<html><head></head><body>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419279/veeqo9agvpoxrs5iffcb.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/under-the-cherry-moon-solo-exhibition-by-chicago-artist-ashkon-haidari">Under the Cherry Moon: Solo exhibition&nbsp;by Chicago artist Ashkon Haidari</a>Opening: Friday, September 22, 5 – 9&nbsp;pmPovos GalleryDrawing on a deep relationship with ancient history as well as his Persian heritage, Ashkon tells contemporary stories. In layered spaces that reference centuries of graphic art, he contributes uniquely to the legacy of surrealism.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419280/en3fsy9gu4nqunx4vagw.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/ben-stone-sports">Ben Stone:&nbsp;Sports!&nbsp;</a>Opening: Saturday, September 23, 5 – 8&nbsp;pm(northern) Western ExhibitionsA survey of Ben Stone’s athletics-themed work,&nbsp;SPORTS!&nbsp;opens at our second location, (northern) Western Exhibitions, in Skokie, Illinois with a free public reception on Saturday, September 23, from 5 to 8pm. Gallery hours at nWX are Wednesday to Saturday, 12-6pm and Sundays 12-4pm. The show will be accompanied by an essay by Abraham Ritchie.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419281/exvye9qacil6swcv3j8s.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/letters-lost-series-by-drago">Letters, Lost Series by Drago</a>Opening: Friday, September 22, 7 – 10&nbsp;pmT. Mari GalleryDrago captures the moment in time, his thoughts, and who he is as an artist. His focus is to express the beauty and create what inspires him like the innocence of a hug or a feeling from a kiss. Everything he produces resonates with an inner conception, a passionate introspection. What he designs is personal, innocent, and unrestrained.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419282/upbg44eppv9nvvbslw4q.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/bruno-surdo-tree-spirits">Bruno Surdo: Tree Spirits</a>Opening: Saturday, September 23, 2 – 5&nbsp;pmPAGODA REDWe are thrilled to announce that Bruno Surdo, the acclaimed painter and teacher, will be exhibiting for the first time at PAGODA RED.TREE SPIRITS is a recent body of work that manifests Surdo's mastery of classical portraiture in the deeply personal twists and turns of burls and branches.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419283/nzdldvnzbro9aawpvqqm.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/janet-trierweiler">Janet Trierweiler</a>Opening: Saturday, September 23, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmBlue Moon GalleryJanet’s work is in collections worldwide. Collectors include: Northwestern University, The Illinois Institute of Art and Fifield Companies. Her work has been featured in Voyage Chicago, Chicago Tribune, Evanston Magazine, Sheridan Road Magazine and Northwestern News.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=upcoming">VIEW CGN'S FULL CALENDAR HERE&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open Sept 21 - 23: Part II

<html><head></head><body>By GINNY VAN ALYEAChicago’s architectural influence and legacy is known around the world, its lakeside site and modern skyline fascinating admirers of architecture and design throughout the decades and dazzling tourists every day. The city’s skyscrapers are progressive ideas and daring made real, defining the modern city and climbing to heights that continuously defy what we think could be the limits of engineering, design and physics. Two major city-wide events take place this fall: The 5th edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial opens in September and the return of Open House Chicago, put on by the Chicago Architecture Center in October.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419272/orlq6lwgs76i1w5rqv7e.jpg"><figcaption>The CAB5 curatorial team</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Chicago Architectural BiennialThis fall the city will be the nexus of ideas about how architecture can do far more than skim the atmosphere and sell boat tour tickets when the fifth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial opens September 21. Co-led by Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, Faheem Majeed, Andrew Schachman and avery r. young–the team behind the art collective Floating Museum–CAB5: This is a Rehearsal takes an expansive view of design as an iterative rehearsal process to explore architecture, cities, and the different social, ecological, economic and political forces that shape them.&nbsp;The Biennial has examined the roles of architecture and public space since its founding, and this edition will be no different, except that the global city of 2023 is quite altered from the city of 2021, and certainly 2019. This year CAB5 is a large-scale, multilayered art exhibition that invites the public to participate in a meeting of the minds in order to consider just what is possible today that builds upon what was created in the past.&nbsp;The Chicago Architecture Biennial runs Sept 21–Jan 2, 2024<a href="https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org">chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org</a>&nbsp;*</body></html>

Beyond the Dazzle: Inspiration,  Admiration and Lessons in Chicago’s Architecture This Fall

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419279/kjm0n9kyjytqzzk0xyls.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/gregg-bordowitz-tetragrammaton">Gregg Bordowitz: Tetragrammaton</a>Opening: Thursday, September 21, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmCorbett vs. DempseyCorbett vs. Dempsey is honored to present Gregg Bordowitz, Tetragrammaton, featuring a selection of recent monotypes. This is CvsD’s first exhibition with Bordowitz and is the artist’s debut in a commercial gallery.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419280/mmcpjuyrludykgknmdy6.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/josiah-mcelheny-red-black-to-black-from-blue-black-to-black">Josiah McElheny: Red Black to Black, from Blue Black to Black</a>Opening: Thursday, Sep 21, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmCorbett vs. DempseyFrom Red Black to Black, from Blue Black to Black, a suite of new works including a sculpture, an installation, and four paintings by Josiah McElheny. This is the artist’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419280/tt5wbnesxmueqjontopv.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/deborah-stratman-laika">Deborah Stratman: Laika</a>Opening: Thursday, Sep 21, 2023 6 – 8&nbsp;pmCorbett vs. Dempsey&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419281/smqwhvkvyiafrnkpfpey.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/scottish-artist-frances-lightbound">Scottish Artist: Frances Lightbound, Tectonics</a>Opening: Thursday, September 21, 5:30 – 7:30&nbsp;pmJohn David Mooney FoundationTectonics&nbsp;is about things in process; objects out of place and/or out of time. About buildings as condensations of human and non-human activity. About navigating tides of sensation while being occasionally anchored to islands of familiarity; about objects and spaces that rhyme.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419282/irtv5awpubp9nvsdjikj.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/day-of-an-affair-owen-spryszak">Day of an Affair: Owen Spryszak</a>and<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/winter-salon-works-by-over-50-gallery-artists-be8e7ec6-c996-4231-938c-bd81ac3186d5">The Psalms: New Work by Tony Fitzpatrick</a>Both opening: Thursday, September 21, 7 – 10&nbsp;pmT.F. Projects and The Dime&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419283/qxcu1rqv7f4bfxhyfoms.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/ruth-duckworth-life-as-a-unity">Ruth Duckworth: Life As a Unity</a>Opening: Thursday, September 21, 6:30 – 8:30&nbsp;pmSmart Museum of ArtThe Smart Museum of Art presents the first monographic museum exhibition devoted to Ruth Duckworth in nearly twenty years, foregrounding the artist’s sculptural production across a prolific period in Chicago and at the University of Chicago.&nbsp;*Read CGN's fall issue feature on the exhibition <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2023/9/a-transcendant-sculptural-legacy-ruth-duckworth">here*</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419284/jqsxnzd2aepeg1vpthuc.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/sequence-of-a-dream">Sequence of a Dream</a>Opening: Friday, September 22, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmChicago Printmakers CollaborativeFeaturing work by Kouki Tsuritani, Kumi Obata, and Alberto Cruz&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=upcoming">VIEW CGN'S FULL CALENDAR HERE&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open Sept 21 - 23: Part I

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419272/b0ocnv99gjxvfj8aozxm.jpg"><figcaption>Ruth Duckworth, Earth, Water, Sky, 1967–1968, Ceramic mural, 400 square feet, covering four walls and the ceiling, Located in the entrance to the Henry Hinds Laboratory for Geophysical Sciences, The University of Chicago, Presented to the University in honor of Jane H. Sherr by the Leonard J. Horwich Family. Photo by Michael Tropea. © Estate of Ruth Duckworth.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By MARY DEYOEThis fall the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago presents the monographic exhibition: Ruth Duckworth: Life as Unity (September 21, 2023–February 4, 2024). The show focuses on the artist’s sculptural work, and features nearly 60 objects made between 1966–2005, some of which are on loan from close friends of the artist and have never been publicly exhibited.&nbsp;In the documentary from the early aughts by Karen Carter, Ruth Duckworth: A Life in Clay, the octogenarian artist says “I don’t think everyone has a destiny. It’s more haphazard than that.” This rings true for an artist whose sculptural work demonstrates a deep fascination with nature, geomorphology and the interconnectedness of the natural world as a whole.“Like many women working in craft media at the mid-century, Ruth Duckworth (1919–2009) did not receive the critical consideration her work merits,” said Laura Steward, Curator of Public Art. “This exhibition and accompanying catalogue are the result of the growth of ‘eco-criticism’ in the field of art history. This novel critical framework allows us to center the artist’s relationship with the natural world, which in Duckworth’s case was profoundly influenced by the ‘Satellite Era’ and her engagement with geophysical sciences at UChicago.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/zwvhakjmhbhyuapenbmh.jpg"><figcaption>Ruth Duckworth, Untitled (Wall Sculpture), 1970, Porcelain, 33-3/4 x 17-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches, Courtesy of the Estate of Ruth Duckworth and Salon 94. © Estate of Ruth Duckworth.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;In 1964, Duckworth came to Chicago after receiving an invitation to teach at University of Chicago’s Midway Studios. She planned to stay for only one year, but instead made Chicago her home. She lived in the city until her death in 2009. Although widely known as being a “British studio potter” (she attended art school in England to escape Hitler’s Germany, and lived there for nearly two decades before coming to the United States) her childhood in Hamburg and life and career in Chicago played important roles in shaping this artist.The title of the exhibition derives from a quote by Duckworth, which evocatively captures the range of scale in which the artist worked as well as the common thread throughout her career. “I think of Life as a unity. This includes mountains, mice, rocks, trees, women, and men. It’s all one big lump of clay.” From the magnitude of the mountains to the tiniest of creatures, Duckworth saw them as all connected. It is fitting then, that in addition to the exhibition, two of Duckworth’s massive murals will be available to the public for viewing throughout the exhibition. Clouds over Lake Michigan, originally commissioned in 1974 by Dresdner Bank for its Chicago office and was recently gifted to the University by Cboe Global Markets and installed at the Joseph Regenstein Library on the UChicago campus, and Earth, Water, Sky, commissioned in 1968 for the Henry Hinds Laboratory for Geophysical Sciences. Both works are huge, and are in contrast with her sculpture, much of which can easily be held in one’s hands.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/fuf830z4dmooiz1lux4d.jpg"><figcaption>Ruth Duckworth, Untitled, 1972, Stoneware, 17-1/4 x 19 x 3 inches, Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Gift of Margaret Fisher, 1967.24. © Estate of Ruth Duckworth.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;With Life as Unity, Steward readdresses much of the artist’s work through the lenses of “eco-criticism” - focusing, in part, on new approaches of the natural sciences and environmental perspectives and activism of the 1960s. The exhibition draws connections between Duckworth and key figures at the University of Chicago and in Hyde Park such as Laura Fermi, who founded the Hyde Park committee for Cleaner Air and Professor of Meteorology Tetsuya “Ted” Fujita, whose photographs of clouds Duckworth first encountered when working on the commission Earth, Water, and Sky.&nbsp;When one enters the exhibition, they are met with nearly 30 objects in stoneware and clay – earthy-hued abstracted figures (some birdlike), vessels, pots, and nearly translucent porcelain sculptures&nbsp; – the majority of which, like much of Duckworth’s pieces, are untitled. As the artist explained “titles pin people down [...] I want them to have their own ideas.” The presentation is punctuated by murals and wall sculptures many of which illustrate the influence of geomorphology on her work. Indeed as a result of the Satellite Era, Duckworth was able to view images from space of weather patterns. In the documentary, while standing in front of Clouds Over Lake Michigan she points out just some of the many different types of clouds she sculpted on the surface.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419274/kfhdwwj0flbi06mcd00q.jpg"><figcaption>Portrait of Ruth Duckworth inside of Earth, Water, Sky, undated. The University of Chicago Archival Photographic Files, apf1-05879. Photo courtesy of Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Ruth Duckworth: Life as Unity shines a light on an artist with deep roots in Chicago and the UChicago community. Duckworth saw herself as “a survivor.” She said, “I survived Hitler, being a refugee, being poor several times in my life, being depressed - I have survived. I’ve had accidents that should have killed me and they didn’t.” She is undoubtedly survived by her own large body of work that, for us and for future generations, fortunately continues to reveal new threads of interconnectedness. It is, afterall, “all one big lump of clay.”*In conjunction with the exhibition the Smart Museum presents a series of free programs from tours, kiln crawls, and musical performances to family days and scholarly talks featuring faculty from UChicago’s Department of Geophysical Sciences and the Divinity School.&nbsp;The accompanying catalogue features an introduction by exhibition curator, Laura Steward as well as essays and contributions by Abigail Winograd, Jack Schneider, and Kendra Thornburgh-Mueller. The catalogue is also fully illustrated with images of all the works in the exhibition, including new documentation of Clouds Over Lake Michigan in its new home in the 1st floor reading room of the Joseph Regenstein Library.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/exhibitions/ruth-duckworth-life-as-a-unity/">Ruth Duckworth: Life as Unity</a>Smart Museum of ArtSeptember 21, 2023 - February 4, 2024&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

