<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/hktutdz0twbiplk3e2mj.gif"></figure>Via PRThe Terra Foundation for American Art announced today that it has appointed Sharon Corwin as its new President and CEO, following an international search that began last year. Corwin currently serves as the Carolyn Muzzy Director and Chief Curator of the Colby College Museum of Art, a position she has held since 2006; she is also a professor in the College’s art department. As director, Corwin is responsible for leading the museum through a period of significant transformation, which included the expansion of its facilities and the donation of more than 1,600 works of American art by collectors and philanthropists Peter and Paula Lunder. Corwin’s appointment follows the March 2019 announcement that Elizabeth Glassman, who has led the Terra Foundation for almost 20 years, would be stepping down in 2020. Corwin will start at the foundation in September 2020. “We are thrilled to welcome Sharon to the Terra Foundation knowing that her passionate engagement with and promotion of American art will make her a successful leader at the organization,” said Joseph P. Gromacki, chair of the Terra Foundation board of directors and senior partner at Jenner &amp; Block LLP. “Sharon’s background and history creating opportunities for dialogue and scholarship around the visual arts convey her existing commitment to the foundation’s mission, making her the obvious choice to lead the Terra Foundation forward into its next chapter. Sharon’s experience aligns with the foundation’s more than 15-year dedication to enlivening American art through exhibitions, scholarship, and the robust use of its collection in Chicago, the US, and around the world. In welcoming Sharon and looking to our future with tremendous excitement, I express our deep gratitude to Elizabeth Glassman, who has transformed the foundation into the impactful organization it is today, bringing engaged conversations and thoughtful programs on American art globally.” A leading scholar of American art with a strong interest in modernism and photography, Corwin began at Colby as the Lunder Curator of American Art in 2003, before being appointed the museum’s director and chief curator in 2006. During her tenure she supervised the doubling in size of Colby’s art collection to more than 10,000 works, worked with donors to more than double the museum’s endowment principal, and increased the operating budget to support a larger array of initiatives. Among her most important accomplishments was the expansion of the museum’s facilities with the construction of the Alfond-Lunder Family Pavilion, which opened in 2013. In 2017, Corwin led the founding of the Lunder Institute for American Art, a collaborative initiative with the Colby College Museum of Art that supports innovative research and creative production to expand the boundaries of American art. The Lunder Institute enhances engagement with the museum’s holdings in American art—a collection Corwin has grown to include works by Marsden Hartley, Agnes Martin, Jackson Pollock, Alma Thomas, Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith, Zilia Sánchez, Maya Lin, and Henry Taylor. Under her leadership the museum’s collection and exhibitions have been successfully integrated into the College’s curriculum in innovative ways. Corwin has also led the museum’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity across all platforms of its mission, including its collection, programs, audiences, staff, and board. “I have spent the majority of my professional life working on exhibitions and projects that highlight American art, and I can think of no better opportunity than to join the Terra Foundation for American Art,” said Sharon Corwin. “Elizabeth Glassman has built the Terra Foundation into a powerhouse in the field, developing new ideas and approaches and creating experiences with American art for audiences both within the US and around the world. I am excited to build on her work nationally and internationally, to seek out innovative partnerships, and to embrace further an expanding definition of American art in ways that reflect its diverse histories. I look forward to starting at the foundation, and also to following the continued successes of the Colby College Museum of Art.” During her time at Colby, Corwin was responsible for organizing several exhibitions, including Alex Katz/Moby-Dick (2019–20), Theaster Gates: Facsimile Cabinet of Women Origin Stories (2019), and American Modern: Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White (2011). She has also published exhibition catalogues, books, and essays, including the forthcoming collection of artist interviews, Five American Painters: Conversations with Alex Katz, Yvonne Jacquette, David Driskell, Rackstraw Downes, and Lois Dodd. Prior to arriving at Colby, Corwin was the Acting Assistant Director at the Mills College Art Museum and, before that, a Faculty Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught courses in art history. A graduate of New College of Florida, Corwin earned both her M.A. and Ph.D. in the History of Art at the University of California, Berkeley. “I am delighted to welcome Sharon to the Terra Foundation,” said Elizabeth Glassman. “She has long been committed to energizing the conversation around American art, and her accomplishments at the Colby College Museum of Art point to her strengths as a leader. A cornerstone of the Terra Foundation is the belief that art is a powerful tool for engaging people’s hearts and minds and for building mutual understanding throughout communities in the US and across the globe. It can serve as a catalyst for necessary conversations about the world around us. I believe that Sharon will continue to build upon the platforms that make such activities possible.” About Terra Foundation for American Art Since it was established in 1978, the Terra Foundation for American Art has been one of the leading foundations focused on art of the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, through its grant program, collection, and initiatives, it is committed to fostering exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of American art among national and international audiences. To further cross-cultural dialogue on American art, the foundation supports and collaborates on innovative exhibitions, research, and educational programs. Implicit in such activities is the belief that art has the potential both to distinguish cultures and to unite them. <a href="http://terraamericanart.org/">terraamericanart.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Sharon Corwin Appointed President & CEO of Terra Foundation for American Art

<html><head></head><body>By CGN StaffFebruary is quickly drawing to a close, even with one more day in the month this leap year. This weekend there are a handful of notable exhibitions opening in galleries and art spaces around the city, from Friday, February 28 through Sunday, March 1.&nbsp;Our overview of highlights from this coming weekend is below, and our full calendar may be <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=openings">viewed&nbsp;here</a>.See you in the galleries!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/vzb8azlg1dsrxuhl5vxn.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/tony-tasset-the-weight">Tony Tasset: The Weight</a>Opening Friday, February 28, 5–8&nbsp;pmKavi Gupta GalleryA Post-Atomic visual troubadour, Tony Tasset continues to define the vanguard of Pop Conceptualism. From the monumental stoicism of a massive fiberglass Eye sculpture watching over downtown Dallas (but was also once sited in Chicago) like a Neo-Surrealist sentinel, to a slumping, exhausted Paul Bunyan (at suburban Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park) that pays sad tribute to manifest destiny gone awry, to the frailty and nuanced melancholy of a to-scale sculpture of a ripped Styrofoam cup, Tasset has demonstrated, time and again, a unique ability to memorialize the peculiar beauty and pathos of the American visual vernacular.For The Weight, Tasset mined the innermost provinces of the contemporary human psyche, responding to the anxiety of our times with wit, gravitas, and salt-of-the-earth sagacity.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/dgwpqeliwqpfxyprm1iv.png"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/tenure-a-10-year-anniversary-celebration">TENURE</a>Opening Friday, February 28, 5–8&nbsp;pmVOLUME GalleryVolume Gallery has focused on design and art, with a strong emphasis placed on emerging contemporary designers and artists for a decade now. On Friday night they will open an exhibition to mark the milestone and spotlight the gallery's roster of artists, including Tanya Aguiñiga, Ross Hansen, Sung Jang, Ania Jaworska, Krueck + Sexton, Snarkitecture, Christy Matson, Jonathan Muecke, Anders Ruhwald, Sam Stewart and Thaddeus Wolfe.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/douayagsjdjskbuczfcu.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/nkame-a-retrospective-of-cuban-printmaker-belkis-ayon-1967-1999">NKAME: A Retrospective of Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayon (1967–1999)</a>Opening Friday, February 28, 5–8&nbsp;pmChicago Cultural CenterThis landmark retrospective is the first in the&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;dedicated&nbsp;to&nbsp;the work of Belkis Ayón, the late Cuban visual artist and printmaker who mined the founding myth of the Afro-Cuban fraternal society of Abukuá to create an independent and powerful visual iconography. The exhibition’s 47 prints encompass a wide range of the artist’s graphic production including her signature calligraphy technique, a printing process combining materials of various textures and absorbencies.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418727/am7o69mbvq62ka4hwup0.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/miller-shellabarger-homo-entanglement">Miller &amp; Shellabarger: Homo-entanglement</a>Opening Friday, February 28, 5–8&nbsp;pmWestern ExhibitionsMarried artist collaborators <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001gXZxQv0kNzKJlOZqXLLpdxJ_hIUkMNJL47XnraU5ZwpEhwSWlaBJROasGxYaL5vzsOSn_k2P99Bsm-n0Z0ucTNHkyVtgsrdp5dfrYnAe4lpXKSNyYwS0ZKeUIXK6eif8mx6YgSHYJd0CfuzZSebFooySf5Qbf_ekSyvduCIC3-YOZmkB02YllB018EJnIRdP&amp;c=ngQ78RgssXh0gDJFZrriIq7Y30AQzDaRWQ2DxRpQEXIibJEofx47Hw==&amp;ch=tgvPPaDzUNJ-MLVNOLIKaqiEmGVZ8SjRw2txPsDLHY_-zCXUOyYGmQ==">Miller &amp; Shellabarger</a> explore physicality, duality, time and romantic ideals in their multidisciplinary work. Performance, photography, artists’ books, sculpture and cut paper silhouettes document the rhythms of human relationships, speaking both to common experiences of intimacy as well as the specifics of queer identities. For their third show at Western Exhibitions, Miller &amp; Shellabarger present artists’ books, prints, photographs, and a cut-paper installation that address their ongoing concerns with an emphasis on entanglement, compression of time, mortality, and bodily and temporal limitations.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418727/lzhxwcr1melomot5upgu.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/rene-romero-schuler">René Romero Schuler</a>Opening Friday, February 28, 5–8&nbsp;pmZolla/Lieberman GalleryRené Romero Schuler creates powerful images of strength and vulnerability that speak to the heart of the human condition: love, sorrow, solitude, and heartbreak. Through these depictions of difficult subjects, she aims to inspire her viewers with hope, fortitude, and ultimately, enduring strength. The figures Schuler captures are equal parts self-portraiture and portraits of the range of human emotions that she has experienced in her all-too-colorful life.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418728/bjtqgkeoxgwbhxu2fbgl.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/duro-olowu-seeing-chicago">Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago</a>Opening Saturday, February 29Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)Nigerian-born British designer Duro Olowu is internationally recognized for his womens wear label launched in 2004. Characterized by unique fabrics, evocative patterns, and impeccable construction, the London-based designer’s garments are informed by his international background and curator’s eye. Olowu’s multinational and multicultural viewpoint has translated into wildly popular platforms and projects from his dynamic Instagram account to his revelatory curatorial projects in London and New York.Now Olowu turns his cosmopolitan eye to Chicago. Drawing from the city’s public and private art collections including works in the MCA’s collection, Olowu curates a show that reimagines relationships between artists and objects across time, media, and geography. Moving away from traditional exhibition formats, Olowu combines photographs, paintings, sculptures, and films in dense and textural scenes that incorporate his own work.&nbsp;</body></html>

