Each week, CGN interviews a local art dealer to discuss the ins and outs of running a gallery in the city of Chicago. This week we caught up with Jackie Pernot of <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/chicago-art-source-gallery">Chicago Art Source Gallery</a>.

Gallery: Chicago Art Source Gallery 
Name: Jackie Pernot 
Age: 45 
Previous occupation: Art consultant 
Hometown: Born and raised in Lake Forest, IL; Chicago since 1989

Chicago Gallery News: Please describe your gallery&rsquo;s program in one sentence.

Jackie Pernot: The gallery represents emerging and mid-career contemporary artists with a focus on painting, mixed media and photography.

CGN: How did you become an art dealer?&nbsp;

JP: After graduating with a bachelor&rsquo;s degree in art history, I worked as a framer for a couple years and then moved into art sales. I always thought I&rsquo;d go back to school for my master&rsquo;s and end up in a museum, but I fell in love with the gallery world and found that working both with artists and different types of clients was much more diverse and satisfying than I had imagined. It still feels fresh and challenging almost twenty years later!

CGN: What&#39;s the first thing you do each morning when you get to the gallery?&nbsp;

JP: I go through my emails and voicemails with coffee in hand and make a list of what I want to accomplish that day.

CGN: Thumbs up or down on art fairs?

JP: I have to say thumbs up. The right art fairs are excellent opportunities to see a lot of work from around the world in one place. Of course, they&rsquo;re exhausting and not how work should ideally be viewed, but they&rsquo;re worth the effort.

CGN: Artists you admire but don&#39;t represent?

JP: Patrick Wilson, Keun Young Park and Kara Walker.

CGN: Best sale you ever had?

JP: The most rewarding sales have been large-scale commissions that I&rsquo;ve done for a number of clients. There is an extended interaction between the collector, the artist and myself when going through the commission process, which makes for a deeper and more memorable experience.

CGN: What advice would you share with new or young collectors?

JP: Ignore trends and go with your gut. And buy what you love and can afford. Or can nearly afford&mdash;I still wish I hadn&rsquo;t been &ldquo;too fiscally responsible&rdquo; to purchase one of the Rembrandts that we exhibited at my first gallery.&nbsp;

CGN: Which artist that you represent or work of art you have recently acquired are you most excited about?

JP: I have to preface this by saying that I&rsquo;m genuinely excited about all of the work that I show in the gallery, but if I had to single out one recent acquisition it would be Lisa Kokin&rsquo;s Prosody. It&rsquo;s a textile piece made with felt and thread that looks like a giant soft book with the most delicately rendered asemic text. It&rsquo;s language abstracted, yet highly tactile at the same time.&nbsp;

CGN: What major successes have you had this year?

JP: We have been in growth mode since I joined Chicago Art Source Gallery in 2009, and each year has been stronger in terms of sales than the previous one, so I am very excited about where we&rsquo;re headed.

CGN: How do you view working as an art dealer in Chicago?

JP: In many ways, I feel like it&rsquo;s the best of both worlds. We have a savvy collector base with the ability to financially support the arts without the art market saturation of a city like New York. And it&rsquo;s wonderful to have so much local talent to tap into!

CGN: What is your favorite interest outside of the art world?

JP: Family, friends, food, wine, music, books, film and travel.

CGN: What is your favorite work of public art in Chicago?

JP: Leonardo Nierman&rsquo;s Flame of the Millennium. This piece feels like a part of my personal history in the art world in Chicago. We represented Leonardo in my first gallery, and I&rsquo;ve met him several times, including at an intimate dinner that was given in his honor around the time that Flame of the Millennium was installed. He is a fascinating and gracious gentleman and a great talent.

CGN:&nbsp; What are your five favorite art spaces to visit?

JP:

<ol>
	<li>&nbsp;Galleria Borghese, Rome</li>
	<li>The Cloisters, New York</li>
	<li>Street art in Lisbon</li>
	<li>Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Venice</li>
	<li>The Broad, Los Angeles (it&rsquo;s really hard to stop at five!)</li>
</ol>

Jackie Pernot is the Gallery Manager of Chicago Art Source located in Lincoln Park. For more information about the gallery visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/chicago-art-source-gallery">Chicago Art Source Gallery</a>.

An Interview with a Dealer: Jackie Pernot

CGN&#39;s weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

<h2>Graham Foundation Awards over $400,000 in Grants to&nbsp;Organizations</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Image: helloeverything/SelgasCano, Kibera Hamlets School, 2016, Nairobi, Kenya. Courtesy of the architects. From the 2017 organizational grant to New York Foundation for Architecture-Center for Architecture for &lt;i&gt;Scaffolding&lt;/i&gt;" data-rich-file-id="2221" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2221/original/9bb4988f-1301-4053-aecd-d7dd47a1bfb0.jpg" />

&quot;As part of its annual Grants to Organizations program, the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/graham-foundation-for-advanced-studies-in-the-fine-arts">Graham Foundation</a> has awarded over $400,000 to support architectural projects around the world. Grants went to 41 projects ranging from exhibitions and publications to events and research projects.

Winners were chosen from more than 220 submissions from museums, educational institutions, architectural organizations, and architectural festivals. In the past 61 years, the Graham Foundation has awarded more than 4,300 grants.&quot; -The Architect&#39;s Newspaper

<a href="https://archpaper.com/2017/08/graham-foundation-2017-grants-for-organizations/#gallery-0-slide-0">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Walker Art Center&rsquo;s Deputy Director Steps Down</h2>

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2222" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2222/original/article0.jpg" />

&quot;David Galligan, the veteran arts administrator who served as the Walker&#39;s chief operating officer from 1996 to 2002, then&nbsp;returned&nbsp;in 2013&nbsp;to help lead the effort to develop a new Walker campus and renovate the&nbsp;Minneapolis Sculpture Garden renovation, is stepping down as deputy director and COO to become a consultant.&quot; -Star Tribune

<a href="http://www.startribune.com/now-that-garden-is-open-walker-art-center-s-deputy-director-steps-down/438139153/">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>N.E.H., Once Targeted by Trump, Announces $39.3 Million in New Grants</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="A typewriter Ernest Hemingway used, displayed in his former home in Ketchum, Idaho. A National Endowment for the Humanities grant will help to preserve the house. Photo: Matt Cilley/Associated Press" data-rich-file-id="2223" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2223/original/nyt.jpg" />

&quot;A literacy program on American military bases, an effort to revitalize Native American languages, a four-part TV documentary about the Atlantic slave trade and several large-scale projects relating to America&rsquo;s founding period are among the 245 recipients of new grants from the&nbsp;National Endowment for the Humanities across the country.&quot; -The New York Times

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/arts/neh-grants-national-endowment-for-the-humanities.html">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Following the Floating Museum: When and Where to Expect It</h2>

&quot;There are a few sights that a Chicagoan expects to see on the river&mdash;friends celebrating the weekend on yachts, people hustling to numerous restaurants on the river bank&nbsp;or the occasional architectural boat tour brimming with eager tourists. However, for the next month, city dwellers should keep their eye out for something a&nbsp;bit more uncommon: The Floating Museum.&quot; -Chicago Gallery News

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/8/following-the-floating-museum-where-and-when-to-expect-it">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Coming to Dana Schutz&rsquo;s Defense, Cindy Sherman and Other Artists Pen an Open Letter to Her Critics</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Image courtesy of ICA Boston" data-rich-file-id="2224" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2224/original/boston.jpg" />

&quot;Prominent members of the National Academy, including&nbsp;Kara Walker,&nbsp;Marina Abramovic,&nbsp;Ed Ruscha, Jack Whitten, and&nbsp;Cindy Sherman, are coming to the defense of the artist&nbsp;Dana Schutz&nbsp;and the ICA Boston.

In an open letter distributed by email on Thursday evening, the signatories voiced their support of &#39;cultural institutions like the ICA Boston who refuse to bow to forces in favor of censorship or quelling dialogue.&#39;&quot; -Artnet

<a href="https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/dana-schutz-defend-open-letter-1042361#.WYh_ylSMHzF.twitter">Read more...</a>

Read the July 26, 2017 roundup <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/7/news-from-around-the-art-world-july-31-2017">here</a>.

Top image:&nbsp;Gwyneth Shanks,&nbsp;From Above Looking Down, 2017, Los Angeles. Courtesy the artist. From the Graham Foundation&#39;s organizational grant to Materials &amp; Applications for &quot;Privacies Infrastructure&quot;

CGN's weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

News from Around the Art World: August 7, 2017

On Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at noon the City of Chicago hosts a restaging of the 1967 Chicago Picasso dedication in Daley Plaza. The event features Commissioner Mark Kelly, artist Edra Soto and designer Paul Durica.

Mayor Rahm Emanual and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events designated 2017 the &quot;Year of Public Art&quot;&nbsp;with a new 50x50 Neighborhood Arts Project, the creation of a Public Art Youth Corps, a new Public Art Festival, exhibitions, performances, tours and more representing a $1.5 million investment in artist-led community projects.

In honor of the &quot;Year of Public Art&quot;, CGN delved into the history of public art in the city of Chicago. Writer Franck Mercurio explored an array of topics including the controversy surrounding the installation of the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza. Below you&#39;ll find links to all the articles in the series.

July 6, 2017:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/7/does-man-love-art-a-history-of-public-art-controversy-in-chicago">Does Man Love Art? A History of Public Art Controversy in Chicago</a>

May 18, 2017:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/5/no-little-plans-the-battle-for-public-art-in-chicago">No Little Plans: The Battle for Public Art in Chicago</a>

April 25, 2017:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/public-art-and-the-masses-examining-sculpture-in-grant-park">Public Art and the Masses: Examining Sculpture in Grant Park</a>

March 15, 2017:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/3/the-origins-of-public-art-in-chicago-from-the-bronze-lions-to-skylanding">The Origins of Public Art in Chicago: From the Bronze Lions to Skylanding</a>

Image:&nbsp;Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune

Chicago celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza.

Everyone's Picasso: Celebrating 50 Years of a Chicago Icon

There are a few sights that a Chicagoan expects to see on the river&mdash;friends celebrating the weekend on yachts, people hustling to numerous restaurants on the river bank&nbsp;or the occasional architectural boat tour brimming with eager tourists. However, for the next month, city dwellers should keep their eye out for something a&nbsp;bit more uncommon: The Floating Museum.

Co-directed by Faheem Majeed, Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, Andrew Schachman and Avery R. Young, the museum, perched on a barge that literally floats down the Chicago river, is designed to highlight specific areas of the city and, in their own words, &ldquo;create temporary, site-responsive museum spaces to activate sites of cultural potential throughout Chicago&rsquo;s neighborhoods&rdquo;.&nbsp;

Here&rsquo;s when and where you can catch a glimpse of the museum: 
 
August 11-13: Bridgeport/Pilsen (Park 571, 2751 S Eleanor St) 
August 14-27: Riverwalk (River Theater, between LaSalle and Clark) 
August 28: Navy Pier at Polk Bros Park 
 
As the barge travels around the city, there will&nbsp;be events reoccurring each week at all locations.&nbsp;

Song Circle 
Wednesdays, 6-8pm 
In addition to its growing reputation for public art, the city is also known for its music. Come check out some of Chicago&rsquo;s own blues and gospel artists with the group session led by Avery R. Young, fellow vocalist and poet. 
 
Breaking Bread 
Thursdays, 6-8pm 
Anyone who has stepped foot in the Midwest knows that the region has some great grub. Thursdays at every barge location, step on over to the river to talk about site-specific topics while enjoying some of the dishes Chicago has to offer. 
 
Friday Night Live! 
Fridays, 6-9pm 
What&rsquo;s a live event without any music? Take the time to check out some of the city&rsquo;s local venues while enjoying a live show. 
 
Sticks + Tape 
Saturdays, 6-8pm 
Even though those who attend the Floating Museum can certainly observe the art already made, they can help make it too! Join in on a temporary, large-scale sculpture making activity, materials provided.

For a full list of&nbsp;activities,&nbsp;participating artists and organizations,&nbsp;visit <a href="https://www.floatingmuseum.org/river-assembly">floatingmuseum.org/river-assembly</a>

Image: Courtesy of the Floating Museum

The Floating Museum takes to the Chicago River with a mobile gallery.