A Transcendant Sculptural Legacy: Ruth Duckworth

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419279/gsz2boddys7iueksfzyt.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/rock-paper-scissors">Rock, Paper, Scissors</a>Alma Art &amp; InteriorsOpening: Friday, Sep 15, 5 – 9&nbsp;pmSep 15 – Nov 3 • BridgeportElizabeth Burke-Dain features a series of artworks made from ceramics, paper, and textiles in a solo debut. These works are presented in an immersive art installation setting that reflects the color, geometry, and architectural features found in her ceramic paintings. Designed to encourage participation from the owner, these artworks may be arranged in any configuration preferred, based on personal taste and available space.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419280/wwwhufwjykycmr6ibj5y.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/no-martins-encontros-politicos-political-encounters-part-2">No Martins: Encontros Políticos (Political Encounters)…Part 2</a>Mariane Ibrahim GallerySep 15 – Oct 28 • West TownNo Martins’ newest body of work confronts Brazil’s aspirational thesis of racial democracy. Through a series of nine large scale canvases, Martins depicts dark skinned Black people of varying genders, body types, friend groups, and familial dynamics in varying states of repose and interaction. Their gaze is turned towards each other, the ocean, or whatever thing they’re focused on - but never towards the viewer. Intentionally, Martins’ figures have no concern for anyone but themselves and the experience of sun, salt, and sea. In this manner, Martins gifts the Black people in his paintings an agency that is not recognized by the broader Brazilian society.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419280/jsqs7any0rk09edvhxx3.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/data-nasser-adonis-river">Dala Nasser: Adonis River</a>The Renaissance SocietyOpening: Saturday, Sep 16, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmSep 16 – Nov 26In the fall of 2023, the Renaissance Society will present the first institutional solo exhibition of Beirut and London-based artist Dala Nasser, featuring a new site-specific commission responding to the expansive height and volume of the Ren’s exhibition space.As an artist working through abstraction and alternative forms of image-making, Nasser applies an interdisciplinary approach through painting, performance, and film. Her indexical paintings of land, made through direct contact on location, stand in opposition to the sweeping vistas offered by traditional landscape painting.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419281/q1ustqtm6ur9utvryxhg.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/cydney-m-lewis-beauty-amongst-the-darkness">Cydney M. Lewis: Beauty Amongst the Darkness</a>Elephant Room GalleryOpening: Friday, Sep 15, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmSep 15 – Oct 14 • South Loopydney Lewis is a multimedia artist with a multi-disciplinary and distinguished background. Currently living in Chicago, her art practice highlights the transformation and manipulation of materials. As a self-described “visual archaeologist,” Mrs. Lewis considers the intersection of the natural, spiritual, and scientific worlds. Through our current landscape, she observes nature’s perseverance and ability to adapt, and asks how we might coexist in harmony. Pattern, repetition, and constant movement form the foundation of her work. By weaving nature, technology, destruction, and beauty, she presents her intuition of the surreal and the real.&nbsp;The fluidity of her ability to transform materials reflect her mastery of ballet as well as her endeavors in film.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419283/huvql0srctnbwo8khdjh.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/ornament-is-arguments-on-ornament-in-design">ornament IS – Arguments On Ornament in Design</a>Bridgeport Art CenterOpening: Friday, Sep 15, 7 – 10&nbsp;pmSep 15 – Nov 3 • Bridgeport“ornament IS”&nbsp; will document through drawings, paintings, essays and artifacts, the dominant and discarded movements of architecture and design, as well as the diverse resources of architectural ornament throughout the world history. The other goal is to exhibit an exploration of new possible theories of ornament in architecture and design and to display them as renderings, writings and artifacts.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419283/oeqbzcejmjaykpbihlpr.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-stop-motion-worlds-of-joe-baughman">The Stop Motion Worlds of Joe Baughman</a>Krasl Art CenterSep 16 – Nov 26 • St Joseph, MIImagine a production studio: You walk past the set of an attached garage – a car, workbench, and sofa inside. You can see up the steps and through the open door that the rest of the house is missing. In the background, someone is working on the battery-powered lights to some street lamps. Around the corner is a nature scene with a giant fake tree in the middle. An otherworldly creature – a cross between a bird and a bear – is resting near the tree. Beyond that, you see painted mountains. Now, imagine all of this inside someone’s home.These miniature worlds form the basis of artist Joe Baughman’s stop-motion animations, the likes of which you might have seen in music videos for Wilco, The Roots, and Julien Baker as well as his own band, Joe Baughman and the Righteous Few.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419284/ti5yiisdaqpth0ov34a6.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/through-our-eyes">Through Our Eyes</a>Istituto Italiano di CulturaSep 16 – Oct 8 • Michigan Ave.“Through Our Eyes” is a long-term photography project which launched in 2019. So far, it has involved 156 children aged 9 to 17 in Samos, home to one of the Greek islands' hotspots for migrants, in North-West Syria, in the internal displacement camps of Ad-Dana, and in the Mathare slum in Nairobi where roughly 500,000 people live in extreme poverty.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419285/zjouobipwhlloakt0pty.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/mardy-sears">Mardy Sears</a>Evanston Art CenterOpening: Saturday, Sep 16, 1 – 4&nbsp;pmSep 16 – Oct 29Mardy Sears is an Evanston artist and a member of the Evanston Made art community. She is a printmaker, ceramicist, and artist book maker. After graduating with a Masters in Fine Arts from The Center for Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College Chicago in 2006, she began working as a Conservation Technician with a focus on paper at The Art Institute of Chicago.Mardy’s visual language includes images of animals, primarily birds and sea creatures. Her animals tell stories of humanity and connect our everyday lives to the environment we live in. She incorporates text and poetry into her image making, that is often presented in book format.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=upcoming">VIEW CGN'S FULL CALENDAR HERE&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open Sept 15 and 16

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419272/r1yum3kc9au7s53ubxz2.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/sanford-biggers-back-to-the-stars">Sanford Biggers: Back to the Stars</a>moniquemelocheOpening: Thursday, Sep 14, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmSep 14 – Oct 28 • West TownBack to the Stars, the Biggers's fourth solo presentation with the gallery, showcases new artworks from his ever-evolving Chimera and Codex series, which juxtaposes figurative marble sculptures and quilt compositions. These new works bring aesthetic, poetic, and social insights to the intertwining stories embedded in material culture. Biggers’ creative processes recognize and conflate syncretic impulses between aesthetic expressions from seemingly disparate societies and histories, transforming them into rigorously formal and conceptual new works.Biggers’ Chimera sculptures combine various African and European masks, busts, and figures that explore historical depictions of the body and their subsequent myths, narratives, archetypes, perceptions, and power.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/nxsaahxczy8oqcfie0oa.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/anna-kunz-rosy">Anna Kunz: ROSY</a>McCormick GalleryOpening: Thursday, Sep 14, 2023 5 – 7&nbsp;pmSep 14 – Oct 27 • West LoopROSY is a new body of work featuring thirty small oil paintings and eight works on paper.&nbsp;Anna has also installed one of her beautiful diaphanous, curtained installations — layers of dyed and printed textiles hanging from the ceiling before the gallery’s front window. The conversation between the arrangement of small oils and the undulating curtain of color serves as a reminder that immersiveness, architectural intervention (“softening,” as she puts it), and shared experience are crucial themes for Kunz. She intends her installations to create a social space that encourages reflection and invites multiple points of view — "Compassionate Geometry."&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419274/mefqwlqwhlmsqy2zz4pl.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/harriet-monroe-the-open-door">Harriet Monroe &amp; the Open Door</a>Poetry FoundationOpening: Thursday, Sep 14, 7 – 8&nbsp;pmSep 14 – Jan 13, 2024 • River NorthHarriet Monroe (1860–1936) was a poet, a critic, and the founding editor of Poetry magazine whose steadfast commitment to the art form and its creators altered the course of American literary history.&nbsp;Harriet Monroe &amp; the Open Door maps the evolution of Monroe’s editorial philosophy, locating it within the cultures and structures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This exhibition includes original artwork by Lilli Carré alongside archival photographs, letters, and other documents from Monroe’s life.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419275/k0ojtwhaklggsktkn68v.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/not-just-another-pretty-face">Not Just Another Pretty Face</a>Hyde Park Art Center&nbsp;Opening: Thursday, Sep 14, 6 – 8&nbsp;pmSep 14 – Nov 5The exhibition commemorates the 2020 and 2023 installments of the Not Just Another Pretty Face project. The triennial program, created by Hyde Park Art Center in the mid-1990s, allows the Art Center to play matchmaker for artists and potential art buyers. This dynamic project facilitates a fun and accessible commissioning process that builds lasting relationships between artists and patrons, creates a new base of support for artists, and invests in the vitality of Chicago’s cultural community. The completion of each installment is celebrated by an exhibition, a catalog documenting the process, and a lively event to unveil the finished pieces, which will make their way to the patrons’ homes following the exhibition.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419275/uiuzwfmxliwchhz4gg0c.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/material-revolution-ii">Material Revolution II</a>Pistachios Contemporary Jewelry Gallery&nbsp;Opening: Thursday, Sep 14, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmSep 14 – Nov 12 • River North&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419276/mju1154ufkejuzgfgujf.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-resilience-of-hope-new-works-by-carrie-seid">The Resilience of Hope: New Works by Carrie Seid</a>gallery 1871Opening: Thursday, Sep 14, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmSep 14 – Nov 14 • Lincoln ParkSeid's colorful squares of acrylic, mylar and vinyl reflect the light and offer an image of hope.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=upcoming">VIEW CGN'S FULL CALENDAR HERE&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open Sept 14

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419272/sj3s3bsp433nu2zsgwrn.jpg"><figcaption>Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The Cardsharps, about 1595. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Two of the Italian master’s rarely loaned works are on view the Art Institute of Chicago this fall.&nbsp;Visitors to the Art Institute have a rare opportunity to view a stunning pair of paintings by Caravaggio, on loan from the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas and the Detroit Institute of Arts. The works, dating from 1595 and 1598, rarely travel, so this trip to Chicago is a special journey. At The Art Institute they will be accompanied by 16th century groupies, if you will, known as Caravaggisti, or followers of Caravaggio. Since there are only seven Caravaggio paintings in collections in the United States, this is a rare opportunity to view the innovation and influence of Caravaggio’s work in person without springing for a plane ticket to Italy. Don’t miss the chance to see the drama and eternal beauty of these remarkable works up close. Then perhaps consider how influential they were in their own time as well as centuries later.&nbsp;&nbsp;Among Friends and Rivals: Caravaggio in RomeSept 8–Dec 31, 2023The Art Institute of Chicago&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/sllhzuzbxiioucun5d9q.png"><figcaption>Martha and Mary Magdalene, about 1598Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Detroit Institute of Arts, gift of the Kresge Foundation and Mrs. Edsel B. Ford</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419274/qa7cxvtxwznfbjdbblhx.png"><figcaption>The Resurrection, c. 1619-20, Francesco Buoneri</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;</body></html>