Weekend Art Highlights: February 28–29

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/tyybgatyceuhhtxa5oko.jpg"></figure>Mass museum shutdown in northern Italy as coronavirus spreadsAn unprecedented shutdown of museums is taking place in Venice, Turin and Milan as private and public institutions close their doors in the wake of the coronavirus (Covid-2019) outbreak across northern Italy. Seven Italian regions have now been instructed to close museums and implement various restrictions: Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Free entry to state museums throughout Italy, offered on the first Sunday of each month, has also been cancelled by the ministry of culture for time being.By Garreth Harris, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/museums-across-northern-italy-forced-to-shut-in-coronavirus-lockdown">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/c4lna2yqp3rwdotgbtrc.png"></figure>Steve Wynn Pays $105 Million for Pair of PicassosEmbattled former casino-resort magnate Steve Wynn has paid around $105 million for a pair of Pablo Picasso paintings from the estate of Don Marron, according to two people close to the deal.Picasso’s colorful 1937 portrait of one of his mistresses, “Woman with Beret and Collar,” and his 1962 portrait of his wife in grayscale, “Seated Woman (Jacqueline),” were considered gems of the estimated $450 million collection of Mr. Marron, the former PaineWebber chairman who died last December.By Kelly Crow, WSJ<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/steve-wynn-pays-105-million-for-pair-of-picassos-11582567230?mod=hp_listc_pos3">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/pitibe7fkwbbin2qumu1.jpg"></figure>Art Basel Launches Online Viewing Rooms to Help Dealers Reach Collectors Virtually After Canceling the Hong Kong FairArt Basel announced that the first iteration of its new online viewing rooms will launch in March, allowing exhibitors to show works on the web that they had originally planned to bring to Hong Kong.&nbsp;By Eileen Kinsella, Artnet<a href="https://news.artnet.com/market/art-basel-online-viewing-rooms-1782096?utm_content=from_&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=US%20News%20Afternoon%204%3A30%20pm%20for%202%2F20%2F20&amp;utm_term=NEW%20US%20NEWSLETTER%20LIST%20%2890%20DAY%20ENGAGED%20ONLY%29&amp;fbclid=IwAR280N0Ym5Yg2GPZftQcHYHwP6Wbalwy-5oxiqlWwbq8Hf9VHdbZJdh_4Kg">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418726/exc3jaste5re08qrhop4.png"></figure>In Malibu, A Concrete Compound Designed By Tadao Ando Asks $75 MillionSitting right on the beach in Malibu, Calif., a distinctive architectural concrete home designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando is coming on the market for $75 million.The home is a rare offering; there are just a handful of private homes designed by Mr. Ando in the United States.By Katherine Clarke, WSJ<a href="https://news.artnet.com/market/art-basel-online-viewing-rooms-1782096?utm_content=from_&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=US%20News%20Afternoon%204%3A30%20pm%20for%202%2F20%2F20&amp;utm_term=NEW%20US%20NEWSLETTER%20LIST%20%2890%20DAY%20ENGAGED%20ONLY%29&amp;fbclid=IwAR280N0Ym5Yg2GPZftQcHYHwP6Wbalwy-5oxiqlWwbq8Hf9VHdbZJdh_4Kg">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418727/r6ucqdsgdyfegj7h3eia.jpg"></figure>A Stunning Legal Decision Just Upheld a $6.75 Million Victory for the Street Artists Whose Works Were Destroyed at the 5Pointz Graffiti MeccaIn a sweeping 32-page decision eviscerating the legal arguments of a&nbsp;disgruntled Queens real estate developer, a US Appeals Court affirmed the rights and monetary damages awarded to a group of graffiti artists whose works were destroyed without warning or consent in 2013.The artists sued the developer, Gerald Wolkoff, in 2013 for violating their rights after he whitewashed their work at the famous 5Pointz graffiti art mecca in New York to make way for condos.By Eileen Kinsella, Artnet<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/5pointz-ruling-upheld-1782396?utm_content=from_&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=US%20News%20morning%209%3A50%20a.m.%20for%202%2F21%2F20&amp;utm_term=New%20US%20Newsletter%20List&amp;fbclid=IwAR3NQwF2CqpGiri3UIDCjKn5_RJ-er8Jnsan7nrealHJPBsghvsbp8hIyps">Read More</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: February 24, 2020

<html><head></head><body>By CGN StaffFrom Friday, February 21 through Sunday, February 23 several spaces in the city have opening receptions. You are invited to see what's new! &nbsp;Our overview of highlights from this coming weekend is below, and our full calendar may be <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=openings">viewed&nbsp;here</a>.See you in the galleries!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/ucndtywn8oka3axpglrp.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/elnaz-javani-your-residue">Elnaz Javani: Your Residue ته مانده تو</a>Opening Friday, February 21, 6 – 9&nbsp;pmOne After 909Created between 2013 and 2019, the work presented in Your Residue is tied to the physicality of the human body, its psychology in the face of cultural uprooting, and the artist’s own experiences balancing her dual identities as an Iranian and an American.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/ht6r8cslsmwaapi6ypge.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/megan-euker-the-cure">Megan Euker: The Cure</a>Opening Friday, February 21, 5:30 – 7:30&nbsp;pmInternational Museum of Surgical ScienceFor the past three years, Megan Euker has devoted her research and artistic practice to orphan disease (OD) advocacy, specifically focusing on the cure of Sickle Cell Disease and Beta Thalassemia through gene therapy. Euker makes use of illustrations and diagrams explaining gene therapy, Sickle Cell Disease, and Beta Thalassemia; documents and articles relating to court cases; and other data sets to present a case of corruption and fault in the world of “Big Pharma.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/tuqwefxc2i48jjx7f62e.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/nathaniel-mary-quinn-new-work">Nathaniel Mary Quinn</a>Opening Friday, February 21, 5 – 7:30&nbsp;pmRhona Hoffman GalleryNew work by this Chicago-raised artist is on view.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418726/kcjaeik9ebrnqgejgosr.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/shelf-destruction-a-denial-solo-show">Shelf Destruction : A Denial Solo Show</a>Opening Saturday, February 22, 6 – 10&nbsp;pmChicago TrubornWitness Denial's unique way of tweaking recognizable branding efforts and pop culture phenomenons into sardonic and brutally honest takes on society. Through pop art aesthetics, bright colors, and shiny packaging, this Ontario based artist proves that we're all here to ENJOY DENIAL. &nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418728/ipi8fcaeudfuq0z6dlqo.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/noelle-garcia-jose-santiago-perez-extra-ordinary">EXTRA : : ORDINARY</a>Opening Sunday, February 23, 1 – 4&nbsp;pmEvanston Art CenterNoelle Garcia and José Santiago Pérez present recent work that uses traditional craft processes to transform everyday objects and materials into exuberant works of contemporary art. Based in the Chicago area, Noelle Garcia is an artist and educator who focuses on themes of identity, family history and recovered narratives in her work. José Santiago Pérez is a Chicago based artist from Los Angeles and is a 2019-2020 HATCH resident at the Chicago Artist Coalition.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Weekend Art Highlights: February 21-23

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/e091gwrl34r3mpubeys7.jpg"></figure>Crystal Bridges Made Arkansas a Hub for American Art. Can a New Offshoot Make It a Destination for Contemporary Work, Too?The effects Crystal Bridges has had on the region are more than clear. And later this month, the museum is going one step further. It’s opening a satellite contemporary art center, the Momentary, which, by all accounts, is expected to further solidify the impact art has had on this town that once counted the Walmart Museum as one of its biggest cultural attractions.By Melissa Smith, Artnet<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/the-momentary-crystal-bridges-1776441?utm_content=from_&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=US%2010:05%20a.m.%20newsletter%20for%202/17/20&amp;utm_term=New%20US%20Newsletter%20List">Read More</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/rktpnbe5tg6c9jj9svai.png"></figure>Barack And Michelle Obama’s Official Portraits Are Coming To Art Institute Of ChicagoThe official presidential portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama are coming to the Art Institute of Chicago.The portraits, by artists <a href="https://kehindewiley.com/">Kehinde Wiley</a> and <a href="http://www.amysherald.com/">Amy Sherald</a>, were created toward the end of President Barack Obama’s term and received widespread attention. They’ve been on display in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, but they’ll tour five cities in the United States starting next year.Via Kelly Bauer, Block Club Chicago<a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/01/23/barack-and-michelle-obamas-official-portraits-are-coming-to-art-institute-of-chicago/">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418726/ul0ycdhepkpxsludkpj7.png"></figure>&nbsp;Instagram residencies: the artists moving into museums' digital spare roomsArmed with an Instagram account, an artist can almost sidestep the real-life art world entirely: you can show your art on Instagram, sell it—even make it—all from the comfort of your armchair. Last month, the Musée d’Orsay (@museeorsay) in Paris announced its<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/musee-d-orsay-unveils-instagram-artist-in-residence"> first “Instagram artist-in-residence”,</a> reminding us of another vital part of an artist’s life that has entered the digital realm.By Aimee Dawson, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/blog/artists-take-over-and-move-in">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418727/h4l2faudvxce6gm0iqjk.jpg"></figure>Jeff Koons’s Ex-Wife and Muse Ilona Staller, aka Cicciolina, Is Returning to Politics to Take on Italy’s Populist InsurgentsThe former politician, adult-film star, and Jeff Koons’s ex-wife and muse, Ilona Staller, has promised to stand in the next elections in Italy. She will be campaigning against the country’s populist government and its plan to slash pensions.The 68-year-old retiree, who featured in several of Koons’s most explicit photographs, paintings, and sculptures for his “Made in Heaven” series, is better known to many as “La Cicciolina.” She gained the nickname, meaning “little fleshy one,” during her career as a porn star in the 1980s.By Naomi Rea, Artnet<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/jeff-koons-ilona-staller-politics-1778187?utm_content=from_&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=US%2010%3A05%20a.m.%20newsletter%20for%202%2F17%2F20&amp;utm_term=New%20US%20Newsletter%20List">Read More</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: February 18, 2020

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/n2m1fxzkq7a2qgkg1dos.png"><figcaption>Rendering of City Circle Heart courtesy of Arts of Life</figcaption></figure>Via PR<a href="https://www.artonthemart.com/">Art on theMART</a>, the largest permanent art projection in the world, returns April 1, 2020 to illuminate the river-façade of the historic landmark theMART (formerly Merchandise Mart). The program is expanding to project every night from April 1 through December 31 with content that rotates seasonally. The program features collaborations with the Art Institute of Chicago, whose projection transforms iconic masterpieces by Claude Monet in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition Monet and Chicago; Arts of Life, whose 20th anniversary celebration projection takes inspiration from works created by artists affected by developmental disabilities; and The Adler Planetarium, which celebrates its 90th anniversary and the 2020 Year of Chicago Music with a sweeping, four-part visual exploration of the universe, accompanied by music by Sun Ra from the Experimental Sound Studio archives.&nbsp;Arts of Life and the Art Institute of Chicago projections will launch April 1, and the Adler Planetarium projection will launch May 16 in alignment with the City of Chicago’s Chicago Riverwalk opening celebration. “We are delighted to kick off the 2020 program season with such strong content partners,” said Cynthia Noble, Executive Director of Art on theMART. “As we begin year three of theMART’s long-term partnership with the City of Chicago, we are already becoming an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city and an iconic public art platform that amplifies what is important to Chicagoans and the world.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/yhcsbubq4kghtksv1jln.png"><figcaption>Claude Monet, Stacks of Wheat (Sunset, Snow Effect), 1890 91. The Art Institute of Chicago, Potter Palmer Collection</figcaption></figure> Art on theMART’s spring 2020 program schedule is detailed below: Art Institute of Chicago (April 1 – September 20) Art on theMART projects iconic artworks by Claude Monet in collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago’s upcoming exhibition Monet and Chicago (May 10 – September 7), which explores Chicago’s pioneering connection to the great Impressionist artist. Six of Monet’s artworks will transform into a projection piece that engages directly with Chicago’s architectural landscape. “In 1903, the Art Institute of Chicago became the first American museum to purchase a painting by Claude Monet,” said Gloria Groom, Art Institute of Chicago’s Chair of European Painting and Sculpture and David and Mary Winton Green Curator. “Today, the museum holds the largest collection of works by the artist outside of Paris. Chicagoans have long been passionate about Monet, and we're proud to collaborate with Art on theMART to celebrate our city’s lasting connection to this great Impressionist artist.” Arts of Life (April 1 – May 12) City Circle Heart features five studio artists’ work in a custom animation designed to interact with the unique architecture of theMART. The projection takes inspiration from those impacted by Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) which often affects those with learning disabilities. While the effects of SPD can vary from person to person, the projection creates a calm and soothing display of visual work that will attract people of all abilities to appreciate the movement, colors and unique soundscape created for theMART’s river-façade. The projection features original artwork by Arts of Life artists Marcelo Añón, Veronica Cuculich, Stefan Harhaj, Hector Jones and Maria Vanik with motion graphics and sound production by Lisa Armstrong. “Art on theMART provides an ideal opportunity to highlight our commitment to supporting artistic expression, to providing professional development opportunities for artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities and to introducing our artists’ work to new audiences,” said Denise Fisher, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Arts of Life. “This featured presentation will build on the momentum of recent public art displays in the Chicago Cultural Center, the Wrigley Building and within theMART to create our largest public display to date - a perfect culminating project for our 20th Anniversary.” The Adler Planetarium (Opening May 16) Astrographics explores the ways in which humans conceptualize and visualize the universe, and how that has changed over time. The piece consists of four movements (Earth, Other Worlds, Stars and Beyond) that step out to progressively deeper and more speculative realms. Each of these movements feature scientific visualizations produced by The Adler Planetarium’s Space Visualization Group, woven together with imagery from the world’s telescopes and works on paper from the Adler’s collections. The visual journey is accompanied by music pieces from the Sun Ra archives, curated by the Experimental Sound Studio. The piece honors the progress that has occurred in the 90 years since The Adler Planetarium was founded on May 12, 1930, becoming the first planetarium in the Americas. Astrographics kicks off Art on theMART’s 2020 program alignment with the 2020 Year of Chicago Music, a city-wide celebration of Chicago’s music community spearheaded by the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), to present never-before-seen, multi-sensory projections honoring the future of music-making in Chicago on a grand scale. The launch of the projection on May 16 will align with the City of Chicago’s Chicago Riverwalk opening celebration. (The projection will preview May 13 – 15 in advance of the public event). Astrographics end date to be announced at a later date. “The collaboration between the Adler Planetarium and Art on the Mart has been quite a natural one,” said Mark SubbaRao, Ph.D., Director, Space Visualization Laboratory, Adler Planetarium. “The visualizations we create at the Adler are always a mix of science and art. This project gives us an opportunity to further emphasize the artistic elements of our work. We are fortunate to work on the unique dome theater screens at the Adler Planetarium. To have our one-of-a-kind space visualizations also be a part of the largest permanent digital art projection in the world is truly exciting.” Art on theMART’s 2020 projection programs are 30 minutes in duration and will play twice each evening (totaling one hour of projection time). Projections begin at 8:30pm from April 1 – May 31, at 9pm from June 1 – August 31, and at 8:30pm from September 1 – December 31. Accompanying audio is accessible through the permanent speaker system located on the Chicago Riverwalk Jetty.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artonthemart.com/">www.artonthemart.com</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