Following the Floating Museum: Where and When to Expect It

Each week, CGN interviews a local art dealer to discuss the ins and outs of running a gallery in the city of Chicago. This week we caught up with&nbsp;Matthew Rachman of <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/matthew-rachman-gallery">Matthew Rachman Gallery</a>.&nbsp;

Gallery: Matthew Rachman Gallery 
Name: Matthew Rachman&nbsp; 
Age: 47 
Previous occupation: I spent 25 years primarily in risk management.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Chicago Gallery News: Please describe your gallery&rsquo;s program in one sentence.

Matthew Rachman: Contemporary art with a heavy concentration of Chicago artists paired with modern furniture.

&nbsp;CGN: How did you become a dealer?

MR: I have always been a collector and over and over people would tell me I should open a gallery, so I did as a hobby. We caught traction quite fast, so I gave up my career in finance to run the gallery.

CGN: What&rsquo;s the first thing you do each morning when you get to the gallery?

MR: Open my email and answer client inquiries.

CGN: Thumbs up or down on art and design fairs?

MR: Thumbs down. Barriers of entry are too high for most galleries, and fairs are so big that buyers experience &ldquo;fair fatigue.&rdquo;

CGN: Who inspires you?

MR: My family.

CGN: Artists you admire but don&rsquo;t represent?

MR: Carlos Rol&oacute;n (Dzine).

CGN: Best sale you had?

MR: Recently, I found a stolen bike and returned it to the owner who happened to be an interior designer. She is now a client.

CGN: What advice would you share with new or young collectors?

MR: Buy art because you love it, not because you think it has room to appreciate.

CGN: What major successes have you had this year? What about challenges?

MR: Success has come from courting clients around the country and Europe, but it is still challenging to find local buyers.

CGN: Your gallery specializes in mid-century furniture and presents a program of emerging artists. How did you decide to pursue both?

MR: Mid-century has always been a love of mine. After looking around we found a void in the market of people who were curating art and furniture together correctly. It seemed to be either one or the other. It was important for us to share our vision of how the two mediums could live together.

CGN: What is your favorite interest outside of the art world?

MR: Outside of visual arts, I am passionate about travel.

CGN: What is your favorite work of public art in Chicago?

MR: My favorite public art in Chicago is the work of Ruth Aizuss Migdal. Her work is prominent around the city yet few know her by name. Her work has been shown in the Art Institute of Chicago, but at 84 years old, she has never shown in a gallery in Chicago. We will feature her work in our fall show opening September 22nd.

CGN: What&rsquo;s currently on view at your gallery?

MR: Our summer show, a solo exhibition by Hannah Perry Saucier, just opened. Hannah is an artist residing in Barcelona, Spain who has never shown in Chicago before.

Matthew Rachman is the owner of Matthew Rachman Gallery located at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Paulina Street. For more information about his gallery visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/matthew-rachman-gallery">Matthew Rachman Gallery</a>.

An Interview with a Dealer: Matthew Rachman 

CGN&#39;s weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

<h2>Chicago Planning Big&nbsp;Celebration for the Daley Center Picasso&rsquo;s 50th birthday</h2>

&ldquo;On August 8, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and hundreds of Chicago residents will convene at Daley Plaza to celebrate the 50th birthday of the city&rsquo;s famous Picasso sculpture. Dubbed &lsquo;Everyone&rsquo;s Picasso,&rsquo; the event is organized by the city&rsquo;s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and will feature performances by the Chicago Children&#39;s Choir and the After School Matters Orchestra.&rdquo; -Curbed Chicago

<a href="https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/7/25/16019828/daley-center-picasso-chicago-anniversary-birthday">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi Joins Board of Trustees at the MCA Chicago</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Courtesy of the MCA Chicago" data-rich-file-id="2215" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2215/original/screen-shot-2017-07-27-at-2-57-15-pm-244x350.png" />

&ldquo;The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has added Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi to its board of trustees. His addition to the board was announced on the same day that the museum official launched the Global Vision Initiative, which the MCA first began as a pilot program in 2016.&rdquo; -ARTnews

<a href="http://www.artnews.com/2017/07/27/sheikh-sultan-sooud-al-qassemi-joins-board-of-trustees-at-the-mca-chicago/">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>EXPO CHICAGO Announces Artists for In/Situ Sector</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Courtesy of EXPO CHICAGO" data-rich-file-id="2218" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2218/original/general-2.jpg" />

&ldquo;EXPO CHICAGO has revealed the artists who will participate in the In/Situ sector of the fair&rsquo;s upcoming edition, which will open in the Windy City on September 13. Organized by Florence Derieux, who was formerly a curator of American art at the Centre Pompidou Foundation, this year&rsquo;s In/Situ sector&mdash;the fair&rsquo;s annual showcase for monumental artworks&mdash;will be titled Chronopolitics.&rdquo; -ARTnews

<a href="http://www.artnews.com/2017/07/26/expo-chicago-announces-artists-for-insitu-sector/">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Philippe de Montebello, Former Director of the Metropolitan Museum, Joins Acquavella Galleries</h2>

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2217" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2217/original/philippedemontebello-350x145.jpg" />

&ldquo;Acquavella Galleries has brought on an unlikely new director: Philippe de Montebello, the longest-serving former head of New York&rsquo;s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The art historian&rsquo;s hire, announced today, is effective immediately.&rdquo; -Artnet

<a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/acquavella-philippe-de-montebello-1034039">Read more&hellip;</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Ancient Vase Seized From Met Museum on Suspicion It Was Looted</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art" data-rich-file-id="2220" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2220/original/01-seize-1-master768.jpg" />

&ldquo;For decades it was proudly displayed in the Greco-Roman galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a 2,300-year-old, vividly painted vase that depicts Dionysus, god of the grape harvest, riding in a cart pulled by a satyr.

Today it sits in an evidence room at the district attorney&rsquo;s office in Manhattan after prosecutors quietly seized the antiquity last week based on evidence that it had been looted by tomb raiders in Italy in the 1970s.&rdquo; -New York Times

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/arts/design/ancient-vase-seized-from-met-museum-on-suspicion-it-was-looted.html?_r=0">Read more...</a>

Read the July 24, 2017 roundup&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/7/news-from-around-the-art-world-july-24-2017">here</a>.

Top image: Chicago Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza. Courtesy of&nbsp;Franck Mercurio

News From Around the Art World: July 31, 2017

Each week, CGN interviews a local art dealer to discuss the ins and outs of running a gallery in the city of Chicago. This week we caught up with&nbsp;Linda Warren&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/linda-warren-projects">Linda Warren Projects</a>.

Gallery: Linda Warren Projects 
Name: Linda Warren 
Age: 55 
Previous occupation(s): Film Producer/Production 
Hometown: Rochester, New York

Chicago Gallery News: How did you become an art dealer? &nbsp;&nbsp;

Linda Warren: A friend of mine was evicted from his studio, so I let him store over 100 pieces of artwork inside my home and garage. Friends would stop by to visit and began to buy some of the work. Two other artist friends brought their artwork over to my house to see if I could sell theirs as well, which I did.

Initially, I wasn&rsquo;t trying to make any money at all&ndash;I was just basically helping my friends out. But I started to realize that I could possibly make a living as an art dealer, and I was tired of the film industry and being out of town for months on end shooting films. I decided to convert my home into an art gallery and started having rotating shows every three weeks, introducing new artists. It was in Silverlake (Los Angeles), and there were a few others who were doing the same thing out of their apartments and homes. It became a little scene that drew a lot of people to the neighborhood. It all took off from there.

CGN: Please describe your gallery&rsquo;s program in one sentence. &nbsp;

LW: An eclectic mix of aesthetically and academically compelling artwork by emerging, mid-career and established artists working in all media and styles, but with an emphasis on strong painting and Chicago-based talent.

CGN: What&#39;s the first thing you do each morning when you get to the gallery? &nbsp;&nbsp;

LW: We have a staff meeting to discuss and prioritize goals of the day and week. The art consulting end of my business is extremely busy and demanding. To integrate that with the daily needs of the gallery, exhibitions and artists requires a lot of teamwork and juggling.

CGN: Thumbs up or down on art fairs? &nbsp;

LW: I am happy to be evolving more into a buyer then a seller. As a seller, art fairs are not my favorite way to use my energy or money. But as a buyer, they are a helpful and easy way to research and see a lot of good work.

CGN: Artists you admire but don&#39;t represent? &nbsp;&nbsp;

LW: Nick Cave, Jacob Hashimoto, Richard Hull, Claire Sherman, Jason Salavon, Anne Toeb, Jean Pierre Roy, Angel Otero, Merlin James, Anselm Keifer and Kerry James Marshall, to name just a few.

CGN: Best sale you ever had? &nbsp;

LW: As a gallerist, selling four very large-scale paintings by Michiko Itatani to one client; as an art consultant, commissioning a monumental kinetic sculpture by Pedro de Movellan.

CGN: What advice would you share with new or young collectors? &nbsp;

LW: Spend time researching online. Visit sites like artsy.net, artnet.com or Chicago Gallery News (plug&hellip;though I&rsquo;m serious). See what moves you and what you gravitate towards. Make lists of what you like and visit galleries. Buy what you love and what you would want to hold onto, not what you think you can resell. Don&rsquo;t rely on your first reaction to anything. Often the work you wind up loving the most is the work you might first have an aversion to. Be prepared for your taste and style to change over time and go with it. Don&rsquo;t be afraid to have and express your opinion. There should be nothing wishy-washy about your feeling towards what you buy. When in doubt&hellip;don&rsquo;t buy it.

CGN: What major successes have you had this year? What about challenges? &nbsp;

LW: I have completed three corporate projects&mdash;one in LA, one in SF and one in Chicago. &nbsp;&nbsp;I am about to do a major install in Houston this summer for a corporate job and am working on another corporate project in Boston. I spent most of the winter in LA, and it&rsquo;s challenging being away from the gallery for too long. But I have a fantastic staff and wonderful Gallery Director, Natalia Ferreyra, who keep things running smoothly and effectively, so I am lucky. &nbsp;&nbsp;

CGN: How do you view working as an art dealer in Chicago? &nbsp;

LW: It is what I love to do and could not see myself doing anything else. I love Chicago and will always view this as my home base. I feel the most connected now and think it&rsquo;s a great city for me to live and work. &nbsp;&nbsp;

CGN: What is your favorite interest outside of the art world? &nbsp;

LW: Traveling.

CGN: What is your favorite work of public art in Chicago? &nbsp;

LW: Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa in Millennium Park.

CGN: What&rsquo;s coming up next at your gallery? &nbsp;

LW: On view now are three exhibitions: Chris Uphues: Heavy Sunshine, Chris Cosnowski: I Love Humanity This Much and David Reninger: Transformation. Our fall opener is Chris Silva and after that, ending the 2017 season, is Peter Drake.

CGN: You began your career as an art dealer in Los Angeles. What five differences do you see between LA and Chicago?

LW:

<ol>
	<li>LA&rsquo;s art scene is thriving and feels more alive and ever expanding than Chicago.</li>
	<li>Geographically, the art scene in LA is even more spread out then Chicago, so that, combined with the horrible traffic, makes it more challenging city to get around. &nbsp;</li>
	<li>There are many more galleries in LA then Chicago and in particular more significant international galleries have a presence there.</li>
	<li>Large-scale artwork seems easier to place in LA then in Chicago.</li>
	<li>LA is the opposite of conservative &ndash; so anything &ldquo;out of the box&rdquo; is looked upon favorably.</li>
</ol>

Linda Warren is the owner of Linda Warren Projects located in the West Loop in Chicago. For more information about her gallery visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/linda-warren-projects">Linda Warren Projects</a>.