City Highlight: Caravaggio in Chicago

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419272/pt1q0eizji2mbvhrzs6u.jpg"><figcaption>Vito Acconci and Judith Kirshner in&nbsp;Maze Table, 1985. Courtesy of Rhona Hoffman Gallery.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By BIANCA BOVAChicago’s place in the commercial art world has always eluded easy categorization. You can find as many people who insist its relevance is ironclad as you will those who insist it is little more than an afterthought in flyover country. As time and the tides of the market have shifted, both have been true in turn. While Chicago’s galleries may not operate competitively with, say, New York in terms of real estate (Gagosian’s Chelsea location alone occupies 25,000 square feet), or with London in terms of historical pedigree (Colnaghi, Est. 1760) its defining merit is its galleries’ highly individualized programs.There are the galleries which have for decades served as tent poles for the Chicago art world–beginning with Rhona Hoffman, its doyenne. The gallery’s artist roster reads like the table of contents of a twentieth century art history book: Sol LeWitt, Gordon Parks, Jenny Holzer, Gordon Matta-Clark, Vito Acconci. There is also a prominent Chicago streak: Michael Rakowitz, Amanda Williams, Judy Ledgerwood, Richard Rezac, Julia Fish. Few are the galleries (and fewer are the dealers themselves) who endure long enough to restage significant works, as Hoffman did in exhibiting Acconci’s Maze Table, first in 1985-86, and then again in late 2022. This dual model of developing the careers of the brightest artists working, while also maintaining a commitment to their practices long enough to introduce their canonized works to a second generation is, quite simply, art dealing in service to its highest purpose. It’s also not a bad way to make a living.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/no76zbrxlysje1nbqxjn.jpg"><figcaption>GRAY at 60, Gray Chicago, 2023. Courtesy, Gray Chicago/New York. Photo: Jim Prinz</figcaption></figure>Richard Gray is another name that looms large in Chicago’s commercial history. The gallery’s recently mounted anniversary exhibition, GRAY at 60, included works by sixty artists who have shown with the gallery (or whose works the gallery has specialized in) since opening its doors on East Ontario in 1963. Representing over a century of art making, the exhibition rivaled a museum show in its scale and scope.&nbsp;Despite this grandiosity, GRAY’s program is so well-defined as to leave a kind of signature on art collections it has helped to build.&nbsp;In a recent New York Times profile on winemaker Maggie Harrison, it was noted that Harrison, now in her fifties:“Grew up in a suburb of Chicago,” and that her parents’ “passion was collecting art. The walls of their otherwise unremarkable house were crowded with canvases by David Hockney, Alex Katz and Chuck Close. A large painting of a heart by the artist Jim Dine hung in Harrison’s bedroom.”&nbsp;Is there any question what gallery her parents were clients of?&nbsp;Reaching such milestones as Rhona Hoffman and Richard Gray have first requires surpassing other, smaller milestones. MICKEY, as well-appointed a gallery space as you will find anywhere (unsurprising given that it is the work of Dirk Denison Architects), has just reached one, celebrating five years of operations on Grand Avenue last month. As evidenced by MICKEY, a summer group exhibition, a survey on view until September 10th that includes a work by every artist the gallery has shown since opening its doors, the program there is, in a word, wild. It seems distinctly possible that the only straight line that can be drawn through the work of Michelle Grabner, Michael Madrigali, Paul Heyer, Leonardo Kaplan, Chloe Seibert, and Zach Meisner is gallery owner Mickey Pomfrey’s almost alarmingly keen eye. Pomfrey is, after all, one of the first dealers to have shown the work of art star Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo), albeit under the auspices of an earlier space, Courtney Blades. The highly refined strangeness of MICKEY’s program is perhaps only rivaled by the highly refined strangeness of the gallery’s informal, in-house wine program. Ask director Tim Mann to recommend a bottle before your next dinner party; you won’t regret it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/bbu8eyxfs3rsflcowsfe.jpg"><figcaption>Five years of MICKEY installation view, Courtesy of MICKEY, Chicago</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;This hyper personalized approach to programming a gallery is not a new concept. A look over the exhibition history at Dan Devening’s gallery, Devening Projects (one of the first spaces to make the move to Carroll Street in West Town) shows a veritable who’s-who of the last two decades in the Chicago art world. While it’s no surprise to see names like Nathaniel Robinson, Richard Rezac, Jin Lee, Peter Fagundo, and Christine Tarkowski on the roster, it’s often a curiosity to see when in their careers Devening mounted these shows. What’s more fun is to see the names of dealers, curators, and other industry figures who maintain their own practices as artists crop up, including Jason Pickleman, Aron Gent, and Sterling Lawrence. Add to this Devening’s impressive CV as an artist himself, and his long tenure as a member of the faculty of the School of the Art Institute, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone more professionally embedded. Bearing this all in mind, it would serve collectors attracted to young talent well to keep an eye on the emerging artists like Zander Raymond, Maggie Crowley, and Jacqueline Surdell that show with Devening.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419274/r4ssxnnexiafo8fq7t55.jpg"><figcaption>&nbsp;Jacqueline Surdell, Score! installation view at Devening Projects. Photo by Ian Vecchiotti courtesy of the artist and Devening Projects &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;These are, of course, homegrown examples of why Chicago’s market has sustained. Long is the list of great galleries that had their genesis in Chicago and later expanded–Feature, Richard Feigan, GRAY, and Document, to name a few–and rightfully so. In more recent years, Chicago has also become an attractor of galleries established in other markets. Mariane Ibrahim Gallery moved operations in 2019, closing its original headquarters in Seattle in favor of relocating to Chicago. Having subsequently expanded to Paris in 2021 and Mexico City in 2022, bypassing the opening of any additional domestic spaces, it seems Chicago serves the gallery’s American market more than sufficiently.&nbsp;With the recent acquisition of EXPO Chicago by Frieze, and the rampant speculation surrounding the likelihood of a significant uptick in the blue chip art market in the city it might bring, one wonders if Chicago will increase in desirability as location for future outposts of other galleries with established global footprints. Perrotin? LGDR? Gagosian? A girl can dream.While there is much to be said about the economics (macro and micro) of the art market, and the geographic and political boundaries that have a way of regulating it (or not), at the end of the day, there is no greater force or factor that defines a gallery than the vision of its founder, and the program they build. Chicago is rich in these legacies. Taking into account the view from this moment, it appears it will be for generations to come.&nbsp;</body></html>

The Gallery Continuum: Reviewing Spaces Standing the Test of Time

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419272/q6tiiaa5gaatj61qv9cb.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NationalMuseumofMexicanArt">National Museum of Mexican Art Unveils New Mural Created with Chicago Bulls</a>The Museum's youth initiative, Yollocalli Arts Reach unveiled a new mural in partnership with the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/chicagobulls?__cft__[0]=AZU_Mst33WCbFpRyJaboY1zrgoZm9W2hYU6Ojwe4-cu1StyxfVlBemNRJZrPO1FrCmpTd-lLPztqjmYjtqT5ice7Bd54Uqa9J0ejcC30Uw4DF51qBfJRNWwa2vNdNLfztAATdtAClOUsre6d9uB4hkPkyOUnwaAXiRZ_ywkhwwIPfEhYpQhf_L3BA8uY0KQqD-aKDhrFaxbY0Kv3AW3Q7v7U&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">Chicago Bulls</a>! Youth from Yollocalli’s Street Art Program participants spent the summer alongside their teaching artist, Mario Mena designing and painting a mural with an uplifting message that celebrates Mexican culture. The mural is located at 1859 W. 19th St.&nbsp;<a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/09/11/new-lakeview-master-plan-calls-for-wider-sidewalks-safer-crossings-and-more-public-art/?utm_source=Pico&amp;utm_campaign=369f678aa1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_09_11+Morning+List+3&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_-cbdb1cc15c-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&amp;mc_cid=369f678aa1&amp;mc_eid=9fac193df8">Plans for Lakeview Arts Include Art Spaces Called 'Alleries'</a>With a new master plan, neighborhood groups are hoping to improve Lakeview and Roscoe Village by adding more art and advocating for projects that cater to pedestrians.&nbsp;Throughout the past year, the Lakeview and Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce surveyed more than 700 residents and 65 business owners to develop a master plan that will help guide development for the next decade.&nbsp;One way neighbors hope to add more public art to the area is by turning alleys into art galleries, called “alleries,” particularly along Lincoln Avenue. Planners envision business owners would donate their back walls to display art and allow the alley space to be used for community events.Via Block Club&nbsp;<a href="https://rivernorthdesigndistrict.com/podcast/?fbclid=IwAR3DT3UWDYJ7pl6rAgw8imrlSRVlLkodormbzbHmFyk95K2kn-uUePkP55g">RNDD Releases Latest Art and Design Podcast&nbsp;</a>A new episode of Design District is out now. In this episode of Design District, RNDD sits down to chat with Cristina Dordas, National Commercial Sales Manager at Roca Tile USA, Jennie Bishop, Principal and Founder of interior design firm Studio Gild and Zach Pruitt, Design Channel Manager of JC Licht. Listen in as we talk about trends in wall surfaces.<a href="https://rivernorthdesigndistrict.com/podcast/?fbclid=IwAR3DT3UWDYJ7pl6rAgw8imrlSRVlLkodormbzbHmFyk95K2kn-uUePkP55g">Listen here</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/k7tdeq70xg3cof54kprd.webp"></figure><a href="https://fineline.org/pages/the-great-orb-hunt?fbclid=IwAR3pGexRKjkL6YOxcm4zJmvS50KMLvNe8Qm_GiNdb_WBbFVaqHfw7AoMqVA">Fine Line Creative Arts Center Hosts 'Orb Hunt' for Art Objects</a>Fine Line Creative Arts Center has teamed up with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County on an Orb Hunt in the forest preserve, hiding hand-crafted glass and ceramic orbs on the grounds at Fine Line and at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve.Visitors are invited to walk or bike around both locations and find one of these orbs. If&nbsp;you are lucky enough to find an orb, it's yours to keep,&nbsp;but we ask that you only keep ONE orb please.&nbsp;If you find another orb, leave it where it is to be found by another seeker.&nbsp; &nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 9/12/23

<html><head></head><body><a href="https://news.artnet.com/market/nicole-berry-armory-show-2023-plans-2354456">Armory Show Director Nicole Berry on Hiring Women Curators to ‘Challenge the Canon,’ and What’s in Store for the Fair Now That It’s Owned by Frieze</a>The unexpected news that the international art fair conglomerate Frieze would acquire the Armory Show and Expo Chicago in July set the art world wondering what changes might be afoot for the upcoming New York fair, which has been an art world mainstay since its founding in 1994.“It will be business as usual,” fair director Nicole Berry told Artnet News, noting that when the sale went through, “everything was already well in place” for the fair’s 2023 edition, which opens this week at the Javits Center on Manhattan’s West Side.Via Artnet&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419263/syplxqw0qxxumln7y46r.jpg"><figcaption>Credit: The Obama FoundationObama Presidential Center construction</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.chicagobusiness.com/nonprofits-philanthropy/obama-presidential-center-chicago-south-side-tour">Inside and around the Obama Presidential Center as it rises in Jackson Park</a>It’s still far too early to tell whether it indeed will be a transformative project, one that will raise Chicago’s profile and change the direction of a big chunk of the South Side for better — or, according to a few critics, for worse.But after years of planning and raising well over $1 billion, the Obama Presidential Center finally has emerged from the ground as a physical presence in Jackson Park, just across the street from Hyde Park Academy High School and a quick walk from the University of Chicago campus.Via Crain's&nbsp;<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/british-museum-cataloging-debacle-2356464">A Weak Cataloguing System Made It Easy to Steal From the British Museum. Institutions Around the Globe Are Reckoning With the Same Vulnerabilitie</a>sGreece’s culture minister Lina Mendoni wrote a blistering commentary in response to the ongoing scandal at the British Museum, where it has come to light that more than 1,500 items from the collection were stolen by a staff member.“The thefts by the responsible curator, but also the proud silence of the leaders who neither take care of their collections nor implement the appropriate security measures, proves that the ‘hospitality’ provided to the Parthenon marbles at the British Museum has always been flawed, incomplete, and problematic,” she stated in opinion piece for <a href="https://www.tanea.gr/print/2023/08/29/opinions/praksi-dikaiosynis-cri-epanenosi-ton-glypton-crtou-parthenona-stin-athina/">Ta Nea</a>.Via Artnet&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 9/10/23