ART ON theMART Announces Spring 2020 Program

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/o028h4xaeq1bsszh1xzw.jpg"></figure>Via PRThe Art Institute of Chicago announced today the acquisition of an extraordinary memorial window, attributed to Agnes F. Northrop and made by Tiffany Studios in 1917. Originally commissioned for the Central Baptist Church (now known as Community Church of Providence) as the gift of Mary L. Hartwell in memory of her husband, Frederick W. Hartwell, the window is a pinnacle achievement in the medium of stained glass. Art Institute President and Eloise W. Martin Director James Rondeau shared: “It is with great pride we welcome this transformative work of art into the collection, an object that demonstrates the highest level of achievement in American glass production and exemplifies our ongoing commitment to excellence. Tiffany Studios became synonymous with radiant materials and technical brilliance, and this monumental work of stained glass by the firm is an unparalleled example of beauty, ingenuity, and universality. Prominently installed in our galleries, with the rich architectural history of Chicago as a stunning backdrop, this singular work will certainly inspire visitors and undoubtedly has the power to become one of the museum’s icons.” The design of the window is attributed to Agnes F. Northrop, the firm’s leading landscape window designer. At twenty-three feet high by sixteen feet wide, and made up of 48 different panels, the scene depicts a distant view of Mount Chocorua, one of the most beloved peaks of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Numerous landscape painters including Thomas Cole and John F. Kensett memorialized the mountain as a powerful symbol of the American landscape. In its scale, intricacy of design, and complexity of glasswork, it is one of the largest and most ambitious landscape window projects ever undertaken by Tiffany Studios. This majestic window had been housed in the sanctuary of the Community Church of Providence. Speaking on behalf of the church, Pastor Evan Howard noted: “Our congregation decided to find a new home for the window where it could be experienced by a broad public audience that includes scholars, artists, and visitors from around the world. The church approached a number of different museums and ultimately selected the Art Institute of Chicago as the ideal institution to care for and display the window.” Added Pastor Howard, “We are extremely pleased that this exceptional work of art has entered such a renowned collection.” Sarah Kelly Oehler, Field­–McCormick Chair and Curator of American Art stated: “Landscape windows are rare within the overall production of Tiffany Studios, and the opportunity to acquire such a superlative example of Tiffany glass is one that will likely never be repeated. The Art Institute has a strong commitment to collecting the work of women artists, and we are especially thrilled to showcase Agnes Northrop, whose vision truly shaped the aesthetic of Tiffany Studios. This acquisition positions the museum as a leading institution for visitors to experience the artistry and vitality of stained glass as it joins other works in the medium, especially the iconic America Windows by Marc Chagall. We are thrilled to be the stewards of this remarkable and deeply resonant work of art for future generations.” The window is currently undergoing conservation treatment at the Art Institute of Chicago. It will be installed this fall in the Henry Crown Gallery at the top of the Woman's Board Grand Staircase. Located near the Michigan Avenue entrance, it will welcome visitors as they begin their journey through the museum. Image: Design attributed to Agnes F. Northrop (American, 1857–1953); Tiffany Studios (American, 1902–32). Hartwell Memorial Window (Light in Heaven and Earth) , 1917. Corona, New York. Leaded glass; 701 x 487.7 cm (276 x 192 in.). Restricted gift of the Antiquarian Society, the Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Family Foundation, and Ann and Samuel M. Mencoff; through prior gift of the George F. Harding Collection; Roger and J. Peter McCormick Endowment Fund; American Art Sales Proceeds, Discretionary, and Purchase funds; Jane and Morris Weeden and Mary Swissler Oldberg funds; restricted gift of the Davee Foundation, Pam Conant, Stephanie Field Harris, the Komarek-Hyde-McQueen Foundation, and Jane Woldenberg; gifts in memory of John H. Bryan, Jr.; Wesley M. Dixon, Jr. Endowment Fund; through prior gift of the Friends of American Art Collection and Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson; restricted gift of Jamee J. and Marshall Field, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper, and an anonymous donor; Goodman Endowment Fund; restricted gift of Abbie Helene Roth in memory of Sandra Gladstone Roth, Henry and Gilda Buchbinder Family in memory of John H. Bryan, Jr., Suzanne Hammond and Richard Leftwich, Maureen Tokar in memory of Edward Tokar, Bonnie and Frank X. Henke III, Erica Meyer, Joseph P. Gromacki in memory of John H. Bryan, Jr., Louise Ingersoll Tausché, Christopher and Sara Pfaff, Charles L. and Patricia A. Swisher, Kim and Andy Stephens, and Dorothy J. Vance; B. F. Ferguson Fund; Jay W. McGreevy, Dr. Julian Archie, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Puth, and Kate S. Buckingham endowment funds, 2018.121&nbsp;</body></html>

Art Institute Acquires Tiffany Window to Install Atop Grand Staircase

<figure class="image"><img></figure>By CGN Staff via PRChicago has a national reputation as a center for artist-run spaces, and this spring the history of that reputation an an examination of the current landscape will be on view at the Hyde Park Art Center, which just announced it will celebrate the work of 50 artist-run spaces and organizations that fuel Chicago’s independent art scene in the upcoming exhibition Artists Run Chicago 2.0 this April.To mark the ten-year anniversary of the original Art Center exhibition, Artists Run Chicago (2009), this upcoming exhibition examines the core motivations, trajectories, and philosophies that have made the past decade more generative for new models of artist-run initiatives to exist throughout the city and suburbs. As they did in the 2009 exhibition, participating artists-run spaces have continued to transform storefronts, apartments, warehouses, garages, and nomadic existences into environments in which art can be experienced at its most experimental and critical stage. These spaces challenge conventional expectations of exhibition, discourse, and community, encouraging us to consider the nature of art-devoted spaces and their relationship to each other, as well as the neighborhoods they embrace and the artists they support.Free public programming accompanies this exhibition, including: opening afternoon performances, workshops, bike tours, and events throughout the city at the artist-run spaces held in conjunction with the exhibition. Visit the website in March for dates and full descriptions.Artist Run Chicago 2.0 is organized by Noah Hanna and Allison Peters Quinn with contributions from Max Guy and Andi Crist.&nbsp;&nbsp;PARTICIPATING SPACES062, 4th Ward Project Space, 65Grand, ACRE Projects, Adds Donna, AMFM, Annas, Apparatus Projects, Bad At Sports, Blanc Gallery, boundary, Chicago Art Department, Chuquimarca, Clutch, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Comfort Station, Compound Yellow, D Gallery, Devening Projects, Document, Experimental Sound Studio, F4F, The Franklin, Heaven Gallery, Iceberg Projects, Ignition Project Space, Julius Caesar, Lawrence and Clark, LVL3, Mujeres Mutantes, Night Light Studios &amp; Gallery, Ohklahomo, Nightingale, Practise, Prairie, Roman Susan, Roots &amp; Culture, Rootwork Gallery, The Silver Room, Slow, The Suburban, Sweet Water Foundation, table, Terrain Exhibitions, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Trunk Show, TRQPITECA, VGA Gallery, Wedge Projects, Western Pole**Participating spaces as of January 2020&nbsp;

50 Artist-run Spaces To Be Part of HPAC Spring Exhibition

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/uemyc7thws5srgbep77c.png"></figure>‘The Scream’ Is Fading.“The Scream” is fading. And tiny samples of paint from the 1910 version of Edvard Munch’s famous image of angst have been under the X-ray, the laser beam and even a high-powered electron microscope, as scientists have used cutting-edge technology to try to figure out why portions of the canvas that were a brilliant orangeish-yellow are now an ivory white.By Sophie Haigney, New York Times<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/arts/design/the-scream-edvard-munch-science.html">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/sta6vtzq2euqmovxgqv0.jpg"></figure>Critic Shatters Artwork at Zona Maco Art Fair in Mexico CityDon’t call it a smashing success. On Saturday at the Zona Maco art fair in Mexico City, art critic Avelina Lésper shattered a glass portion of a sculpture by Gabriel Rico. Some of the details surrounding the work’s breaking are unclear, though the damage has been done: photographs of the sculpture after Lésper visited the booth show shards all over the booth’s floor.A representative for OMR, the Mexico City gallery that brought the work to the fair, told ARTnews that the shattering occurred after Lésper attempted to place a Coca-Cola can on Rico’s piece.By Alex Greenberger, ARTnews<a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/gabriel-rico-artwork-shattered-zona-maco-1202677398/">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/ev9jiuyrnw1uz2yfravn.png"></figure>Ai Weiwei Is Selling a DIY Artwork That You Can Buy Right off the Shelf&nbsp;The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei and a German home improvement store have collaborated on a work of art aimed at the mass market. Ai and the Hornbach DIY chain have launched a self-assembly soft sculpture, which comes with an instruction manual and authentication certificate.By Kate Brown, Artnet<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ai-weiwei-hornbach-1774629">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418726/tr86x0qfn1kedsciuibq.jpg"></figure>A Small Pennsylvania Museum Just Discovered It Has Owned a Rembrandt for 70 Years Without Knowing ItFor five decades, a museum in eastern Pennsylvania believed it owned a painting that was made in the studio of Rembrandt van Rijn. After sending it out for routine maintenance, they learned that the 388-year-old work was in fact made by the Dutch Golden Age artist himself.&nbsp;By Taylor Dafoe, Artnet<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/pennsylvania-museum-rembrandt-discovery-1773954">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418727/vns4llanmrermdozif65.png"></figure>Artist-Run Galleries Defy the Mega-Dealer Trend in Los AngelesSmall, resourceful artist-dealers are flourishing even as big galleries dominate. But along with its scrappy appeal, the model comes with some challenges.By Jori Finkel, New York Times<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/arts/design/artist-run-spaces-los-angeles.html">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: February 11, 2020