An Interview with a Dealer: Linda Warren

CGN&#39;s weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

<h2>Hundreds of Vivian Maier Prints Donated to University of Chicago</h2>

&quot;Almost 500 never-before-shown Vivian Maier prints have found a new home at the&nbsp;University of Chicago&nbsp;Library, the university announced Wednesday. Maier [see photo above], the Chicago-area nanny who has become famous posthumously as a street photographer &mdash; and as the subject of extensive legal wrangling &mdash; has had museum and gallery shows but has not previously had her work held by a research institution.&quot; -Chicago Tribune

<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-ent-vivian-maier-prints-donated-uofc-0720-20170719-story.html">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Lee Bey Named Vice President of Chicago&rsquo;s DuSable&nbsp;Museum</h2>

<a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/lee-bey-named-vice-president-of-chicagos-dusable-museum/"><img alt="" data-caption="Lee Bey. Courtesy of the DuSable Museum" data-rich-file-id="2211" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2211/original/10408611-10153465068479758-2277530458266498679-n-e1500493052100.jpg" /></a>

&quot;Change and expansion have become the name of the game at Chicago&rsquo;s DuSable Museum of African American History since March 2016, when it was granted Smithsonian Affiliation status by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. That distinction signaled the beginning of a long-term collaborative partnership between the DuSable and the world&rsquo;s largest museum and research complex. And now comes word that the museum has named Chicago cultural gadfly Lee Bey its first-ever vice president for planning, education and museum experience.&quot; -Chicago Sun-Times

<a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/lee-bey-named-vice-president-of-chicagos-dusable-museum/">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

University of Michigan Hires New Director for Museum of Art

<a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2017/07/um_hires_new_director_for_muse.html"><img alt="" data-caption="Christina Olsen" data-rich-file-id="2212" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2212/original/article0.jpg" /></a>

&quot;The University of Michigan has hired a new director for the Museum of Art. Christina Olsen will run the museum for a five year term starting Oct. 30. The UM Board of Regents approved the appointment Thursday, July 20 after a national search.&quot; -MichiganLive

<a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2017/07/um_hires_new_director_for_muse.html">Read more...</a>

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<h2>Victims of a Jerusalem Bombing Want to Seize Artifacts from Oriental Institute&nbsp;as Damages</h2>

<a href="https://hyperallergic.com/391778/victims-of-a-jerusalem-bombing-want-to-seize-artifacts-from-a-chicago-museum-as-damages/"><img alt="" data-caption="The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago" data-rich-file-id="2213" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2213/original/oi.jpg" /></a>

&quot;On September 4, 1997, Hamas terrorists&nbsp;bombed&nbsp;a mall in Jerusalem, killing five people and wounding nearly 200. In 2001, the US survivors and family members of those killed sued the Islamic Republic of Iran in federal court in Chicago, claiming the country had sponsored the bombing. In 2003, a US District Judge in Washington DC awarded the plaintiffs about $71 million in damages. Iran never paid up, so to satisfy their judgement, the plaintiffs have been waging a legal battle for over a decade to seize Persian artifacts that are &nbsp;in the&nbsp;Oriental Institute&nbsp;of the University of Chicago and in the&nbsp;Field Museum of Natural History, also in Chicago. The Supreme Court&nbsp;will hear the case&nbsp;in the fall.&quot; -Hyperallergic

<a href="https://hyperallergic.com/391778/victims-of-a-jerusalem-bombing-want-to-seize-artifacts-from-a-chicago-museum-as-damages/">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Motion to Dismiss Denied in Copyright Suit Against Richard Prince and Gagosian</h2>

<a href="http://theartnewspaper.com/news/news/motion-to-dismiss-denied-in-copyright-suit-against-richard-prince-and-gagosian/"><img alt="" data-caption="Donald Graham, &lt;i&gt;Rastafarian Smoking a Joint&lt;/i&gt;, 1996 (left). Richard Prince, &lt;i&gt;Untitled&lt;/i&gt;, 2014 (right) / Art Newspaper" data-rich-file-id="2214" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2214/original/rp.jpg" /></a>

&quot;A Manhattan federal court judge yesterday (18 July) rejected the request of Richard Prince, the Gagosian Gallery, and Larry Gagosian to dismiss the copyright infringement lawsuit of photographer Donald Graham. Graham alleges that Prince unlawfully used his photograph Rastafarian Smoking a Joint (1996) when he enlarged an Instagram post of it for his New Portraits show at New York&#39;s Gagosian Gallery&nbsp;in 2014. &quot; -Art Newpaper

<a href="http://theartnewspaper.com/news/news/motion-to-dismiss-denied-in-copyright-suit-against-richard-prince-and-gagosian/">Read more...</a>

Read the July 17, 2017 roundup <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/7/news-from-around-the-art-world-july-17-2017">here</a>.

Top image:&nbsp;Unpublished work &copy; 2017 The Estate of Vivian Maier. All rights reserved.

News From Around the Art World: July 24, 2017

Each week, CGN interviews a local art dealer to discuss the ins and outs of running a gallery in the city of Chicago. This week we caught up with Randy Alexander of <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/randy-alexander-gallery">Randy Alexander Gallery.</a>

Gallery: Randy Alexander Gallery 
Name: Randy Alexander 
Previous occupations: Fundraiser, Actor, Truck Driver, Curator 
Hometown: Chicago

Chicago Gallery News: How did you become an art dealer?&nbsp;

Randy Alexander: I lost my mind one day and the first thing that came to me was running a gallery.

CGN: Please describe your gallery&rsquo;s program in one sentence.

RA: Emerging and established conceptually-based art.

CGN: What&#39;s the first thing you do each morning when you get to the gallery?&nbsp;

RA: Use the restroom.

CGN: Thumbs up or down on art fairs?

RA: Down.

CGN: Artists you admire but don&#39;t represent?

RA: Berenice Abbott, Gertrude Abercrombie, Vito Acconci, Ansel Adams, Nicolas Africano, Josef Albers...I won&#39;t even get beyond the A&rsquo;s before we run out of space for this answer.

CGN: Best sale you ever had?

RA: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Sturtevant">Sturtevant&#39;s </a>Joseph Beuys&rsquo; Fat Corner.

CGN: What advice would you share with new or young collectors?

RA: Buy everything I tell you to buy.

CGN: What&rsquo;s coming up next at your gallery?

RA: Opening on September 16, two shows with Inigo Manglano-Ovalle and Jeff Prokash.

CGN: What major successes have you had this year? What about challenges?

RA: Major success this year was staying in business. Major challenge this year was staying in business.

CGN: How do you view working as an art dealer in Chicago? How does it compare to New York in the 1990s?

RA: Chicago has a dynamic emerging scene and my job is to find, exhibit and translate the most powerful work I encounter from that scene. &nbsp;The 1990s collectors in New York were more passionate about investing in emerging artists.&nbsp;

CGN: What is your favorite interest outside of the art world?

RA: Movies.

CGN: What is your favorite work of public art in Chicago?

RA: Kwagulth Totem Pole (east of Lake Shore Drive at Addison).

CGN: What are the five best shows you&rsquo;ve seen so far in 2017?

<ol>
	<li>Kerry James Marshall: Mastry at the Met Breuer</li>
	<li>Robert Rauschenberg: Among Friends at MoMA</li>
	<li>Joan Jonas: what is found in the windowless house is true at Gavin Brown&rsquo;s enterprise</li>
	<li>Florine Stettheimer: Painting Poetry at the Jewish Museum</li>
	<li>Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Gar&ccedil;ons: Art of the In-Between at the Metropolitan Museum of Art</li>
</ol>

Randy Alexander is the owner of Randy Alexander Gallery located in the South Loop in Chicago. For more information about his gallery visit: <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/randy-alexander-gallery">Randy Alexander Gallery.</a>

CGN interviews local art dealer Randy Alexander. 

An Interview with a Dealer: Randy Alexander

CGN&#39;s weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

<h2>Elizabeth Chodos Named Director of Carnegie Mellon&rsquo;s Miller Gallery</h2>

&quot;Elizabeth Chodos [see image above] has been named the director of Carnegie Mellon University&#39;s&nbsp;Regina Gouger Miller Gallery. Chodos joins CMU from&nbsp;Ox-Bow, school of art and artists&#39; residency in Saugatuck, Michigan, where she has worked since 2010, most recently as executive and creative director.&quot; -CMU News

<a href="http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2017/july/miller-gallery-director.html">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>MacArthur Gives $10 Million to Combat Violence in Chicago</h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170717/NEWS07/170719886/macarthur-foudation-gives-10-million-to-combat-violence"><img alt="" data-caption="Photo courtesy of the MacArthur Foundation" data-rich-file-id="2201" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2201/original/chicago-grants-eblast-.jpg" /></a>

&quot;In what it says is the first round of big grants designed to fight violence,&nbsp;MacArthur Foundation has awarded $10 million to area organizations. Community Capital Grants, a new initiative from the Chicago-based foundation, account for $6.9 million of the total. The foundation says the Community Capital Grants might be awarded annually, beginning in 2018, to Chicago groups that work to stem violence and racial inequity in the city.&quot; -Crain&#39;s&nbsp;Chicago Business

<a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170717/NEWS07/170719886/macarthur-foudation-gives-10-million-to-combat-violence">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Fixing the Met: Art Lovers Speak</h2>

<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_MET.jpg"><img alt="" data-caption="The Metropolitan Museum of Art. © Kai Pilger / Wikimedia Commons" data-rich-file-id="2197" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2197/original/the-met.jpg" /></a>

&quot;O.K., finding a new director for the Metropolitan Museum of Art will take more than a LinkedIn posting &mdash; but the hunt is on for a successor to Thomas P. Campbell, whose resignation last winter&nbsp;added a kink to the Met&rsquo;s tangle of troubles. Attendance, at seven million, is at a high. Exhibitions are some of the finest anywhere. Yet as it approaches its 150th birthday, the museum lumbers under a nearly $15 million deficit; a planned new wing for modern and contemporary art has been deferred; and the Met&rsquo;s optional admissions charge&nbsp;may be replaced with a mandatory entrance fee&nbsp;for out-of-towners.&quot; -The New York Times

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/arts/design/fixing-the-met-museum.html">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>In Wake of Closures, Galleries Are Adapating to Survive</h2>

<a href="http://theartnewspaper.com/market/galleries-adapt-to-survive-part-one/"><img alt="" data-caption="Joel Mesler in front of his Rental Gallery in the Hamptons, New York. Photo courtesy of Caliber Media" data-rich-file-id="2198" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2198/original/untitled.jpg" /></a>

&quot;For dealer Anthony Reynolds, the turning point came when the lease on his London gallery ran out and his landlord announced he was tripling the rent. &#39;I thought to myself, I can either find another space or I can find a different way to do this,&#39;&nbsp;the gallerist says.&quot; -The Art Newspaper

<a href="http://theartnewspaper.com/market/galleries-adapt-to-survive-part-one/">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis Launches Diversity Fellowship</h2>

<a href="https://www.artforum.com/news/id=69631"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2200" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2200/original/article0-popup.jpg" /></a>

&quot;The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis,&nbsp;beleaguered by controversy last year, announced today that it was awarded a $25,000 grant in support of a new fellowship program that aims to promote diversity and equity at the museum.&nbsp;unded by the PNC Foundation, through its Arts Alive initiative, CAM&rsquo;s new Museum Pathways Project will also engage with existing youth programs, such as LEAP Middle School Intensive, Teen Museum Studies, and New Art in the Neighborhood, to educate adolescents on how to pursue a career in the arts.&quot; -Artforum

<a href="https://www.artforum.com/news/id=69631">Read more...</a>

Read the July 10, 2017 roundup&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/7/news-from-around-the-art-world-july-10-2017">here</a>.

Top image: Elizabeth Chodos, formerly executive director of Ox-Bow, has been named director of Carnegie Mellon University&#39;s&nbsp;Regina Gouger Miller Gallery. Photo courtesy of CMU News

News From Around the Art World: July 17, 2017

The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) is a unique institution that we are fortunate to have in Chicago. Devoted to supporting contemporary photographers and to housing a wealth of images that represent prime examples of the medium, the museum&#39;s vast archives of photographs are comprised of more than 14,000 works by 1,465 artists. MoCP began collecting these works in 1979.&nbsp;

As the leading photography museum in the Midwest, the MoCP has established a reputation for broadening the visual arts by introducing new national and international talent to the public.&nbsp;The MoCP is committed to broadening the visual arts by constantly searching for new national and international talent to exhibit.