<html><head></head><body><h3>September 9</h3>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419272/u3ahidebn8ylhipnuwak.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/danny-j-martinez-aka-van-dam-one-leopard-brains-solo-show">Danny J Martinez (aka Van Dam One) "Leopard Brains" Solo Show</a>Vertical GalleryOpening: Saturday, Sep 9, 12 – 5&nbsp;pmSep 9 – 30 • West Town‘Leopard Brains,’&nbsp;features more than two dozen new paintings and sketches, all exquisitely rendered in Martinez’s colorful pop-surrealist style.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/vxvytljbvywcvagypjkg.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/cameron-spratley-violets-and-daisies">Cameron Spratley: Violets and Daisies</a>M. LeBlancSep 9 – Oct 29 • Logan SquareM. LeBlanc is proud to present its second solo exhibition with Richmond-born, Chicago-based Cameron Spratley, Titled ‘Violets and Daisies’, the exhibition brings together a body of work Spratley has been developing over the past two years.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419274/adurq9fuefjwwtgqbmmz.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/deborah-maris-lader-the-air-water-show">Deborah Maris Lader –&nbsp;The Air &amp; Water Show</a>Bert Green Fine ArtOpening: Saturday, Sep 9, 3 – 5&nbsp;pmThru Sep 30 • Michigan Ave. / The LoopDeborah Maris Lader is the founder and director of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative. She makes prints, drawings, and mixed media artworks, primarily driven by representational styles but with an eye for experimentation. Thematically, her diverse output emphasizes the fragility of life, while celebrating it at the same time. This show is a selection of many years of her printmaking, some of which utilizes non-traditional materials and methods.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419275/hohwnys9ivsh9mafiufp.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/ghosts-of-displacement">Ghosts of Displacement</a>Opening: Saturday, Sep 9, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmSep 9 – Oct 1 • EvanstonPerspective Photo GalleryThis poignant series delves into the artist's family history, where the echoes of displacement and survival resonate deeply.&nbsp;&nbsp;Through her exploration of photographs, papers, and cherished objects carried by her family across an ocean, Frangos enters a profound connection with the ghosts of the displaced. In each composition, she seeks communion with these spectral figures, honoring their legacy while sharing a post-war migrant experience that resonates with countless others. The series&nbsp;serves as a reminder of the profound impact our family histories have on shaping who we are today.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419276/j269rsomdbsg4qni7ojm.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/gallery-closing-event">Closing Celebration for Weinberg/Newton Gallery</a>Weinberg/Newton GallerySaturday, Sep 9, 6 – 9&nbsp;pm • River WestJoin the gallery for a celebratory closing party to commemorate the hard work and creativity of the Weinberg/Newton Gallery team and the numerous exhibiting artists, who worked hard to engage the Chicago community through a wide range of social justice issues through art. Food and refreshments will be served. <a href="https://weinbergnewtongallery.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=13d5172bf37bbf601de9678f4&amp;id=e450e3b5d8&amp;e=dd04d0a94f">RSVP here</a> &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419277/odvrtp1kpsfmb2snhgih.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/kaveri-raina-songs-of-silence-yet-bluebirds-hum">Kaveri Raina : Songs of silence, yet bluebirds hum</a>PATRONOpening: Saturday, Sep 9, 5 – 7:30&nbsp;pmSep 9 – Nov 4 • West TownKaveri Raina’s multilayered paintings emerge from the artist's unique approach to narrative construction; a performed collection of gestures and events that evoke a chorus of abstraction coiled through the threads of visual storytelling. While referencing various sources of imagery from the personal to the art historical, her visual language of recurring, abstract forms are culled from a net of art history, cinema, and fantasy. Painted entirely on heavy, pigmented burlap, Raina transforms the agrarian material into a diaphanous screen across and through which she pours and contours acrylic paint that is then further obfuscated through layers of loose graphite, oil paint, and pastel. Visible on both sides of the porous, rough fabric, the compositions appear as fleeting, momentary constellations of information.&nbsp;<h3>September 10</h3>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419278/rscfra1mh8tcg8jrtdvc.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/scott-wolniak">Scott Wolniak: Crosscurrents</a>GoldfinchOpening: Sunday, Sep 10, 2 – 5&nbsp;pmSep 10 – Oct 21 • East Garfield ParkWolniak's newest&nbsp;paintings can be seen as outward projections of interior spaces,&nbsp;manifesting the artist’s interest in the ways that abstraction can convey a sense of rhythm, transformation, groundlessness, and internal movement. These lively, densely-layered works oscillate between their indexical, physical surfaces and illusory fields of depth, cultivating a non-objective visual language that embodies the energy of natural phenomena, without explicitly depicting it.<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=upcoming">VIEW CGN'S FULL CALENDAR HERE&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;#</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open Sept 9 & 10

<html><head></head><body>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419272/jkzuenshxfarddgbnzah.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/maria-tomasula">Maria Tomasula</a>Zolla / Lieberman GallerySep 8 – Oct 14 • River NorthOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmAs long ago as the 1990s Maria Tomasula's paintings incorporated motifs still present in her work including spaces closed off by hanging draperies or textured walls, and cultural artifacts often depicted in midair. What has evolved in her output is the deliberation she brings to rendering her apparitional arrays. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/mwluun3j17sicfjghwxn.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/seeing-race-before-race">Seeing Race Before Race</a>Newberry LibrarySep 8 – Dec 30 • Gold CoastRace is a powerful and challenging concept. When, where, and why did conceptions of race come into being? How might learning about its history help us better understand the complex role that race plays in our lives today?&nbsp;&nbsp;Centuries before the term race came into popular use, people around the world used distinctions like language, dress, class, geography, and religion—in addition to traits like skin color or facial features—to categorize each other. Seeing Race Before Race explores these early expressions of race in medieval and early modern Europe between 1100 and 1800.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419273/mecn0ykc3rblbqrspcoa.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-outsider-in-celebration-of">THE OUTSIDER/ In Celebration Of</a>Carl Hammer GalleryOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmSep 8 – Dec 16 • River NorthA group show of work by historically significant artists within the “Outsider” and self-taught genres, including internationally renowned artists Henry Darger, Bill Traylor, Joseph Yoakum,&nbsp;Lee Godie and others.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419274/qarzzjzcp6yjv8frrgpc.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/robin-denevan-portals-and-passages-new-encaustic-paintings">Robin Denevan: Portals and Passages, New Encaustic paintings</a>Addington GalleryOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmSep 8 – Nov 1 • River NorthThroughout his career, Robin has been inspired by his travels to a few of the world's great rivers. Many of his paintings are based on drawings he did of the Yangtze River in an area that has since been dammed and flooded. It was a unique opportunity to see such a magnificent and haunting landscape. He did these studies during the dry season when sandbars and islands cut the river into many paths.Eschewing the use of a camera as a tool of reference, Denevan relies solely on the charcoal and sketchbooks he brings with him as he and a guide explore these mighty rivers together in small boats and canoes.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419275/wffe0zjyqsbkbtdiidhr.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/bruno-surdo-new-paintings">Bruno Surdo, New Paintings</a>Gallery VictorOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmSep 8 – 30 • River NorthSurdo strives to communicate a message to the viewer – to engage the person in a conversation between what he puts forth and what he or she can then interpret. The interchange of response and curiosity are goals the artist set when composing his ideas. Surdo believes art is a continual form of expression and he feels committed to search for a language that brings his thoughts and feelings to the surface.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419276/ckny93awtcxms4k0np8b.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/adonis">Adonis: This is How Love Arrives</a>Opening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmSep 8 – Dec 30 • River NorthHilton ContemporaryThis is How Love Arrives is the debut solo exhibition of original works on paper by 93-year-old Syrian Nobel Prize-nominated poet, critic, essayist, and translator, Adonis. Born in Syria in 1930, ADONIS (nee Ali Ahmad Said Esber) is considered “the greatest living poet of the Arab world.” A secularist, he was imprisoned as a young man in Syria for his political views. In 1956, he fled to exile in Lebanon, where he led a modernist movement that revolutionized Arabic poetry. He moved to Paris in 1985 where he has lived for nearly 40 years. In 1997, the French government awarded him the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, one of the highest honors by the French Ministry of Culture, and in 2012 named him Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor) for not only his poetry, but for his contributions as a thought leader.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419277/jsj70r4teid9ruhlwo4s.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/paul-brourman-chicago-looks-good-on-you">You Wear It Well: Paintings by Paul Brourman</a>Opening: Friday, Sep 8, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmSep 8 – Oct 14 • River NorthJean Albano GalleryWorking mainly in the medium of oils, Paul Brourman’ssubjects include portraiture, landscapes, western subjects related to Montana’s rich history. His works are a product of classical training in contemporary realism with hints of impressionistic brushwork. The works in this show also have a distinctly Chicago theme.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=upcoming">VIEW CGN'S FULL CALENDAR HERE&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;#</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open Sept 8: Part II 

