BY ALISON REILLY

CGN is thrilled to partner with Chicago-based artist Brian T. Leahy to present Prop(House), an exhibition of new sculpture and drawing. We invite you to join us for an <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/brian-t-leahy-prop-house">opening reception</a> on Friday, June 2 from 5-8pm at our space in River North.

In advance of the opening, we had the opportunity to interview Brian about his background as an artist and art historian and his particular interest in domestic spaces, interior construction materials and the history of Minimalism.

Brian received a master&#39;s degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015 and is currently pursuing a PhD in Art History at Northwestern University. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/brian-t-leahy-prop-house">Prop(House)</a> is on view through July 21 at Chicago Gallery News.

Chicago Gallery News: You&rsquo;re an artist, an organizer and an art historian.&nbsp; How does your research experience influence your art practice?

Brian T. Leahy: This is an ongoing and active question for me. My background as an artist is rooted in studio painting and a commitment to abstraction; however, my research interests have tended towards conceptual and performative practices, such as the work of Tehching Hsieh. The easy answer&mdash;which is also truthful&mdash;is that my research, reading, and writing practices are always somehow informing how I am thinking in the studio, and vice versa, even if those connections are not always explicit.

However, over the last few years, I&rsquo;ve been trying to work through how these practices might more specifically coincide. These recent investigations of wallpaper, a bit of which I&rsquo;ll be showing at Chicago Gallery News, are one attempt in that direction. They arose out of simultaneous considerations of wallpaper as a pictorial strategy&mdash;which has a long history in modern painting, including the seductively patterned backgrounds in Matisse, Bonnard, and Vuillard, and an active life in contemporary painting, which you can see in work by a number of Chicago-based artists who are exploring ideas around pattern, textile, and abstraction now&mdash;and thinking about the cultural, aspirational, racialized, and political dimensions of wallpaper as a social material.

CGN: Tell me about your background. How did you end up in Chicago?

BL: I grew up in a small suburb just north of Milwaukee. I was able to escape the northern cold for the southeast, and spent a number of years in North Carolina. I went to school there, where I first wanted to study biology, and then realized I didn&rsquo;t want to spend sixty to eighty hours a week inside in the lab. I decided to study art and Buddhism, instead, and that&rsquo;s where I first learned what painting might do. After school I lived in the western part of the state in the Appalachian mountains&mdash;first I helped get a Buddhist community center started, and then worked with a small construction company as a carpenter&rsquo;s assistant, all while trying to keep making paintings. At some point, I wanted to be involved in the conversations around art that only seemed possible in a larger city, and ended up at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I&rsquo;ve just begun studying for a PhD at Northwestern University, so I&rsquo;ll be in Chicago at least a few more years&mdash;and now I spend all my time in the library, instead of the lab.

<img alt="" data-caption="Brian T. Leahy, &lt;i&gt;Untitled&lt;/i&gt;, 2017, gouache on panel, 7&quot; x 5&quot;" data-rich-file-id="2121" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2121/original/leahy3.jpg" />

CGN: Can you describe your experience as a carpenter and homebuilder in North Carolina?

BL: I was working with a construction firm that built large, well-made, super-insulated, expensive homes. I did it for a few reasons, other than just needing a job&mdash;at that time, I was thinking about trying to work in architecture. But I was also interested in knowing how a house goes together, how a pile of industrially produced materials gets re-configured into a place in which life happens.

CGN: How does that influence your art practice?

BL: It influences how I think about sculpture, certainly&mdash;often, when a house was framed but not yet sheathed in plywood, I wanted nothing more than to paint the whole thing monochrome and call it a sculpture. There are many sculptural moments that happen when building a house, from the way materials are stacked, to provisional two-by-four braces put up when the walls are raised, to the strange perspectives you get when installing hardware underneath the eaves of a three-story rise. It changed how I thought about form, but also how I thought about what materials might be meaningful, what kinds of things I could bring into the work I make, and how I thought about some of the relationships between labor and material.

<img alt="" data-caption="Brian T. Leahy, &lt;i&gt;Untitled&lt;/i&gt;, 2017, graphite on paper, 15&quot; x 15&quot;" data-rich-file-id="2122" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2122/original/leahy4.jpg" />

CGN: Your work Prop(House) appropriates Richard Serra&rsquo;s 1969 sculpture One Ton Prop (House of Cards). What prompted your interest in Serra&rsquo;s work and in Minimalism?

BL: Richard Serra&rsquo;s work is complicated for me. He has an epic status in histories of sculpture, and the October editorial board has championed his work for some time. On the one hand, I do love his work. The lead throwing pieces were important to me when I first saw them, and the Verb List is an incredibly beautiful moment in which language, drawing, and sculptural concerns all coincide. Balance as a component of sculptural practice is something that I am deeply interested in, and something that I first learned from Serra.

However, his work certainly has a darker side: multiple incidents in which preparators were injured during installation of his large plate works, and the installation of Sculpture No. 3 actually killed one technician, Raymond Johnson, in 1971. (Not incidentally, wallpaper also has a deadly history, something Lucinda Hawksley writes about in Bitten by Witch Fever: Wallpaper and Arsenic in the Nineteenth-Century Home.) Serra&rsquo;s work also seems to refuse to consider the social dimensions of its context&mdash;while he has often insisted on site-specificity, best exemplified in the legal case around Tilted Arc, he seems invested in the spatial and formal repercussions of site, rather than the socio-political implications. At the same time, I think Minimalism offered a kind of serious consideration of material that is still important now&mdash;and so, I&rsquo;m interested in working through the ways in which materials interact with the socio-political.

CGN: Serra&rsquo;s sculpture uses lead antimony plates, but you&rsquo;ve decided to use sheets of drywall and wallpaper. What is the significance of the material?

BL: The idea for Prop(House) actually began for dimensional reasons. I noticed that each of the lead antimony plates for One Ton Prop (House of Cards) are 48&rdquo; square&mdash;this is precisely one half of a standard sheet of drywall that you can buy at any building supply store. So, there was a kind of potential material efficiency in the replication of Serra&rsquo;s work with drywall&mdash;and, as anyone who has ever installed drywall before will know, it is always a question of material and temporal efficiency, minimizing waste and maximizing speed.

I was also interested in how drywall as a mass-produced, standardized material might update the rhetoric of industrial materials and standard sizes that Minimalist artists were engaged with, while simultaneously deforming their insistence on a kind of over-determined masculinity that materials like lead antimony seem to signal. I wanted to domesticate Serra, somehow&mdash;something that I feel like has already happened, in a certain sense, in the way that the imaginary of the cheap, rough, downtown New York loft scene of the 1960s and 1970s&mdash;which is crucial to early images of One Ton Prop&mdash;has been commercialized by real estate practices of the &ldquo;soft [newly constructed] loft.&rdquo; Indeed, this is the situation in River North, to a large extent, and one for which artists, galleries, and artworks have been a driving factor.

<img alt="" data-caption="Brian T. Leahy, &lt;i&gt;Toasters&lt;/i&gt;, 2017, gouache on drywall, 24&quot; x 24&quot;" data-rich-file-id="2120" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2120/original/leahy2.jpg" />

CGN: You&rsquo;ve described your interest in binaries, particularly the domestic versus the industrial. How do those relationships relate to Prop(House)?