The museum&#39;s latest exhibition, re:collection, which opened July 13 and runs through October 1,&nbsp;is a celebration of MoCP&rsquo;s vast archive&nbsp;and an exploration of how we perceive images. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Photography as a medium is distinctive in its relationship to the practice of sequencing. With its origins in cinematic frames and a typically flat, reproducible form, photography lends itself to a storyboard approach. Photo books and exhibitions often depend on, and capitalize on, the fact that photographs that work well as stand-alone images can be enhanced and enriched by the presence of other images in their vicinity.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Images: Top Left: Angela Strassheim; Lower Left: An-My Lê; Top Right: Guillaume Simoneau; Lower Right: Alison Ruttan" data-rich-file-id="2196" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2196/original/recollection-strassheim-ruttan-le-simoneau-web.jpg" />

A stream of images runs through the galleries, spanning the history of photography and offering a diverse array of approaches. Each photograph speaks to its neighboring photograph in terms of content, form or another, more subtle, connecting factor waiting to be discovered. At certain junctures, tributaries are formed that group related ideas and address some of the most pressing social issues of our time. Each line of images starts with a camera-less construction, a nod to the beginnings of the medium when images were made without the camera apparatus as we know it today, and a gesture meant to underscore the unreliability of photographic representation.

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/re-collection">re:collection</a>&nbsp;is&nbsp;on view through October 1, 2017 at MoCP.

Top images:&nbsp;Left: Guillaume&nbsp;Simoneau;&nbsp;Top Right: Christian Patterson; Bottom&nbsp;Right: Rachel Papo &nbsp;

MoCP's latest exhibition celebrates the museum's vast archives.

re:collection at MoCP

Each week, CGN interviews a local art dealer to discuss the ins and outs of running a gallery in the city of Chicago. This week we caught up with Martha Schneider of <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/schneider-gallery">Schneider Gallery</a> who is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the opening of her gallery in River North. Join her for the opening reception of <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/then-now-30th-anniversary-show">Then + Now: 30th Anniversary</a> on Friday, July 14 from 5-7:30pm.

Gallery: Schneider Gallery 
Name: Martha Schneider 
Age: 76 
Previous occupations: Assistant secretary at law office 
Hometown: Buenos Aires

Chicago Gallery News: Please describe your gallery&rsquo;s program in one sentence.

Martha Schneider: Contemporary photography from around the world.

CGN: How did you become an art dealer?

MS: I started when my husband was a lowly resident in psychiatry and I fell in love with collecting art. He soon said I needed to find my own way of making money, so I started getting more involved in the art world, making friends with dealers, collectors and artists. My husband and I are originally from Argentina, so I started bringing small works back with me, and finding friends in my social circles to buy them. My circle grew and with the help of time, persistence and word of mouth I had a nice and growing base of collectors. I made some more important connections with larger corporate collections like US Bell. Eventually, I started to use my home for a display space and invited groups to view the work. For example, when I lived in Park Ridge, I invited the members of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago to come to my home and look around.&nbsp;

I moved to Highland Park and began advising people about art from home. I could be with my children and continue to pursue art dealing. I dedicated one of the bedrooms into a small home-gallery. From there I generated more clients and followers. Everything was working fine until one Sunday my doorbell began ringing like crazy; still in my pajamas, I opened the door to discover three clients in need of an emergency present for a friend. &nbsp;We solved their problem, but the experience was enough to make me decide not have my home disrupted any longer. So, I rented a gallery space on Green Bay Road in Highland Park, on the second floor. I opened it in 1982 and at the time specialized in ceramic and handmade jewelry. In 1988, my husband and I decided to move to the city, so the gallery moved with me to the River North and there it stayed. It&rsquo;s from the River North location that I started to add photography. The ceramics faded, and today I focus on contemporary photography exclusively. &nbsp;

CGN: How did you decide to focus on contemporary photography?

MS: I had been collecting contemporary photography, and when I was still representing ceramicists, one of the photographers I met, Luis Gonzalez Palma, asked what was on my walls. When I said nothing, he insisted, &ldquo;Put my photos on your walls,&rdquo; and so we started. Today, I still believe that photography is the media of our time. &nbsp;When I began, there were not a lot of galleries interested in taking a risk on photography, and contemporary photography especially. Some may say that I was a pioneer, but I just think there are some interesting living artists making powerful work, and I want to give them a platform.

CGN: What&rsquo;s the first thing you do each morning when you get to the gallery?

MS: I turn on the lights, grab a glass of water and start up my computer to begin checking my email.

CGN: Thumbs up or down on art fairs?

MS: Thumbs down, for me personally. I do have mixed feeling about them, but I don&rsquo;t enjoy the rhythm of them from the dealer&rsquo;s side. I enjoy taking time with my clients, and don&rsquo;t feel I can work the same way at a fair. I will go to fairs to see what is out there, who the new artists are, and what is being shown. The one thing I always come away with is a reassurance of what I like. I don&rsquo;t usually find the best work at art fairs.

CGN: Artists you admire but don&rsquo;t represent?

MS: Pierre Goonord, Fazal Sheik, Cindy Sherman, and David Hilliard, among others.

CGN: Best sale you ever had?

MS: The best part of any sale, for me, is being part of what connects the artist and the collector. Money keeps us alive, but it is not the most rewarding part of the exchange. I like working personally with specific clients, and my favorites are the ones who come back year after year to look, talk and share what they have seen and in turn what I&rsquo;ve seen to recommend for them. They are friends more than anything else. Some of my most faithful patrons are couples&mdash;one duo of lawyers out of New York, another major collector and museum patron out of Nebraska, some Italians who live in France, and a man in the hotelier business from Indonesia.

CGN: Your gallery is celebrating its 30th anniversary. What advice would you offer to your younger self?

MS: I am celebrating my 30 years in River North and 35 years as a dealer. However, my work in this business of art began quite a time before. When my oldest daughter was 9 months old and just starting to crawl, one of the members of the Museum of Contemporary Art came to my house and was interested in the art that I&rsquo;d brought back from Argentina. He acquired a few copies. So in less formal ways, I&rsquo;ve been in this business for more than 40 years.

As for advice, I would say first try to start with some experience in both art and sales. Try to establish a few clients and grow slowly and steadily. Keep a moderate sense of goals in the beginning, and stick with it. You must know what you like, and stay true to your own aesthetic. If you can, you will be able to transmit why to existing and new patrons.

CGN: What&rsquo;s coming up next at your gallery?

MS: The anniversary show. It opens the 14th of July and is on display through the first week of September. It will be a wonderful selection of old and new works by artists we have worked with through the years. The work I&rsquo;m most excited about is some new pieces we will have from Luis (Gonzalez Palma). As I mentioned, Luis was the artist who helped me shift from ceramics to photography, and probably the artist I was most influential in developing through the years. It&rsquo;s a special moment to have his work in our show, and they are as beautiful as ever.

CGN: What major successes have you had this year? What about challenges?

MS: I worked with Father Terry Dempsey to put a show together for Erika Diettes in the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art in St. Louis, Missouri that was very successful. Luis (Gonzalez Palma) is having a traveling retrospective in Spain that will likely travel more broadly in Europe, and he was also invited to contribute work to a site related to the Venice Biennale. This is the third time he is being affiliated with the global art initiative.

35+ years in business is also a major milestone for me. &nbsp;

The challenge is staying relevant and alive in the art world with critical work and not resorting to &ldquo;fluff&rdquo; that is easy to sell, but not as critical or valid as the sort of work we have stood by all these past years.

CGN: What is your favorite interest outside of the art world?

MS: My husband and my family. Also, traveling plays a huge part in my life and major interests. I love seeing how other people live and their customs. I believe that experiencing other parts and people in the world is important. &nbsp;

CGN: What&rsquo;s your favorite work of public art in Chicago?

MS: The Jaume Plensa Crown Fountain and Anish Kapoor&rsquo;s Cloud Gate in Millennium Park.

CGN: What are your five&nbsp;favorite places to see art in Chicago?

MS:

<ol>
	<li>Art Institute of Chicago</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Galleries including Stephen Daiter Gallery, Addington Gallery and Ken Saunders Gallery</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Museum of Natural Science</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Exhibition of college graduates at Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago</li>
</ol>

Martha Schneider is the owner of Schneider Gallery located in River North. For more information about her gallery visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/schneider-gallery">Schneider Gallery</a>.

CGN interviews local art dealer Martha Schneider. 

 An Interview with a Dealer: Martha Schneider

CGN&#39;s weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

<h2>Adjunct Professor Resigns from SAIC, Citing a &ldquo;Toxic Environment&rdquo;</h2>

<a href="https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/michael-bonesteel-resignation-saic-henry-darger-comics/Content?oid=27428790"><img alt="" data-caption="Former School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) professor Michael Bonesteel. Photo: Richard Pearlman / Chicago Reader" data-rich-file-id="2186" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2186/original/fob-isaacs-michael-bonesteel-900.jpg" /></a>

&quot;Author, art critic, and longtime adjunct assistant professor&nbsp;Michael Bonesteel&nbsp;resigned from the faculty of the School of the Art Institute last month, citing a &#39;toxic environment&#39;&nbsp;that &#39;feels more like a police state than a place where academic freedom and the open exchange of ideas is valued.&#39;&quot; -Chicago Reader

<a href="https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/michael-bonesteel-resignation-saic-henry-darger-comics/Content?oid=27428790">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>More Than One Thousand Artifacts from San Francisco&rsquo;s Mexican Museum May Be Fake, Report Finds</h2>

<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/living/article/Most-of-a-Mexican-Museum-collection-fails-11271345.php"><img alt="" data-caption="An artifact that was determined to be a forgery of a double sprout stirrup vessel from Northern Peru from 1000-1400 C.E. pictured at The Mexican Museum July 6, 2017 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Leah Millis / The Chronicle" data-rich-file-id="2187" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2187/original/1024x1024.jpg" /></a>

&quot;Almost all of the artifacts described as the oldest in the permanent collection of the&nbsp;Mexican Museum&nbsp;are either forgeries or cannot be authenticated to display in a national museum. That&rsquo;s the finding of a report commissioned by the museum board and submitted in late June by&nbsp;Eduardo P&eacute;rez de Heredia Puente, an associate of the&nbsp;National Institute of Anthropology and History&nbsp;in Mexico City.&quot; -SF Gate

<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/living/article/Most-of-a-Mexican-Museum-collection-fails-11271345.php">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>The National Public Housing Museum&rsquo;s Long Journey Home&nbsp;</h2>

<a href="https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/national-public-housing-museum-abla-jane-addams-homes/Content?oid=27428793"><img alt="" data-caption="The National Public Housing Museum’s future home, 1322 W. Taylor, on the Near West Side, was one of the first public housing buildings in Chicago. Photo: Maya Dukmasova / Chicago Reader" data-rich-file-id="2188" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2188/original/fob-fea-public-housing-museum-3-900.jpg" /></a>

&quot;When the&nbsp;National Public Housing Museum&nbsp;finally opens next year in a three-story brick building at 1322 W. Taylor&mdash;the last remnant of Chicago&#39;s oldest federal housing project, the Jane Addams Homes&mdash;it will be the first cultural institution in the country devoted to chronicling and analyzing America&#39;s attempts to house its people.&quot; -Chicago Reader

<a href="https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/national-public-housing-museum-abla-jane-addams-homes/Content?oid=27428793'">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Hobby Lobby Forfeits 5,500 Illicit Iraqi Antiquities and Agrees to Pay $3 Million Fine</h2>

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fanofretail/13848039183"><img alt="" data-caption="Photo: Nicholas Eckhart / Flickr" data-rich-file-id="2189" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2189/original/13848039183-6fd4783883-k.jpg" /></a>

&quot;Hobby Lobby, the private Oklahoma company that won a landmark&nbsp;Supreme Court&nbsp;case by pleading that its business was run according to rigorously moral Christian principles, has been caught importing millions of dollars worth of smuggled Iraqi antiquities.&quot; -Los Angeles Times

<a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-hobby-lobby-20170705-story.html">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>South Side Community Activists Push for Economic Promises from Obama Center</h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obamacenter/ct-obama-center-community-benefits-agreement-met-20170708-story.html"><img alt="" data-caption="An aerial view of the site for the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side on April 24, 2017. Photo: E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune" data-rich-file-id="2190" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2190/original/ct-obama-presidential-center-jackson-park-phot-001.jpg" /></a>

&quot;South Side community activists who want residents to see dividends from the Obama Presidential Center have begun drafting their wish list for community benefits agreements that seek new jobs, improved schools and affordable housing for nearby residents.&quot; -Chicago Tribune

<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obamacenter/ct-obama-center-community-benefits-agreement-met-20170708-story.html">Read more...</a>

Read the June 26, 2017 roundup <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/6/news-from-around-the-art-world-june-26-2017">here</a>.