<html><head></head><body>Publisher's Note:&nbsp;The start of the fall art season is arguably the biggest of the year. Nearly every gallery and museum opens a major exhibition and there is an energy that is unmistakable. We encourage you to try to see what interests you, visit old favorites and discover and explore new ones too. There is simply no way to see every new show on opening night, so don't limit yourself to which spaces have receptions and free wine. Visit when it's quieter on a Saturday morning or leave work early during the week and go with a friend. Galleries are also more than happy to set up private appointments and tours as well.&nbsp;For these early September exhibition previews we are indicating opening dates as well as neighborhood so that you can plan as best as possible.&nbsp;Happy gallery hopping and enjoy the fall!&nbsp;– CGN&nbsp;<h3>September 7</h3><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419263/gi8c3nedvcnyjo9hinj0.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/love-still-not-the-lesser-d319b8f0-5cc0-4537-b973-2fb4204326ad">LOVE: Still Not the Lesser</a>Museum of Contemporary PhotographySept 7–Dec 22 • &nbsp;South LoopOpening Sept 7, 5–8pmLOVE: Still Not the Lesser brings together 12 international artists uniting across communities to share the ways they’ve encountered and understand love. Together, these artists explore dynamics within sensual eroticism, romantic partnership, family structures, social utopia, and life and death. The exhibition presents a world where love as a universal value of respect and care for all humans has been fully achieved.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419264/kaxtlxk8mdjhmyv9qtec.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/life-cycles">Life Cycles: Learning Studio</a>DePaul University Art Museum (DPAM)Sept 7, 2023 – Feb 11, 2024 • Lincoln Park“Life Cycles” will include artworks from the DPAM's permanent collection in conversation with contemporary Chicago artists who are not yet represented in the collection. With more than 50 artists, “Life Cycles” will feature paintings, sculptures, video, photography, drawings, installation and other multi-media work. Museum staff collaborated with DePaul University undergraduates to select artworks from the collection, write educational texts, and plan public programs.&nbsp;<h3>September 8</h3>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419265/nsfkij1eoviwuxqqp2fy.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/chris-cosnowski">Chris Cosnowski: Morality Play</a>ENGAGE ProjectsSep 8 – Oct 14 • West TownOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5:30 – 8&nbsp;pmCosnowski takes his hard-edged hyperrealism to another level using allegory, historical reference, and mass-produced objects to question today’s guidelines for moral development. Pairing real objects together to recreate symbols of nationalist ideologies, religious influences, and social constructs, Cosnowski dismantles propaganda simply by asking questions with paint. The title Morality Play references Cosnowski’s light-hearted representations of cultural objects that elucidate just how fragile, yet persistently ubiquitous these ideas can be.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419266/fwonm4jbfuxj50gga7do.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/lauren-wy-the-runner">Lauren Wy: The Runner</a>Western ExhibitionsSep 8 – Oct 28 • West TownOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmThe Runner, a new animated film and project series by Lauren Wy, foregrounds her second solo show at Western Exhibitions. Taking a cue from late 60’s and early 70’s films, especially Le Weekend by Jean-Luc Godard, the animation and its attendant sculptural edition distill the spirit of fantasy escapism, of running away into a dream.Wy’s animated film is a surrealist collage experiment utilizing analog processes with digital tools and altered frame rates to create a time-based pseudo-narrative drawing that embraces a raw provisionality. The short film is presented alongside a series of large-scale drawings and paintings on thin, mechanically flat synthetic surfaces.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419267/atdijkptj7hwkxlgmuzx.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/bassim-al-shaker-four-minutes">Bassim Al Shaker: Four Minutes</a>Rhona Hoffman GallerySep 8 – Oct 21 • West TownOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmBassim Al Shaker is an Iraqi&nbsp;artist&nbsp;based in the United States. Bassim was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, during a period of political conflict and humanitarian torment. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Baghdad College of Fine Arts, with a focus on drawing and painting. His style is the culmination of a background in academic drawing and painting techniques and exploration in contemporary&nbsp;art.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419268/wjyhazj80qvemh5k8nb3.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/in-the-mist-of-a-great-fall-the-niagara-paintings">In The Mist of a Great Fall: The Niagara Paintings</a>Oliva GallerySep 8 – Oct 7 • Logan SquareOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 9&nbsp;pmIn this, his third solo-exhibition, Curtis Anthony Bozif broadens the scope of his recent work, informed by environments of the Great Lakes, to include the falls at Niagara. This new series of large-scale abstractions, rooted in observation and in place, assay tone and the prismatic color spectrum.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419268/euh41mcl7jim2bfzcvxd.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/stephen-burks">Stephen Burks: Spirit Houses</a>Volume GalleryOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmSep 8 – Oct 28 • West TownA series of modern altars, Spirit Houses builds upon Burks’ radical design speculation in the form of six unique typologies contemplating spirituality in our contemporary lives. The accompanying essay “On Cosmologies: Stephen Burks Approaches the Sacred” by Najha Zigbi Johnson, offers deeper reflection into the religio-spiritual origins of Burks’ newest body of work.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419269/nmvxu86vji4wefoali1l.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/jimmy-desana-suburban">Jimmy DeSana: Suburban</a>DOCUMENTOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmSep 8 – Oct 28 • West TownDeSana's series Suburban not only challenges the divide between artistic and commercial photography that was still prevalent in the 1970s, but also a range of other commonly held binaries such as male and female, gay and straight, domination and submission, suburban culture and private self-exploration, standardized domesticity and the subjectivity of sexual pleasure, among others. Yet, by staging puzzling domestic scenarios with nude figures under colorful tungsten lights, DeSana did not intend to step into the territory of erotic photography. Instead, he used the body to resignify daily objects and spaces, ultimately shedding light on the strangeness of suburban lives dominated by consumerism.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419270/iwfmh6qejmfpqjwxxxay.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/lee-stanton-out-of-the-blue">Lee Stanton: Out of the Blue</a>ARC GalleryOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmThru Sept 23 • West TownAccording to Buddha, “When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”White on blue. A line.&nbsp;An identifiable path created by a point moving in space. Look up! Lines,&nbsp;a trail of condensed water from an aircraft at high altitude, a white streak&nbsp;across&nbsp;the sky. Intangible,&nbsp;the&nbsp;sky&nbsp;has no surface; it&nbsp;cannot be turned into a thing or given a quantity. It may represent infinity, eternity, immortality, transcendence, or simply inspiration.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419271/qkbxf4bfnip2vq2c4srn.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/reception-tom-robinson-loralyn-kumlin">Tom Robinson &amp; Loralyn Kumlin</a>SoNa Chicago Art GalleryOpening: Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmSep 8 – Oct 14 • Wicker Park / BucktownIn the early months of isolation during the pandemic, artists Tom Robinson and Loralyn Kumlin began renovating a huge vintage dollhouse that they found discarded in a Chicago alley. They collected and furnished the rooms with miniature furniture and accessories and then made miniature copies of their full-scale artwork to adorn the walls of the dollhouse. Wonderful work emerged from that effort as they moved on to create their own structures, paintings, and miniatures. Their new work and the dollhouse are featured in the exhibition.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=upcoming">VIEW CGN'S FULL CALENDAR HERE&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;#</body></html>

New Exhibitions Open Sept 7 & 8: Part I

<html><head></head><body><a href="https://www.maineantiquedigest.com/stories/the-randolph-street-market-celebrating-20-years/9390?fbclid=IwAR3e_7vL_z8z1XkfCI56VytYKV_0J9JlBG6LRAqxMWF3KyhxpKno2C3CW9E">The Randolph Street Market: Celebrating 20 Years</a>Asked to describe her creation, Chicago entrepreneur Sally Schwartz put it this way: the Randolph Street Market is “a unique fancy antiques and vintage market with emphasis on vintage fashion, decorative arts, and arts of all kinds,” she said. But there’s more, and this is key. “It is a city market, for a demographic that is urban, richer, and younger.”Via Maine Antiques Digest&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/09/01/the-week-in-art-british-museum-in-crisisan-in-depth-look">The Week in Art: The British Museum in crisis—an in-depth look</a>In the first episode of this new season of The Week in Art, we talk to Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper’s London correspondent, about the <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/keywords/british-museum-thefts">thefts scandal at the British Museum</a> and its implications for the museum in the future.Via the Art Newspaper&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419263/s7mdpfqqhvxehf8q61r8.jpg"><figcaption>Dale Chihuly at the Boathouse, his Seattle studio. Photo ©Chihuly Studio. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/dale-chihuly-the-boathouse-studio-2356390">Step Inside Artist Dale Chihuly’s Stunning Seattle Studio, Filled With an Epic Antiques Collection and His Otherworldly Glass Forms</a>You may think you know all there is to know about <a href="https://www.artnet.com/artists/dale-chihuly/">Dale Chihuly</a>, master of glass, whose delicate handblown creations take the medium to the realm of fine art.But stepping inside the Boathouse, the former Seattle boatbuilding workshop on Lake Union that has served as the headquarters of his artistic production since 1989, reveals a museum-like space that celebrates not only Chihuly’s curvaceous, colorful glass forms, but the artist’s many decades of collecting both art and antiques.Via Artnet&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 9/5/23

<html><head></head><body><blockquote>The start of fall means new exhibitions and fresh endeavors, and it’s the Art world figures working hard behind the scenes who give us so much to look forward to. we spoke to five art community leaders about what they’re excited about now and looking forward to next.</blockquote>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419263/lbr9u8769ash3fibgkvw.jpg"></figure>Erin Harkey –Chicago Deptartment of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)&nbsp;“At the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, also known as ‘DCASE,’ we serve as a collaborative presenter, arts funder and advocate for creative workers throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world for arts and culture—and our working artists generate billions in economic revenue for the city. There is so much to look forward to this fall—from the return of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the launch of a new theater season and the citywide World Music Festival Chicago, to name a few.&nbsp;Taste of Chicago in Grant Park celebrates the diversity and culinary talent of our city this September. The landmark Chicago Cultural Center is a must-see, always brimming with free visual art exhibitions, performances, films and more programs by DCASE and our partners. Then my favorite start to the holiday season is the City’s annual Tree Lighting in Millennium Park followed by skating at the McCormick Tribune ice rink.”&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419264/jtjxepq3lhkdcffv9sj8.jpg"></figure>Patrick Hull –&nbsp;Vertical Gallery“My interests continue to expand, both as a collector and as a gallery owner. I’m loving the surrealist resurgence, especially work in the pop-surrealism category, and adding new pieces to my personal collection. Several upcoming Vertical Gallery shows are focused on pop surrealism: in September, we have “Leopard Brains,” the first solo show from Danny J. Martinez (a.k.a. Van Dam One), an emerging artist at the vanguard of the pop surrealism movement, followed by two group shows: “New in Town” is curated by Blake Jones, and “Ode To” is curated by Joseph Renda Jr. We’re also returning to SCOPE Miami Beach Art Fair in December to present a solo show featuring another pop surrealist, the French artist Flog.Vertical recently celebrated its ten-year anniversary and moved to a new location within West Town (just a half-mile from our previous location), and we want to thank everyone for their continued support. We’re keeping our format of monthly exhibitions and introducing new artists to the Chicago market, and in 2024 we’ll branch out via exhibits in other U.S. cities and by increasing our participation in international art fairs.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419264/vxxnsfbrospqxajhxzhk.jpg"></figure>Roberta Kramer –&nbsp;Heritage Auctions“This season Heritage Auctions brings fresh energy, creative curation, and new partnerships into the gallery. Our auction previews in River North are becoming more dynamic with cross-category curation, and we’re making natural and thoughtful connections by showing stunning photographs with iconic prints &amp; multiples. Unexpected combinations, such as sneakers paired with modern &amp; contemporary art, are playful and equally on point. Shaking things up in the gallery invigorates our team and introduces Heritage Auctions guests to categories they may have otherwise passed over.&nbsp;Beyond an opportunity to see rare and precious items up close before bidding, we take pride in creating a welcoming setting where friendly experts are available to build relationships. With this in mind, Heritage is deepening our Chicago connection by supporting the River North Design District, participating in Design Chicago, and expanding our reach at EXPO CHICAGO.&nbsp;&nbsp;Heritage Auctions Chicago continues growing, with specialists available to support the Midwest in more than 50 collecting categories. It’s a pleasure to evolve with our community and enjoy these enduring relationships.”&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419266/f6vidpxck0vhwnsjq2bf.jpg"></figure>Floating Museum –CAB5: This is a Rehearsal“Floating Museum’s creative leads – Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, Faheem Majeed, Andrew Schachman, and avery r. young – have brought their vision for multidisciplinary, community-driven, and site-responsive projects to the Chicago Architecture Biennial for this year’s CAB5: This is a Rehearsal. At the helm of CAB5, Floating Museum has invited 90 contributors from across the globe to experiment, coact, and collectively reimagine what a resilient, equitable, and thriving city might look like in an era of superimposed crises. With horizontality as foundational to Floating Museum’s conception of “rehearsal,” the team is excited to ideate and fabricate in community with artists, architects, builders, designers, educators, municipal departments, non-profit organizations, activists, innovators, and attendees, all as equal contributors to this year’s Biennial. Though CAB5: This is a Rehearsal will close in early 2024, Floating Museum hopes the myriad connections fostered through the event will act as new beginnings for further experimentation towards the compassionate urban futures we so critically need.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419267/mtuei6zlqjra9oigsejf.jpg"></figure>Kavi Gupta –Kavi Gupta Gallery“The Kavi Gupta team is celebrating a landmark year of growth. Our publishing arm and bookstore, Kavi Gupta Editions, designed and published a dozen new artist books, spotlighting Tomokazu Matsuyama, Arghavan Khosravi, Alfred Conteh, and Michi Meko, among others, including a major hardcover catalogue published with EXPO CHICAGO documenting Skin + Masks, our philanthropic collab with rapper and activist Vic Mensa. We helped produce Beyond the Horizon, a hardcover book documenting two Jeffrey Gibson exhibitions: Beyond the Horizon at Kavi Gupta and Sweet Bitter Love at the Newberry Library. We also helped realize multiple new public sculptures, including Dancer, a large-scale work by Matsuyama in New York’s Flatiron Plaza.&nbsp;We’re celebrating our first solo show with Seneca artist Marie Watt, open through Sept. 30. It debuts a long wished-for project we helped produce: ambitious new hanging sculptures Watt made from traditional Indigenous jingle cones, which relate to healing. We brought in multiple internationally recognized Indigenous dancers to activate the works. We’re excited for our fall exhibition with Chicago artist Nikko Washington. And we’re gratified Jeffrey Gibson will represent the US in the Venice Biennale. We’ve fostered Jeffrey’s practice for five years, producing his most important and ambitious performances and projects. All this growth signals that our mission to support marginalized voices by encouraging and amplifying their ideas is impacting the culture.”&nbsp;</body></html>