BL: I suppose it&rsquo;s important to clarify my own interest: I am not interested in constructing binaries, per se, but rather in the processes by which binaries tend to structure so much of our cultural and psychological perspectives. A friend once told me that she thought good art is that which can hold multiple, seemingly contradictory things together. That&rsquo;s what I would hope my work as a whole, and specific works like Prop(House), might do: to hold the poles of a binary together in a single object or event. In that sense, I&rsquo;m interested in the way Prop(House) might be both industrial and domestic, unthreatening and disturbing, all in the same moment. To collapse seemingly disparate poles into a single object, I think, can make us a little more conscious of how those binaries get constructed in the first place. To me, houses themselves already do this&mdash;the contradictions are already present&mdash;but making a sculptural version of a &ldquo;house&rdquo; is a way of intensifying some of those contradictions, making them more distilled.

CGN: In November 2016 Mayor Emanuel announced that a record 33 tower cranes were installed in the city. However, the Chicago metropolitan area as a whole lost 19,570 residents in 2016, which was the greatest loss in any metropolitan area in the United States. Do you see a connection between your work and the current Chicago landscape?

BL: That&rsquo;s an incredible fact. I think the work can relate to similar changes happening across a number of urban centers in the United States&mdash;I&rsquo;m not sure how much of Chicago can be specifically read into the work. But, this fact&mdash;that high-rise construction is increasing even as population dwindles&mdash;certainly gives us some clues about the relationship between high-end construction, cost-of-living, and the political and economic priorities of a city. For me, the question is: what kind of material reconfigurations are occurring, and who are those arrangements affecting and how? And, what kind of questions can artistic labor introduce into those dynamics?

<img alt="" data-caption="Brian T. Leahy, &lt;i&gt;Allen Wrench&lt;/i&gt;, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 30&quot; x 30&quot;" data-rich-file-id="2119" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2119/original/leahy1.jpg" />

CGN: Do you often collaborate with other artists?

BL: I try to collaborate with artists as much as I can. It can be a way of having a more intensive kind of conversation with someone, one that allows each of you to figure out more clearly what the stakes&mdash;and blind spots&mdash;of your own practices might be. As just one example, I worked on an exhibition last summer called Our Lovely Secret Wreck at Hume Chicago, a non-profit gallery in south Logan Square that is run by an amazing group of artists and organizers. That show involved my own work, but also the work of J. Michael Ford, an artist here in Chicago, and Margaux Crump, who is based in Houston. I also worked with a large group of writers to develop something in between a catalog for the show, a collection of experimental writing, and an artist&rsquo;s book, which was in turn designed by Kitemath, an incredible design collective here in Chicago. The Chicago Design Museum has actually just acquired that book for their collection, in large part due to Kitemath&rsquo;s efforts. That whole show was a huge collaborative effort.

CGN: What&rsquo;s on the horizon for you? Do you have shows or projects planned for the summer and fall?

BL: The next major project is a solo show in Charlotte, at the New Gallery of Modern Art, opening July 13th. That show is called Easy Colors, and will involve an installation, paintings, and some works on paper, all thinking through the relationship between wallpaper and painting. In some ways, it&rsquo;s a companion to the work here at Chicago Gallery News. After that, I&rsquo;m not sure&mdash;I&rsquo;d like to find somewhere to show the new material that is more about aspirational, DIY diagrams from the 1970s and 1980s, these drawings and paintings on drywall that I&rsquo;ve mentioned. I&rsquo;ll be travelling some for research related to art historical projects, and I always like to draw when travelling. There are some projects that I&rsquo;ve been thinking about for a while that I&rsquo;d like to move forward on, including a large artist&rsquo;s book, and another painting series. Hopefully, there will also be time for some new collaborative projects.

For more information about Brian T. Leahy visit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.briantleahy.com/">briantleahy.com</a>. Prop(House) is on view at <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/chicago-gallery-news">Chicago Gallery News</a> through July 21. Please email or call to schedule a time to visit the exhibition.&nbsp;

Top image: Brian T. Leahy, Prop(House), 2017. Installation view at Chicago Gallery News, June 2-July 21, 2017.

An interview with artist Brian T. Leahy about his exhibition of new work at Chicago Gallery News

The Art of Domesticity: An Interview with Brian T. Leahy

The following letter from Douglas Dawson Gallery announces that the gallery will close in July after 35 years of sharing tribal art and ethnographic material with the public. Dawson and Wallace Bowling will continue to operate as private dealers.&nbsp;

To read CGN&#39;s interview with Dawson and Wallace Bowling on their 30th anniversary in 2012, <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2012/9/douglas-dawson-gallery-30-years-of-tribal-art">click here</a>.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

May 30, 2017

This year the Douglas Dawson Gallery completes thirty five years of business in Chicago. Hundreds of exhibitions, dozens of art fairs, and thousands of magical, provocative and beautiful objects later we have decided to close the gallery. At the end of this coming July, 2017, we will close the doors of our gallery space&nbsp;and assume a new persona as private dealers. From time to time we will mount exhibitions and publish catalogs - just not in our own gallery. We will not disappear - just change the scope and presentation of our operations.

&nbsp;Over the next three months we will be mounting small, thematic exhibitions of existing inventory in our Michigan Avenue location. These sales will provide an excellent opportunity to acquire high quality and important ethnographic material at exceptionally low prices.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
In July Chicago-based Wright Auctioneers will feature a selective sale of approximately one hundred curated objects acquired by this Gallery over the years. We are very excited about this collaboration with Wright, whose presentation and professionalism set a standard in their field. 
&nbsp; 
The importance of tribal art cannot be overstated. Its complex history with modern Western art is intriguing and complex. Each informs the other. For anyone interested in how the human mind is compelled to make experience tangible then one must consider tribal art. Look at it, wonder about it, live with it, be inspired by it and let it broaden your world. 
&nbsp; 
Profound gratitude to everyone who has supported this gallery through patronage and visitation over the past thirty-five years. 
Please continue to follow us on-line for updates on our plans and activities. 
 
Douglas, Wallace, Nancy, Armando and Roman 
 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/douglas-dawson-gallery">douglas dawson</a> 
224 South Michigan Avenue 
Suite 266&nbsp; 
Chicago, IL 60604 
&nbsp;312.226.7975

Douglas Dawson Gallery Closing Chicago space after 35 years

Douglas Dawson Gallery Closing in July

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/expo-chicago">EXPO CHICAGO</a> has released its list of exhibiting galleries for its sixth annual edition, September 13-17, 2017 at Navy Pier&#39;s Festival Hall.&nbsp;

From the official press release:

<blockquote>
EXPO CHICAGO, The International Exposition of Contemporary &amp; Modern Art, today announced the premier list of exhibitors for its sixth annual edition,&nbsp;September 13&ndash;17, 2017&nbsp;at Navy Pier&rsquo;s Festival Hall. Marking its most global edition to date, EXPO CHICAGO welcomes 135 leading galleries representing 25 countries and 58 cities from around the world. Countries represented at the 2017 exposition include: United States, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Uruguay. 
 
The 2017 exhibitor list was chosen by an international Selection Committee comprised of leading gallerists, including Stefania Bortolami |&nbsp;Bortolami, New York; John Corbett |&nbsp;Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago; Christopher D&rsquo;Amelio |&nbsp;David Zwirner, New York, London; Rhona Hoffman |&nbsp;Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago; David Nolan |&nbsp;David Nolan Gallery, New York; Jessica Silverman |&nbsp;Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco; and Susanne Vielmetter |&nbsp;Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles. 
 