CGN's weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.v

News From Around the Art World: July 10, 2017

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418570/dboyt3kymbqq5yce6zyi.jpg"></figure>Each week, CGN interviews a local art dealer to discuss the ins and outs of running a gallery in the city of Chicago. This week we caught up with Scott Speh of <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/western-exhibitions">Western Exhibitions</a>.Gallery: Western Exhibitions Name: Scott Speh Age: 46 Previous occupations: Artist, various day-jobs Hometown: Oxford, OhioChicago Gallery News: Please describe your gallery’s program in one sentence.Scott Speh: Western Exhibitions shows thought-provoking, visually innovative artists who work across most media, with an emphasis on LGBTQ artists, personal narrative, works on paper and artist books.CGN: How did you become an art dealer?&nbsp;SS: I moved to Chicago 15 years ago after two years in Brooklyn and became frustrated that friends of mine who I thought were great artists weren’t getting the recognition they deserved, so I decided to open a gallery. I was still an artist then and had no experience with such a thing. I did co-run the exhibition program at a small non-profit in lower Manhattan in the early aughts but it was decidedly non-commercial. I learn something new every day on the job, and I’ve been doing this for almost 15 years.CGN: What's the first thing you do each morning when you get to the gallery?&nbsp;SS: Make a pot of green or chamomile tea.CGN: Thumbs up or down on art fairs?SS: In the middle!CGN: Artists you admire but don't represent?SS: Kerry James Marshall, Nick Cave, Jessica Campbell, Daniel Rios Rodriguez, Erin Washington, Cary Leibowitz, Elizabeth Atterbury, Barbara Rossi, Faith Wilding, Judy Ledgerwood, Suzanne Treister, Hermonie Only, Ebecho Muslimova, Tyson Reeder, Katie Halton, Steve Reinke, Leah Mackin, Tony Tasset, Julia Fish, Tony Lewis, Gladys Nilsson and about a thousand more.CGN: Best sale you ever had?SS: Placing a beautiful but elaborate and logistically challenging Stan Shellabarger print (really an installation) into both the Art Institute of Chicago and the Baltimore Museum of Art collections was pretty cool.CGN: What advice would you share with new or young collectors?SS: Spend. Spend. Spend! Just kidding (sort of). But seriously, go the distance with artists you love and admire. Support their mercurial shifts in tone/materials/subject matter/aesthetics; artists don’t want to make the same thing all the time. Basically, trust artists! Follow their instincts wherever it might lead.CGN: What’s coming up next at your gallery?SS: A group show opening in July with a ridiculously specific conceit: the image of a fabric/textile sagging between two upraised points, titled <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/a-sag-harbored">A Sag, Harbored</a>. Artists include Michelle Grabner, Tanya Aguiñiga, Nicholas Frank, Rachel Niffenegger, Holt Quentel, and Paul Mpagi Sepuya. In the fall we’ll show animations, drawings and ceramic sculptures by Lilli Carré (opening in September) and two bodies of work by pioneering feminist artist Faith Wilding: a seminal series from the early 1980s in Gallery 1 and work fresh out of the studio in Gallery 2 (opening in November).CGN: What major successes have you had this year? What about challenges?SS: Opening in our <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2016/10/document-paris-london-hong-kong-volume-gallery-and-western-exhibitions-to-relocate-to-ukrainian-village-neighborhood">new location on Chicago Avenue</a> counts a major success, I think. It’s our fifth space in Chicago and the first one we were able to design from scratch. Every day running a small business is a challenge.CGN: How do you view working as an art dealer in Chicago?SS: I love living in Chicago. I’m incredibly grateful that I live and work here. No lie though, it is challenging in that we don’t have the density of art enthusiasts that, say, NYC does, but, and this is a big but, we do not have to suffer the overhead that NYC galleries do. I also love the camaraderie amongst dealers in this town. I share a building with three other galleries, and we all get along famously, sharing resources and working together for the greater good. And with the great art programs in Chicagoland, there are always interesting artists in this city.CGN: What is your favorite interest outside of the art world?SS: I know that I’m getting older, as I seem to care a lot more about baseball than I used to.CGN: What is your favorite work of public art in Chicago? &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;SS: Batcolumn by Claes Oldenburg.CGN: What are the top five exhibitions you’ve seen in the past year?SS:<ol><li>Jessica Campbell (Bria) at THE SUB-MISSION, Chicago, IL</li><li>Rei Kawakubo (Art of the In-Between) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY</li><li>Raymond Thunder-Sky (Demolition Man: Selected Works from the Raymond Thunder-Sky Archives) at The Carnegie, Covington, KY</li><li>William Weege (Peace is Patriotic) at Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago, IL</li><li>Sylvia Fragoso at The Good Luck Gallery, Los Angeles, CA</li></ol>Scott Speh is the owner of Western Exhibitions located in the Ukrainian Village. For more information about his gallery visit: <a href="https://www.chicagogallerynews.com/organizations/western-exhibitions">Western Exhibitions</a>.</body></html>

CGN interviews dealer Scott Speh of Western Exhibitions.

An Interview with a Dealer: Scott Speh

In recognition of Chicago&rsquo;s &ldquo;Year of Public Art,&rdquo;&nbsp;Chicago Gallery News&nbsp;is featuring a series of articles chronicling milestones of public art in Chicago. The fourth in the series examines the history of controversial public art installations.

By FRANCK MERCURIO

Controversy is never far from public art, especially in Chicago. Throughout the years, the city has seen its share of debates and scandals over art installations, ranging from cost overruns and incompetence to charges of public indecency and immorality to misplaced or destroyed artwork.

Even works that are much beloved today often began with rocky public relationships. When the city&#39;s famous &ldquo;Chicago Picasso&rdquo; (officially untitled) was unveiled in Daley Plaza fifty years ago this summer, it was&nbsp;not&nbsp;universally embraced. Indeed, most people puzzled over it.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;The “Chicago Picasso” was fabricated in Gary, Indiana at the American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel.&lt;/i&gt; Photo: Untitled sculpture (“The Picasso”), Chicago Illinois, 1967. Pablo Picasso, sculptor. Fazlur R. Khan Collection, Ryerson and Burnham Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago. Digital File #199207_151211-007. " data-rich-file-id="2184" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2184/original/199207-151211-007.jpg" />

&ldquo;Was it a joke? Was it for real? Why that? Everyone had an opinion,&rdquo; wrote&nbsp;Chicago Tribune&nbsp;reporter Sheila Wolfe the day after the unveiling ceremony in August 1967.&nbsp;

Writing in the same edition, the Tribune&rsquo;s art editor, Edward Barry, reported on the crowd&rsquo;s decidedly mixed reactions. &ldquo;With applause, startled exclamations, and incredulous smiles,&rdquo; wrote Barry, &ldquo;Chicago received its long awaited gift yesterday from the most celebrated of living artists.&rdquo;

Gwendolyn Brooks seemed to brace Chicagoans for the impending public controversy. In her poem, composed on the occasion of the Picasso&rsquo;s unveiling, she wrote:

Does man love art? Man visits art, but squirms. 
Art hurts. Art urges voyages&mdash; 
And it is easier to stay at home, 
The nice beer ready.

Art&mdash;especially public art&mdash;does indeed urge voyages. Each new work tends to push the boundaries of our collective sensibilities, challenging our shared notions of what art is supposed to be. The rules for evaluating public art go beyond formal and conceptual concerns and take into account other criteria that can make or break an installation. Does the work provide a civic amenity? Does it fit within its urban and architectural contexts? Is it accessible to the general public, both physically and intellectually?

All of these issues were debated with the unveiling of the Chicago Picasso in 1967. But what was then new and provocative gradually became familiar and accepted. Today, the gargantuan modernist sculpture serves as a symbol of Chicago; it&rsquo;s considered a unique civic asset, one that paved the way for subsequent &ldquo;plaza sculptures&rdquo; by other renowned artists, including Calder, Miro, Chagall, Nevelson, and DuBuffet.

Yet despite its current popularity, the Chicago Picasso still presents a conceptual conundrum to many people. What exactly is it supposed to be? A baboon? A dog? A horse? A praying mantis? A woman? For decades, the question has been debated by experts and amateurs alike.&nbsp;

&ldquo;The identity of the sculpture&rsquo;s inspiration [is] an ongoing controversy that to this day has not been definitively resolved,&rdquo; writes Patricia Balton Stratton in her recently published book The Chicago Picasso: A Point of Departure. &ldquo;Part of the reason for the uncertainty,&rdquo; continues Stratton, &ldquo;was that Picasso himself refused to speak about the sculpture&rsquo;s provenance or even to name it, an act of negative creativity that opened up the sculpture&rsquo;s field of meaning and made it truly public.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="Photo courtesy of Franck Mercurio" data-rich-file-id="2177" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2177/original/2016-04-29-19-37-48.jpg" />

Despite the intense desire to solve the mystery of the sculpture&rsquo;s identity, the subject matter (if there is any) probably didn&rsquo;t mean much to Picasso himself. Instead, the artist seemed more intent on refining a set of formal concepts that he had pursued and explored throughout his 70-plus-year career.

These explorations can be traced back to Picasso&rsquo;s guitar constructions of 1912&ndash;1914 when he first experimented with planar and linear elements to define space and suggest volume. More radically, the artist used linear elements to compose his&nbsp;Project for a Monument to Guillaume Apollinaire&nbsp;(1928), a collaboration with the sculptor Julio Gonz&aacute;lez. These early works are the ancestors of the Chicago Picasso, which includes many of the same elements, but rendered on a monumental scale.

Picasso also played with the idea of seeing and experiencing the sculpture in different ways depending on the viewer&rsquo;s vantage point.

Looking directly at the work, the viewer is confronted with a gigantic totemic figure, its &ldquo;face&rdquo; reminiscent of an African mask. Picasso collected art from Africa and Oceania throughout his career, and these works often served as inspiration for his own art, most famously in his painting&nbsp;Les Demoiselles d&#39;Avignon&nbsp;(1907).

However, looking at the Chicago Picasso from either side, the viewer&rsquo;s perception changes; a profile of a woman becomes apparent, suggesting the many portraits Picasso made of his wife, Jacqueline, created during the same time period he was working on the Chicago commission.

These shifting perceptions reflect a kind of Cubist sensibility, providing multiple perspectives within one piece. But the Chicago Picasso also represents a lifetime of sculptural explorations, culminating in a single work and making a simple &ldquo;one answer&rdquo; reading of the piece impossible.

But even as debates about the meaning of the Chicago Picasso continue, it&rsquo;s worth noting that it was not the first or last public art controversy in Chicago. One of the earliest to seize the public&rsquo;s attention centered around a bronze sculpture installed on the front steps of the Art Institute in 1916: a rather handsome male nude titled&nbsp;The Sower.

<img alt="" data-caption="Albin Polasek, &lt;i&gt;The Sower&lt;/i&gt;, 1916. &lt;i&gt;The Sower&lt;/i&gt; currently overlooks the Esplanade at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Photo courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden " data-rich-file-id="2183" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2183/original/sower-183.jpg" />

The artist, Albin Polasek (1879&ndash;1965), had arrived in Chicago from Rome to head the School of the Art Institute&rsquo;s sculpture department. While studying at the American Academy in Rome, Polasek had modeled&nbsp;The Sower, a classically inspired figure in the tradition of monumental male nudes in Western art. (Think Michelangelo&rsquo;s&nbsp;David, but with an agrarian calling.) The Art Institute placed&nbsp;The Sower&nbsp;on public view outside the museum&rsquo;s main entrance, in part to advertise a large exhibition of American sculpture, but also to celebrate the opening of a new gallery space&mdash;Gunsaulus Hall&mdash;spanning the Illinois Central Railway tracks.

