a unique opportunity to build connections, network, collaborate and share work with other artists and the general public. Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago has named artist, gallerist, curator, poet and global advocate Arica Hilton as the original Artist-in-Residence. Hilton has been creating work in the Germania Club’s light-filled studio, utilizing her signature acrylic-on-acrylic reverse painting technique to create works in a neo-luminist style composed of recycled plastic, gold leaf and mirrors.Local artists are invited to apply for a four-week-long residency over varying dates. The selected candidate will be compensated for their time and given prime access to interact with and sell their work to the tens of thousands of ticketholders for the event.<a href="https://lighthouseimmersive.com/artistinresidence/#apply">Apply here</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://evanstonroundtable.com/2021/07/22/arts-council-approves-new-mural-highlighting-racial-justice/?fbclid=IwAR2ff_S-WfN-vYfcFJEsp_fuqR83ZJAw4AbWYbpXo1ILwR4lTMyCWzR03Mc">Evanston Arts Council Approves Mural by Ben Blount Highlighting Racial Justice</a>The Evanston Arts Council voted unanimously July 13 to contribute funding to a new mural slated to reflect Evanston’s commitment to racial justice.The mural will appear on the viaduct walls on the west and north sides of the Washington/Custer intersection. The two walls, immediately off Chicago Avenue, have been empty since the fall of 2019.Evanston artist Ben Blount was chosen to develop the new mural. Blount created a “Black Lives Matter” poster last year that caught the eye of the Main-Dempster Mile’s Placemaking Committee, purchasing 200 of them to put up in storefronts around town.&nbsp;<a href="https://banksyexhibit.com/?utm_campaign=website&amp;utm_source=sendgrid.com&amp;utm_medium=email">The Art of Banksy Has A Site - Again</a>The Art of Banksy, the largest touring exhibition of authentic Banksy artworks in the world, announced the Chicago exhibition will be held on the 4th floor of 360 N. State St: a 45,000-square-foot space that was the home of other public exhibits. The public opening has been delayed from its original start but will now be Saturday, Aug. 14.The Art of Banksy will feature more than 80 works by the elusive street artist including many of his most recognizable images.It was previously announced that the exhibition would take place at <a href="https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/art-of-banksy-organizers-announce-new-venue-causing-delay-in-exhibit-opening/2562993/">Epiphany Center for the Arts</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 7/26/21

<html><head></head><body><a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2021/7/19/22583940/richard-hunt-award-winner-gwen-yen-chiu-sculpture-thought-vortex-installed-unveiled-lincoln-halsted?fbclid=IwAR0CRar3azIO2XDUEMrJEWi9OqpJfiQ99vUf5InezH0n8BgCzPxKq1edDxc">First winner of Richard Hunt Award unveils ‘Thought Vortex’ sculpture at Lincoln and Halsted</a>Gwen Yen Chiu’s sculpture of twisted aluminum depicts the ever-evolving human mind as it consumes and responds to current events and political strife.The 12-foot-tall artwork, titled “Thought Vortex,” was unveiled Monday at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Halsted Street.“I sketched the piece out when all the Asian hate crimes started happening in the U.S.,” said Chiu, 28. “I started thinking about the BIPOC community, immigrant families and all the first generations here, and it was just all these thoughts. And that’s kind of what the vortex is representative of — these never-ending thoughts.”Chiu, a 2018 School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduate, said those thoughts felt inescapable and the vortex was a way to visualize that, as the twisted aluminum never reaches a peak. The sculpture acted as an ode to what she describes as a maximization of political and social issues over the past four years.The Chicago artist is the first winner of the Richard Hunt Award, which grants emerging and mid-career level artists $10,000 to create large-scale public art installations across the city.Via Chicago&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418274/soxlbmv5ngrndrrgpucv.jpg"><figcaption>The St. Regis Chicago TOM HARRIS/STUDIO GANG</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-sculptural-skyscraper-for-chicago-jeanne-gang-studio-gang-stregis-11626900738?tesla=y">A Sculptural Skyscraper for Chicago</a>Do not confuse the shape of a fashionable residential tower with the artistic line drawn by an architect. It is the line of truce after a battle. A developer fights to expand his territory, his holy volume of rentable space, and the architect pushes back, trying to carve and sculpt that volume, and to make it beautiful. The developer wins, of course, giving us the box with an all-glass skin that is the industry standard of high-rise housing.But there are exceptions. The three interlocking and progressively taller towers that make up the St. Regis Chicago, this city’s newest and most prominent residential and hotel development, are as exquisitely contoured as a work of abstract sculpture.Via The Wall Street Journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-obama-presidential-center-jackson-park-kalven-20210719-dosdxevymfhwba7vvhmhnjeo7q-story.html">Op-ed: Obama Presidential Center. Right project, wrong location.