Of the many new additions to the 2017 exposition, highlights include:&nbsp;Gagosian&nbsp;| New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris, Rome, Athens, Geneva, Hong Kong;&nbsp;Tina Kim Gallery&nbsp;| New York;&nbsp;STANDARD (OSLO)&nbsp;| Oslo;&nbsp;Anton Kern Gallery&nbsp;| New York;&nbsp;Ceysson &amp; B&eacute;n&eacute;ti&egrave;re&nbsp;| Saint-&Eacute;tienne, Paris, Luxembourg, New York;&nbsp;Praz-Delavallade&nbsp;| Paris, Los Angeles;&nbsp;galerie frank elbaz&nbsp;| Paris, Dallas;&nbsp;Galerie Laurent Godin&nbsp;| Paris;&nbsp;Galerija Gregor Podnar&nbsp;| Berlin;&nbsp;MARIANE IBRAHIM&nbsp;| Seattle; and&nbsp;Galeria Filomena Soares&nbsp;| Lisbon.

In addition to the notable Selection Committee galleries, leading exhibitors returning to EXPO CHICAGO include:&nbsp;Carpenters Workshop Gallery&nbsp;| London, Paris, New York;&nbsp;Galerie Gmurzynska, Z&uuml;rich, St. Moritz, Zug;&nbsp;Alexander Gray Associates&nbsp;| New York;&nbsp;Garth Greenan Gallery&nbsp;| New York;&nbsp;GRIMM&nbsp;| Amsterdam;&nbsp;Paul Kasmin Gallery&nbsp;| New York;&nbsp;K&Ouml;NIG GALERIE&nbsp;| Berlin;&nbsp;Luhring Augustine&nbsp;| New York;&nbsp;MACCARONE&nbsp;| New York, Los Angeles;&nbsp;Matthew Marks Gallery&nbsp;| New York, Los Angeles;&nbsp;ONE AND J. Gallery&nbsp;| Seoul;&nbsp;Peres Projects&nbsp;| Berlin;&nbsp;Perrotin&nbsp;| New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo;&nbsp;R &amp; Company&nbsp;| New York; and&nbsp;Salon 94&nbsp;| New York.
</blockquote>

2017 PARTICIPATING GALLERIES&nbsp; 
AKINCI, Amsterdam 
Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe, New York 
Anglim Gilbert Gallery, San Francisco 
BERG Contemporary, Reykjav&iacute;k 
Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach 
Bortolami, New York 
Carpenters Workshop Gallery, London, Paris, New York 
CarrerasMugica, Bilbao 
casati gallery, Chicago 
David Castillo Gallery, Miami Beach 
Edward Cella Art &amp; Architecture, Los Angeles 
Cernuda Arte, Coral Gables 
James Cohan, New York 
CONNERSMITH., Washington, DC 
Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago 
Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montreal 
Luis De Jesus Los Angeles, Los Angeles 
Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago 
galerie frank elbaz, Paris, Dallas 
Flowers Gallery, London, New York 
Forum Gallery, New York 
Honor Fraser, Los Angeles 
Gagosian, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris, Rome, Athens, Geneva, Hong Kong 
Hilario Galguera Gallery, Mexico City 
Galerie Gmurzynska, Z&uuml;rich, St. Moritz, Zug 
Galerie Laurent Godin, Paris 
Graphicstudio, Tampa 
Alexander Gray Associates, New York 
Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, New York 
Garth Greenan Gallery, New York 
GRIMM, Amsterdam 
Kavi Gupta, Chicago 
Hackett Mill, San Francisco 
HDM Gallery, Beijing, Hangzhou 
Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles 
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York 
Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago 
The Hole, New York 
Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York, Z&uuml;rich 
MARIANE IBRAHIM, Seattle 
Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, New York 
Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York 
Anton Kern Gallery, New York 
Tina Kim Gallery, New York 
K&Ouml;NIG GALERIE, Berlin 
Alan Koppel Gallery, Chicago 
Galerie Lelong, New York, Paris 
Library Street Collective, Detroit 
Jane Lombard Gallery, New York 
Diana Lowenstein Gallery, Miami 
Luhring Augustine, New York 
Maccarone, New York, Los Angeles 
Maison Gerard, New York 
Matthew Marks Gallery,&nbsp;New York, Los Angeles 
Maruani Mercier, Brussels, Knokke 
Mario Mauroner Contemporary Art, Vienna, Salzburg 
McCormick Gallery, Chicago 
moniquemeloche, Chicago 
THE MISSION, Chicago 
Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg, Cape Town 
Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie, Basel 
David Nolan Gallery, New York 
Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco 
Richard Norton Gallery, Chicago 
Claire Oliver Gallery, New York 
ONE AND J. Gallery, Seoul 
Karla Osorio Gallery, Bras&iacute;lia, S&atilde;o Paulo 
parrasch heijnen gallery, Los Angeles 
Peres Projects, Berlin 
Perrotin, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo 
Galerija Gregor Podnar, Berlin 
Praz-Delavallade, Paris, Los Angeles 
PROYECTOSMONCLOVA, Mexico City 
R &amp; Company, New York 
ANDREW RAFACZ, Chicago 
RONCHINI, London 
rosenfeld porcini, London 
Salon 94, New York 
Eduardo Secci Contemporary, Florence 
Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago 
William Shearburn Gallery, St. Louis 
Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco 
SIM Galeria, Curitiba 
Sims Reed Gallery, London 
Galeria Filomena Soares, Lisbon 
Sous Les Etoiles Gallery, New York 
STANDARD (OSLO), Oslo 
Louis Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood 
Allan Stone Projects, New York 
MARC STRAUS, New York 
Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York 
Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong 
Tandem Press, Madison 
Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Munich 
Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, Brussels 
Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco 
Traywick Contemporary, Berkeley 
Vallarino Fine Art, New York 
Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles 
Von Lintel Gallery, Los Angeles 
Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis 
Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago 
Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York 
David Zwirner, New York, London

EXPOSURE 
The&nbsp;EXPOSURE&nbsp;section, installed on the main floor of the exposition, features solo and two-artist presentations represented by galleries eight years and younger, allowing the opportunity for younger galleries to participate in a major international exposition. For the first time, EXPOSURE will be curated, and will be selected by Director of Exhibitions and Senior Curator at Dallas Contemporary&nbsp;Justine Ludwig. 
 
The list of 2017 EXPOSURE galleries includes:&nbsp; 
313 Art Project, Seoul |&nbsp;Gigisue 
AA|LA, Los Angeles |&nbsp;Alex Ito 
Piero Atchugarry, Pueblo Garz&oacute;n |&nbsp;Yuken Teruya 
Cardoza Fine Art, Houston |&nbsp;Paul Kremer 
DITTRICH &amp; SCHLECHTRIEM, Berlin |&nbsp;Ivan Comas, Dorian Gaudin 
Downs &amp; Ross, New York |&nbsp;Vikky Alexander 
Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles |&nbsp;Alec Egan, Jordan Nassar 
Edel Assanti, London |&nbsp;Dale Lewis 
Fridman Gallery, New York |&nbsp;Reuven Israel, Navine G. Khan-Dossos 
jos&eacute;garc&iacute;a ,mx, Mexico City, Merida |&nbsp;Tania P&eacute;rez C&oacute;rdova, Jos&eacute; Le&oacute;n Cerrillo 
Geary Contemporary, New York |&nbsp;Vadis Turner 
Grice Bench, Los Angeles |&nbsp;Luis Flores, Kevin Reinhardt 
Gerhard Hofland, Amsterdam |&nbsp;Koen Delaere, Johan Tahon 
Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles |&nbsp;Ramiro Gomez 
Kimmerich, Berlin |&nbsp;Ivan Morley, Alice Tippit 
KLOWDEN MANN, Los Angeles |&nbsp;Rodrigo Valenzuela 
Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels |&nbsp;TR Ericsson, Emmanuel Van der Auwera 
David Lewis, New York |&nbsp;Barbara Bloom, Sean Paul 
MARSO, Mexico City |&nbsp;Lucas Sim&otilde;es 
Meliksetian | Briggs, Los Angeles |&nbsp;Steven Hull 
Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles |&nbsp;Genevieve Gaignard 
Night Gallery, Los Angeles |&nbsp;Mira Dancy, Isabel Yellin 
NOME Gallery, Berlin |&nbsp;Navine G. Khan-Dossos 
Officine dell&#39;lmmagine, Milan |&nbsp;Bronwyn Katz, Marcia Kure 
OFG.XXX&nbsp;|&nbsp;Arthur Pe&ntilde;a 
PATRON, Chicago |&nbsp;Lucas Sim&otilde;es 
David Petersen Gallery, Minneapolis |&nbsp;Lukas Geronimas, Lizzy Marshall 
ROCKELMANN&amp;, Berlin |&nbsp;Zachary Fabri, Kathleen Vance 
Romer Young Gallery, San Francisco |&nbsp;Elise Ferguson, Ryan Wallace