<html><head></head><body>By CGN StaffFrom Thursday, February 6 &nbsp;through Saturday, February 8 a number of spaces in and around the city limits are opening new exhibitions. You are invited in to see what's new. &nbsp;Our overview of highlights from this coming weekend is below, and our full calendar may be <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=openings">viewed&nbsp;here</a>.See you in the galleries!&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418724/arpux97arbsikr5qd4cq.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/outsider-art-the-collection-of-victor-f-keen">Outsider Art: The Collection of Victor F. Keen</a>Opening Thursday, February 6Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider ArtWith more than 50 artworks&nbsp;from artists including Martín Ramírez, George Widener, Lee Godie, James Castle and more, this exhibition spans both gallery spaces at Intuit and showcases the genre’s masters.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/lmvjn0efr8ubofrqwgke.png"><figcaption>“Humans and tobacco exist in a very strange relationship . . . I have always thought that it is like the relationship between lovers. It is very awkward, but also very much a relationship of dependence.”—Xu Bing. 1st Class, brand cigarettes, adhesive, and carpet, 480" x 180", 2011.</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-allure-of-matter-material-art-from-china">The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China</a>Opening Saturday, February 8Smart Museum of Art and Wrightwood 659Organized by the <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-allure-of-matter-material-art-from-china-8e6fcaa9-0674-47f4-a12b-b054d010051c">Smart Museum of Art</a> in Hyde Park along with <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/the-allure-of-matter-material-art-from-china">Wrightwood 659</a> in Lincoln Park, The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China (February 7–May 3, 2020) features 45 two- and three-dimensional works made from a range of unique and humble materials, like melted plastic, paper-thin porcelain, desiccated Coca-Cola ash, and 300,000 iron nails. The works, many monumental in scale, explore how conscious material choice has become a symbol of expression for a number of leading Chinese contemporary artists working over the last four decades.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418725/gcwx5y9co1tbhtaicxgx.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/sean-hannaway-now-with-more-extra">Sean Hannaway: Now with More Extra!</a>Opening Friday, February 7Line Dot EditionsSean Hannaway is a Chicago born-and-based painter known for his punchy, densely layered style that blends high Renaissance subjects and graffiti aesthetics. The push and pull between his techniques, colors, and influences creates a dynamic tension in his work. A cheeky sense of humor pervades his practice, challenging both the seriousness of his classical sources and the frenetic intensity of his own work. Hannaway daylights as a&nbsp;Creative Director at Leo Burnett and has been featured in three previous shows at Line Dot, all of which sold out.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418726/oms9duztfcwtmsqpxaci.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/melissa-ann-pinney-judith-raphael-girls-world">Melissa Ann Pinney &amp; Judith Raphael: Girls' World</a>Opening Friday, February 7Hofheimer GalleryNew photographs from this Chicago-based chronicler of adolescence.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418727/d4nfyjuhj0abft4ie20p.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/jacob-king-ca-h-only">Jacob King: Ca$h Only</a>Opening Friday, February 7AdventureLand Works on PaperCA$H ONLY features several works by King that explore the microenvironment of a rare Chicago institution, the “Slashie” (half bar/half liquor store). Rite Liquors is a community hub sitting in East Ukrainian Village. This Slashie institution remains a constant amongst the rapidly changing neighborhood King also grew up in. The works presented depict four years of this Chicago community while emphasizing conversations of culture and informational exchanges.... All accompanied by a shot and a beer.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418728/cezpmhfsfrhy65o9gkcm.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/stand-alone-juried-exhibition">"Stand Alone" Juried Exhibition</a>Opening Friday, February 7Compassion FactoryA juried exhibition celebrating the strength and power of the single image.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Weekend Art Highlights: February 6–8

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418362/m6j7aspl636k1uzvkhnz.jpg"><figcaption>Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled (1996-97), detail). Courtesy of Swann Galleries.</figcaption></figure>Sale of &nbsp;Johnson Publishing Company’s Art Collection Shatters ExpectationsA collection of artwork that once adorned the offices of the legendary Johnson Publishing Company shattered records left and right at Swann Galleries. The sale marked a concluding chapter in the turbulent history of a much-admired institution that changed the landscape of American magazines with the publication of&nbsp;Ebony and&nbsp;Jet&nbsp;before declaring bankruptcy last year.Still, the power of the Johnson name—as well as a growing interest in African American artists who have often been pushed to the art-historical and art-market margins—combined to create what was, in the words of the auction house’s director of African American fine art Nigel Freeman, “a perfect storm of an auction.”&nbsp;By Caroline Goldstein, Art News<a href="https://news.artnet.com/market/johnson-publishing-white-glove-auction-1766616">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418363/qeib6czexu62isikinfa.png"></figure> Tate Britain's £40k 'head of coffee' role sparks row over low curator pay<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/tatebritain">Tate Britain</a> has defended an advert for a head of coffee with a salary of nearly £40,000 – more than the average wage of a London-based curator – after critics said the role highlights how low museum professionals’ wages are.Via The Guardian<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/jan/29/tate-britains-40k-head-of-coffee-role-sparks-row-over-low-curator-pay">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418364/xlmuraq7iayuv2bhiqbz.png"></figure>&nbsp;The World’s Largest Digital Art Center Is Opening Inside a WWII Submarine Base in FranceScheduled to open on April 17, 2020,&nbsp;Les Bassins de Lumières, a concrete bunker that was built in 1943 by Bordeaux’s occupying Germans, is being transformed into a permanent exhibition space featuring digital art installations on the venue’s walls and reflected in the water of its enormous basins.&nbsp;By Sarah Buder, Afar<a href="https://www.afar.com/magazine/a-wwii-submarine-base-in-france-is-being-converted-into-the-worlds-largest-digital?utm_campaign=tw_fb&amp;utm_content=1580669521&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;fbclid=IwAR2iXW8VGBG8BQmlvuKk_oHqQeZw8wS4WtWWZEwl60RSfQzxtO2sOnGoyRA">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418365/j46siehy7pgyyfyavhet.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;The cost of Venice's worst floods since 1966The worst floods to hit Venice in 50 years have caused €360m worth of damage to public property, say representatives of the mayor Luigi Brugnaro. The estimate is based on an initial survey of repairs needed for jetties, paved areas, street lighting and buildings owned or managed by the municipality, including the civic museums. The Italian government declared a state of emergency for the city on 15 November, three days after the high tide reached 187cm above mean sea level, approving €20m in urgent recovery funds that will barely dent this bill.By Veronica Rodenigo, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/venice-counts-the-cost-of-worst-floods-since-1966">Read More</a>&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: February 3, 2020

<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn.filepicker.io/api/file/y87qOKgQuCbCiNZAsiAw?" alt=""></figure>&nbsp;Via PRThe New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) announced the dates for the second NADA Chicago, taking place September 24–27, 2020 at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel. This is the same weekend the 9th edition of <a href="https://www.expochicago.com/">EXPO CHICAGO</a> will take place not far away on Navy Pier.The contemporary art fair will take place throughout three floors of the iconic Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, with a selection of galleries in the hotel’s historic Stagg Court and Tank Room spaces, a takeover of 13 hotel rooms on the fourth floor, and a dedicated space for talks and performances in the Drawing Room on the second floor. The landmark hotel is located across from Chicago cultural landmarks Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago.NADA Chicago further exemplifies NADA’s expanded commitment to year-round programming and producing alternatives for galleries to exhibit artwork in new settings. This March, NADA will host the second edition of the New York Gallery Open, a new initiative designed to bring visitors and collectors to art spaces across New York City for public tours, talks, and performances. NADA House, the organization’s collaborative exhibition on Governors Island, will be on view from May through August 2020.About​ NADAFounded in 2002, <a href="newartdealers.org ">New Art Dealers Alliance</a> (NADA) is a not-for-profit 501c(6) collective of professionals working with contemporary art. Its mission is to create an open flow of information, support, and collaboration within the arts field and to develop a stronger sense of community among its constituency. Through support and encouragement, NADA facilitates strong and meaningful relationships between its members working with new contemporary and emerging art. In addition NADA hosts annual art events in Miami, New York, and Chicago, including NADA Miami, the New York Gallery Open, NADA House, and the NADA Chicago.&nbsp;