The &ldquo;naked farmer&rdquo; immediately caught the gaze of many Chicagoans, who were not accustomed to seeing full-frontal male nudity on Michigan Avenue. It also caught the attention of the city&rsquo;s first &ldquo;censor of public morals&rdquo; Major M.L.C. Funkhouser. He tried&mdash;in vain&mdash;to have&nbsp;The Sower&nbsp;taken off view in the name of public decency. Letters to Chicago&rsquo;s newspapers were both for and against sculpture. Yet throughout the scandal, the Art Institute stood its ground, and Polasek kept his sense of humor.

&ldquo;He was highly entertained by it all,&rdquo; recounted Polasek&rsquo;s wife, Ruth Sherwood, in her biography of the artist. &ldquo;More over, the discussion brought him fame overnight. People who would never have thought to visit the Art Institute flocked downtown to see the &lsquo;Sower.&rsquo;&rdquo;

Chicago newspapers also had fun with the controversy. When the time came to bring&nbsp;The Sower&nbsp;inside the museum (to accompany an exhibition of Polasek&rsquo;s work), the&nbsp;Chicago Tribune&nbsp;wrote that &ldquo;Nippy December breezes whistling about the Art Institute made it necessary for &lsquo;The Sower&rsquo; to put on his pants or get out of the weather&mdash;so he has gone in.&rdquo;

The Sower&nbsp;is now on permanent display at the Chicago Botanic Garden where he watches over the Esplanade four seasons a year&mdash;in all his natural glory.

<img alt="" data-caption="Albin Polasek, &lt;i&gt;The Sower&lt;/i&gt;, 1916. &lt;i&gt;The Sower&lt;/i&gt; currently overlooks the Esplanade at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Photo courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden " data-rich-file-id="2180" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2180/original/esplanade-20sower-201.jpg" />

Polasek&rsquo;s masterwork remained controversial for only a few months. But not all public art controversies erupt immediately after a work is unveiled. In some cases, the scandal happens long after a work has been de-installed or decommissioned.&nbsp;

Case in point: The controversy surrounding&nbsp;Chicago Rising from the Lake&nbsp;(1954) by artist Milton Horn (1906&ndash;1995) happened years after the sculpture was created. Today, this monumental bronze relief adorns the Columbus Drive Bridge along the Chicago River Walk. But the sculpture took a very circuitous route to its present home.

Horn originally created the massive 12-foot-by-14-foot relief for Parking Facility Number 1, the first city-owned and operated public parking garage in Chicago. Opened in 1955, the modernist structure at Wacker Drive and State Street accommodated a growing number of car commuters within a state-of-the-art facility. The sculpture,&nbsp;Chicago Rising from the Lake, took pride of place on the building&rsquo;s gleaming white brick fa&ccedil;ade, where it faced north toward the Chicago River. There, it presided over a daily parade of automobiles, driving in and out of the facility, until the garage was demolished in 1983, making way for the Renaissance Hotel and the Leo Burnett Building.

But after its de-installation, the sculpture disappeared.

<img alt="" data-caption="Milton Horn’s &lt;i&gt;Chicago Rising from the Lake&lt;/i&gt; (1954) as depicted on the façade of Parking Facility Number 1 (1955) designed by the architecture firm Shaw, Metz and Dolio. Photo courtesy of City of Chicago Bureau of Parking and forgottenchicago.com" data-rich-file-id="2181" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2181/original/parkingfacility1-milton-horn-photo.jpg" />

Several attempts were made to find it. Horn tracked it down in 1987 near the city&rsquo;s Transportation Department office at 31st Street and Sacramento where it was found lying at the bottom of a tarp-covered swimming pool. Sometime later, the sculpture was moved to a metal scrapyard along the banks of the Chicago River. It was rediscovered there in 1994, receiving much press attention in the process.

Chicago Rising&nbsp;soon became a symbol of the city&rsquo;s failures to keep track of and maintain the hundreds of works of public art that had been financed over the years by taxpayers. Horn&rsquo;s sculpture sparked a movement in the 1990s to reform and improve the Chicago Public Art Program, which today oversees more than 500 works of art in 150 locations throughout the city&mdash;including the Chicago Picasso.

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/reallyboring/4040731323"><img alt="" data-caption="Photo: Eric Allix Rogers, &lt;i&gt;Chicago Rising From The Lake&lt;/i&gt; (Milton Horn, 1954). On the Columbus bridge over the Chicago River. © Eric Allix Rogers" data-rich-file-id="2182" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2182/original/4040731323-ffd088ab78-b.jpg" /></a>

Happily,&nbsp;Chicago Rising&nbsp;was restored and reinstalled in 1998. The sculpture, rescued from obscurity, is now enjoyed by citizens and tourists alike as they promenade along the River Walk.

What new controversies will arise now and in the future? Perhaps one is the scarcity of commissions given to women artists and artists of color to create major works in highly visible locations. Projects such as the Wabash Arts Corridor are beginning to address and correct this historic bias. But prestigious civic projects seldom are awarded to artists that fall outside the &quot;old white man&quot; category. Hopefully, new commissions&mdash;going to a broader range of artists working today&mdash;will be as exciting, challenging and significant as the great ones that came before.

Top image: Thousands of people jammed Daley Plaza on Tuesday, August 15, 1967 to witness the dedication and unveiling of the &ldquo;Chicago Picasso.&rdquo;&nbsp;Photo: Richard J. Daley Center, Untitled sculpture (&ldquo;The Picasso&rdquo;), Chicago Illinois, 1963-1965. C. F. Murphy Associates, architect. Fazlur R. Khan Collection, Ryerson and Burnham Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago.&nbsp; Digital File #199207_151211-009.

Read more from Franck Mercurio&#39;s Public Art series:

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/3/the-origins-of-public-art-in-chicago-from-the-bronze-lions-to-skylanding">The Origins of Public Art in Chicago: From the Bronze Lions to Skylanding</a>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/public-art-and-the-masses-examining-sculpture-in-grant-park">Public Art and the Masses: Examining Sculpture in Grant Park</a>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/5/no-little-plans-the-battle-for-public-art-in-chicago">No Little Plans: The Battle for Public Art in Chicago</a>

CGN explores examines controversial public art installations in Chicago.

Does Man Love Art? A History of Public Art Controversy in Chicago

By ALISON REILLY

On June 23, Rashid Johnson&#39;s solo exhibition opened&nbsp;at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Hail We Now Sing Joy initiates&nbsp;a new program for the museum to feature the work of a contemporary artist in the Quadracci Pavilion (designed by&nbsp;architect Santiago Calatrava). The show is&nbsp;an impressive presentation&nbsp;of Johnson&#39;s recent work and an exciting way for director Marcelle Polednik to inaugurate the space with her new vision.

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Rashid Johnson leads a tour of his new exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Pictured on the left is &lt;i&gt;Antoine's Organ&lt;/i&gt;, an enormous black scaffolding cube filled with houseplants, books and fluorescent lights. For Johnson, the grid is significant because he grew up in an academic household (his mother is a professor) and he learned how to draw on lined paper. " data-rich-file-id="2168" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2168/original/img-4225.jpg" />

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Inside &lt;i&gt;Antoine's Organ&lt;/i&gt; is a piano that will be activated by local musicians throughout the course of the exhibition. The installation also features some early video work by Johnson including &lt;i&gt;Black Yoga&lt;/i&gt;." data-rich-file-id="2171" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2171/original/img-4252.jpg" />

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="In the next room, Johnson continues to explore his interest in the grid but in this case through a two-dimensional surface. For his series of &lt;i&gt;Escape Collage&lt;/i&gt; paintings, Johnson layers photos from his childhood, stock images of palm trees, and black soap and wax onto ceramic tiles." data-rich-file-id="2170" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2170/original/img-4240.jpg" />

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="&quot;I was trying to be coy, but these are self-portraits,&quot; Johnson said. Like the &lt;i&gt;Escape Collage&lt;/i&gt; paintings, the the artist creates the &lt;i&gt;Anxious Audience&lt;/i&gt; work by melting black soap and wax and pouring it directly onto the white ceramic tiles. Johnson then quickly draws on the surface to create a portrait through the removal of material." data-rich-file-id="2174" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2174/original/img-4244.jpg" />

&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="In the final room of the exhibition, a large wood table is covered with a Persian rug and blocks of shea butter, which Johnson uses often in his work. For him, the material signifies how he was raised in an Afrocentric, non-religious space. But he noted that as he became an adolescent that familial space shifted leaving him to question his own identity. " data-rich-file-id="2176" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2176/original/img-4247.jpg" />

&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/rashid-johnson-hail-we-now-sing-joy">Hail We Now Sing Joy</a>&nbsp;is open through September 17, 2017 at the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/milwaukee-art-museum-mam--2">Milwaukee Art Museum</a>.&nbsp;

Top image: Rashid Johnson,&nbsp;Untitled Escape Collage (detail), 2016, ceramic tile, black soap, wax, vinyl and spray enamel. All images courtesty of Alison Reilly.

Rashid Johnson leads a tour of his new exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Rashid Johnson Leads Tour of Solo Exhibition at Milwaukee Art Museum

The year of public art is turning out to be just that - new elements of the year-long celebration continue to be unveiled regularly, adding to the ongoing joy and affection many of us have for our city&#39;s second-to-none public art collection.&nbsp;

Most recently, the&nbsp;Chicago Loop Alliance unveiled&nbsp;newly commissioned public art banner series on State Street in conjunction with the Year of Public Art. The commissioned&nbsp;series of&nbsp;banners&nbsp;pay homage to the Loop&rsquo;s iconic public art, though they are in fact temporary.&nbsp;Eight unique banner designs feature abstracted and distilled interpretations of public artworks that span the decades (including Pablo Picasso&rsquo;s unnamed sculpture in Daley Plaza (1967) and Anish Kapoor&rsquo;s&nbsp;Cloud Gate&nbsp;(2006). Done&nbsp;in an arresting eight-color Modernist palette, and created by&nbsp;designer and artist&nbsp;Bob Faust, the banners&nbsp;will be displayed&nbsp;July 5&ndash;30 on State Street between Lake Street and Congress Parkway.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2165" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2165/original/image002.png" />

Faust sought a design that allowed each unique sculpture to be recognizable, but also be part of a discreet set, arriving at a simple shape solution. Typography was reduced to its simplest elements, also to be part of the illustrative style and not compete with the illustrations themselves. Matisse&rsquo;s cutouts were among the inspirations for the graphic style.

&ldquo;These banners &ndash; which take familiar works and reduce them to their elements, reinforcing how ingrained public art is in our consciousness -- blur the line between art and design,&rdquo; said&nbsp;Kate Keleman, Creative and Placemaking Manager at the Chicago Loop Alliance.&rdquo; They transform the often-mundane street pole banner into an instrument that changes the experience of the street and creates an immersive design gesture.&rdquo;

&quot;Chicago&#39;s greatest public artworks make powerful memories from the feelings they invoke,&rdquo; said Faust. &ldquo;My goal through these minimalist graphics is to instigate a reaction that reaches back into our memory banks and pull up the original feelings made by the artworks they represent.&rdquo;

To read more&nbsp;about the battle for public art in Chicago click <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/5/no-little-plans-the-battle-for-public-art-in-chicago">here</a>.

Street banners for the year of public art in Chicago 

Look Up! Bright Banners Spread Art in the Loop

Each week, CGN interviews a local art dealer to discuss the ins and outs of running a gallery in the city of Chicago. This week we caught up with&nbsp;Louise Rosenberg&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/cultivate-urban-rainforest-gallery">Cultivate Urban Rainforest &amp; Gallery</a>.

Gallery: Cultivate Urban Rainforest &amp; Gallery &nbsp; &nbsp; 
Name: Louise Rosenberg 
Age: 54 
Previous occupations: Records Store Manager, Office Manager at Cabaret Metro, Massage Therapist at a holistic healthcare center 
Hometown: Skokie, Illinois

Chicago Gallery News: Cultivate Urban Rainforest &amp; Gallery is unique because you offer a selection of indoor plants alongside a rotating exhibition space. How did you decide to pursue art alongside gardening?

Louise Rosenberg: Great art and design are often inspired or informed by plants and the natural world. Many plants are in and of themselves works of art. We feature indoor plants and terrariums as a way to bring nature inside living and workspaces.

CGN: Please describe your gallery&rsquo;s program in one sentence.