</a>The Chicago Tribune recently published an op-ed by Valerie Jarrett, president of the Obama Foundation, in which she described those who oppose locating the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park as “a few voices outside the community” who “are trying to stand in the way of something that will genuinely transform the South Side and the people who live there today.”Contrary to Jarrett’s characterization, I am a lifelong South Sider, a former neighbor of the Obamas, an admirer of their public service and someone who enthusiastically welcomes the prospect of the presidential center coming to the South Side. I am also among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that seeks to compel the city of Chicago and various federal agencies to subject the proposed Jackson Park site to the scrutiny required by law.Via Chicago Tribune&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/moholy-nagy-new-bauhaus-documentary-review-1234599013/?fbclid=IwAR2_b1Q5UMjLvyNnF6KVMRc63RVcXzPAh_2ItLOmyvHfFJSKe5tkcHDt56E">New Documentary Surveys How László Moholy-Nagy Tried to Launch Bauhaus 2.0 in&nbsp;Chicago</a>László Moholy-Nagy, one of the most famous artists associated with the Bauhaus, was never much liked by his colleagues at the famed German art school that lent the 1920s European movement its name. He’d never received a proper art education, and the courses he taught were freeform and, for the time, unfashionably technology-obsessed. Although he developed a loyal following among students, staff members and colleagues were less appreciative of his methods. He ultimately quit his post in 1928, in a dramatic controversy that transcended the German art world.Moholy-Nagy’s five-year term at the Bauhaus is a relatively small part of his career, however. Arguably, his efforts to reboot the Bauhaus in the U.S., where he fled as the Nazis gained power in Europe, are even more important than his teaching in Germany, a new documentary argues. In 1937, with help from Container Corporation of America chairman Walter Paepcke, Moholy-Nagy created a new art-and-design school in Chicago. Call it Bauhaus 2.0 or, as he did, the New Bauhaus.Via ARTNews&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 7/22

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418370/odseqtx7qzbrmgy6tpt9.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/virtual-artist-talk-joseph-lefthand">Virtual Artist Talk: Joseph Lefthand</a>Thursday, July 22, 6 – 7&nbsp;pmWeinberg/Newton GalleryJoseph will speak about his practice and conception of&nbsp;Experimental Makers Workshop, which is currently in progress at the gallery.&nbsp;He and his collaborators, artists Isaac Couch and Sarah Whyte, are exploring&nbsp;the relationship between personhood and institutional violence, utilizing elements of performance and design to conceive wearable art that re-imagines the human form as transitory, lucid, ethereal, and disruptive.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418370/md2pcggw86rf6xqflndz.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/conversation-an-my-le-and-shahzia-sikander">Conversation: An-My Lê and Shahzia Sikander</a>Thursday, July 22, 6 – 7&nbsp;pmMuseum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP)Join exhibiting artists An-My&nbsp;Lê&nbsp;and Shahzia Sikander for a conversation about their artistic practices and&nbsp;Much Unseen is Also Here.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418371/cezlo8a2atfpwrkgxt5j.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/a-conversation-with-bob-tanner">A Conversation with Bob Tanner</a>Thursday, July 22, 7 – 8&nbsp;pmPerspective Group + Photography Gallery, Ltd.Tanner studied photography with Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan and Frederick Sommer at the Institute of Design. He directed and produced films and video for over 30 years before returning to still photography. Bob has been a member of Perspective Group and Gallery since its founding in 2010.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418372/iedeagzorcrcofxf7rgi.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/virtual-in-conversation-mary-sibande-lanisa-kitchiner">(Virtual) In Conversation: Mary Sibande &amp; Lanisa Kitchiner</a>Saturday, July 24, 1 – 2&nbsp;pmKavi Gupta GalleryKavi Gupta is pleased to present the next edition of In Conversation, featuring renowned South African artist Mary Sibande and Lanisa Kitchiner, chief of the African and Middle Eastern Division of The Library of Congress.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418373/dyrppnh6gmzz0ywovpnm.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/discussion-fumi-okiji-and-matthew-metzger">Discussion: Fumi Okiji and Matthew Metzger</a>Saturday, July 24, 2 – 3&nbsp;pmThe Renaissance SocietyFor this virtual program looking at his exhibition&nbsp;Heirloom&nbsp;and beyond, Matthew Metzger joins scholar Fumi Okiji for a conversation that delves into painting and music, questions around expression, and more.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Talks This Week: July 22 - 24