Fall 2023 – Anticipating a Season of Art: Five to Talk to

Via PR1 SEPTEMBER 2023Wright is honored to announce <a href="https://wright20.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db&amp;id=80cb983bd1&amp;e=7eb8b4f0ec">EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT: The Collection of Jason Pickleman</a>, a September 14th auction celebrating the work and vision of beloved Chicago artist, designer, collector, and gallerist Jason Pickleman. Once described as "a dancefloor mainstay of Chicago," Pickleman is recognized for his artistic vision, playful demeanor, and remarkable generosity, and this auction is a rare opportunity for art enthusiasts to immerse themselves in his creative world.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/images/6277f59b-71e5-ab6f-61fc-40b3e5390a0b.jpg" alt=""></figure>&nbsp;Amassing art since he was a teenager, Pickleman attended Boston University where he studied English literature—and met Leslie Bodenstein, who would become his partner in life and at JNL Graphic Design. The pair founded the studio in 1992, working from a decommissioned post office in Chicago's River North area and merging their art and design sensibilities with tremendous success. "To live in Chicago is to encounter Jason Pickleman’s work," according to the Chicago Tribune, and local clients have included Millennium Park, Avec, Blackbird, Time Out Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority, Poetry Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, EXPO Chicago, and the Field Museum. Beyond the Windy City limits, JNL has worked with clients including the Prada Foundation and Skinny Pop Popcorn, for whom they designed Warhol-inspired packaging.&nbsp;The space between commercial and contemporary art has been of the utmost importance to Pickleman, who has defined himself by his ability to move effortlessly through these worlds as both an artist and collector. Pickleman was among the creators featured in the 2007 exhibition Young Chicago at the Art Institute of Chicago, and his art now resides in the institution's permanent collection. His works have been shown at the Chicago Cultural Center, the Chicago Design Museum, Ken Saunders Gallery, and the Neon and Light Museum, among others. In 2021, he created a monumental sculpture for Sculpture Milwaukee and this celebrated work, <a href="https://wright20.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db&amp;id=5700255f77&amp;e=7eb8b4f0ec">Hand Heart</a> (est. $30,000-50,000), leads EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT.&nbsp;As testament to his unorthodox and open-hearted ethos as a collector, Pickleman opened his collection gallery Lawrence &amp; Clark in 2015, named for the Chicago intersection where it stood. Here, Pickleman curated and installed works from his own collection, throwing open the doors to the public to be seen again (and again) by anybody who wanted to drop in. "Much of the work in EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT would have been on exhibit at Lawrence &amp; Clark," Pickleman says. "When a collector buys a work of art, it usually gets sequestered away, and publicly seen again only very rarely. The gallery was a way of giving my collection a second public life."&nbsp;Pickleman has long been an ardent supporter of rising talent in his chosen city, tirelessly making his own circuit between galleries, thesis exhibitions, and less formalized art spaces. Of his personal taste, Pickleman noted, "I’m most interested in ambiguity and pieces that seem strange or awkward; living with them fuels my creativity." The works featured in this auction reflect Pickleman's eclectic tastes, ranging, for example, from a Gaetano Pesce <a href="https://wright20.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db&amp;id=b5d9df2168&amp;e=7eb8b4f0ec">Amazonia vase</a> (est. $1,000-1,500) to Jenny Holzer's <a href="https://wright20.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db&amp;id=2411707b80&amp;e=7eb8b4f0ec">Inflammatory Essays</a> (est. $1,500-2,000) to infamous self-taught Chicago artist Wesley Willis's <a href="https://wright20.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db&amp;id=710070fd51&amp;e=7eb8b4f0ec">World Trade Center&nbsp;</a>drawing (est. $1,000-1,500).&nbsp;"I never thought much about the distinction between being an artist, designer, and an art collector," Pickleman says. "Each role informed and reinforced the others." With trust in his own taste and an infinite commitment to showing up for Chicago's art communities, Pickleman has built a unique collection that reflects his endless curiosity and creativity. "Jason has been a friend and colleague for many decades," says Richard Wright. "He and Leslie designed my very first advertisement back in 1992. It is an honor to work with them both for this special auction."&nbsp;&nbsp;The full selection of works featured in <a href="https://wright20.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db&amp;id=45dacbea27&amp;e=7eb8b4f0ec">EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT: The Collection of Jason Pickleman</a> will be on view at Wright in Chicago from September 9th to 14th with gallery hours of 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. The auction will begin at 11 am central on Thursday, September 14th, and accommodates advanced bids, telephone bidding, and live online bidding. For further information, please reach out to <a href="mailto:press@wright20.com?subject=Press%20Inquiry%3A%20The%20Collection%20of%20Jason%20Pickleman">press@wright20.com</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://wright20.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db&amp;id=78b448ffa0&amp;e=7eb8b4f0ec">VIEW AUCTION</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/images/b14af85c-7162-773c-4121-23585d6abbf3.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Jason Pickleman, &nbsp;<a href="https://wright20.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db&amp;id=5700255f77&amp;e=7eb8b4f0ec">Hand Heart</a></figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/_compresseds/dd4238ff-8c6e-3a6b-d5dd-54f230b84348.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>113&nbsp; JASON PICKLEMAN A Parallel American 1; A Parallel American 2 (two works)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/images/55670be8-b839-aff7-9653-ba705831da12.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>307&nbsp; JASON PICKLEMAN Hourglass (from the Icons series) (two works)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/_compresseds/864405a0-5f6d-ce06-cac9-afed1d20849b.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>134&nbsp; JASON PICKLEMAN Arrows (six works)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/_compresseds/9de33a5e-821d-b077-6272-3dd5cc2400f7.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>215&nbsp; JASON PICKLEMAN Metal Typeball</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/images/f3c0b67c-8250-e697-d16f-a78fc53dd3c1.jpg" alt=""></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/images/3aca564d-ce75-132b-bc02-91dc9c2f7393.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>304&nbsp; GAETANO PESCE Amazonia vase and Gaetano Pesce: Le Temps des Questions (book)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/_compresseds/93b8d441-98f4-eff8-84b0-5f6b7e06a5ed.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>292&nbsp; BEN FOCH Newport Beach #10</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/_compresseds/0eea8bab-0b15-25b1-aaeb-bf2e034298f7.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>135&nbsp; JUDY LEDGERWOOD Untitled #22</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://mcusercontent.com/50e5c1be866e9aaa28cfec1db/_compresseds/ed2f32b5-9251-3bb3-bde6-db9833b1f1da.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>184&nbsp; CHRISTOPHER PRINZ Wrinkled Bench (Raw Yellow Iridescent)</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Wright to Celebrate Chicago Legend Jason Pickleman with 'EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT'

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419263/khnhjoclleh7svhbxaar.jpg"><figcaption>Only in the Dark, 2023. Created by Dr Yiyun Kang. Courtesy of ART on THE MART.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Via PRCHICAGO, IL – ART on THE MART, an innovative digital art project that transforms a Chicago architectural landmark into a larger-than-life canvas, celebrates its 5th anniversary this fall with work by two veterans in the field of digital and video art. The 2023 fall programming will feature a new commission by the acclaimed Dr. Yiyun Kang, esteemed in the field of projection mapping and immersive art, and the return of the popular projection by the renowned Charles Atlas. Dr. Kang and Atlas’s projections will be on view nightly at 7:30pm CT from September 14 to November 15, 2023. &nbsp;“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Kang to Chicago and ART on THE MART. As such a groundbreaking artist in the realm of projection mapping and immersive art, it’s exciting to see her vision be realized on THE MART,” said Cynthia Noble, Executive Director of ART on THE MART. “In celebration of our 5thanniversary, it’s also hugely exciting to welcome back Charles Atlas, whose career is deservedly booming right now. We look forward to having him in Chicago again.”&nbsp;Responding to humanity’s environmental crisis and the unfathomable power and intelligence of AI technologies, Dr. Kang’s site-specific commission Only in the Dark will unfold over three immersive scenes that mix digital animations with AI-generated imageries to explore how we can think collectively about a more inclusive future. The work begins with a scene depicting the shifting structure of THE MART, alluding to a new beginning. The second scene uses biophilic designs to illustrate the coexistence of nature and humans. Ending with a hopeful future, the final vignette depicts a human dancing in water surrounded by a beautiful halo created from the light bouncing off the water’s surface.&nbsp;‘Only in the Dark’ is presented in partnership with Superblue, where Dr. Kang is the latest addition to the gallery’s artist roster. &nbsp;&nbsp;In creating ‘Only in the Dark,’ Dr. Kang was inspired by THE MART and its history and position as a leader in sustainable practices. Owned and operated by Vornado Realty Trust, THE MART is an architectural icon and an internationally recognized leader in culture, design and technology. Known colloquially as a “city within a city,” THE MART opened as the largest building in the world in 1930 and has continuously evolved to incorporate the latest in environmental practices. In 1996, THE MART became one of the first major properties in downtown Chicago to adopt the district cooling system to reduce the discharge of CFCs. THE MART was awarded its LEED certification in 2007 and its Fitwel certification in 2018, earning the title of largest Fitwel-certified building in the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-side"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419264/mqifpcyprquvx9x5d2hf.jpg"><figcaption>The Geometry of Thought, 2019. Created by Charles Atlas. Courtesy of ART on THE MART</figcaption></figure>“To escape our current darkness, this work suggests using non-binary thinking,” Dr. Kang said. “Building upon THE MART’s history of contributing to environmental solutions, I hope ‘Only in the Dark’ will help us to consider new ways of thinking to address some of the most pressing issues facing us today.” &nbsp;Reflecting on its five years of empowering artists to create innovative new work, ART on THE MART’s fall 2023 season will revisit Charles Atlas’s celebrated projection, The Geometry of Thought, which first debuted in fall 2019. The site-specific work features a&nbsp;characteristic combination of abstract shapes and numerals unfolding over eight chapters. The chapters will begin with a splash of color starting at the base of THE MART’s façade and rising to the top of the turrets, animating and exploring the iconic structure and architecture. Atlas has been a pioneering figure in film and video for over four decades. He has extended the limits of his medium, forging new territory in a far-reaching range of genres, stylistic approaches and techniques. In December 2023, the Art Institute of Chicago will also have&nbsp;The Years&nbsp;(2018),&nbsp;a recently acquired work by Atlas, on view in their&nbsp;galleries. ART on THE MART will then bring the projection back for a 1-3 day pop up timed to the opening. &nbsp;“I am thrilled to return to the beloved city of Chicago with ‘The Geometry of Thought’ animating THE MART’s façade,” said Atlas. “It is a truly unique platform for an artist to create work for and it’s been exciting to watch the program develop over the last five years.”&nbsp;ART on THE MART can best be experienced from the jetty section of the Chicago Riverwalk on Wacker Drive between Wells Street and Franklin Street, where accompanying audio can also be heard. ART on THE MART is presented in collaboration with the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and is complimentary to all viewers.&nbsp;For more information on the 2023 season, please visit <a href="https://u56787.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=ejmDrstLsKgZJLOItgn3EXl1sVb7zKa2ug7uWS6TcLYUC59lBNDyr0JoXCfUi7D9e7hAvHv4Eo6sjL0BD8lqz1LcG9Gv5-2BH9ShU-2F9qH66Ek6k3lSzWBjSIuZpcS2s-2BQsgfHL0lIpmNqj2yabHLop4g-3D-3DimPc_BYLPtpUivDHORxxkVXshLCRT3wjV7CgXbLJWP9J5MP-2BvAdgfICCFFHxnTjvEhUHLATit0Q8QLp1LC-2BEz94L006GhxlNRp8PQ8ByadGauC7daKnEKiKKxEIs4yCfldzUjvpEstC6T-2FTmal-2FjTKU2OHQFAtRRgMYLzyb3gK458yEK0guY1CnhrnChl1V0lXk-2FTna5hq0caUpQWLHv8bUlwJLMkRJmWDY3BogsnjttV6AWvQ3QTjap8JLjMAUuuBQ-2BrEAISQm2MCJC9DU5p-2BCOuBO250cFlh-2B0eYrZRoQnJTtXiTZJYS8-2Br5klFX5HUd8HlS76hLfCRqZA88lmqli3upJBSGwfN4jYMK6a-2FT2F-2BngjYbzTaKdeEjEJp9lc1UgcvoOtJYlmC1c5P4vpVecslFFzPizWuq5dNMKSNGoTV2z5iKXRUvC5UDAe3YpclH7F0C1-2BWh3Lme-2Bnjm9e98Fta9oupLlFOPSqXQOvyxRvmPl8KdqgxMdts3TgcqKiCah7Sn0prNyurpgh-2BizOaA3lUzH9qJN-2B-2FvuKfRvYfCq-2BjNvTMtb1EkGjFglHB1P5W9ZIpiiqwYi1l02c1dOjptjfeIbMJ1e9btCTUvPbRUfsdGv3eHy0j9e8PfgjXispusXHI8Z4-2F-2FThmwVY0i1MjHVhsaBxCndnbITTWX24bvyReH0cb59Cr5gEGzXlf03Mwhn5GDOs7qHTIzw2R2a-2FzVWQ498x959EI-2BtSr-2BsKZ0WLYr6Ew-2BIeQqvVEbhLiGKNcjpLUaBL6Ftvg-2FrJNQTCcmJJPCOmCXwGEkdAIVJue8rl0cbvpRLE-2FcIPvyrADhYtWUbgpa8qm5mb9eM0uCikRo3UVU4HFzKgrpuOyiexiLJB4C8g7OaXR9JtETGbHg5nZBo2FxrtaMOS1zxNDV3-2BTT4P3vbm3NCBKUn42ic6yDfK6rSm2na3sCS6pgR14MQG8RMCWlin-2B03okFJoxsxbTiOTklg-3D-3D">artonthemart.com</a> or follow #ARTonTHEMART.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