EXPO PROFILE 
New to the exposition,&nbsp;EXPO PROFILE&nbsp;presents solo booths and focused projects by established international galleries. Showcasing ambitious installations and tightly focused thematic exhibitions, this invitational section features major projects by a single artist or collective. 
&nbsp; 
The list of 2017 PROFILE galleries includes: 
Ceysson &amp; B&eacute;n&eacute;ti&egrave;re, Saint-&Eacute;tienne, Paris, Luxembourg, New York |&nbsp;Alexander Nolan 
GRIMM, Amsterdam |&nbsp;Charles Avery&nbsp; 
Maruani Mercier,&nbsp;Brussels, Knokke |&nbsp;Ron Gorchov 
R &amp; Company, New York |&nbsp;SuperDesign (Gianni Pettena, Lapo Binazzi, Studio 65, and Guido 
Drocco &amp; Franco Mello) 
Solo Galerie, Paris |&nbsp;Pezo von Ellrichshausen

EXPO EDITIONS +&nbsp;BOOKS 
The EXPO Editions + Books&nbsp;section offers a robust showcase of artist books, editions, prints and more. From limited edition collectibles to commissioned prints, the participating exhibitors will offer a diverse array of media that spans photography, collage, drawing, printmaking and art monographs. 
 
The list of 2017 Editions + Books exhibitors includes:&nbsp; 
Art+Culture Projects, New York 
Boreas Fine Art, Chicago 
DOCUMENT, Chicago 
Field Editions, Liverpool 
Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, New York 
Island Press, St. Louis 
Other Criteria, New York, London, Ilfracombe 
REN&Eacute; SCHMITT, WOL 
Spudnik Press Cooperative, Chicago 
Tate, London 
Whitechapel Gallery, London

More info on EXPO CHICAGO may be found <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/expo-chicago">here</a>.&nbsp;

Top image:&nbsp;Tom Burr, Other People&#39;s Pants, 2010.

EXPO CHICAGO announces 2017 participating galleries

EXPO CHICAGO Announces Participating Galleries for Sixth Edition

CGN is excited to announce that starting Saturday, June 3, 2017&nbsp;the meeting place for the River North Saturday morning gallery tours&nbsp;will&nbsp;be Fabcakes at 714&nbsp;N. Wells St. We are thrilled to partner with Fabcakes, an independently owned cafe in River North. 
&nbsp; 
Every Saturday morning at 11am a&nbsp;gallery representative meets participants inside Fabcakes at a designated table. Participants can enjoy a cup of coffee and complimentary samples from the bakery. The representative then takes the group on a guided tour of four River North galleries. The gallery roster and tour leader change weekly, and conversation centers on the exhibitions and artists on view. 
&nbsp; 
Tours run rain or shine every weekend of the year, except on major holiday weekends. No reservations are required. For groups larger than 10 people, please contact CGN at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@chicagogallerynews.com">info@chicagogallerynews.com</a> or 312-649-0064.

Participating Galleries as of June 3, 2017 include: 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/addington-gallery">Addington Gallery</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/gallery-victor-armendariz">Gallery Victor Armendariz</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/andrew-bae-gallery">Andrew Bae Gallery</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/catherine-edelman-gallery">Catherine Edelman Gallery</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/galerie-waterton">Galerie Waterton</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/hilton-asmus-contemporary">Hilton | Asmus Contemporary</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/ken-saunders-gallery">Ken Saunders Gallery</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/printworks-gallery">Printworks Gallery</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/the-rangefinder-gallery-at-tamarkin-camera">Rangefinder Gallery at Tamarkin Camera</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/schneider-jdc">Schneider | jdc</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/stephen-daiter-gallery">Stephen Daiter Gallery</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/vale-craft-gallery">Vale Craft Gallery</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/weinberg-newton-gallery">Weinberg/Newton Gallery</a> 
<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/zg-gallery">Zg Gallery</a> 
 
For more information and complete schedule visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/art-services/free-cgn-saturday-gallery-tours">Free CGN Gallery Tours</a>

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2109" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2109/original/fabcakes.jpg" />

Starting Saturday, June 3, 2017 Fabcakes will be the meeting spot for the Saturday morning gallery tours in River North.

CGN River North Gallery Tour Announces New Meeting Location

An exhibition of recent sculptures and paintings by Rashid Johnson opens June 23, 2017&nbsp;at the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/milwaukee-art-museum-mam--2">Milwaukee Art Museum</a>. Hail We Now Sing Joy includes a number of large-scale work including Antoine&rsquo;s Organ, Anxious Audience, Falling Man and Escaping Collage. Johnson, who is now based in New York, studied at Columbia College Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 2000s. He was offered his first solo exhibition at Schneider Gallery in River North after presenting his photography portfolio for a group show, and he had his first major solo museum exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2012.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2025" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2025/original/-mg-0931-johnr78463-2-.jpg" />

Johnson is now known for his use of glass panes, white ceramic tiles, shea butter, black soap, and wax to create compelling and immersive installations. Antoine&rsquo;s Organ, for instance, the centerpiece of the exhibition, which was shown at Hauser &amp; Wirth in New York in 2016, features a 10 foot tall grid of black scaffolding filled with lush houseplants in handmade pots. Embedded within the leafy greens are analog screens playing his early video work alongside neon tubes and shea butter figurines. Johnson noted, &ldquo;As a kid I remember thinking that if you could actually live in a place with palm trees, if you could get away from the city and the cold, that meant you&rsquo;d definitely made it.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2026" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2026/original/-mg-1034-johnr78716-2-.jpg" />

Rashid Johnson: Hail We Now All Sing Joy is on view June 23-September 17, 2017.

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An exhibition of recent sculptures and paintings by Rashid Johnson opens June 23 at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Among The Palm Trees: Rashid Johnson at the Milwaukee Art Museum

CGN&#39;s weekly round up of local, national and international art world news.