LR: Our works are directly informed and inspired by pattern, texture, color and organic form found within nature, with an emphasis in flora.

CGN: What&#39;s the first thing you do each morning when you get to the gallery?&nbsp;

LR: Turn on the music.

CGN: Who are artists you admire but don&#39;t represent?

LR: Andrew Goldsworthy.

CGN: What is the best sale you ever had?

LR: When our buyers really deeply connect to a work of art, every sale is wonderful!

CGN: What major successes have you had this year? What about challenges?

LR: I really am bolstered by kind words from other curators and artists that appreciate the exhibits here at Cultivate. Our neighbors have said we are a wonderful addition to the community. Cultivate is different in many ways. We are not solely an art gallery. We offer many things that add life and dimension to any space. That is both an advantage and a challenge.

CGN: How do you find new artists to work with?

LR: Several different avenues. Artists sometimes make connections and suggestions. Being a business on Main Street in Evanston with longer hours than a more typical gallery setting, I am exposed to many people. Sometimes those conversations turn out to be with other artists or art lovers. I many times discover wonderful artists that live in the area. I have been approached on a pretty regular basis as well.

CGN: What are your favorite places to see art in Evanston?

LR: Artists studios and looking around me while walking the neighborhood.

CGN: What is your favorite interest outside of the art world?

LR: Music, plants&nbsp;and cats.

CGN: What&rsquo;s coming up next at Cultivate?

LR: In August, we have an exhibition called <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/flora-and-fauna-works-by-stephanie-chambers-lucy-engelman">Flora and Fauna: Stephanie Chambers &amp; Lucy Engelman,</a> which includes painting and illustration and in October, Shar Coulson will present mixed media on linen.

Louise Rosenberg is the owner of Cultivate Urban Rainforest &amp; Gallery located in Evanston. For more information visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/cultivate-urban-rainforest-gallery">Cultivate Urban Rainforest &amp; Gallery.</a>

CGN interviews local art dealer Louise Rosenberg. 

An Interview with a Dealer: Louise Rosenberg

CGN&#39;s weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

<h2>New York Congresswoman Proposes Student Loan Relief for Arts Workers</h2>

<a href="https://hyperallergic.com/387131/new-york-congresswoman-proposes-student-loan-relief-for-arts-workers/"><img alt="" data-caption="Participants at a demonstration against the normalization of more than $3 trillion in student debt, which took place at the Whitney Biennial on Friday, May 5. Photo: Occupy Museums" data-rich-file-id="2158" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2158/original/article0-popup.jpg" /></a>

&quot;Congresswoman Nydia Vel&aacute;zquez has introduced a new bill to help art professionals with their student loans. Under the&nbsp;American Arts Revival Act, announced by the Democratic representative from New York this week,&nbsp;arts workers would qualify for $10,000 of student loan forgiveness.&quot; -Hyperallergic

<a href="https://hyperallergic.com/387131/new-york-congresswoman-proposes-student-loan-relief-for-arts-workers/">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Entire Body of UK Public Sculpture Will&nbsp;Be Digitized by 2020</h2>

<a href="http://theartnewspaper.com/news/entire-body-of-uk-public-sculpture-to-go-online-by-2020/"><img alt="" data-caption="United Trinity (2008) by Philip Jackson outside Old Trafford stadium. Image: © the artist. Photo: Art UK)" data-rich-file-id="2157" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2157/original/34f37777fe12187b38e93ddabe17071f-da8c561f116b28d3bfb89b59e59b030a2000x1334-quality99-o-1bj4ulvd7k3toq72it14c1svva.jpg" /></a>

&quot;Britain will be the first country to create an online catalogue of its entire collection of publicly owned sculpture. Art UK, a charity which recently completed a similar venture for 210,000 oil paintings, is undertaking the operation in partnership with the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association.&quot; -The Art Newspaper

<a href="http://theartnewspaper.com/news/entire-body-of-uk-public-sculpture-to-go-online-by-2020/">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Along Chicago&#39;s Lakefront Trail, An Open-Air Museum</h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-lakefront-trail-public-art-met-20170620-story.html#nws=true"><img alt="" data-caption="John Henry’s sculpture Chevron becomes a part of Chicago’s cobalt skyline June 17, 2017, from its resting place near Diversey Harbor on the Lakefront Trail. Photo: Alexandra Wimley / Chicago Tribune" data-rich-file-id="2159" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2159/original/ct-lakefront-art-20170617-20170620.jpg" /></a>

&quot;On a cool, windy June afternoon, a ghostly figure, its knuckles hanging at its sides, strode south toward the Chicago skyline. Large Walking Figure 1&nbsp;by Thomas Houseago&nbsp;is the newest and northernmost piece in a rotating collection of sculptures along the Lakefront Trail. Installed two months ago, it will stand near the bike path about a third of a mile south of the Bryn Mawr Avenue access point for at least a year.&quot; -Chicago Tribune

<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-lakefront-trail-public-art-met-20170620-story.html#nws=true">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>New Jim Dine Mural Installed at Chazen Museum of Art</h2>

<a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/installation-of-jim-dine-work-at-chazen-museum-of-art/article_f2bc9b04-34d3-53ce-a83c-c2f7a7b1c5ad.html"><img alt="" data-caption="Photo: John Hart / State Journal" data-rich-file-id="2160" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2160/original/594980f7e7d41-image.jpg" /></a>

&quot;It took a transatlantic ship, enormous crates, special gantries, and before all that a high-tech laser scan &mdash; but finally Jim Dine&rsquo;s latest artwork is installed at the Chazen Museum of Art.&quot; -Wisconsin State Journal

<a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/installation-of-jim-dine-work-at-chazen-museum-of-art/article_f2bc9b04-34d3-53ce-a83c-c2f7a7b1c5ad.html">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Palais de Tokyo Taps 13 Artists for Satellite Exhibition at Expo Chicago</h2>

<a href="http://www.artnews.com/2017/06/26/palais-de-tokyo-taps-13-artists-for-satellite-exhibition-at-expo-chicago/"><img alt="" data-caption="Tony Karman, president and director of EXPO Chicago, speaks at a press conference on March 7, 2017 at the DuSable Museum's Roundhouse." data-rich-file-id="2161" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2161/original/tonykarman-hlm.jpg" /></a>

&quot;Palais de Tokyo and Expo Chicago announced today the list of 13 artists who will contribute work to an exhibition that will be held during the sixth edition of this year&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/expo-chicago">EXPO CHICAGO</a>, taking place September 13-17.&quot; -ARTnews

<a href="http://www.artnews.com/2017/06/26/palais-de-tokyo-taps-13-artists-for-satellite-exhibition-at-expo-chicago/">Read more...</a>

CGN's weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.


News From Around the Art World: June 26, 2017

Here we are enjoying the start of summer but still there are exciting&nbsp;signs of fall that we can look foward to and even embrace now.&nbsp;

In the art world here, and elsewhere,&nbsp;fall is the&nbsp;biggest cultural season of the year. In Chicago the defining&nbsp;event is undoubtedly the opening of <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/expo-chicago">EXPO CHICAGO</a> on Navy Pier and the art events and exhibitions timed to open along with the fair.&nbsp;The first sign of the upcoming fall art season erupted on Wednesday afternoon&nbsp;when an interactive installation by artist Roger Hiorns (Luhring Augustine, New York)&nbsp;debuted on the Pier&nbsp;as the first work that is part of IN/SITU Outside.

IN/SITU Outside is a citywide initiative that provides the opportunity for EXPO CHICAGO exhibitors to present temporary public art installations situated along the lakefront and throughout Chicago neighborhoods. A retrospective view of the pathway&nbsp;will be on view at Polk Bros Park on the Pier from June 21, 2017 through EXPO CHICAGO (September 13-17, 2017).

&ldquo;Siting internationally renowned artwork by artists such as Roger Hiorns speaks to the true collaboration between EXPO CHICAGO and Navy Pier,&rdquo; said EXPO CHICAGO President | Director Tony Karman. &ldquo;Navy Pier has a long history of working with the art exposition and presenting large-scale sculptures, and we are grateful to Michelle Boone and all at Navy Pier for recognizing the importance of presenting this work as a part of our IN/SITU Outside program. We are also grateful to one of our participating galleries, <a href="http://www.luhringaugustine.com/news/roger-hiorns-opens-large-scale-installation-in-chicago2">Luhring Augustine</a>, for working closely with all of us to make this happen.&rdquo;

The press release announcing Hiorns&#39; work on Wednesday explains, &quot;Hiorns&rsquo; interactive art piece is comprised of large-scale stainless-steel tanks, a compressor and foam, presenting the idea of continuous change in a joyous and ebullient manner.

The sculpture will produce giant foam clusters, which will be shaped by the wind and spread across the landscape. In this way, the artist engages with the surroundings, and blurs the lines between where the city begins and the art ends. The public is welcome to engage with the interactive installation, with the foam becoming the connective tissue between the individual and the artwork.&quot;

Hiorns said,&nbsp;&ldquo;I look to put the human back at the center of the artwork. I look towards how the human may now look, how the human will look in the future.&nbsp;I have to respond to my local environment of inner city pollution and a world of deeply contaminated ideas, so I make these acts of purification and cleansing. I want the foam to breathe a language of perfection over the environment, and this machine is the symbolically living body, to cross over to the world of breathing form from the simple and un-formable foam.&rdquo;

In case you thought you wouldn&#39;t make it out to Navy Pier before September, you now have an entirely cultural reason to make a visit much sooner than that, and that is just what the team at Navy Pier, led by former DCASE Commissioner Michelle Boone, is hoping for, following the extensive aesthetic as well as programming renovations that have taken place over the past couple of years.

Visitors to the Pier to see the work will be able to experience the daily foam eruptions at noon and 4pm. The installation is interactive and participatory, and the foam lasts for quite awhile after it erupts.&nbsp;

More information on the 6th Edition of EXPO CHICAGO may be found <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/5/expo-chicago-announces-participating-galleries-for-sixth-edition">here</a>.

Top image:&nbsp;Roger Hiorns,&nbsp;A retrospective view of the pathway, 2008-17, Foam, compressor, and stainless steel tanks, Dimensions variable. Installation view, Atelier Calder, 2008, courtesy&nbsp;Luhring Augustine, New York

Artist Roger Hiorns interactive sculpture was recently installed at Navy Pier in Chicago.

An Interactive Work Erupts on Navy Pier

Each week, CGN interviews a local art dealer to discuss the ins and outs of running a gallery in the city of Chicago. This week we caught up with&nbsp;Richard P. Norton of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/richard-norton-gallery">Richard Norton Gallery</a>.

Gallery:&nbsp;Richard Norton Gallery 
Name:&nbsp;Richard P. Norton 
Age:&nbsp;48 
Previous occupation:&nbsp;Distracted undergraduate 
Hometown: Chicago

CGN: How did you become an art dealer?

Richard P. Norton: Born and bred.

CGN: Please describe your gallery&#39;s program in one sentence.

RN: Great 20th century American paintings.

CGN: What is the first thing you do each morning when you get to the gallery?

RN: Hot coffee!

CGN: Thumbs up or down on art fairs?

RN: Big thumbs up!

CGN: Artists you admire but don&#39;t represent?

RN: Aziz&nbsp;Ansari, Leslie Jones, John&nbsp;Mulaney.

CGN: Best sale you ever had?&nbsp;

RN: Happy, appreciative and grateful for all of them!

CGN: Advice would you share with new or young collectors?

RN: Don&#39;t drink at Art Fairs; the &quot;stupid question&quot; is the one not asked and never buy anything online without seeing it first!&nbsp;

CGN: Which artist that you represent or work of art you have recently acquired are you most excited about?

RN: I&rsquo;m very keen on the gallery&#39;s collection of large, Post-War abstractions by the Bauhaus trained artist Eugene Dana, and the 1930s &amp; 1940s Modern Cubist paintings by&nbsp;LeRoy&nbsp;Turner we plan to exhibit this fall at <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/expo-chicago">EXPO CHICAGO</a>.&nbsp;The artwork hasn&#39;t been seen by the public eye in over thirty years.

CGN: What major successes have you had this year? What about challenges?

RN: My erg score is holding up pretty well, and I hope our set in the quad is better during the head races this fall.