ART on THE MART's 5th Anniversary Season Features 2 Site-Specific Commissions

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419263/vpvpgogj4qe0jcegtldy.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.facebook.com/andrewrafaczgallery">Andrew Rafacz Gallery Closes Temporarily Due to Truck Through Window</a>Shared via Facebook this week:&nbsp;"Five planets were retrograde: Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. The cosmic turbulence of late summer was too much to contain the apocalyptic power of Roxanne Jackson’s ceramic sculptures.On Sunday morning, August 27th at 2:44 am in Chicago, a black pick-up truck made a shocking sharp left turn into the gallery’s front window, smashing ceramic vessels, cakes and cockatoos to smithereens. The driver was soon a shadowy figure, fleeing the accident and disappearing into the humid night, leaving behind an uncanny crime scene of ceramic shards and rubble.An active investigation is ongoing. As a result, we are sad to report that our current exhibitions are now closed, and we are temporarily suspending our programming as we rebuild and regroup. We are determined, however, to prevail from this strange and unsettling setback. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or inquiries during this time."&nbsp;<a href="https://www.saic.edu/news/saic-students-win-aia-chicagos-award-architecture?fbclid=IwAR2ZBOFvqQxzvYQTBSF9XQnMWCKGWDSzhjk3jFizu92imExGa8MZNT7DDqU">SAIC Students Win AIA Chicago’s Award in Architecture</a>SAIC architecture graduate students Rui Wang and Ziqi Huang were awarded the American Institute of Architect Chicago Foundation’s Student Awards in Architecture. The AIA Chicago Foundation supports Chicago’s architectural community through scholarships, awards, and grants. Every year they hold a juried competition of student projects from universities in the Chicagoland area to recognize the innovative young talent working in this city.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419264/ahnijgzbo7uw2ug1suq0.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.facebook.com">Woman Made Gallery Starts Online Teaching Social</a>WMG shared "We're starting a new series on our socials where we teach you about different women artists, art HERstory, and fun art techniques. If you have any ideas for future posts, shoot us a DM! Anyways, swipe to learn more about the pioneer of abstract art, Hilma Af Klint.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/teachingtuesday?__eep__=6&amp;__cft__[0]=AZU4xc_6ysjjrN30jb2lcpQV2mdCxZKbg4YWluDzpc9HrCNuuRWiYDpq2AOGAT75Gi-rlCcTWCv41Sf4sa3p4-93rBB8rmxK8XMLLOkvEfZmRUuUj9QsioIQu74AFXRsN2tzMl3nKN-rasEW_CsVfp5HnEkXbrGKJKXvbRBHJQ9ADgI5x9G9y4INoEAgDPfklXI&amp;__tn__=*NK-R">#TeachingTuesday</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN Art World Recap: 8/30/23

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419242/vy3eebrebwj9kumgjbrn.jpg"><figcaption>RNDD Members in front of an Art Walk vignette.</figcaption></figure>By CGN STAFF &nbsp;Fine art and residential design are symbiotic. An industry group that has managed to conjure the magic of design and art for a decade is the River North Design District. With more than 90 members, and even a podcast, RNDD has been serving the designer community as well as partnering with area galleries and artists since its founding in 2013.&nbsp;RNDD member Doug Van Tress says, “Golden Triangle was on board from the beginning. RNDD is the only group that brings every one together – the big showrooms, the small shops, the designers, the contractors and artisans. Now we share, learn and show. And we have really great parties. We have a good time together, and the world of beauty is fun and interesting.”&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419242/ifhvdimllbo5alzsr4wt.jpg"><figcaption>A Golden Triangle vignette.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The collective interest of the art and design world is a tide that lifts all boats. Oscar Tatosian, President Oscar Isberian Rugs Inc., is another member and advocate of Chicago’s place atop the global creative landscape. “RNDD brings together creative, passionate and enterprising people,” he says, “beautifying homes and offices while reenforcing Chicago as a World-Class leader of design. I’m proud and optimistic for our City.”The most visible, and anticipated, embodiment of RNDD’s commitment to design and art is the annual River North Fall Gallery Walk. This year the walk, presented by Daniel Kinkade Fine Art, takes place on September 8 in 19 locations throughout River North, and features 26 artists and 17 designer vignettes.&nbsp;The walk is free and open to the public, except for the after party (hosted by LG Group). Showrooms have extended hours on September 8. Vignettes are on display until October 10. Details, maps and tickets at <a href="https://rivernorthdesigndistrict.com">rivernorthdesigndistrict.com</a>Guests looking to make a weekend out of it can also take advantage of a special discounted rate at the nearby <a href="https://rivernorthdesigndistrict.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e0870a7816f3dc842c7b94542&amp;id=7c7f6b1dcb&amp;e=25d5172d25">21c Museum Hotel</a> too!&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419243/vjuyewgo6ez7fvdwx77g.jpg"><figcaption>RNDD member duxiana’s The Sculptor’s Residence apartment exhibition in Stockholm, Sweden featuring sculptures and ceramics by nicholas shurey and sofia tufvasson.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

At The Intersection of Art and Design: RNDD at 10

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419263/ivl8nor2z0xo3lhqx7qq.jpg"><figcaption>Barbara Rossi, 1973. Photo: Mary Baber/Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.artforum.com/news/barbara-rossi-1940-2023-90936">Barbara Rossi (1940–2023)</a>Barbara Rossi, a former Catholic nun whose passion for painting led her to join the amorphous, irreverent group of artists who rose to prominence in the late 1960s and ’70s as the Chicago Imagists, has died at eighty-three.Via Art Forum&nbsp;<a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/8/27/23805042/folk-art-chicago">Folk art across Chicago offers glimpse into pure creativity</a>If you ask someone where to go to see art in Chicago, they will likely direct you to the Art Institute, or perhaps to the Daley Plaza Picasso and its nearby cousin, Alexander Calder’s Flamingo in Federal Plaza.But to the junkyard at 30th Street and Kedzie? Probably not, even though this extravaganza of hand-painted advertising is one of the city’s most glorious examples of public art. To the thousands of stone carvings that line the Lake Michigan shore? Only a bit less unlikely, despite being the city’s most massive repository of outdoor sculpture.Via Chicago Sun Times&nbsp;<a href="https://hyperallergic.com/841064/the-trump-mug-shot-memes-are-here/">The Trump Mug Shot Memes Are Here</a>The world was waiting with bated breath for the release of Donald Trump’s mug shot after he was arrested at Fulton County Jail for felony charges over alleged attempts to overthrow the 2020 election results in the state of Georgia. The long-anticipated photo graced the internet Thursday night, August 24, setting both conservative and liberal spheres ablaze with immediate merchandising opportunities, strong emotions, and confirmation of the general un-seriousness of American politics by the way of memes — so let us ring in this historic moment with a curation of the finest.Via Hyperallergic&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