<h2>Elmhurst Art Museum Executive Director Steps Down and Joins Sotheby&rsquo;s Institute of Art</h2>

<h2><a href="http://www.artforum.com/news/id=68522"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2112" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2112/original/article0-popup-20-2-.jpg" /></a></h2>

&quot;Jenny Gibbs will be stepping down from her post as head of the Elmhurst Art Museum in Illinois at the end of this summer to become director of the Sotheby&rsquo;s Institute of Art&rsquo;s graduate program in New York.&quot; - Artforum

<a href="https://www.artforum.com/news/id=68522">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>A Basquiat Sells for &lsquo;Mind-Blowing&rsquo; $110.5 Million at Auction</h2>

<h2><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/18/arts/jean-michel-basquiat-painting-is-sold-for-110-million-at-auction.html"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2110" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2110/original/article0-popup.jpg" /></a></h2>

&quot;Joining the rarefied $100 million-plus club in a salesroom punctuated by periodic gasps from the crowd,&nbsp;Jean-Michel Basquiat&rsquo;s powerful 1982 painting of a skull brought $110.5 million at Sotheby&rsquo;s, to become the sixth most expensive work ever sold at auction. Only 10 other works have broken the $100 million mark.&quot;&nbsp;- The New York Times

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/18/arts/jean-michel-basquiat-painting-is-sold-for-110-million-at-auction.html">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Knight Foundation Awards $1.87 Million for Digital Museum Projects</h2>

<h2><a href="https://www.artforum.com/news/id=68480"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2111" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2111/original/article0-popup-20-1-.jpg" /></a></h2>

&quot;The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced today that it will grant $1.87 million in funding to help twelve art museums [including the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/museum-of-contemporary-art-chicago-mca">Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago</a>]&nbsp;use technology to immerse visitors in art.&quot; - Artforum

<a href="https://www.artforum.com/news/id=68480">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Announces Resignation</h2>

<h2><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/334581-humanities-endowment-chair-announces-near-immediate-resignation"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2113" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2113/original/article0-popup-20-3-.jpg" /></a></h2>

&quot;The chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is resigning effective Tuesday &mdash; the same day the Trump administration will roll out a federal budget blueprint expected to make big cuts to domestic programs.&quot; - The Hill

<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/334581-humanities-endowment-chair-announces-near-immediate-resignation">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>New York Culture Czar&rsquo;s Plan: Boroughs Without Borders</h2>

<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-culture-czars-plan-boroughs-without-borders-1495116952"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2114" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2114/original/finkelpearl.jpg" /></a>

&quot;Tom Finkelpearl, New York City cultural affairs commissioner who oversees $330 million in funding, has a plan for supporting underfunded communities.&quot; - The Wall Street Journal

<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-culture-czars-plan-boroughs-without-borders-1495116952">Read more...</a>

Read last week&#39;s roundup <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/5/news-from-around-the-art-world-may-15-2017">here</a>.

CGN's weekly roundup of stories from the art world.

News From Around the Art World: May 22, 2017

For the next few days the seventh floor of the Merchandise Mart will packed wall to wall with&nbsp;a wealth of fine antiques and art from many of the world&#39;s top dealers. Chicago has a global reputation for showcasing what&#39;s new and contemporary - in art, food, architecture and design, but this weekend&nbsp;antiques are once again new, in many ways. After a few years without a major antiques&nbsp;show to count on its cultural calendar,&nbsp;Chicago once again has an international fair in town. Thursday evening&nbsp;the&nbsp;Chicago Antiques + Art + Design Show&nbsp;opens with a preview party for collectors and enthusiasts, and Friday the show welcomes the&nbsp;public for the weekend. Thursday&#39;s preview benefits the restoration and conservation efforts of&nbsp;the Illinois Executive Mansion Association, with Honorary Chair Governor James R. Thompson.

Running through Sunday&nbsp;the show highlights fine antiques and artworks reflecting a variety of design periods from 100&nbsp;national and international exhibitors. The show is the only one of its kind in the city all year. Last year it was announced that the Chicago Botanic Garden cancelled its annual April fair. Antiques + Modernism Winnetka still takes place on the north shore in November.&nbsp;

Some highlight&#39;s from this year&#39;s show are shown below.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/chicago-antiques-art-design-show">The Chicago Antiques + Art + Design Show</a> runs May 19-21, 2017

<img alt="" data-caption="A work from Chicago's Richard Norton Gallery" data-rich-file-id="2106" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2106/original/img-1634.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Loana Purrazzo of San Francisco, CA" data-rich-file-id="2108" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2108/original/img-1630.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="A Bird in Hand, Florham Park, NJ" data-rich-file-id="2107" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2107/original/img-1632.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Only Authentics, New York and Palm Beach" data-rich-file-id="2104" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2104/original/img-1629.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Jeff Bridgman, York County, PA" data-rich-file-id="2103" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2103/original/img-1628.jpg" />

<img alt="" data-caption="Solomon Suchard, Shaker Heights, OH" data-rich-file-id="2105" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2105/original/img-1625.jpg" />

Key image at top: Earle Vandekar of Knightsbridge, Maryknoll, NY

&nbsp;

The Chicago Antiques and Art and Design fair at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago May 2017

A New Show of the Old Arrives in Chicago: Chicago Antiques + Art + Design at the Mart

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 third in the series recounts the battles between traditionalists and modernists in the world of public art.

By FRANCK MERCURIO

On&nbsp;summer days, the Art Institute of Chicago&rsquo;s South Garden provides a cool refuge from the heat and noise of Michigan Avenue. Formal in composition, yet modern in conception, the garden is a masterwork of mid-twentieth century landscape architecture. Its designer, Dan Kiley (1912&ndash;2004), planted a simple grid of hawthorns and honey locusts surrounding a large rectangular reflecting pool, activated by rows of water jets. Presiding over this urban oasis are five bronze muses from a bygone era, each representing one of the Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.

<img alt="" data-caption="Lorado Taft, &lt;i&gt;Fountain of the Great Lakes&lt;/i&gt; (1913) as it appears today as the focal point of Dan Kiley’s South Garden at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photo: Franck Mercurio" data-rich-file-id="2097" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2097/original/img-20170507-143811830.jpg" />

Modeled in various stages of dress (and undress), each idealized female figure holds a giant clamshell with water flowing from one shell to the next, mimicking the hydrology of the Great Lakes. This exemplar of American Beaux-Arts sculpture&mdash;titled Fountain of the Great Lakes&mdash;is the work of Lorado Taft (1860&ndash;1936), the Illinois-born sculptor, instructor, writer and lecturer.

Educated at L&rsquo;Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the 1880s, Taft first gained national attention at the 1893 World&rsquo;s Columbian Exposition. There, he put his academic training to good use, creating two monumental groups of figures for the fair&rsquo;s Horticulture Building. Later, in 1903, Taft made a name for himself by writing the first comprehensive history of American sculpture. Around this same time, he conceived the idea for&nbsp;Fountain of the Great Lakes, reportedly inspired by a suggestion from Daniel Burnham (1846&ndash;1912), the Chicago architect, urban planner and promoter of &ldquo;no little plans.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="Lorado Taft, &lt;i&gt;Fountain of the Great Lakes&lt;/i&gt;, 1913. Photographed in its original location in front of the south façade of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Allerton Building. Photo: Charles Cushman, 1941. Courtesy Charles Cushman Collection: Indiana University Archives." data-rich-file-id="2099" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2099/original/p02198.jpg" />

Burnham included a rendering of Taft&rsquo;s fountain in his influential 1909&nbsp;Plan of Chicago. A product of the City Beautiful movement, Burnham&rsquo;s plan presented a holistic vision of Chicago, unifying urban design, architecture and public sculpture. Within this context, outdoor sculpture was viewed as an important civic amenity.

But Taft&rsquo;s and Burnham&rsquo;s idea to promote Beaux-Arts ideals through public sculpture did not gain much public traction. Times were changing in 1913. Even before Fountain of the Great Lakes&nbsp;was unveiled that September, it was already out of date. The academic conventions of Beaux-Arts classicism&mdash;and artists like Taft who championed it&mdash;were being challenged by a younger generation of modern artists. The 1913 Armory Show (which opened at the Art Institute six months before Taft&rsquo;s fountain was unveiled) turned the American art scene upside-down. A celebration of European and American Modernism, the exhibition rocked New York before arriving&nbsp;in Chicago, where it was largely greeted with derision.