CGN: How do you view working as an art dealer in Chicago?

RN: Find a good art fair in Grand Cayman during February!

CGN: What is your favorite interest outside the art world?

RN: Democracy in America

CGN: What is your favorite work of public art in Chicago?

RN: Lake Michigan

Top 5 
CGN: What are your favorite art spaces to visit?

RN:

<ol>
	<li>D&#39;amato&#39;s&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Bennison&#39;s</li>
	<li>Sweet Mandy B&#39;s</li>
	<li>Manny&#39;s</li>
	<li>Furama</li>
</ol>

Richard P. Norton is the owner of Richard Norton Gallery located in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. For more information about his gallery visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/richard-norton-gallery">Richard Norton Gallery.</a>

CGN interviews local art dealer Richard P. Norton.

An Interview with a Dealer: Richard P. Norton

CGN&#39;s weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

&nbsp;

<h2>University of Chicago to Renovate, Reopen Historic CTA Green Line Station</h2>

<a href="http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2017/06/14/university-chicago-renovate-reopen-historic-cta-green-line-station"><img alt="" data-caption="Renovations are planned for the historic CTA Green Line station as part of plans for a major arts and culture corridor along East Garfield Boulevard. Photo: Graham Garfield" data-rich-file-id="2149" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2149/original/garfield26.jpg" /></a>

&quot;The University of Chicago will renovate the interior of the shuttered, 125-year-old Chicago Transit Authority Green Line stationhouse in Washington Park as part of an ongoing effort to establish a major arts and culture corridor, called the&nbsp;Arts Block, along East Garfield Boulevard.&quot; &nbsp;-UChicagoNews

<a href="https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2017/06/14/university-chicago-renovate-reopen-historic-cta-green-line-station">Read more...&nbsp;</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>$11 Million Newberry Library Renovation to Add Gallery, Bigger Bookstore</h2>

<a href="https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170612/gold-coast/newberry-library-renovation-bookstore-expansion"><img alt="" data-caption="A rendering of the new ground floor lobby at the Newberry Library" data-rich-file-id="2150" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2150/original/lobby.jpg" /></a>

&quot;The Newberry Library will spend $11 million renovating its first floor next year, adding a new gallery and expanding its bookstore as it looks to &#39;foster new connections&#39;&nbsp;with visitors.&quot;&nbsp;- DNAinfo

<a href="https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170612/gold-coast/newberry-library-renovation-bookstore-expansion">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>NEA Awards $82 Million in Final Round of Grants for 2017</h2>

<a href="https://www.artforum.com/news/id=68954"><img alt="" data-caption="Arrow Rock Lyceum Theater in Missouri, which received $75,000 from the NEA’s final round of grants in support of its expansion project." data-rich-file-id="2152" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2152/original/article0-popup.jpg" /></a>

&quot;The National Endowment for the Arts, which is&nbsp;currently preparing to shut down operations after President Trump slashed funding for the federal agency in the 2018 budget, has announced that it is awarding $82.06 million in its final grant round for 2017.&quot; -Artforum

<a href="https://www.artforum.com/news/id=68954">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>U.S. Moves to Seize DiCaprio&#39;s Picasso, &#39;Stolen&#39; Funds in 1MDB Case</h2>

<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/malaysia-scandal-usa-idUSL1N1JC11F"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2153" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2153/original/dept-of-justice.jpg" /></a>

&quot;U.S. authorities moved on Thursday to seize a Picasso painting given to American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio and the rights to two Hollywood comedies, as they filed complaints to recover about $540 million they say was stolen from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad sovereign wealth fund.&quot; -Reuters

<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/malaysia-scandal-usa-idUSL1N1JC11F">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>What Sold at Art Basel</h2>

<a href="https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-sold-art-basel-basel"><img alt="" data-caption="Installation view of Mnuchin Gallery’s booth at Art Basel, 2017. Photo by Benjamin Westoby for Artsy. " data-rich-file-id="2154" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2154/original/d7hftxdivxxvm-cloudfront.jpg" /></a>

&quot;The mood at the 48th edition of Art Basel in Basel was buoyant, perhaps even jubilant. Was it the function of a European economy that has performed stronger than most had expected? Relief that populism may not be sweeping the Continent after all? A stronger influx of Asian buyers? The long days of nonstop sunshine? The contagion of the miniature dance party in the plaza outside of the conference center in which the art fair is held, courtesy of artist&nbsp;Claudia Comte? This depended on who you asked.&quot; -Artsy

<a href="https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-sold-art-basel-basel">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

Read the June 12, 2017 roundup <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/6/news-from-around-the-art-world-june-12-2017">here</a>.

Top image:&nbsp;Aerial view of the Newberry and Washington Square Park. Courtesy of the Newberry

News From Around the Art World: June 19, 2017

Each week, CGN interviews a local art dealer to discuss the ins and outs of running a gallery in the city of Chicago. This week we caught up with Francois Grossas of <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/galerie-waterton">Galerie Waterton</a>.

Gallery: Galerie Waterton &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 
Name: Francois Grossas 
Previous occupation: World Bank Executive 
Hometown: Originally from Provence, France

CGN: How did you become an art dealer?&nbsp;

Francois Grossas: I had a career as an investment banker, working for Chase and for the World Bank. With the latter, I spent several years in Southeast Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, and Indonesia) and while working there, I spent my spare time visiting art galleries, meeting and developing personal relationships with local artists and building an art collection. I also participated in the life of galleries, forming friendships with gallery owners and sometimes &ldquo;babysitting&rdquo; their galleries while they were away. Then one day I decided to open my own gallery in Singapore (2009).

CGN: Describe your gallery&rsquo;s program in one sentence.

FG: Galerie Waterton promotes and exhibits emerging and established artists mostly from South-East Asia.

CGN: What&#39;s the first thing you do each morning when you get to the gallery?&nbsp;

FG: After opening up, I tour the gallery and look at every painting on the walls, making sure that everything looks good before visitors arrive.

CGN: Thumbs up or down on art fairs?

FG: I like attending art fairs but would not participate as an exhibitor. I find the cost to be excessive for the potential return.

CGN: Best sale you ever had?

FG: It was in Singapore, when I had an exhibition for an Indonesian woman artist. A collector from Malaysia bought six of her paintings a couple of days before the opening reception.

CGN: What advice would you share with new or young collectors?

FG: Don&rsquo;t be obsessed by names or reputations, go for what you like, follow your instinct and above all, buy an&nbsp;artwork only if it literally fascinates you. Art appreciation is a personal thing, and you have to fall in love with an art piece before buying it. Our challenge is always to introduce new and attractive artwork so that our collectors and buyers keep coming back.

CGN: What major successes have you had this year? What about challenges?

FG: An exhibition for the late Indonesian artist Chandra Johan was well received and some major pieces were purchased. We also had an exhibition for another Indonesian artist, Gatot Widodo, and sold practically all the paintings exhibited.

CGN: How do you view working as an art dealer in Chicago?

FG: Being part of the River North Gallery District is very satisfying. It&rsquo;s a nice community of dealers who exhibit quality art, are friendly to one another and make a coordinated effort to promote the district as an important art destination. I am proud to be part of it.

CGN: What is your favorite interest outside of the art world?

FG: Traveling, mostly by car on the open road, going West to California and visiting the wonders of national parks.

CGN: What is your favorite work of public art in Chicago?

FG: The Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor

CGN: What&rsquo;s coming up next at your gallery?

FG:&nbsp;We are exhibiting several women artists for the remainder of 2017. Our next show is Mamas, Monks and Marigolds featuring two artists, one from Singapore and the other from Germany (June 23), followed by Chicago-based French artist Laurence Lignel, who will present her latest sculptures and paintings (September 8) and Indonesian artist Diah Yulianti (November 3).

TOP FIVE 
CGN: What five differences do you see between Chicago and Singapore?

FG:

<ol>
	<li>Singapore is a much smaller town, but it has proportionately more expats, who are good buyers and collectors.</li>
	<li>Singapore is a major regional center and attracts elites and wealthy visitors from neighboring countries.</li>
	<li>Singapore&rsquo;s government is very involved in promoting art, galleries and art fairs.</li>
	<li>Chicago has more local artists than Singapore and a much longer artistic tradition.</li>
	<li>Asian buyers tend to look at art more as speculative investment than for its decorative and artistic value.</li>
</ol>

Francois Grossas is the owner of Galerie Waterton located in River North. For more information about his gallery and upcoming exhibitions visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/galerie-waterton">Galerie Waterton</a>.

CGN interviews art dealer Francois Grossas of Galerie Waterton.

An Interview with a Dealer: Francois Grossas

CGN&#39;s weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

<h2>Naomi Beckwith is Chairing New Curatorial Leadership Summit at 2018 Armory Show</h2>

&quot;The Armory Show named curators for its Focus and Platform sections today and also announced a new curatorial leadership summit for its 2018 fair. Bringing together an international roster of prominent curators, the daylong summit is designed to foster &#39;new ideas and developments within the curatorial landscape.&#39;&nbsp;Naomi Beckwith [see image above],&nbsp;curator at the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/museum-of-contemporary-art-chicago-mca">Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago</a>, is serving as chair of the summit.&quot; - Culture Type

<a href="http://www.culturetype.com/2017/06/07/naomi-beckwith-is-chairing-new-curatorial-leadership-summit-at-2018-armory-show/">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Former Sotheby&rsquo;s Specialist Accused of Fraud May Face Twenty-Five Years in Prison</h2>

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4567912/Mayfair-art-dealer-face-25-years-bars-US.html"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2142" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2142/original/40efc5a600000578-0-image-a-21-1496445995033.jpg" /></a>

&quot;A top Mayfair art dealer is set to be extradited to the US where he could face 25 years in jail for allegedly swindling masterpieces worth more than &pound;8 million from wealthy clients.&quot;&nbsp;- DailyMail

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4567912/Mayfair-art-dealer-face-25-years-bars-US.html">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Auction of Rockefeller Art Is to Benefit Charities</h2>

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/arts/design/rockefeller-art-christies-auction-charities.html"><img alt="" data-caption="David and Peggy Rockefeller (1973). Photo: Arthur Lavine/Rockefeller Estate" data-rich-file-id="2143" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2143/original/rockefeller-item-blog427.jpg" /></a>

&quot;The personal art collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller will end up at Christie&rsquo;s &mdash; no surprise, given the&nbsp;return&nbsp;to that auction house from Sotheby&rsquo;s of Marc Porter, who has a long working relationship with the Rockefellers.&quot; - The New York Times

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/arts/design/rockefeller-art-christies-auction-charities.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fdesign&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=design&amp;region=stream&amp;module=stream_unit&amp;version=latest&amp;contentPlacement=3&amp;pgtype=sectionfront&amp;_r=0">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Units in Former Old Town Artists Colony For Sale&nbsp;</h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20170608/CRED0701/170609886/units-in-former-old-town-artists-colony-for-sale-together?X-IgnoreUserAgent=1"><img alt="" data-caption="Photo: Jeff Bara" data-rich-file-id="2140" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2140/original/ar-170609886.jpg" /></a>

&quot;A collection of five units is coming on the market in a onetime Old Town artists colony known for eccentric rehabs.&quot; - Crain&#39;s Chicago Business

<a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20170608/CRED0701/170609886/units-in-former-old-town-artists-colony-for-sale-together?X-IgnoreUserAgent=1">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Dakota People Are Debating Whether to Burn &lsquo;Scaffold&rsquo; Fragments</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Photo: Jim Mone/Associated Press" data-rich-file-id="2145" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2145/original/06durant-master768.jpg" />

&quot;The four-day public dismantling of Sam Durant&rsquo;s sculpture &ldquo;Scaffold,&rdquo; overseen by Dakota traditional and spiritual leaders, is nearly complete in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, after a week of protests, apologies and mediation involving the artist, the Walker Art Center and the Dakota people. But in an interview on Monday, the Walker&rsquo;s executive director, Olga Viso, said the Dakota were debating whether the wood fragments would indeed be burned, as previously announced.&quot; - The New York Times

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/05/arts/design/dakota-people-are-debating-whether-to-burn-scaffold-fragments.html">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

Read the June 5, 2017 roundup&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/6/news-from-around-the-art-world-june-5-2017">here</a>.