NADA Chicago Will Return for 2nd Year in September 2020

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418641/wmh0nv2rwzhpieueync3.gif"><figcaption>Judy Bowman</figcaption></figure>ART Is... is an ongoing series for CGN by former intern Riley Yaxley, who seeks to write about underrepresented perspectives and voices in the arts community. This is the fourth installment in the series.&nbsp;By RILEY YAXLEYThe sculpture rests on the battered remains of an ornate, wooden chair, mounted atop a white swan with two legs dangling on either side. On each shoulder of the body fashioned out of found objects, ceramic and plaster birds are perched or in mid-flight, suggesting a figure in angelic repose or alluding to an innate freedom within the subject.Vanessa German’s A Love Poem to Nia Wilson #2 is one of the standout pieces from This Stillness, an exhibition at <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/intuit-the-center-for-intuitive-and-outsider-art">Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art</a> curated by Jamillah Hinson. I cannot help but find myself transfixed by the meticulous accumulation of materials bound together to form the regal, delicate figure of the sculpture. The work is on loan from the <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/carl-hammer-gallery">Carl Hammer Gallery</a>, where I would later encounter it again during a private event for Intuit. A Love Poem to Nia Wilson #2 feels at home in both the white cube of Intuit’s galleries and when positioned as a centerpiece in the warm study-like atmosphere of Hammer Gallery.The title of the sculpture refers to Nia Wilson, a black teenager who was stabbed to death by a white man while waiting on a Bay Area Rapid Transit station platform in Oakland, California in 2018. Nia’s death prompted nearly 1,000 people to hold a vigil for an attack that many in the community considered a hate crime. Vanessa German created a number of these “power figures” to represent the secret lives of black girls in America and to show how they save their power and pain to triumph in hostile environments.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418642/m4slatun7g6pptgnbknk.gif"><figcaption>Vanessa German, A Love Poem to Nia Wilson #2</figcaption></figure>For This Stillness, Jamillah placed the work of Vanessa German in conversation with the work of Detroit-based artist Judy Bowman and painter Tracy Crump, who was represented by famed Chicago gallerist Ann Nathan and now exhibits at Pagoda Red. Jamillah curated This Stillness to explore the complexities of Black girlhood and womanhood and the quiet reflections of self that arise from these circumstances.I first met Jamillah while I was interning at Intuit in 2018. She was the Financial Manager and Assistant to the Executive Director at Intuit but would later leave to work as an office assistant in the Textiles Department at the Art Institute of Chicago. Deb Kerr, the Executive Director at Intuit, remarked to me after Jamillah’s departure that she wished Jamillah would pursue curating rather than working in another administrative position. Deb’s words were not an empty aside. Alison Amick, the Chief Curator at Intuit, approached Jamillah this year to write a proposal for the exhibitionJamillah and I now serve together on Intuit’s Young Professionals Board, an auxiliary leadership group at the museum designed to support Intuit’s mission to celebrate the power of and explore Outsider art as well as spread awareness about the genre. We reconnected at the Young Professionals’ inaugural meeting.*<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418643/tktubr6lqfy3lbx8miiq.gif"><figcaption>Jamillah Hinson</figcaption></figure>I climbed the steep, carpeted stairs to the second floor of Intuit’s unique space. Long folding tables had been set up with neatly laid out materials and bowls of M&amp;M’s. I immediately see Jamillah. She has one of the kindest faces I know, with a broad smile, and dainty glasses that give her an air of quiet, focused intellectualism. During the meeting, she leans forward when she has something to contribute to the discussion and she often laughs after making a precise observation about why something would or wouldn’t work well for the event. A week after the meeting, I sent an email asking Jamillah to interview for CGN, knowing that This Stillness would be opening in a few weeks. She enthusiastically agreed, signing her email with “Bright moments, Jamillah.”We meet at the Goddess and The Baker during my lunch break. I ask Jamillah to give me a brief elevator pitch of This Stillness to begin, and as she describes the aim of the exhibition to survey Black womanhood, girlhood, and adolescence, as well as contemporary assemblage and collage. Both assemblage and collage have a rich history in both Folk art and Black art tradition. She stops herself briefly, self-consciously confessing how “arty” (read: pretentious) she is being.“Oh please, I am constantly at risk of being pretentious.” I say to her.Jamillah’s simultaneous ability to code switch between the vernacular of art theory and everyday conversation is one of the many reasons I admire her work. This skill allows her to curate with an inclusive eye, focusing on collaboration with artists and curators to best present the work so that it is accessible to its audience.Jamillah started curating in Omaha, after graduating from Creighton University with her Bachelors in Art History, Criticism and Conservation, because she recalls she had friends who were making incredible work and she offered, she says, to try and put something together for them, which explains why she describes her curatorial method as very grassroots and cautions herself against becoming too 'professionalized.'Describing her maximalist approach to filling the gallery space, Jamillah explains, “I wanted people to come into the space and feel softly suffocated. I love a salon wall.” This Stillness deviates from Intuit’s usual minimalist curatorial approach, allowing Jamillah to create an overwhelming sensation for visitors as they encounter the abundance of Judy Bowman’s, Tracy Crump’s, and Vanessa German’s work.Jamillah hoped that this experience would elicit a feeling similar to that of growing up Black in America. The array of media—including sculpture, assemblage, and hand drawing—gives visitors the opportunity to admire the works, the broader statements, and themes upon which the pieces are built, or immerse themselves in the nuances and identities that are drawn out and put on display.My interest is immediately piqued when Jamillah points out, “With Judy Bowman I was pushing to see what Intuit considers self-taught art.”I was first introduced to self-taught and intuitive art when I interned for Intuit in 2018, so I am admittedly not an expert on the genre. However, I have always been intrigued with self-taught and intuitive art, especially as technology rapidly alters our social landscapes. Communities and individuals that previously would have been considered “outsiders” can now be connected through digital networks.“I want to be as transparent as possible because that’s how I am,” Jamillah warns me, and I nod affirmatively. As I ask about the process of curating This Stillness, Jamillah alludes to envelope-pushing conversations with Intuit’s board that drew out, but ultimately deepened, the process of bringing the exhibition from proposal to execution.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418644/jhaiel3t6kvusjxl7xtu.gif"><figcaption>Tracy Crump</figcaption></figure>Like most museums, Intuit’s board has an Exhibitions Committee that governs the museum’s exhibitions. Board member perspectives on the genre may be informed by their personal collections and knowledge of art history, which supplements, but not does not replace, the professional expertise of curatorial staff. Feedback from board members to Jamillah’s initial proposal, which included the work of Chicago-based Brittney Leeanne Williams, indicated they were concerned that the aesthetic of Williams’s work was not “Outsider” enough, despite being primarily self-taught after dropping out of the School of the Art Institute a year into her studies. Williams was recently included in Show Me Yours, an exhibition featuring the work of emerging artists at Chicago’s renowned Monique Meloche Gallery.A previous exhibition at Intuit featured the work of Stephen Warde Anderson, who attended the University of Chicago for a year before dropping out to serve in the United States Navy for four years.Intuit, as a leader in the genres of Outsider, Intuitive, and self-taught art, is faced with the challenge of remaining flexible even as these genres shift and are redefined.Jamillah states, “A lot of the planning for this show was trying to help the board understand what they wanted from [my] show. I decided to give them what I think they need.”Despite these ambitious aims in challenging the institution, Jamillah’s biggest concern when planning an exhibition was the artist’s experience. She wanted, she says, for them to be happy at the end of the day, even if they never came to see the show. Judy Bowman did visit from her hometown of Detroit and loved the exhibition, demonstrating Jamillah’s careful attention and stewardship of the artists.Intuit’s Exhibitions Committee initially argued that Bowman’s inclusion in the exhibition may not be a fit with Intuit's program, since she had some formal training, earning a degree in education from Atlanta’s Spelman College and took a few art classes at the time. However, she would not create work for another 35 years following her time in school, when she retired and began crafting multimedia portraits and scenes depicting Black American life in Detroit’s Black Bottom and the South. The Black Bottom neighborhood was demolished in the early 1960’s during the City’s Urban Renewal program to combat “Urban Blight," and the predominantly black neighborhood, as well as Paradise Valley, was replaced by the Chrysler Freeway and Lafayette Park, a mixed-income development designed by Mies van der Rohe as a model neighborhood combining residential townhouses, apartments and high-rises with commercial areas. Many of the residents of these neighborhoods were displaced and moved into public housing.Bowman’s work reimagines an earlier generation heavily inspired by the tradition of collage, assemblage and material work in Black American history. These works offer a “non-traditional” documentation of Black life placed in conversation with the works of Vanessa German and Tracy Crump. Their works are, as Jamillah says, a response to the now, something she thinks should be included more often in Intuit’s programming.As the criteria for Outsider, Intuitive, and self-taught art inevitably shift, museums that exhibit the work of self-taught or intuitive artists will have to remain nimble and capable of change as well. This Stillness represented a new endeavor for Intuit or, as Jamillah suggests, “It may not look like what Intuit has done in the past, but to me it looks like what Intuit can be doing in the future."&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

ART IS… Jamillah Hinson: Outside the Boundaries of Self-Taught Art

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417984/fvpnlxsboqjaibskmiz3.png"><figcaption>Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona, is photographed in 2018. AP</figcaption></figure><h3>Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright' Famed Architecture School to Close</h3>The architecture school that architect Frank Lloyd Wright started nearly 90 years ago is closing, officials announced Tuesday.The School of Architecture at Taliesin, which encompasses Wright properties in Wisconsin and Arizona, will shutter in June. The school’s governing board said in a statement the “gut-wrenching decision” was made after no agreement could be made with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to keep operating the school. Specific details about the negotiations between the school and foundation were not disclosed.By AP via Sun Times<a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/1/28/21112687/frank-lloyd-wright-architecture-school-to-close-taliesin-arizona">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417985/pcgh5b0mghfpgm6tlnqc.jpg"><figcaption>© Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke</figcaption></figure><h3>Coronavirus crisis: Hong Kong follows China in shutting museums</h3>Hong Kong is indefinitely closing its public museums and leisure facilities in a bid to contain the novel corona virus, or 2019-nCoV, which developed in Wuhan, Hubei Province in late December. Wearing a face mask, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam also announced yesterday that the special administrative region will be curtailing travel to mainland China, suspending train and ferry services, and limiting flights. Individual travelers will also no longer be able to receive permits to visit Hong Kong from the mainland.By Lisa Movius, The Art Newspaper<a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/coronavirus">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417985/qzvijmzfkwon8ilhxeti.png"><figcaption>This is one of a pair of twin 1880s buildings that are part of Pullman Artspace lofts, on opposite ends of the new building. Each has six apartments.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure><h3>Artists are moving into Pullman’s first new homes in decades</h3>The first eight renters have moved in at Pullman Artspace Lofts, a trio of buildings that contain the first new housing built in the onetime factory town in several decades. Another nine will move in Feb. 1.By Dennis Rodkin, Crain's<a href="https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/artists-are-moving-pullmans-first-new-homes-decades?utm_source=today-s-crain-s&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=20200127&amp;utm_content=article13-readmore">Read More</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721417986/om4eieccu0xntwvnhpx8.jpg"><figcaption>Naftali Fürst (2019). © Martin Schoeller.</figcaption></figure><h3>On the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, 75 Moving Portraits of Holocaust Survivors Are Going on View in Germany</h3>When two Russian soldiers arrived to the Auschwitz concentration camp on January 27, 1945, the guards were gone but 7,000 survivors remained, including many children. Now, one of those children, Marta Wise, is among 75 subjects in a poignant new photography exhibition that captures the portraits of Holocaust survivors.The show, “Survivors – Faces of Life after the Holocaust,” in Essen, Germany, includes 75 recent photographs by the German-born artist Martin Schoeller.By Kate Brown, Artnet<a href="https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/75th-anniversary-auschwitz-exhibition-1762671">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: January 28, 2020

<html><head></head><body>By CGN StaffThis coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday features a number of opening receptions taking place in galleries around Chicago and the greater Midwest!An overview of highlights from this coming weekend can be viewed below, and our full calendar may be <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=openings">viewed&nbsp;here</a>.See you in the galleries!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418329/mmvvvmmcavhgf0qkx0nk.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/five-works-cathy-hsiao">Five Works: Cathy Hsiao</a>Opening Thursday, January 30 - PilsenMana ContemporaryCathy Hsiao is the next artist in Five Works, a bimonthly project series that features five new and/or recent works by emerging Chicago artists.Born in New York and raised by a Falun Dafa Buddhist mother, Cathy Hsiao grew up between the US and Taiwan. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and is the recipient of a New Artist Society Merit Fellowship.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418330/kcceqx0yj31cgfyzylsn.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/hive">Hive</a>Opening Thursday, January 30 - U of I, Urbana-ChampaignKrannert Art Museum, University of IllinoisHive&nbsp;is a site-specific sculpture and sound commission by Nancy Davidson and Lakshmi Ramgopal, two artists with distinctive practices collaborating for the first time at Krannert Art Museum.On view for a full year, Hive is housed within and responds to the architecture of KAM’s 1988 Kinkead Pavilion, a postmodern addition to the museum designed by architect Larry Booth.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418331/iql8uj4cxcgxkpxqwvzs.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/ceramic-impressions-etc">Ceramic Impressions, etc.</a>Opening Friday, January 31 - EvanstonSpace 900A one-weekend pop-up exhibition featuring an exciting and mutually empowering collaboration between ceramic artist Mariko Ventura and printmaking artist, Bert Menco.&nbsp;The collaborative effort consists of impressions made into clay by Mariko from wood blocks carved by Bert.&nbsp;&nbsp;In addition the exhibition will include Bert’s paper impressions of the same blocks along with personal ceramic work by Mariko.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418332/u6etacluwges03ce78ao.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/candida-alvarez-air-paintings">Candida Alvarez: Estoy Bien</a>Opening Saturday, February 1 – West TownmoniquemelocheThis is Alvarez’s first exhibition with Monique Meloche and her first solo gallery exhibition in Chicago.The work of Candida Alvarez is imbued with both personal and formal aspects which evolve through her relationship to color, light, and architectural elements.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418333/c1pk7gm6jbr00jd05qw8.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/winter-group-show-featuring-leon-keer-julieta-xlf-li-hill-james-knight-fourhundredml">Winter Group Show featuring Leon Keer, Julieta XLF, Li-Hill, James Knight (FourhundredML)</a>Opening Saturday, February 1 – Ukrainian VillageVertical GalleryAfter a January break, Vertical Gallery presents a special five-artist exhibition for their first exhibition of 2020. The Winter Group Show will feature Leon Keer, Martin Whatson, Julieta XLF, Li-Hill, and James Knight (Fourhundred ML). This five-artist exhibition allows each artist to create a full collection of work to show a range styles.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418334/q0f28t4v0i8hqznvsmsf.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/steve-geer-river-ice">Steve Geer: River Ice</a>Opening Saturday, February 1 - EvanstonPerspective Group + Photography Gallery"Deep in the winter, after the water has lost its summer heat, the surface of the river in Chicago freezes. Sunlight and city lights are reflected from the ice and, when it’s newly washed and wet, the frozen water also reflects the cityscape. It’s magical." ~ Steve Geer&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Weekend Art Highlights: January 30 - February 1