<img alt="" data-caption="Lorado Taft and group at luncheon at Midway Studios before a plaster cast of the &lt;i&gt;Fountain of the Great Lakes&lt;/i&gt;, circa 1915–16. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Archives, ID: 5338, RS: 26/20/16" data-rich-file-id="2096" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2096/original/0005338.jpg" />

Taft&rsquo;s scorn for some of the Armory Show sculptors&mdash;in particular Matisse, Brancusi, Archipenko, and Gaudier-Brzeska&mdash;was&nbsp;recorded and published in his 1917 book&nbsp;Modern Tendencies in Sculpture. He described their works in colorful language that ranged from &ldquo;foolish caricatures&rdquo; to &ldquo;startling abortions.&rdquo; Taft was no less kind to critics and members of the public who supported and embraced this art of a new age.

But despite Taft&rsquo;s protests, the genie was out of the bottle. In 1916, inspired by the Armory Show, a group of Chicagoans founded the Arts Club of Chicago, expressly as a vehicle for showcasing modern art. Here, many European and American modernists received their first major exhibitions in the United States, including Brancusi and Picasso and a few lesser-known artists, such as Lorado Taft&rsquo;s one-time student John Storrs.

<img alt="" data-caption="Chicago Board of Trade Building, Chicago Illinois, 1928-1930. Holabird &amp; Root. Historic Architecture and Landscape Image Collection, Ryerson and Burnham Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago. Digital File #31598." data-rich-file-id="2102" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2102/original/l031598b.jpg" />

The son of a Chicago real estate magnate, Storrs (1885&ndash;1956) spent much of his twenties bouncing between the United States and Europe, studying sculpture in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Hamburg and Paris. In 1913, he began studying under Auguste Rodin, and soon fell in with the modernists of the Paris art scene, making social and professional connections with the likes of Jacques Lipchitz, May Ray and Marcel Duchamp. Storrs began experimenting with abstraction, venturing from figurative works into non-objective compositions and working largely in a Cubist style.

Storrs exhibited at the Arts Club of Chicago on three separate occasions in the 1920s, and his works were well received by critics. In his 1927 show, Storrs displayed many of his &ldquo;studies in form&rdquo; and &ldquo;architectural forms&rdquo;&mdash;abstract constructions of stone and metal reminiscent of Art Deco skyscrapers. It is very likely that he met the architect John Wellborn Root, Jr. (1887&ndash;1963) of Holabird and Root at this exhibition. (Root&rsquo;s aunt, Harriet Monroe&mdash;the founder and publisher of Poetry magazine&mdash;was an active member of the Arts Club and hosted a reception at the exhibition.) Within a few months, Holabird and Root gave Storrs his first major public commission: a project to create a monumental figure to adorn the new Chicago Board of Trade Building.

The result was&nbsp;Ceres&nbsp;(1930) a 31-foot-tall aluminum statue representing the Roman goddess of grain. Storrs designed the sculpture as an extension of the architecture; the figure&rsquo;s streamlined form and long vertical lines echo the lines of the building. Capping the structure&rsquo;s pyramidal roof,&nbsp;Ceres&nbsp;serves as a kind of exclamation point at the apex of the building.

<img alt="" data-caption=" Chicago Board of Trade Building, &lt;i&gt;Ceres&lt;/i&gt; statue, Chicago Illinois, 1928-1930. Holabird &amp; Root. Historic Architecture and Landscape Image Collection, Ryerson and Burnham Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago. Digital File #80225." data-rich-file-id="2101" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2101/original/l080225b.jpg" />

The influence of Modernism is apparent in the design of&nbsp;Ceres. Storrs simplified the figure, reducing its forms to essential&nbsp;elements, much in the manner of Brancusi. Yet, despite the sculpture&rsquo;s abstracted formal qualities and industrial materials, its allegorical subject grounds the figure in earlier traditions.&nbsp;Ceres&nbsp;holds sheaths of wheat in one hand and a trader&rsquo;s sample bag in the other, symbolizing the&nbsp;commodities sold within the building. She&nbsp;is&nbsp;the city&rsquo;s Machine Age goddess of wealth.

Ceres&nbsp;is Chicago&rsquo;s first work of public art designed in a modern idiom, and she influenced later artists in a number of ways. Fast forward to 1991 when an artist of a later generation, Roger Brown (1941&ndash;1997), looked to&nbsp;Ceres&nbsp;and classical mythology as inspiration for two murals located a few blocks north of the Board of Trade Building. The controversial Chicago architect Helmut Jahn commissioned Brown to create the two murals for a new office building at 120 N. LaSalle Street.

Brown was associated with the Chicago Imagists, a group of artists set in opposition to art movements in New York, especially Abstract Expressionism. The Imagists&nbsp;found value in figuration, which they interpreted in surreal, cartoonish and quirky ways, often using humor and satire to inject social commentary into their work.

The interior mural, titled&nbsp;Arts and Sciences of the Modern World: LaSalle Corridor with Holding Pattern&nbsp;(1991) depicts a stylized version of the Chicago Board of Trade Building topped by an outline of&nbsp;Ceres. On either side, skyscrapers rise up along LaSalle Street, while two passenger jets fly high above the scene. A light shines down on the Board of Trade&mdash;through Brown&rsquo;s signature arcs of clouds&mdash;projecting a kind of sacred glow onto the building and on&nbsp;Ceres&nbsp;herself.

<img alt="" data-caption="Roger Brown (1941-1997). &lt;i&gt;Arts and Sciences of the Modern World: LaSalle Corridor with Holding Pattern&lt;/i&gt;, 1991, Italian glass mosaic, 9' x 6'. Interior mural in lobby of 120 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago. Photo: William Bengtson. Courtesy of the Roger Brown Study Collection Archive, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago." data-rich-file-id="2100" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2100/original/3-120-n-lasalle-inside.jpg" />

The massive exterior mural (22 feet tall by 57 feet long) above the entrance to 120 N. LaSalle is well known by many Chicagoans. It depicts two male, winged figures flying above a body of water. Titled&nbsp;Arts and Sciences of the Ancient World: The Flight of Daedalus and Icarus&nbsp;(1991) [Pictured, top of page], the mural takes its inspiration from classical mythology, specifically the story of Daedalus, the architect and inventor, and his son Icarus. The scene depicts them fleeing imprisonment using fabricated wings.

The exact meaning of the mural has been much debated. On one level, it can be read as a cautionary tale about &ldquo;flying too close to the sun&rdquo;; a warning to business leaders on LaSalle (and politicians in City Hall across the street) to reign in unbridled greed and ambition.

But a more subtle reading interprets the two figures as a portrait of Brown and his partner, the architect George Veronda. Curiously, both Daedalus and Icarus are represented in an identical manner&mdash;in fact, they look like brothers instead of father and son. In many of his works, Brown used a coded visual language&mdash;easily read by those in the know&mdash;but perhaps invisible to those outside the world of gay male culture. In this reading, the work represents a radical&mdash;even subversive&mdash;take on public art.