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418202/cxjgyia63okx9myzxdyn.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/methods-and-manipulations">Methods and Manipulations</a>Begins July 23Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider ArtMethods and Manipulations takes a close look at the visual culture with which Darger grew up and the source materials from which he drew inspiration and, in some cases, appropriated in his art. The exhibition explores how Darger used imagery from diverse sources—such as coloring book pages, newspaper and magazine articles, and paper dolls—and pairs select works by Darger with their source materials. The show highlights Darger's process and techniques with a special focus on select themes: his interest in weather, use of collage, incorporation of the panorama format in his works and creation of comic book scrapbooks.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418203/znau3bsqlhovcyjli4q7.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/curtain-call">Curtain Call</a>Opening: Saturday, July 24, 1 – 4&nbsp;pmGallery Studio Oh!Our last day of operation will be Saturday, August 21 from 11am-4pm. We are so incredibly grateful to our friends, families, artists and the whole community for their continued support throughout the years and for embracing our gallery and our mission. We will always hold very fond memories as we depart into new territories and opportunities. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418203/eouchksofe6dxwnprixs.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/lorraine-peltz-summer-bounce">Lorraine Peltz: Summer Bounce</a>Opening: Friday, July 23, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmZolla / Lieberman Gallery"Floral imagery is not new to Peltz’s practice, though in this latest series, flowers are rendered in a style far more realistic than she has used in recent years. Peonies, daisies, violets and lotuses are centered in her canvases, articulated carefully yet painterly, harkening to the still-life paintings of the Dutch Golden Age. But, unlike the subjects of still-lifes, Peltz’s bouquets are not situated in a naturalistic environment or illusionistic space; her blooms sit atop geometric patterned fields. Defined in pictorial space in this way, Peltz’s flowers are not just images of flowers -- they are symbols." - Robin Dluzen, 2021&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418204/lgdckaldmmedyh8ut5fb.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/a-composition-of-memory-andrea-coleman-warith-taha">A Composition of Memory: Andrea Coleman &amp; Warith Taha</a>Begins July 24FLXST ContemporaryChicago-based artist Andrea Coleman and Oakland-based artist Warith Taha are paired together in a duo exhibition A Composition of Memory at FLXST Contemporary curated by Ciera Alyse McKissick.&nbsp;Both artists work intersect through themes relating to the distortion of memory and the construction of perception. Coleman’s use of fragmentation alludes to the process of remembering, while Taha’s act of covering points to a path of reconciliation for forgetting.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418205/dutlzqwyrrvdlgd1zuwj.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/roa">ROA: Daltonism</a>Opening: Saturday, July 24, noon – 6&nbsp;pmVertical GalleryVertical Gallery is very proud to present “Daltonism,” a special solo exhibition featuring new drawings by the enigmatic Belgian street artist ROA.ROA is renowned across the globe for his monochromatic, nature-themed murals: towering, highly detailed portraits of birds, reptiles, rodents and other species native to the locations he paints. “Daltonism” takes its name from an alternate term for protanopia, the most common form of color-blindness — a fitting title not only given ROA’s career-long adherence to painting in black and white, but also because color-blindness is so prevalent throughout the animal kingdom.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418206/gqjpznt5cwuddm4xgg0g.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/allison-wade-the-good-parts">Allison Wade: The Good Parts</a>Begins July 25John Michael Kohler Arts CenterConstructed from unexpected combinations of handmade and found objects, Allison Wade’s tenuous sculptural works consider the intersection of flatness and form. Her practice relies heavily on balance and tension to explore the structural contingencies of where, and how, elements meet. These formal explorations shape Wade’s singular, idiosyncratic visual language, one that investigates the play between two and three dimensions and the connection between spatial and social relationships.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Start July 23 - 25