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418306/osj8phnrwwtfyk3avu3o.gif"><figcaption>William Conger, Chicago Trails, 43' x 68', 2019</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;By GINNY VAN ALYEAEncountering a work of art can, in large part, be about the initial encounter and the first impression it leaves on the viewer. Do you like it, or does it make you uncomfortable? Is it two dimensional or 3D? Large or small? Dark or light? Do you think it's beautiful? Is there a deeper message to interpret? The vast majority of art that you come across tends to be constructed on a relatable scale – a 2' x 4' painting on a gallery wall, or a near life-size sculpture in a park. When art is big – especially when it's really big – the terms of the first impression change. You have to take the art in piece by piece, before you see the big picture.&nbsp;Last summer a collaboration, formed between artist William Conger and real estate developer Robert Koerner, resulted in a large-scale, months-long undertaking to create a work of art that will exist for decades and is sure to be enjoyed by many. I spoke with Conger and Koerner, as well as supporting artist Jeff Zimmerman, to find out how the project came to be and what it was like to bring an idea to life at 43 x 68 feet.&nbsp;The mural, titled Chicago Trails, is the largest work Conger has ever created, and it is located in Lakeview near Clark and Belmont.&nbsp;An edited transcript of our conversation is below.&nbsp;First we spoke with developer Robert Koerner, who selected Conger’s work for the project. Then we followed up with Conger himself. Finally we asked artist Jeff Zimmerman about his process for working so accurately on such a scale, something for which he is highly regarded and well known.Note: CGN was asked in spring of 2019 to provide a list of mural artists for this project, and William Conger was part of that list. This interview is a follow up to share more about the project from start to finish.&nbsp;Robert Koerner, Real Estate Developer&nbsp;CGN: Please share a little about your real estate background.Robert Koerner: I head the Midwest office of Standard Companies, a private investment company that was founded to create, preserve, and improve affordable, workforce, and market rate housing nationwide. Standard is one of the 50 largest affordable housing owners in the country (per Affordable Housing Finance, April 2019) and has acquired a portfolio of over 12,425 apartment units – of which more than 8,600 are affordable. Standard has completed more than $2 billion of multifamily investment, including 11 properties that we own in Illinois.CGN: Have you always been interested in art?&nbsp;RK: I was an Art History major at Brown University, and I have always tried to apply that background in my real estate career, usually focusing on the architectural elements of development. It was particularly gratifying to commission a painting for this project.CGN: What inspired you to make art such a key part of this project in Lakeview?RK: The first unit I saw in the building was a small studio on the lowest floor that faced a blank wall.&nbsp;Every time I walked into that unit (which was understandably vacant!) I tried to think of different ways to make it nicer.&nbsp;Painting a mural outside was a natural solution to turn that blank wall into a positive.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418307/gmqmd59ckwqedhtub9se.gif"><figcaption>A view from a property unit looking towards the mural</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: What made you choose William Conger to do the mural?RK: After deciding to proceed with the mural, we had a hard time figuring out how to select an artist. We quickly decided that we wanted a local artist, and eventually concluded that an abstract image would fit the program best. William Conger has a long history in Chicago, which appealed to me, but the formal qualities of his work made the strongest impression.&nbsp;I particularly appreciated the illusion of depth and motion in his painting and felt that would be the perfect antidote to the flat, static wall that was blocking our building’s views. I also was curious to how his work could be transformed onto such a large scale (the finished mural is 43 feet by 68 feet!)CGN: What do you hope residents appreciate about&nbsp;living with this mural?&nbsp;RK: I hope the residents appreciate the thoughtfulness and attention to detail that went into the design.&nbsp;William [Conger] was very deliberate in laying out the mural to fit our building, including a fairly detailed analysis of how each window would face the completed image.&nbsp;Since each unit window reveals only a portion of the mural, William took great pains to ensure that there were “paintings within the painting” that made compositional sense. He also drew inspiration from the building’s location - the work’s title, Chicago Trails, alludes to Chicago’s diagonal streets (such as Clark Street, where our building is located), which echo the original Native American trails.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418308/x1xbwc4vtvubbylso4s9.gif"></figure>&nbsp;CGN: What were the challenges as well as some exciting elements of making an effort like this happen?RK: One of the fun things about this project was that we hired a second artist, Jeff Zimmerman, to copy and enlarge the painting onto the wall.&nbsp;Jeff painted a mural by Kerry James Marshall onto the outside of the Cultural Center in 2016, and he has done many other murals in the city. William and I were both initially unsure how the finished mural would look, but after several weeks in Jeff’s studio and on scaffolding, Jeff produced a perfect replica of the original oil painting (the painting itself will be displayed prominently in our third floor lobby).I was also concerned we wouldn’t get permission from the neighboring building to paint the mural on their wall, but as it turns out the owners (Craig Knapp and Bill Cline from Meta Properties) are great guys. We have become friends as a result of the mural.&nbsp;William Conger, Commissioned Artist&nbsp;CGN: How did you first approach this project?William Conger: I began the project by consulting with Robert [Koerner], who commissioned it, visiting the site, getting photos, and obtaining architects’ plans for the building with the mural wall as well as for the building of apartments facing it.Then I had to consider the first, and most difficult, challenge of creating a very large work that would be viewed in parts from nearby apartment windows instead of the usual long view for murals. Almost no one would see the completed mural as a whole at one time, and they would need to mentally assemble it from partial views, due to its proximity to the windows facing it.I then began by making sketches and small gouache studies as I centered on the concept of Chicago’s vibrant history, which I’ve long studied.A second challenge was to keep the mural scale in mind as I developed the concept and composition. I made little paper figures, which I attached to my studies, to keep me mindful of the ultimate size of the mural.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418309/raozu6rb6xwxuaoedy7r.gif"><figcaption>An initial ink sketch of mural</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: What was the inspiration for this work?WC: I wanted to celebrate Chicago’s vibrant history and urbanity. The mural site is on North Clark Street, which traces the old Green Bay Trail, one of the many ancient trails that led to and from the hinterland to the Chicago River and Lakefront. Those trails became busy routes as Chicago’s population and commerce grew so very rapidly. They outlined, cut through, and shaped the many different Chicago neighborhoods where people from every part of the globe come to seek their dreams.As with all my work, the mural, titled Chicago Trails, connects formal abstraction to the world of things and feelings by allusion. Just as abstract shapes always retain some ambiguous reference to other things, so do those things allude to abstract form and to art. As Chicago Trails alludes to the multi-faceted and interconnected energy of urban life, it also invites viewers to perceive their own energy, memories, and feelings as if they were abstract form and color.&nbsp;&nbsp;The lines and bright colors of the mural both connect and divide the overall composition, enabling partial views that nevertheless lead to adjacent areas, forming new centers of interest. While working on the final sketch I imagined it embodying a spirit of free-flowing, figural animation suggesting a shamanistic dance, and maybe jazz, thus celebrating the different cultures intermingle in Chicago, embraced by the city’s architectural rationality.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418310/qpclo3rkvek2a9jkj8s7.jpg"><figcaption>Final sketch, about 7 x 11 inches. Gouache on rag paper, 2019</figcaption></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418311/mo3aajibpmy7dzpzhdet.gif"><figcaption>Scale painting in progress, 43 x 68 inches.&nbsp; Final gouache study on wall, cut-out figures at bottom of painting for size of mural.</figcaption></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418312/fcjqk0nngxjyujrszgfl.gif"><figcaption>Scale painting, 43 x 68 inches, oil on linen, 2019</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;CGN: Tell us about the actual execution of the piece and what it took to get it up on such a large surface.WC: After completing sketches, I made a scale oil painting, 43 x 68 inches, as a model for the mural. Artist Jeff Zimmerman then made large outline drawings of that model, which he traced onto the prepared wall. He mixed quantities of a special outdoor acrylic paint perfectly matching the colors of my model painting.&nbsp; Then he had a scaffold placed and began to paint by hand, replicating my composition. It took Jeff about 6 weeks to complete the mural and then he coated it with a varnish. During his weeks of painting I visited the site and watched the progress and enjoyed talking with Jeff about his process. Since the mural wall is more than 90 feet high, I was glad not to be needed on the scaffold! Yet I could observe Jeff at work through various windows, amazed by his ability to perfectly paint a modulated shape as large as a truck from inches away.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418313/akm9fjb5ejb1wupbkser.jpg"></figure> CGN: What was it like to collaborate with another artist to bring your art to life?WC: It was great working with Jeff! His confidence and skill erased my trepidations about how the enormous size and physical challenges of the mural.&nbsp; He enlarged an image of the mural painting onto large sheets of paper attached to his studio wall. Then he traced the outlines and punctured them with tiny holes. On the mural wall he “pounced” the holes, transferring dotted outlines to it. This laborious transfer process is identical to the method employed by Renaissance mural masters.CGN: What are you working on now?WC: I’m opening a show of new paintings for a solo show on January 24, 2020 at <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/zolla-lieberman-gallery">Zolla/Lieberman Gallery</a>. These are smaller paintings, and somewhat experimental.&nbsp;I also have a plan to begin working on a large fresh canvas, about 7 x 8 feet, that’s been staring at me in my studio for a year! It was fun to do the Chicago Trails mural, and I’m interested in developing its concept in another big painting.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418314/hszjc8mwvhxuiutcxlum.gif"></figure>&nbsp;Jeff Zimmerman, Mural Artist&nbsp;CGN: Please share details about your process for taking a smaller scale work of art and translating it onto a large surface.Jeff Zimmerman: I enlarge anyone’s work, including my own, by “pouncing.” I draw the artwork to scale on paper and use a pounce wheel to transfer the full size drawing onto the wall, where it becomes one big piece of artwork to be painted. It’s the same process Michelangelo used for the ceiling of the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/smithsonian-channel/museum-secrets-revealed-pouncing-on-the-sis/">Sistine Chapel</a>. I also use a special brand of acrylic that’s True Tone. It has enough pigment to last outdoors for a long time. From experience I’ve learned what colors will fade, so I avoid them.CGN: What was it like to collaborate with William Conger?JZ: I’ve collaborated with many other artists, including some other very established and internationally known ones. William was really easy to talk to, which made it easy for him to guide me verbally to achieve his needs. I think it was one of my best collaborations ever.CGN: What else have you been working on?&nbsp;JZ: I’ve got a new body of my own work in my studio, and I created a piece of street art for Hermosa [near Humboldt Park] recently. I’m also prepping for upcoming projects in Lucerne, Switzerland and in Mexico.This past fall I put Andy Warhol’s Orange Marilyn onto the side of 633 N. Michigan Avenue for the Art Institute of Chicago's exhibition (on view through January 26, 2020)&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Art On the Wall: A Large-Scale Commission Takes William Conger to New Heights

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418322/vhjc9gb1exbb1soq07t1.gif"><figcaption>PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE GRAHAM AND PAMELA LEE COLLECTION</figcaption></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Behind the Lens of a Trailblazing Chicago Photojournalist</h3>&nbsp;More than 50 years after his death, the little-known photographer of Chicago’s most historic moments is finally getting his due. From January 24 to March 31, the Poetry Foundation and Newberry Library will celebrate the life of photographer and poet Jun Fujita&nbsp;with a new exhibit entitled Jun Fujita: American Visionary. Believed to be the first Japanese-American photojournalist, Fujita photographed the 1919 race riots, the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, the Eastland Disaster, the 1910 garment workers’ strike, and other pivotal events. His harrowing images have shaped and preserved our understanding of what it means to live in Chicago, warts and all.By Taylor Moore, Chicago Magazine<a href="http://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/January-2020/New-exhibition-book-honor-Jun-Fujita-Chicagos-Japanese-American-Renaissance-Man/">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418323/pd9rkij3ufujszmmpzzp.gif"></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>EXPO Chicago boosting art collector outreach with new hire</h3>&nbsp;EXPO Chicago, the city’s annual international exposition of contemporary and modern art, is adding a new position, head of VIP Relations and Strategic Initiatives, which will be filled immediately by Eboni Gates. She will be tasked with a job that has become increasingly important in the world of art expositions — cultivating deeper relationships with the fair's most important customer base, serious art collectors.By Lewis Lazare, Chicago Business Journal<a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2020/01/21/expo-chicago-boosting-art-collector-outreach-with.html">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418324/utsptmkmayf3igpyupzc.gif"><figcaption>The 35,000-square-foot Conservation Center is housed in a 19th century warehouse in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. &nbsp;</figcaption></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Where to Go to Watch the Paint Dry</h3>&nbsp;In the never-ending quest for engagement in a short attention-span world, museums around the world have long looked for ways to spice up visitor experiences. But as after-hours gatherings and dedicated Instagram experiences continue to take off, a time-honored practice has surprisingly gained traction, and become a destination-worthy draw: conservation, or art restoration, done in the public eye.By Lauren Sloss, The New York Times<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/travel/Open-conservation-art-preservation.html">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418326/tnyiojivj0noyirbavj7.gif"></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>How Käthe Kollwitz Invented a New Art of Protest</h3>&nbsp;In the days following the death of Qasem Soleimani, protestors scrambled to organize demonstrations against possible war between Iran and the United States. Posters, texts and graphics disseminated across social media. One image, attributed to the Iranian graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi, depicted scores of angry agitators in concise black-and-white lines. ‘NO WAR IN IRAN!’ it read. Shortly thereafter, a friend shared a much older image on his Instagram upon which Satrapi’s drawing could have been based: a 1924 lithograph by the German artist Käthe Kollwitz, first published in an issue of the magazine Socialist Worker Youth. In the print, a boy raises his hands, his mouth agape, as German words in tactile cursive slide over a stark, neutral background: ‘Nie wieder Krieg’ – ‘Never War Again.’By Joseph Henry, Frieze<a href="https://frieze.com/article/how-kathe-kollwitz-invented-new-art-protest">Read More</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: January 21, 2020