What We're Reading: 8/29/23

<html><head></head><body>Note: This is the fall 2023 CGN Cover Feature from our Sept–Dec magazine. To subscribe to the print version <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/print-subscriptions">please click here.</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419263/mei8pgfz9l8pjomj1qlm.jpg"><figcaption>In-Reflection, Luftwerk 2023 &nbsp;</figcaption></figure>By ALISON REILLYIn advance of their exhibition Light Over Light opening at <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/volume-gallery">Volume Gallery</a> in West Town this November, I spoke with Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero, who make up the artistic duo, Luftwerk. The two generously shared insights about their history as artistic partners, their process for designing large-scale interventions at architectural icons like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and Farnsworth House, and how they have moved from using electric to ambient light in their installations.&nbsp;&nbsp;CGN: How did you become collaborators and what, as artists, attracted you to each other?&nbsp;Petra Bachmaier: We met many, many years ago at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.&nbsp;Sean Gallero: Nearly 25 years ago. It was 1999.&nbsp;PB: We were both in the performance art department, so the idea of experiencing art as life was really prominent. We started to collaborate almost immediately.&nbsp;SG: We were drawn towards the installation component of performance art, creating environments for people to experience. Whether moving images through Super 8 or a still image through side projectors, we created these environments.&nbsp;PB: Transformative environments—taking over familiar spaces and transforming them temporarily—became our mode of operation. We removed ourselves as a live element within these scenarios and created spatial takeovers. Because we are in Chicago, we were inspired by architecture and worked closely with two Frank Lloyd Wright buildings for installation-based work. We also ventured into a dialogue on the architecture of Mies van der Rohe. Doing these temporary interventions with architectural landmarks informed how we think of shaping spaces, shaping sculpture. It informed what we do in our studio practice.&nbsp;SG: Our work evolved from performance to performance installation. We’ve done a lot of video in the past, so these engagements with architecture always had this element of projected light, whether it’s video lighting or slides. We always transformed the environment through either a moving image or static image. And then the building became the canvas, transforming that whole philosophy of the architecture into a bridge between the historical context, whether it’s Frank Lloyd Wright or Mies van der Rohe, to more contemporary media, projection, moving image. Now we’ve taken all that and started creating our own environments through color and lighting. We’re constantly shifting. The show at Volume is capturing light and color but also projecting it and not using any sort of direct lighting, using ambient light and sculpture to capture the essence of what these buildings feel like.&nbsp;PB: While we’ve been working on all of these architectural projects, we got interested in the Light and Space movement. We felt very much akin to it. For us a video projector became a light source. From this idea of illumination, we focused on using light as both a pure tool and material.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419264/sl0lrbl7u0rucggcdhhu.jpg"><figcaption>Circular model study for light and color, Luftwerk 2023</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: What were your own individual artistic practices like before you met during graduate school?&nbsp;&nbsp;PB: I enjoyed the idea of Dada and Fluxus. I grew up in Germany, and I was intrigued by non-traditional art practice and very interested in sculpting with materials and light in installation-based forms. I studied predominantly in Hamburg, which is a conceptual art school where there were Fluxus-based instructors. When I got to SAIC I began to ask, “How do you reduce material use? How do you work with material in a minimal way?”SG: We’re always learning new things within our practice. We’re not afraid to jump into the void to be more creative. I come from more of a fine arts background, painting and drawing, but at SAIC I also jumped around, starting in Visual Communication, then working my way to the digital realm, then printmaking, and finally in performance art. It was very exciting in the ‘90s and early 2000s, when performance art was hot in Chicago. We did ad hoc guerrilla performances everywhere. That’s how we crossed paths—I came from a visual standpoint and Petra from the more experimental. Even in the studio, those two converge and we bring our own skill set to a project or piece of artwork. We each have our pluses and minuses, but we always reach a harmonious conclusion after some debate and some tension. Especially with color, there is a very democratic way of choosing color in our studio. We have our favorites and dislikes.&nbsp;CGN: What has been one of your most rewarding experiences working with an institution? And most challenging?&nbsp;PB: The Chicago Cultural Center has been a home base for us for over a decade. It’s a Chicago-based curatorial program and that has helped our practice really grow.SG: One of our highlights was Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. That was our second step into Wright, and experiencing Fallingwater is breathtaking. How do you create an intervention within architecture that’s already a masterpiece? We had the wonderful challenge of celebrating the form, function and natural landscape of Frank Lloyd Wright. For six nights we had the house to ourselves to be explore be intimate with and create our art.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419265/dnrw7uwlctcdvmybtz6x.jpg"><figcaption>Cone model studies for light and color, Luftwerk 2023</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: For a big, ambitious project like that, how do you get started and work through that? &nbsp;PB: Usually it starts with a site visit. The curator hands over site plans, and we dive into the story. We want to inform ourselves where are we sited, the context of the place, and ask, “How does the work we do find a dialogue within that framework?” Working with institutions, it’s a collaborative exchange. “What does the institution stand for? What are they preserving? And how does our work live in dialogue to that mission or vision for a place?” It’s often about how do we draw new ways of looking at these places that actually hold valuable cultural assets. Everybody knows Farnsworth House, for exampe, but when you try to see it in a very different way you can read a totally different context. So we create a new way of experiencing something that we think we might know because it’s been written about for 50 years.&nbsp;SG: There’s a lot of research involved, whether it’s scholarly research or even just asking the groundskeeper, “What do you notice? What do you see? What’s this detail? What’s the overall experience of a place?” We look at details, then the whole philosophy, and we ask what was there before. These environments hold so much information and knowledge that we could be inspired by a river or by a set of trees.&nbsp;CGN: Could you talk about your study of the passage of light, your effort to capture light throughout a day? How did you become interested in that and how is it present now in your work?&nbsp;PB: Oh, it’s very present in our work.&nbsp;SG: For the longest time we worked in artificial light—projected, electronic, digital light. We did an exhibition at the Garfield Park Conservatory at their greenhouse. We wanted to create an installation that was experienced throughout the day.PB: And activated by the sun. Learning how sunlight travels, observing it far more closely became an interesting phenomenon to be more aware of. It happens every day, but how do we play with it? How do we shape with that phenomena and also the qualities of light and color, the intensity of different colors in the sky. All of that informs of how we work with color and light.&nbsp;SG: One piece at Garfield Park Conservatory dealt with plants and how they absorb light in the color spectrum. We used the green and red ends of the color spectrum. One signifies movement and growth. We had a canopy of blue and red acrylic gels. The sun would move throughout the day and the pattern would be reflected on the floor. And so we physically saw how the sun affects color and movement. That informed how we could create work that uses ambient light, natural light, as well.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419266/dslzuakt4hyylgttygrf.jpg"><figcaption>Curved surface model study for light and color, Luftwerk 2023</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: An installation you did at Cheekwood Estate and Garden in Nashville included colored light and canvases together in the room. To me it brought together different artistic practices and art histories. How did you start using canvases in your installations?&nbsp;&nbsp;PB: For our previous exhibition at Volume in 2020, we experimented by using color as a canvas for the light. How does light impact the way you perceive color? As Josef Albers explains, if you illuminate the color red, it’s more red than if it’s not illuminated. And so the exhibition in 2020 was based on this idea of color as a canvas.SG: We’re distilling our process here. We’ve come from the digital realm, where even sometimes the canvas is digital, but now we’re looking at how do we achieve the purity of color through paint and pigment? How do we apply gradients to canvas or apply solid material that’s textural onto canvas? We’ve done the process of creating pigment through powder and then using hide glue and all these emulsifiers to create the paint. We experimented with airbrushing and how we get gradients of color that are affected through light. Now we love color, we love light. How can we use the pure sense and source of lighting to create our own canvas of color? We’re stocking up on paint and pigment to create that experience.&nbsp;PB: It does feel a little bit like color field painting, but it’s actually about the interaction of color with light. What we set up in the studio is very much the interaction of how those two create an interesting tension or visual field that can shift your perception. The canvases that you’re referring to, they’re titled Meadow, have a gradient from yellow to green based on the idea of bringing the outside in. It was informed by the green and the garden, the light. It was a very simple color field, a smooth gradient. Once we illuminated the light from the yellow, the dark of the green, they have an ebb and flow where they shift. All of a sudden the whole canvas is dark and then it kind of emerges into light again. It’s very perceptive. You need patience with these works. They ask you to take time and look.&nbsp;SG: We need patience because we’re actually cultivating the color. We’re collecting grass, botanic material. We dry them out, crush them, pulverize them, bring them to a powder, and then we create paint or ink from that and apply it to the canvas. There’s another level of the art making process where paint sometimes comes out of a jar, but we also create the paint, create the texture, and create the canvas through this organic material.&nbsp;CGN: You’ve talked and written about the taxonomy of colors and your own studies of Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours. How did you start looking into that? And why has that continued to capture your attention?&nbsp;&nbsp;PB: We stumbled upon it, though we have always been interested and informed by color theory. Most artists cannot avoid it.SG: To Albers it was color with emotion and intellect. But with Werner it was about creating a system of finding colors in nature and determining how we put it into a nomenclature, a code, a dialogue that connects it to the natural environment. It was very interesting to see this pre-Pantone system based on nature that you could find–plant material, mineral and animal —feathers, petals and rocks.PB: Then you dive into the artistry of painters who created their own paint from these materials. They still carry the name, for example, burnt sienna. We’re building a relationship with the actual material. We’ve become enamored with this nomenclature and going back into history when color was not numbered and was not a marketing language, but actually developed by someone who created a system for us to understand the visual world around us. People were more connected to, “Oh, it’s sky blue!” It sounds different than cyan.&nbsp;CGN: Tell me about your show at Volume Gallery in November and how you’re thinking about it now.&nbsp;PB: This is our third exhibition with them. For the first two, in 2018 and 2020, the exploration was all about the phenomena of color and interaction with electric light.SG: But this show coming up is about the pure property of color and how it interacts with ambient light. We’re still designing the room. We’re looking at more minimal sculptures but with these subtle hints of color that reflect onto the wall, onto the environment. It’s about getting accustomed to a space and getting your eyes readied and then looking for those subtleties or vibrant reflections. It’s about sculptural material that reflects color.&nbsp;PB: The color itself bounces or reflects its light quality. It’s like sculpting as if we would sculpt light, but it’s actually for the color. It’s a departure for us to think that nothing within the main gallery will be plugged in. It will be all sculptural and wall-based. It’s kind of like chasing an aura for color.&nbsp;&nbsp;#<a href="http://wvvolumes.com/upcoming/">Light Over Light: Petra Bachmaier &amp; Sean Gallero of Luftwerk Studio</a>At Volume Gallery, Nov 3 – Dec 16, 2023&nbsp;To subscribe to the CGN Fall issue in print <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/print-subscriptions">click here.</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419267/wz0w5nfmf8lip5dusuah.png"></figure>&nbsp;</body></html>

Light Over Light: Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero of LUFTWERK

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419263/ueuwvmgcijmuw4l363q4.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/ground-truthing-a-solo-show-by-doug-dewitt">Doug DeWitt: Ground Truthing - Promises, Laments and Tipping Points</a>Exhibition begins August 31Kavanagh Gallery at Fine Line Creative Arts Center&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419264/jdawefi9a16fuamcgnnx.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/storywork-the-prints-of-marie-watt">Storywork: The Prints of Marie Watt</a>Exhibition begins August 31Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419265/jr44vupk23ujwhiv8xqu.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/impressions">Impressions: Sammir Sammoun &amp; John C. Traynor</a>Opening: Friday, September 1, 5 – 8&nbsp;pmLily Pad | West&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419266/kivfjuqhdv4s2pckitp3.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/dan-friedman-stay-radical">Dan Friedman: Stay Radical</a>Exhibition begins September 2The Art Institute of Chicago&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419267/y5iycatru1cr9bln2wn3.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/6th-midwest-open">6th Midwest Open</a>Opening: Saturday, September 2, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmWoman Made Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

New Exhibitions August 31 – September 2

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419252/qe5snd2rkhkatkdtd2ob.png"><figcaption>The fall 2023 Issue of CGN, featuring Luftwerk on the cover</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/print-subscriptions">Subscribe to the print edition of the fall 2023 magazine&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;By GINNY VAN ALYEAThe beginning of September in the art world is akin to New Year’s Eve. This time of year I feel a little wistful to see the days get shorter as the light fades on summer, but I am excited to see the sparks of a new season. The end of August is, hopefully, a time to take a few days off before school and work ramp up again. Galleries typically close for vacation and then spend Labor Day installating the fall shows. When September dawns, the gallery-going public is reenergized and ready to attend a whirl of cultural and social events after a summer reset. Make sure to see all that is ahead on CGN's packed <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=upcoming">calendar of events</a>.While I am always sad to see summer come and go too soon, this issue reflects what CGN is looking forward to in the remaining months of 2023.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2023/8/light-over-light-petra-bachmaier-and-sean-gallero-of-luftwerk">Our cover feature</a> is an interview with artists Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero, the duo behind Luftwerk, about their upcoming exhibtion, Light Over Light, coming to Volume Gallery in November.&nbsp;After years of working with electric light, Luftwerk has shifted to embracing and sculpting ambient illumination. Their exhibition will open just as the fall days grow darker as we head into winter.&nbsp;Collector Zach Smith had a light-bulb moment with a remarkable painting at the Art Institute several years ago, and he’s been pursuing art for his collection ever since. Bianca Bova’s interview with Smith shares a lot of advice for other young and future collectors.&nbsp;A recent multi-site installation of works by Felix Gonzalez-Torres was intended to provide enlightening encounters with the public. Jason Pickleman shines light on what can happen when art is exhibited outside of museum or gallery walls, as Gonzalez-Torres’s subtle, grayed images provide a contemplative refuge admist blaring sounds and screeching lights of CTA platforms.&nbsp;Ruth Duckworth: Life as Unity, an exhibition coming to the Smart Museum this fall, looks at the work of a woman who considered herself a survivor above all else. Duckworth overcame many challenges throughout her life that are unimaginable for most people. For her there was always light at the end of the tunnel. Her work means that light will never be entinguished.Art in these pages–and well beyond–is shining brightly. We are so fortunate to bask in its glow. I hope that you find time to enjoy fall in the art world as well as precious time with friends and family. May everyone get a little more light under the sun before it fades into 2024.–GV&nbsp;Note: Our feature articles and interviews from the Fall 2023 issue of CGN will be posted on chicagogallerynews.com in the coming weeks.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/print-subscriptions">To subscribe to the print edition please sign-up here for $25/year.</a> You will also receive the 2024 CGN Arts Guide and the Spring 2024 magazine out in April.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Publisher's Letter: Fall 2023

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419252/cvm2ix6ulbmjaztlbolp.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/comics-auction-preview">Comics Auction Preview</a>Opening: Thursday, August 24, 5 – 7&nbsp;pmHeritage Auctions&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419253/xt3w37umeqpp0uzox1fx.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-first-show">The First Show</a>Opening: Friday, August 25, 4 – 7&nbsp;pmSTASIAS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419254/gse7wymzdq6ep5a9ckna.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/guest-artist-roger-shule-acrylic-painter">Guest Artist: Roger Shule, Acrylic Painter</a>Saturday, August 26, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmBlue Moon Gallery&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721419255/qjcnian7xjajyrkqtyzr.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/2023-evanston-vicinity-biennial-exhibition">2023 Evanston + vicinity biennial exhibition</a>Opening: Sunday, August 27, 1 – 4&nbsp;pmEvanston Art Center&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

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