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417878/ai0img8ta0f4xpf33icm.jpg"><figcaption>Theaster Gates, "Hardware Store Painting" (2021), steel pegboard, pegs, and hardware store inventory, 230 5/8 x 425 1/2 x 15 inches (courtesy Gray Chicago/New York. © Theaster Gates Studio)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://hyperallergic.com/661776/theaster-gates-finds-community-in-labor/?__FB_PRIVATE_TRACKING__=%7B%22loggedout_browser_id%22%3A%224255f47d31a8877d465cc9b79b784d2e431d7507%22%7D&amp;fbclid=IwAR20WGYceK1LUDBMloKQ0vJsUzOiWIaCiuLSFsqjhWEKpjl-Mzth_izOHvY">Theaster Gates Finds Community in Labor</a>A large wood-fired vase holding a spray of bright flowers greets you when you walk into <a href="https://www.richardgraygallery.com/viewing-rooms/theaster-gates2">How to Sell Hardware</a>, Theaster Gates’s installation at Chicago’s Gray Warehouse. It’s a piece Gates made, and it’s a warmly welcoming gesture to viewers stepping into the austere gallery space. It also serves as a reference to the artist’s early career as a ceramicist: Gates trained as a potter, and for 15 years wood-fired vessels and other ceramic pieces were his primary means of artistic expression.&nbsp; The works in his new installation, composed of the contents of a defunct hardware store, seem at first to have little in common with such a traditional ceramic form. But in a sense the vessel offers a key into the themes of the show. Firing a wood kiln is a communal, intensely laborious effort, sometimes involving squads of potters tending the fire together for days on end — and How to Sell Hardware, despite the name, is less concerned with commerce than it is with the intersection of labor and community.Via Hyperallergic&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/michael-phillips/ct-ent-logan-square-comfort-station-movies-20210714-k4heqj46cfg5lod2hz2qx7gwsy-story.html">Comfort Station is the small Tudor building in Logan Square with a century of Chicago history — first as a restroom, now an arts space and outdoor theater</a>A couple of Wednesdays ago, I spent a couple of hours loitering outside a public restroom facility. Dozens of us did.Before you call the cops, let me explain. I was one of 63 — give or take a few wander-inners and passers-by who passed by, came back and stayed a while — gathered under the trees outside the tiny, century-old trolley line warming house now known as Comfort Station, the unlikeliest arts micro-organization in town.Via Chicago TribuneImage thumbnail: The Comfort Station can be seen July 13, 2021, in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)&nbsp;<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/adam-milner-art21-1989424">‘A Spilled Bag of Cheetos on the Sidewalk Is a Stunning Composition’: Watch Artist Adam Milner Make Art From… Well, Anything</a>If you happen to be near the South Pacific Playground in Brooklyn, keep your eyes peeled for a 2003 Silver Honda CRV. It belongs to someone named Conor, and if you text him (419-971-1233), he’ll direct you right to it.Brooklyn not your home base? Near Gramercy Park, there’s a dog named Oh Papa who usually hangs out there with his owner, Starlee.&nbsp;<a href="https://publicsculptures.net/locations/8">You can text her, too</a>, for an exact location.These seemingly random people and places are actually locations of site-specific artworks that make up the <a href="https://publicsculptures.net/locations">roving installation&nbsp;Public Sculptures</a> by Brooklyn-based artist <a href="https://art21.org/artist/adam-milner/">Adam Milner</a>, and presented by Colorado-based nonprofit Black Cube, a nomadic contemporary art museum.Milner is a self-proclaimed “collector” who constructs elaborate installations from discarded or found objects. Babybel cheese wax, porcelain figurines, a friend’s braided hair (“is it my hair now?” he wants to know) or plastic gems embedded in a smooth jasper stone, all collected from thrift stores, street corners, or simply amassed over the years, each become the foundation of his work.Via Artnet&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 7/19

<html><head></head><body>By CGN STAFFSeptember seems far away and also around the corner. Maybe it's just that this September will mean the return of a busy fall art season after a year off in 2020.&nbsp;As we plan the fall issue of CGN (printing in August and better than ever!) we are taking note of some exhibitions planned for September and beyond. These are just a handful of the things we know to be happening, and shows will run the gamut from fun-to-see and be a part of to exhibitions that will speak to current events and challenge us to think deeper than numbing news headlines.&nbsp;Below are just a few dates to note and shows to anticipate from September into early October.All of this is not to say you should rush through summer! Enjoy all that there is to see and do, or not do, right now, before things get busy once again in the coming weeks.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418092/jm1tehpxdpk7dyrlbfoa.