<html><head></head><body>By GINNY VAN ALYEA&nbsp;January is flying by, with another round of openings taking place this coming weekend in multiple neighborhoods throughout the city and behind.&nbsp;Starting Thursday, January 23 and running into Saturday, January 25 a number of spaces open solo as well as group shows to invite the art-loving public in to see what's new. &nbsp;Our overview of highlights from this coming weekend is below, and our full calendar may be <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=openings">viewed&nbsp;here</a>.See you in the galleries!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418110/pa4stvftr1zpq7rfm9g9.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/william-conger">William Conger</a>Opening Friday, January 24Zolla/Lieberman GalleryNew works by this established Chicago abstract painter are on view at the gallery, in addition to a show of new works by <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/va-depintor">VA de Pintor</a>.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418111/h7f8r52fj5wdtmvh0vsi.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/harold-mendez-the-years-now">Harold Mendez: The Years Now</a>Opening Friday, January 24Logan CenterLos Angeles–based artist Harold Mendez brings together objects, images, and sounds—all with their own multiple and layered histories—culled from sites across the Americas and spanning from pre-Columbian times to the present. Transformed and reconfigured into poetic assemblages, they evoke the body’s connections to histories of violence and erasure on the one hand and renewal and remembrance on the other. Mendez’s exhibition presents a suite of new sculptures and premieres a new sound installation featuring a found recording in which a speaker contemplates a crisis of identity.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418112/gcehszr0bv49o2bgkaqm.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/return-to-the-everywhere">Return to the Everywhere</a>Opening Friday, January 24Weinberg/Newton GalleryPresented in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago, Chicago’s NPR news station, Return to the Everywhere is the second exhibition in the gallery’s new location in River West. The exhibition considers various modalities of communication in an attempt to grasp the broader implications of our current “post-truth” era.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418113/y9j5ny0nk2znlvfukmtq.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/niu-school-of-art-and-design-faculty-biennial-exhibition-37b033e4-b9cc-4584-b40a-171dd61f40b5">NIU School of Art and Design Faculty Biennial Exhibition</a>Opening Thursday, January 23Northern IL Univ.&nbsp;Presented every two years, this exhibition features recent artwork and scholarship by faculty and teaching staff from all divisions of the NIU School of Art and Design and highlights the artistry, research, and world-class instruction found at NIU.<h3>&nbsp;</h3><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418114/pvlcapndrikkztmvmyvs.jpg"><figcaption>Image: &nbsp;Charles Moore, Fire Hose Aimed at Young Demonstrator, Birmingham, Alabama, May 3, 1963, gelatin silver print. Humana Foundation Endowment for American Art, 2007.031.001</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/snite-salon">Snite Salon</a>Thursday, January 23, 5:30–6:15pmSnite Museum of Art at Univ. of Notre DameSnite Salons encourage close looking and thoughtful conversation with a different work each session. This month, in conjunction with campus Walk the Walk week celebrations, the conversation will focus on Charles Moore's photograph&nbsp;Fire Hose Aimed at Young Demonstrator, Birmingham, Alabama from the Birmingham Campaign on May 3 in 1963. This work will only be on view during this program.<h3>&nbsp;</h3><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418115/w7xwaziwtrcdiud7lwwe.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/2020-wisconsin-artists-biennial">2020 Wisconsin Artists Biennial</a>Opening Saturday, January 25Museum of Wisconsin ArtEvery two years the Museum of Wisconsin Art is privileged to showcase the most compelling, engaging, inventive, and unique art from a state rich in creative capital. The 2020 Wisconsin Artists Biennial is open to all contemporary artists from throughout the state, representing a wide spectrum of media and creative perspectives.&nbsp;&nbsp;Two notable museum shows are ending this weekend, so now is your last chance to catch them before they're gone:<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418116/zyxushkkqw1yvrjvfzaf.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/andy-warhol-from-a-to-b-and-back-again">Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again</a>thru January 26The Art Institute of Chicago&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418117/ayrxcdok4lloif8ofn8r.gif"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/direct-messages-art-language-power">Direct Messages: Art, Language &amp; Power</a>thru January 26The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA)&nbsp;&nbsp;Top of page key image: Sayward Schoonmaker from Weinberg Newton Gallery's Return to the Everywhere&nbsp;</body></html>

Weekend Art Highlights: January 23–25

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418321/l10vxmmqljf8jqagbfc3.jpg"></figure>Via PRCHICAGO (January 15, 2020) – The third edition of the <a href="https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/">Chicago Architecture Biennial</a> closed on January 5 after a season of engaging the city in a discussion on architecture and the built environment. This year’s biennial, titled ...and other such stories, ran September 19, 2019–January 5, 2020 and brought together more than 80 contributors from over 20 countries to explore the way architecture shapes, and is shaped by, culture, history, and nature around the world.The contributors — selected by the Biennial’s curatorial team, Graham Foundation Artistic Director Yesomi Umolu, and co-curators Paulo Tavares and Sepake Angiama — presented works that reflect on architecture as it relates to social, political, and environmental issues worldwide, including issues around property and social housing, the harmful impacts of natural resource extraction, and civil rights and systems of power.Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot remarked, “The Chicago Architecture Biennial is a cornerstone of our city’s cultural programming and underscores the type of conversations and explorations that are truly meaningful to us here in Chicago -- conversations about our shared past, present, and future. The Biennial brought together some terrific contributors from here in Chicago and around the world to address the issues facing us today, and the result was an exhibition that not only garnered interest nationally but engaged us locally.”Many of the commissioned works that met with critical acclaim, including those by MASS Design Group and Forensic Architecture, focused on critical urban issues, while demonstrating how architectural tools and techniques can be galvanized to promote social change. These design projects and others, including the Settler City Colonial Project and FICA, addressed a range of timely movements in collaboration with community groups, activists and families working to create equitable housing, to decolonize cultural institutions, and to address the crisis of gun violence, mass incarceration and climate change, among others.One of these projects -- The Gun Violence Memorial Project -- will remain at the Chicago Cultural Center until early February before traveling to Washington DC for exhibition at the National Building Museum later this spring. A piece that provided a forum for the community to come together, share experiences, and mourn the victims of gun violence, the houses will remain a space for reflection, and StoryCorps will still accept appointments to share experiences until the end of January.“We are proud to have unraveled the complexities and potentialities of Chicago‘s architecture and urbanism with people from all over the city and further afield, who collectively embraced the ideas and projects presented across the 2019 edition of the biennial,” noted Graham Foundation Artistic Director Yesomi Umolu. "Together with over 80 contributors, we brought the diverse perspectives of architects, urbanists, social movements and everyday citizens to the fore and reflected on what constitutes the city today while imagining our built and natural environment in more inclusive and expansive ways."The emphasis on engaging a diverse cross-section of Chicago sites and issues in a global conversation was foregrounded in the constellation of off-site venues -- including (former) Anthony Overton Elementary School, the National Public Housing Museum, the School of the Art Institute at Homan Square, and the Jane Addams Hull House Museum, where contributors from South Africa, Turkey, England, Romania, Puerto Rico, Poland, and Chicago engaged the concerns of a local public through exhibitions, performances, workshops and community celebrations. These curatorial sites, along with the Chicago Cultural Center, once again the Biennial’s main venue, received 246,415 visitors through the exhibition’s run.The Biennial also activated over 120 partner sites and 125 partner organizations across Chicago, producing over 300 exhibitions and public programs in over 50 neighborhoods and communities. This included the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Art Institute of Chicago, Design Museum of Chicago, Farnsworth House and MAS Context, Garfield Park Conservatory, Graham Foundation, MPEA, Wrightwood 659, Signature Education Partner Chicago Architecture Center, and Aligning Partner EXPO CHICAGO, as well as six Community Anchors: Beverly Arts Center, DePaul Art Museum, Hyde Park Art Center, DuSable Museum of African American History, National Museum of Mexican Art and National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. Select partner sites contributed another 237,000 in core attendance, extending the Biennial platform throughout the city and region.&nbsp;The Biennial’s total audience across three editions since 2015 is just over 1.5 million visitors, and in 2019, it generated an estimated $42 million in total economic impact to the city.“The exhibits and programs presented by the 2019 Biennial attracted a wide array of audiences—at the Chicago Cultural Center, at neighborhood venues, in schools across the city,” said Biennial Board Chairman Jack Guthman. “Focusing on the intersection of architecture and the social issues affecting the built environment, the exposition gained widespread, favorable media coverage. We are proud that the Biennial, only in its third iteration, continues to position Chicago at the center of the global dialogue about the profession.”The Chicago Architecture Biennial empowered students, teens and families, as well as educators, to use architecture and design as tools for change through engagement at the Chicago Cultural Center, at community sites and in classrooms. In 2019, the education program reached 180 schools and youth organizations through a variety of workshops, tours, youth studios, and other hands-on programming. Nearly 500 students across 81 zip codes participated in two BP Student Ideas Competitions — an opportunity for creative youth in elementary and high school to explore the built environment through design and also the humanities, visual and performing arts, and STEM fields.Learning Initiatives engaged nearly 10,000 visitors of all ages, including through field trips and guided tours for K-12 and university students, public tours, and family-friendly weekend activities. Learning Initiatives staff and volunteers also worked to make the Biennial accessible by offering tours in Spanish, Mandarin and Portuguese; providing interpretive assistance to blind and low vision audiences; and developing educator tools and family guides to help visitors identify common themes within the exhibition.The Biennial also hosted a wide range of performances throughout the run. Opening weekend kicked off with performances by CAMP, Alexandra Pirici, and Jimmy Robert. Regular programming throughout the Biennial included free public programs such as the opening “Land Acknowledgement” with Heather Miller (Wyandotte), Les Begay (Navajo) and Fawn Pochel of the American Indian Center with artists Feather Marsh (Ojibway) and Santiago X (Choushatta); and conversations like “Bauhaus: Through Other Stories” moderated by Art Institute of Chicago curator Alison Fisher and foregrounding the work of Biennial contributor Wendelien van Oldenborgh and artist Barbara Kasten; additionally, the Biennial, coinciding with EXPO CHICAGO, presented the opportunity to explore the intersections between contemporary art and architectural practices through its Dialogue Series.“We were thrilled to see the enthusiastic reception of the Biennial this fall, and to have been a part of so many compelling discussions on the future of the field,” noted Biennial Executive Director Todd Palmer. “We will keep all of these conversations top of mind as we look to the future, and plan for our next edition.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Chicago Architecture Biennial Concludes Third Edition