Each generation of artists brings its own mix of radicalism and traditionalism to public art. In a sense, Brown was following the precedents of earlier artists&mdash;such as Storrs&mdash;who developed new forms and concepts for the public to consider within the somewhat conservative, institutional framework that often finances public art commissions. What will the next generation of artists present to the city of Chicago? &nbsp; &nbsp;

Top image:&nbsp;Roger Brown (1941-1997).&nbsp;Arts and Sciences of the Ancient World: The Flight of Daedalus and Icarus,&nbsp;1991, Italian glass mosaic and stone, 22&rsquo; x 57&rsquo;. Mural over the entry of 120 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago. Photo: William Bengtson. Courtesy of the Roger Brown Study Collection Archive, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Read more from Franck Mercurio&#39;s Public Art series:

<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/2017/3/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>

&nbsp;

<span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,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); 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Franck Mercurio recounts the battles between traditionalists and modernists in the world of Chicago public art.

No Little Plans: The Battle for Public Art in Chicago

CGN&#39;s weekly roundup of local, national and international art world news.

&nbsp;

<h2>Stanley Tigerman, Margaret McCurry Closing Chicago Office</h2>

&quot;Two eminent Chicago architects, married to one another and partners in their own firm, are in the process of shutting down their Chicago office.&quot;&nbsp;- Crains Chicago Business

<a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170511/NEWS07/170519955">Read more...</a>

<a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170511/NEWS07/170519955"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2085" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2085/original/ar-170519955.jpg" /></a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Frank Lloyd Wright-Inspired Bar To Open in Chicago</h2>

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2086" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2086/original/smackshack.jpg" />

&quot;Prairie School, a partnership with Heisler Hospitality, is slated for a summer opening in the booming Fulton Market&quot; - Eater Chicago

<a href="https://chicago.eater.com/2017/5/10/15596634/prairie-house-chicago-bar-pdt-nyc-meehan-heisler-hospitality-frank-lloyd-wright-fulton-market">Read more...</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Floating Museum Will Bring Exhibitions to the Chicago River This Summer</h2>

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2087" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2087/original/floating.jpg" />

&quot;This summer, a mobile museum will travel to communities throughout the city via a floating barge, traversing the Chicago River.&quot;&nbsp;- TimeOut Chicago

<a href="https://www.timeout.com/chicago/blog/a-floating-museum-will-bring-exhibitions-to-the-chicago-river-this-summer-050817">Read more...</a>

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<h2>White House Curator to Retire After Working With First Families For Decades</h2>

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2088" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2088/original/imrs.jpg" />

&quot;White House Curator William Allman is retiring June 1 after a 40-year career,&nbsp;the White House announced Tuesday.&quot; -&nbsp;The Washington Post

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2017/05/09/white-house-curator-to-retire-after-working-with-first-families-for-decades/?utm_term=.6043c552bcd1">Read more...</a>

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<h2>Venice Notebook: Samplers From a Biennale Banquet</h2>

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2091" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2091/original/15venicenotebook-1-master768.jpg" />

&quot;The Venice Biennale, still the world&rsquo;s most distinguished exhibition of international contemporary art, opened to the public on Saturday, after a prosecco-drenched professional preview that has grown larger and less professional than ever.&quot;&nbsp;- The New York Times

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/14/arts/design/venice-notebook-a-feast-at-the-biennale-and-beyond.html">Read more...</a>

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<h2>Tower at Obama Center (Don&#39;t Call It a Library) Needs Tweaking</h2>

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2092" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2092/original/obamacenter-1.jpg" />

&quot;If nothing else, last week&#39;s unveiling of a design for the&nbsp;Obama&nbsp;Presidential Center in Chicago&#39;s Jackson Park reveals that the American&nbsp;presidential library&nbsp;has entered a new phase, one in which its traditional role as a trove of physical documents &mdash; actual pieces of paper and artifacts handled by actual presidents &mdash; is dead, a victim of the digital age.&quot; - Blair Kamin of the&nbsp;Chicago Tribune&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-obama-library-design-kamin-met-0507-20170505-column.html">Read more...</a>

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CGN's weekly roundup of stories from the art world/

News From Around the Art World: May 15, 2017

This summer the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/art-institute-of-chicago">Art Institute of Chicago</a> presents a major exhibition of work by the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin, highlighting his career not only as an accomplished painter but also as a sculptor, ceramicist, printmaker and decorator. Gauguin: Artist as Alchemist, organized by the Art Institute, Mus&eacute;e D&rsquo;Orsay and R&eacute;union des mus&eacute;es nationaux&ndash;Grand Palais (Rmn-GP) features more than 240 multimedia works, including the largest public presentation of the artist&rsquo;s ceramic work to date.

<img alt="" data-caption="Paul Gauguin. &lt;i&gt;Merahi metua no Tehamana (Tehamana Has Many Parents or The Ancestors of Tehamana),&lt;/i&gt; 1893. The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Deering McCormick." data-rich-file-id="2027" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2027/original/g59325-press.jpg" />

Gauguin, best known for his paintings of Tahitian women, was an itinerant; he was born in Paris, but he moved to Peru at a young age only to flee the country with his family after political tides shifted. Throughout his life he lived in Copenhagen, Brittany, Martinique, and the French Polynesian islands, including Tahiti and Hiva-Oa. His paintings, which feature bold colors, stark contrasts and exaggerated proportions, will be presented alongside experiments in clay, stained glass and wood. A selection of ethnographic objects will also be on display. In partnering with the Mus&eacute;e D&rsquo;Orsay and the Rmn-GP, the Art Institute builds on their strong collection of Gauguin, which includes over 200 works on paper.

<img alt="" data-caption="Paul Gauguin. &lt;i&gt;The Singer,&lt;/i&gt; 1880. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, MIN 3230." data-rich-file-id="2028" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2028/original/gauguin2.jpg" />

Gaugin: Artist as Alchemist opens June 25 and will be on display through September 10, 2017. For more information visit <a href="http://artic.edu">artic.edu</a>.

Top image: Paul Gauguin,&nbsp;Mahana no atua (Day of the God), 1894. Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection.

"Gauguin: Artist as Alchemist" at the Art Institute of Chicago features more than 240 multimedia works, including the largest public presentation of the artist’s ceramic work to date.

Artist as Alchemist: Major Exhibition Examines Scope of Gauguin's Practice

The first week in May is packed with exhibition openings across the city including&nbsp;River North,&nbsp;West Town and nearby&nbsp;Evanston. Below you will find a few highlights, but be sure to check out the full schedule <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar?tag=opening-receptions">here</a>.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<h2>BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART</h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/everything-is-fine-department-of-art-theory-and-practice-mfa-thesis-exhibition"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2063" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2063/original/block.jpg" /></a>

The Block Museum of Art presents the annual MFA Thesis Exhibition for the Department of Art Theory and Practice. The show&nbsp;opens&nbsp;Thursday, May 4. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/everything-is-fine-department-of-art-theory-and-practice-mfa-thesis-exhibition">More info</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>FILTER PHOTO</h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/marta-zgierska-post"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2070" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2070/original/zgierskam09-1-.jpg" /></a>

Post, a&nbsp;solo exhibition of photography by Marta Zgierska, opens Friday, May 5 at Filter Photo. Through her work, Zgierska responds to a serious car accident that occured in 2013.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/marta-zgierska-post">More info</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>SCHNEIDER | JDC</h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/kilimanjaro-the-last-glacier"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2060" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2060/original/james.jpg" /></a>

Kilimanjaro: The Last Glacier,&nbsp;featuring the work of Ian van Coller, opens Friday, May 5 at Schneidger | jdc. Van Coller has accompanied climate change scientists on many of their expeditions to study tropical glaciers.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/kilimanjaro-the-last-glacier">More info</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>GALERIE WATERTON</h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/ashley-yeo-and-xiaofei-yue-recent-drawings-on-paper"><img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2068" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2068/original/a-lot-of-things-are-beyond-me-.jpg" /></a>

An exhibition of work by Ashley Yeo (Singapore) and Xiaofei Yuy (China)&nbsp;opens May 5 at Galerie Waterton. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/ashley-yeo-and-xiaofei-yue-recent-drawings-on-paper">More info</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>VERTICAL GALLERY</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/word-to-mother-forgot-how-to-fly" data-rich-file-id="2069" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2069/original/7730611c-66fb-4cb4-bb4d-b1bc71f5a8b5.jpg" />

Forgot How to Fly&nbsp;featuring the work&nbsp;of London-based artist&nbsp;Word to Mother opens Saturday, May 6 at Vertical Gallery. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/word-to-mother-forgot-how-to-fly">More info</a>

For a full list of opening receptions visit: <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar?tag=opening-receptions">chicagogallerynews.com/calendar</a>

Top image: Ashley Yeo of Galerie Waterton

CGN shares exhibition highlights for the first week in May.