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/6th-annual-river-north-design-district-fall-gallery-walk">September 10 – First Round of Gallery Openings and The River North Design District Gallery Walk</a>The River North Design District has joined with the River North galleries to host the 6th Annual River North Design District Fall Gallery Walk on Friday, September 10. This year showrooms will feature a variety of fine artists and designer vignettes along with special events throughout River North.Each participating showroom and art gallery will be exhibiting artwork created by influential artists working today. This year Chicago’s top designers will be selecting their favorite art and creating inspirational vignettes in each of the participating showrooms. Ticketed VIP kickoff as well as after party plans will take place at showrooms in the district.&nbsp;A special open house takes place 11-4 on Saturday, Sept 11. The exhibitions are on view through Oct 11.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418092/ipvw4qpvb9piv6o7hxrg.png"></figure><a href="https://neonandlightmuseum.com">Ken Saunders Is Opening a Limited Run Neon Museum&nbsp;</a>The new Neon and Light Museum pop-up invites guests to stand in, under and around some 70 professional neon and light-based sculptures in a dazzling and dramatic immersive exhibition opening in River North at 325 West Huron Street for a limited eight-week run starting Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021.The Neon and Light Museum is an expansion of the successful <a href="https://kensaundersgallery.com/on-neon">On Neon</a> show presented in Chicago last year by <a href="https://kensaundersgallery.com/">Ken Saunders Gallery.</a>“Neon defined a retro era when the automobile was broadening Americans’ horizons and the highways and boulevards of America’s cities were filled with bright and often flashing illuminated messages: snappy, happy, hopeful, warm and fuzzy come-ons to a better future,” explains Saunders.&nbsp;“Today artists are bending glass into weird and wild shapes. This immersive exhibition features breathtaking sculptures and interactive light shows both kitschy and nostalgic, ironic and literal. Quite simply: It’s lit!”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418093/wcnusdjxmhss6rgsut6j.jpg"><figcaption>Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled (Death by Gun), 1990</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/american-epidemic-guns-in-the-united-states">American Epidemic: Guns in the United States, at MoCP</a>Sep 10, 2021 – Feb 20, 2022In&nbsp;American Epidemic: Guns in the United States, nine artists&nbsp;examine the role guns play in structural violence, poverty, systemic racism, and an increasingly militarized police force. Using the photographic medium, these artists provide a nuanced exploration of the way in which guns are yielded in this country, including the politicization of trauma, public mourning (and the rote political refrain of “thoughts and prayers” in response to gun violence), and a host of other issues laid bare by this uniquely American plight.Featuring work by Carolyn Drake, Nancy Floyd, Stephen Foster, Andres Gonzalez, Félix González-Torres, Zora J Murff,&nbsp;Renée Stout,&nbsp;and Hank Willis Thomas and Kambui Olujimi,&nbsp;American Epidemic&nbsp;not only explores the complex array of issues that arise with the increased presence of guns in American society, but advocates for an intersectional understanding of how gender, race, capitalism, and militarism affect the larger conversation around gun control in this country. &nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418094/fcpgdizfcujbpbfy3wgf.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/thinking-of-you-i-mean-me-i-mean-you">Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You, the Art Institute of Chicago</a>Sep 19, 2021 – Jan 24, 2022Combining images with provocative text, Kruger uses direct address—along with humor, vigilance, and empathy—to expose and undermine the power dynamics of identity, desire, and consumerism. As shrinking attention spans collide with the voyeurism and narcissism that define contemporary life, her immersive installations and widely circulated pictures and words invite us to reconsider how we relate to one anotherTHINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. encompasses the full breadth of her career—from early and rarely seen “pasteups” (works that use an analog technique for physically arranging a page’s contents with manual “cut and paste”) to digital productions of the last two decades. The presentation includes works on vinyl, site-specific installations, animations, and multichannel video installations.The exhibition is not, however, a retrospective. Challenging notions of career building and a strict chronology, Kruger has reenvisioned the retrospective itself by rethinking, remaking, and replaying her work over the decades for the constantly moving present.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418095/q7v1xoun6btsnjzkepr1.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/jacob-hashimoto-11df96fa-ba58-4b51-9445-6e9d90e55885">Jacob Hashimoto at Rhona Hoffman</a>Sep 17 – Oct 22, 2021Using sculpture, painting, and installation, SAIC graduate Jacob Hashimoto creates complex worlds from a range of modular components: bamboo-and-paper kites, model boats, even astroturf-covered blocks. His accretive, layered compositions reference video games, virtual environments, and cosmology, while also remaining deeply rooted in art-historical traditions notably, landscape-based abstraction, modernism, and handcraft.