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418338/ro72tdwwegj84jvgcqvj.png"></figure>Via PRCHICAGO, Illinois – On February 6, the University of Chicago will host the US-China Forum 2020: The Matter of Art. Convened by UChicago Global and UChicago Arts in collaboration with the Smart Museum of Art, this year’s forum explores how China and the United States intersect, interact, and overlap through the arts.The one-day program, which is free and open to the public, features performances, lectures, and in-depth conversations between renowned artists and distinguished UChicago faculty members.&nbsp;From Xu Bing’s experiments in language, to Miao Ying’s playful and complex internet-generated art, to the composition of city soundscapes in Wang Lu’s Urban Inventory, the US-China Forum offers a rare opportunity to hear from some of the most innovative Chinese artists working today and to experience the critical dialogue generated by their work. The Forum takes place from 10am to 7pm at the <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/logan-center-exhibitions">Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts</a>, 915 E. 60th Street, in Chicago.&nbsp;For a complete schedule and registration information, visit <a href="https://global.uchicago.edu/us-china-forum-2020-matter-art">global.uchicago.edu/us-china-forum-2020-matter-art</a>“We are thrilled to bring together this particular group of artists and university faculty who – singly and together – are generating new ways of understanding art and its relationship to our world,” says David Levin, Senior Advisor to the Provost for Arts. “The US-China Forum will introduce audiences to a broad range of topics from re-imagining the sound and bustle of contemporary life, to rethinking our relationship to the internet, to reflecting upon the role of language in our lives. It promises to be an enormously stimulating day.”Wu Hung – the Harrie A. Vanderstappen Distinguished Service Professor of Art History at UChicago, Director of the Center for the Art of East Asia, and Adjunct Curator at the Smart Museum – will deliver the closing keynote address at the US-China Forum. He also co-curated The Allure of Matter, a related art exhibition which opens the next day, February 7, and which is co-presented by the <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/smart-museum-of-art">Smart Museum of Art</a> and <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/alphawood-gallery">Wrightwood 659</a>.The Allure of Matter is the first exhibition partnership between the Smart Museum in Hyde Park and Wrightwood 659 in Lincoln Park. Too large for a single venue, the exhibition takes up the full gallery footprint of both institutions. It opens twenty years after the Smart Museum’s first contemporary Chinese art project with Wu Hung. The works, many monumental in scale, are made from a range of unique and humble materials and explore how conscious material choice has become a symbol of expression for many leading Chinese contemporary artists.This fifth annual US-China Forum at the University of Chicago is sponsored by the China-United States Exchange Foundation, and brings together renowned experts—including scholars and artists from the US and China—for high-level engagements focused on issues of importance to both countries.In addition to the US-China Forum and the events surrounding The Allure of Matter, the Logan Center will host Sifu:&nbsp;An Evening of Cantonese Opera on Tuesday, March 17 at 6:30pm. The tradition of Cantonese opera, with its vivid costumes, distinctive music, and dramatic presentation, has been fostered and developed for over 500 years. For one performance only, opera&nbsp;sifu&nbsp;will present a collection of these canonical stories at the Logan Center through&nbsp;martial arts, acrobatics, acting, and singing, accompanied by traditional Chinese percussion.&nbsp;This event is presented in part by&nbsp;UChicago&nbsp;Global, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (NY). For ticket pricing and program detail, visit <a href="https://arts.uchicago.edu/visit/uchicago-arts-box-office">the Logan Center Box Office website</a>.&nbsp;</body></html>

University of Chicago to Host US–China Forum on Arts

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418366/paswhbxhburw8yrm1jde.png"></figure>&nbsp;A Communion of Waxwings, a painting and collage by artist Tony Fitzpatrick has been chosen to celebrate the American Birding Association's 2020 Bird of the Year the Cedar Waxwing.Fitzpatrick's work is part of a limited edition of 200 posters, signed by the artist, being sold for $50 to benefit the ABA.In a recent episode of the American Birding Podcast, ABA President Jeffrey Gordon noted the ABA’s first 50 years were about finding and identifying all the birds in the ABA Area, and that the ABA’s second 50 years should be about finding and identifying birders. In that way, perhaps Cedar Waxwing is the perfect Bird of our 51st Year. Famously gregarious, Cedar Waxwings are all about community. They share berries, they congregate at fruiting trees, they even occasionally over-imbibe. Think back to the first time you saw a Cedar Waxwing. For many of us, this may have been a very long time ago indeed, as Cedar Waxwings can be found across the continent and in nearly every corner of the ABA Area.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418366/ognslhwrz3yqc8ik2lab.jpg"></figure>Tony Fitzpatrick is a Chicago-based artist best known for his multimedia collages, printmaking, paintings, and drawings. Fitzpatrick’s work are inspired by Chicago street culture, cities he has traveled to, children’s books, tattoo designs, and folk art. Fitzpatrick has authored or illustrated eight books of art and poetry, and he is an unabashed bird lover.To announce the choice of the new bird of the year as well as publicly release the poster the ABA held a special celebration of birding on January 12 featuring food, music, and art while helping the ABA help birds and birders.<figure class="image"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/secret.jpg?resize=179%2C269&amp;ssl=1" alt="" srcset="https://i1.wp.com/www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/secret.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/www.aba.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/secret.jpg?fit=225%2C338&amp;ssl=1 225w" sizes="100vw" width="179"></figure>&nbsp;Poster details: Actual size 12.5 in x 16.5 in, #100 Cougar smooth cover stock, matte finishPosters are being <a href="https://www.aba.org/store/2020-bird-of-the-year-cedar-waxwing-poster/?fbclid=IwAR0SiuI5G5tja-XjSwfC_6HEIZS8Rzr8yMleWixe5xySw1yws4a7NnALIdk">sold online</a> for $50 through the ABA.&nbsp;</body></html>

Bird is the Word: American Birding Assoc. Picks Work by Tony Fitzpatrick to Celebrate 2020

<html><head></head><body>By CGN StaffSaturday, January 17 features a number of openings taking place in galleries around Chicago and Milwaukee!Our overview of highlights from this coming weekend is below, and our full calendar may be <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events?filter=openings">viewed&nbsp;here</a>.See you in the galleries!&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418335/usp3xw7wqrlnwiszkxp9.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/3rd-midwest-open">3rd Midwest Open</a>Opening Friday, January 17 - PilsenWoman Made GalleryIn her juror statement, Mia Lopez writes: “I was inspired by WMG’s decades of supporting female-identifying artists through refreshing and inclusive exhibitions. Though the selected artists represent a wide variety of perspectives and approaches, they are unified via thoughtful consideration of form and content. From figurative paintings to conceptual photography, abstract sculptures, and myriad media in between, this annual exhibit demonstrates the incredible diversity of artistic practices in the Midwest.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418336/tt6b8kumwa6sovtnhh7p.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/meditations-in-an-emergency">Meditations in an Emergency</a>Opening Friday, January 17 - West TownCatherine Edelman GalleryConcurrent with New Formations,&nbsp;Catherine Edelman Gallery is&nbsp;honored to present Meditations in an Emergency, Bettina von Zwehl's&nbsp;latest portrait series inspired by the teenage die-ins that were&nbsp;staged shortly&nbsp;after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,&nbsp;Florida. Von Zwehl presents seventeen portraits of New York City teenagers (the&nbsp;result of the&nbsp;first artist-in-residence&nbsp;at the New York Historical&nbsp;Society) in the classic silhouette profile, describing the photographs as death&nbsp;masks sculpted from life. These seventeen portraits honor the number of victims&nbsp;of the&nbsp;school shooting on Valentine's Day, 2018, and serve as a testament to&nbsp;the endurance and practice of protest and teen activism. Presented in a small&nbsp;quiet room on the gallery's lower level, Meditations in&nbsp;an Emergency offers&nbsp;viewers a moment to reflect and think about the power of protest.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418337/wpzaix923gsvnsrdebiu.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/on-the-nature-of-wisconsin">On the Nature of Wisconsin</a>Opening Friday, January 17 - Milwaukee, WIThe WarehouseFeaturing work from the permanent collection, On the Nature of Wisconsin is a celebration of Wisconsin artists and their relationship with the natural world. A state known for its fresh water, forests, and parks, this exhibition examines the connections artists have made and observed with these surroundings. Works included depict sweeping landscapes, quiet farm life, reimagined&nbsp;plants and animals, and objects exemplifying natural forms. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418337/nak6prae0hogfez4ghfu.jpg"></figure><a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/events/david-dunlop-landmarked">David Dunlop: Landmarked</a>Opening Friday, January 17 - Milwaukee, WILily Pad Gallery WestDavid Allen Dunlop is a contemporary American painter. His stylized work is characterized by its heavy use of phthalo blue, an intensely blue-green pigment, which he employs to form representational images of city architecture, nature scenes, and figures in motion. Born in 1951, Dunlop received his BA from the College of Wooster in Ohio and MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

January 17 Gallery Openings

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418352/djmvzbazm49znbdi5dsn.gif"></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Free Admission Days In 2020 For Chicago Museums</h3>&nbsp;The winter doldrums can best be fought by planning a day out at the museum. Chicago is home to many world renowned museums with many offering the opportunity for you to take in all the sights without making a dent in your wallet.Many Chicago area museums are offering Illinois residents free admission throughout the year. &nbsp;<a href="https://wbbm780.radio.com/articles/free-admission-days-in-2020-for-chicago-museums">Read More</a>Via WBBM News Radio Staff&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418353/ikcyref7hfhqgqgkcqr3.gif"><figcaption>John Soss, Courtesy of Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune</figcaption></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Maybe the debris found on the lakefront could be art — a Chicago photographer opens ‘On the Beach’</h3> &nbsp;A beach can be a lonely place, particularly in winter. John Soss wanders beaches in every season but does so less frequently when the cold comes, and the snow and the ice bury what he is seeking.What he is seeking are remnants of this world, specifically things that have been lost or tossed or otherwise found their way into the waters of Lake Michigan. Thousands of these things eventually wash up along the shore and Soss grabs some, looks them over and takes a few home, there to arrange together in patterns and take a photo.<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-beach-artist-kogan-0112-20200108-gb5dfnfeanemnbje7x7qb3uqhy-story.html">Read More</a>By Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418354/wytgsoxsipqemeem3d0w.gif"></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Zor Zor Zor | Discovering Chicago’s graffiti world, creating art while traveling, and&nbsp;more</h3>&nbsp;This week the Cornerstore spoke with Zor Zor Zor about her discovering Chicago’s graffiti world on her own &amp; navigating her way into shows with prominent graffiti artists early in her career, creating art while traveling, her work with Grace Jane Projects and more.<a href="https://wgnradio.com/2020/01/14/zor-zor-zor-discovering-chicagos-graffiti-world-creating-art-while-traveling-and-more/">Read More</a>By Casera Heining, WGN Radio&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418355/dqamvnb2zrc4c7k2laxb.gif"><figcaption>Olowu, photographed at his boutique in London in 2015.Photo: Getty Images</figcaption></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>In a New Exhibition, Designer Duro Olowu Fashions a Portrait of Chicago</h3>&nbsp;“What drives Chicago is still a mystery to me,” says Duro Olowu, speaking by phone from the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art, where lately he’s been pondering such matters as he puts the final touches on the expansive new art exhibition he’s curated, Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago, opening February 29.<a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/duro-olowu-chicago-exhibition">Read More</a>By Julia Felsenthal, Vogue Magazine&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

News From Around the Art World: January 14, 2020

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721420195/lbfeunv2vzlb6t1iiu9c.png"></figure>VIA PRThe Joyce Foundation announced today that the 2020 Joyce Awards have been awarded to four collaborations between artists of color and arts and cultural organizations in Chicago, Cleveland and the Twin Cities.&nbsp;We are so honored be one of the participating organizations.The <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/hyde-park-art-center-hpac">Hyde Park Art Center</a> will commission visual artist Faheem Majeed to create a monumental artwork, exhibition and programming to commemorate the legacy of the South Side Community Art Center.&nbsp;The $50,000 grants will develop works that engage, educate and challenge while celebrating the diversity in their local communities. This year’s Joyce Awards projects will take an important look at the themes of heritage, history and resilience.HPAC will share more about Faheem's exhibition and programming throughout the year.&nbsp;Click <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0019U7Bbnji4t6padLmx5jLF3AGg9_GUWSdDexnnv3w72iYnVxIutH3fyr_E9RqDqllnTsWJM-V0clO0QzDw6ouG4899bsBnel-pNk25TC3dRmzeuPbCOWWXC4YIq0AZQAS9wZoDTq5a5hDMiWZCR38gC0LEjkulolFoROyG6LL9J49zgiz0bxbXA==&amp;c=lgXeg7T8uN-fsP80xYFU1KTCGRSO_NuTE_dUDME8FMrqLcDvNQjd9A==&amp;ch=m3m70qXtP3ApouZpxBLXPkPJPMH-wZUfZDZ-9jjSLuHDUh-Fny7QoA==">here </a>to see the rest of the 2020 Joyce Awards Winners.The South Side Community Art Center also recently <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2019/12/south-side-community-art-center-announces-new-exec-dir-and-2-million-gift">named a new Exec. Director. and a $2 million gift</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

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