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418096/ah5fpdavcscvgjansp1w.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/jesus-of-western-avenue">Tony Fitzpatrick: Jesus of Western Avenue</a>Jesus of Western Avenue at the newly re-opened Cleve Carney Museum of Art will feature dozens of recent works by world-renowned multimedia artist and celebrated Chicago resident Tony Fitzpatrick.&nbsp;Delayed for a year by the pandemic, the exhibition will run Oct. 2, 2021 to January 31, 2022 and will be free and open to the public.Coinciding with the release of Fitzpatrick’s book,&nbsp;Jesus of Western Avenue,&nbsp;the exhibition will feature prints, drawings and collages.&nbsp;These graphically rich and inventive works deliver messages and stories that reflect on the artist’s&nbsp;connection to Chicago, his social and political concerns and our shared changing reality.&nbsp;With work in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, The Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami, Fitzpatrick has also created album art for music icons including Lou Reed, Steve Earle and The Neville Brothers. Fitzpatrick is best known for his multimedia collages, printmaking, paintings and drawings.&nbsp;Fitzpatrick has said that the exhibition will be his last museum show.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Early Warning: Fall Highlights Come Into Focus

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417874/yujmv2gw1ahmeq1lwlme.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/chris-jones/ct-ent-mark-kelly-retires-dcase-chicago-20210713-iyytrgtpd5cvplr6gd7a3krggy-story.html?fbclid=IwAR2POg94s-Ga_YxIlOjgORJg84SPANHVdVyl4t5C-ESNWZryqiyhtGso1uU">Mark Kelly, Chicago’s commissioner of cultural affairs and special events, will retire at end of summer</a>Mark Kelly, the City of Chicago’s widely admired commissioner of cultural affairs and special events, said Tuesday that he plans to retire from the position by the fall.Kelly, 70, who runs the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), was appointed to the position by former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2016 and retained by the new administration of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Previously, he had been vice president for student success at Columbia College of Chicago, his employer for some 30 years.Via Chicago Tribune*<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/8/commissioner-mark-kelly-chicago-s-out-of-the-box-culture-wizard-on-public-art">CGN interviewed Kelly </a>when he first became the Commissioner in 2017&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417875/gqlsvsomdcfcjlzkhmga.png"></figure><a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/residency-2/residencyapplication/">Hyde Park Art Center Announces Registration Deadlines for 2022 Residencies</a>Applications for 2022 residencies for Chicago artists are now open! Deadline: August 23, 2021 at 10pm CSTA residency at Hyde Park Art Center connects artists with their own practice in the context of our vibrant, multifaceted community. Each year, our program invites international, national, and Chicago artists and curators to complement their mode of production with attention towards reflection, reconnection, and research. We want to spark new ideas and considerations of local and global art practices, this is why we are thrilled to announce our application for our Radicle Studio Residency, a year-long residency for Chicago artists as well as our Flex Residency, a seasonal residency for Chicago artists.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417876/mmsbq4kvhjy1dpsos45u.png"><figcaption>2021 Coney Family Awardees Left to right: Unyimeabasi Udoh and Lola Ayisha Ogbara</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/residency-2/residencyapplication/">Chicago Artists Coalition Announces Coney Family Awardees for 2021</a>The Chicago Artists Coalition announced this week the Coney Family Fund Awardees for 2021. Awardees&nbsp;Unyimeabasi Udoh and Lola Ayisha Ogbara will&nbsp;each receive $5,000 in unrestricted funds during the 2021-2022 grant cycle. The funds are intended to support&nbsp;outstanding Chicago visual artists who identify as Black or African-American.This year's Coney Family Fund awardees were first celebrated during CAC's virtual benefit WORK IN PROGRESS on June 9, 2021.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417877/rtqksefyoxvqbe7nr02m.jpg"></figure><a href="Madeleine Grynsztejn, Pritzker Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, has announced the election of Cari B. Sacks as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees of the MCA. The election was official on June 29, 2021, and Sacks succeeds the former Board Chair Michael O’Grady. ">The MCA Names a New Board Chair</a>“We are delighted to welcome Cari Sacks as our new Chair of the Board of Trustees,” says Madeleine Grynsztejn. “Her longstanding support of the MCA demonstrates her passion and commitment to our staff, our vision, and our values. She brings a wide range of experience, capability, and leadership to the MCA and we look forward to the ways her wisdom and dedication to contemporary art and education will contribute to the MCA’s vision for the future.”Cari is an active philanthropist involved in supporting numerous civic and cultural organizations. At the MCA, she has served on the Board of Trustees since 2004 and is Vice Chair of the Executive Committee. Her extraordinary work as co-chair of the MCA’s 2019 Benefit Art Auction helped raise a record-breaking $6 million for the museum and she has supported the museum’s work with the Chicago Public Schools through her own philanthropy.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 7/14

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418207/jfoi8bh8cclh2bgyym9b.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/ilie-vaduva-ecc5b071-91b6-4fb2-91f8-4790274c600b">Ilie Văduvă at 3rd Fridays | Open Studios</a>Friday, July 16, 7 – 10&nbsp;pmBridgeport Art Center&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418207/iwprqnflbqxwppxah38k.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/artist-reception-for-swell-a-group-exhibition-on-scaffolding">Artist Reception for SWELL: A Group Exhibition on Scaffolding</a>Opening: Friday, July 16, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmSouth Shore Arts&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418208/ce0kqubjcazucztwveq1.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/vanitas-contemporary-florals-551ba66f-46ce-41fd-ae8e-b95515a73ac4">Vanitas: Contemporary Florals</a>Opening: Friday, July 16, 5 – 9&nbsp;pmLily Pad | West&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418209/cncjflb45vag24b1mdc5.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/relevant-daphne-walsh">RELEVANT: Daphne Walsh</a>Opening: Friday, July 16, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmOliva Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Start July 16

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418097/vownjdlxek1peopbj7bk.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/driehaus-museum-in-chicago-brings-a-historic-auditorium-back-into-the-public-fold">Driehaus Museum in Chicago reactivates an ornate historic auditorium for the arts</a>The John B. Murphy Memorial Auditorium was built in 1926 for the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in Chicago. Designed by the firm Marshall and Fox, it borrowed heavily from the Chapelle de Notre Dame de Consolation in Paris. The auditorium was attached to the 1883 Nickerson Mansion, also owned by the college from 1919 until 2003, when the late philanthropist Richard H. Driehaus purchased the grand home—known as the “Marble Palace” in its day for its lavish interior.After a five-year restoration process, Driehaus opened the mansion as a museum largely dedicated to the art and design of the Gilded Age, while the auditorium stayed in the possession of the college. “The idea was always there to join these two back together with a common purpose,” says Anna Musci, who was recently named the museum’s executive director, and this week the museum announced it had purchased the auditorium with plans to hold public lectures and other arts events there.Via The Art NewspaperImage: Inside the Murphy Auditorium Photo: Allen Bourgeois&nbsp;<a href="https://www.milwaukeemag.com/the-milwaukee-art-museum-is-back-full-reopening-set-for-july-15/">The Milwaukee Art Museum Is Back! Full Reopening Set for July 15</a>After more than a year closed and a soft reopening, the Milwaukee Art Museum will finally reopen in full on July 15.&nbsp;“This is a fantastic opportunity for the community to reconnect with many of their favorite works of art that they haven’t seen in over a year,” said Robert Stein, Deputy Director and Chief Experience Officer, in a press release.The July 15 reopening will line up with a couple of new exhibits at MAM. The first is a three-part exhibition called “American Memory: Commemoration, Nostalgia, and Revision,” which explores elective editing of historical narratives in America’s past through drawings, prints, and paintings from the Museum’s collection. Another new exhibit will be “First Impressions:&nbsp;Early Printed Books in Europe,” which features 25 objects that were created during the first century after the adoption of the printing press.&nbsp;Via Milwaukee Magazine&nbsp;<a href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00119WqIEPrgbHZqhH4SZpKT9Fm0xK1ttGJ_oLMMSgRycbu9owOPcc0KfbZrEtYA1ElttMa88HHWuXKKA_PJFqL16APD49CVQggk1Vt-vpK40o-SMnSud-GmwsCe0do8IyKMppIQIxUhDM4FMFQeZMZgR5UZB-PzmYD&amp;c=TSfiNXNp-SqIYNafi1x8aEqdUksuzjfP2Y5Bd_tgB2dnVjXHMTjTUw==&amp;ch=GJbregmSO0paWdRZswIm5d-Ps-Ivte1ELsI76Q-9XaXsgK7WsU3v8w==">Intuit staff, board and friends mourn loss of founder Susann Craig (1936-2021)</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418098/ljkue5buodgvd3xnnvo5.jpg"><figcaption>Susann Craig</figcaption></figure>Susann Eickmeyer Craig, visionary Chicago art collector and a founder of Intuit, passed away peacefully on June 28, 2021, at Providence St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif.&nbsp;In 1991, Craig joined a handful of Chicago art enthusiasts who came together to found Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art. She served on the board of directors for 29 years before being elevated to life trustee status in 2020. Craig received the museum's highest award, the Visionary Award, in 2018. Before her death, she was delighted to learn that a gallery at the museum will be named in her honor.Via Intuit PR&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/cashing-in-on-the-nft-craze/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab4g#x">Cashing in on the NFT craze</a>Why are digital files of artwork, videos and tweets selling for insane amounts of money? CBS Sunday Morning Correspondent David Pogue explains in a video the origin and volatility of the market for NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and why content creators and speculators are generating a digital gold rush.Via CBS&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 7/12

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417510/deleorjugabmjsgm2knq.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.architecture.org/exhibits/exhibit/helmut-jahn-life-architecture/">Chicago Architecture Center to Open Exhibition Celebrating the Late Helmut Jahn</a>HELMUT JAHN: LIFE + ARCHITECTURE will be a career retrospective of the late architect. Organized after his death in May, it celebrates Helmut Jahn’s design legacy and opens in the Chicago Architecture Center's Skyscraper Gallery on July 23.The exhibit includes several scale models of Jahn’s most notable designs including the the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago, an example of innovative post-modern design, currently to be sold by the State of Illinois without protection for its historic design.&nbsp;To support a debate on the future of The Thompson Center, the CAC and the Chicago Architectural Club created the James R. Thompson Center Design Competition that challenges architects to envision a new future for Jahn’s post-modern masterpiece.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/400579934617692">Chicago Art Department Leads Return to Second Friday in Pilsen East July 9</a>CAD is returning to its regular 2nd Friday programming thanks to generous support from friends at @marzbrewing and @revbrewchicago. Their 2nd Friday resumes tomorrow, July 9, and features the work of The Chicago Act (Artists Creating Transformation) Collective. The Collective builds political artistic collaboration and dialogue across multiple communities by generating work that both reflects and responds to current local needs identified by those most directly impacted. “Love in the Time of…” is an ongoing ellipse of their commitment to create from the various dimensions of love as they envision and move toward liberation. The exhibition is curated by CAD Resident Artist Silvia Gonzalez.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://hindmanauctions.com">Hindman Auctions Appoints Ashley Galloway as VP of Marketing&nbsp;</a>Hindman Auctions announced the appointment of Ashley Galloway as Vice President of Marketing. Ms. Galloway brings extensive experience in the art, corporate, and nonprofit worlds, having collaborated with top fashion and media brands, world-renowned art museums and fairs, production companies, and other high-profile institutions. Ms. Galloway joins the Marketing Department after leading her own company where she provided strategic marketing, branding, engagement, and business development solutions to a variety of cultural clients, such as Dirk Denison Architects, WNDR Museum, and The Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize for Architecture. Prior to leading the company, Ms. Galloway served as Special Events and Engagement Manager at the Chicago Architecture Biennial where she managed brand growth and development. Ms. Galloway also previously worked as Lead Market Manager for Perrier with Mirrorball in Chicago where she oversaw strategic planning and brand management for the Chicago market, as well as driving partnerships and executing marketing campaigns aligned with brand vision, target clientele, and community engagement.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.weinbergnewtongallery.com/exhibitions-28-experimental-makers-workshop/">Weinberg/Newton Presents an Experimental Workshop in Its Store Windows This Summer&nbsp;</a>Chicago-based movement artist&nbsp;and cultural advocate&nbsp;Joseph Lefthand&nbsp;is activating Weinberg/Newton's Milwaukee Avenue space this summer with an Experimental Makers Workshop.&nbsp;Lefthand and his collaborators, artists Isaac Couchand Sarah Whyte, are exploring&nbsp;the relationship between personhood and institutional violence, utilizing elements of performance and design to conceive wearable art that re-imagines the human form as transitory, lucid, ethereal, and disruptive.&nbsp;The &nbsp;work produced during the workshop will be exhibited in the storefront windows August 16 – 28. More details about the workshop and participating artists are&nbsp;<a href="https://weinbergnewtongallery.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=13d5172bf37bbf601de9678f4&amp;id=5b3825cc18&amp;e=15280a40b5">here</a>.&nbsp;</body></html>

News

Chicago Gallery News