The First Week in May 2017

While the new year officially begins in January, for many in Chicago, things do not truly get started until the weather turns warm. At CGN we are thrilled to greet this season of activity that beckons us outside to wander and soak up what&rsquo;s fresh and new.&nbsp;

This is the season to be outdoors, where we may appreciate Chicago&rsquo;s unparalleled collection of public art while strolling city streets. Jaume Plensa&rsquo;s Crown Fountain in Millennium Park has just refreshed its screens in time for summer time splashing, and the Picasso, the one that started it all, turns 50 in August. Grant Park&rsquo;s Agora is all the more poignant with the April passing of artist <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/polish-sculptor-and-agora-artist-magdalena-abakanowicz-has-died-at-86">Magdalena Abakanowicz</a>. Other area highlights and history are detailed in CGN writer Franck Mercurio&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/public-art-and-the-masses-examining-sculpture-in-grant-park">online series about public art</a>.

In our fall 2016 issue, I urged readers to be present to experience art and to step back from the digital overload. The art collectors we interviewed for this issue also emphasized that same message and shared their own stories of discovering art in many places throughout the years.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-rich-file-id="2053" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2053/original/cgn-cover-summer2017.jpg" />

In area museums and arts institutions, major shows open in time for tourist season. The Art Institute&rsquo;s summer blockbuster showcases more than 240 works by Paul Gauguin, while Japanese megastar <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/5/takashi-murakami-at-the-mca">Takashi Murakami&rsquo;s exhibition at the MCA</a> sheds light on the role that pop culture can play in art, as well as explore how an artist can offer a lens through which to view current events.&nbsp;

The current political landscape inspires artist <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/a-protest-banner-lending-library">Aram Han Sifuentes</a>, who is currently an artist-in-residence at the Chicago Cultural Center. The public is invited to sew protest banners for free with the artist until May 18.&nbsp;

These warmer months are reasons to road trip throughout the Midwest. In Milwaukee, large-scale works by Rashid Johnson are on view. Architecture fans can celebrate <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/5/architectural-adventures">Frank Lloyd Wright&rsquo;s 150th birthday</a> in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.&nbsp;

There is much to see out in the art world right now. Go, enjoy and experience.&nbsp;

&ndash;Ginny Van Alyea, Publisher,&nbsp;Chicago Gallery News

Below, you will find links to features, interviews and seasonal highlights included in CGN&#39;s&nbsp;summer issue:

<ul>
	<li><a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/5/takashi-murakami-at-the-mca">Takashi Murakami at the MCA</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/season-previews-summer-2017">Season Previews</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/exploring-west-town-with-sibylle-friche">Exploring West Town&nbsp;with Sibylle Friche</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/in-search-of-the-eclectic">In Search of the Eclectic: Sally Schwartz and Reid Brody</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/a-protest-banner-lending-library">A Protest Banner Lending Library: Aram Han Sifuentes Creates a Space for Dissent</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/the-personal-art-of-collecting">The Personal Art of Collecting: A Chicago Imagists Collection Spans Two Cities</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/5/architectural-adventures">Architectural Adventures: Five Frank Lloyd Wright Designed Building to Explore in Honor of the Architect&#39;s 150th Birthday</a></li>
</ul>

Publisher Ginny Van Alyea shares what's new for the summer season.

Publisher's Letter: Summer's Fresh Take on Art

Known for his collaborations with pop icon Kanye West and fashion house Louis Vuitton, and for vibrant anime-inspired characters, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami (b. 1962) has blurred the boundaries throughout his career between high and low culture, ancient and modern, East and West. This summer the MCA presents a major retrospective of his paintings, featuring 50 works that span three decades of his career.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Takashi Murakami, Photo: Koichiro Matsui." data-rich-file-id="2042" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2042/original/tm-matsui-copy.jpg" />

The exhibition shows how Murakami&rsquo;s increasingly complex art is filled with characters and scenarios both cute and menacing, saccharine sweet and critically acidic. His work is rooted in traditions of Japanese painting and folklore with an eye for the contemporary influences of globalization, media culture and the continued threats of nuclear power.&nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Takashi Murakami, Flowers, flowers, flowers, 2010. Collection of the Chang family, Taiwan. © 2010 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Norihiro Ueno" data-rich-file-id="2043" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2043/original/tm-kk-flowers-copy.jpg" />

Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg is on view at the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/museum-of-contemporary-art-chicago-mca">Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago</a> from June 6&ndash;Septemper 24, 2017. 220 E. Chicago Avenue,&nbsp; mcachicago.org

Top image: Cover image for Summer 2017 issue of Chicago Gallery News. Takashi Murakami,&nbsp;ZuZaZaZaZaZa (detail), 1994. Takahashi Collection. &copy; 1994 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Norihiro Ueno

Takashi Muraki opens June 6 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Takashi Murakami at the MCA

<h3>FIVE FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT DESIGNED BUILDINGS TO EXPLORE IN HONOR OF THE ARCHITECT'S 150th BIRTHDAY</h3>By ELIZABETH METCALFEMost Chicagoans are familiar with the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright due to nearby Oak Park, the suburb in which he lived and worked for 20 years. With the highest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright designed houses in the world, Oak Park is an architectural mecca. However, a wealth of Wright designed architecture awaits just beyond Chicagoland. Summer is the perfect opportunity for a day trip out to one of the many Wright buildings open to the public.&nbsp;Monona Terrace (Madison, WI)&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2044/original/s-monona-terrace-from-lake.jpg" alt=""></figure>Though proposed by Wright in 1938, government bureaucracy halted the construction of this beautiful civic convention center. Wright made several modifications to the design from 1938 until his death in 1959 and project construction finally began in the 1990s. Wright spent much of his childhood in Madison, and Monona Terrace connects two of the city’s landmarks: Lake Monona and the Wisconsin State Capitol. While the exterior of the building is decidedly Wright, the center’s interiors are designed by Taliesin architect Tony Puttnam.John Nolen Dr., Madison, WI, <a href="http://mononaterrace.com">mononaterrace.com</a>, 608-261-4000&nbsp;Dana-Thomas House (Springfield, IL)<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2017/original/danathomas.jpg" alt=""></figure>Visiting the state’s capital? Why not swing by Frank Lloyd Wright’s impressive Dana-Thomas House? Built from 1902-1904, the Dana-Thomas House boasts 35 rooms and an abundance of art glass windows. Don’t miss the Wright-designed bowling alley in the basement or the Japanese-inspired interior Torii gate, which connects the home to the Lawrence Memorial Library.300 E. Lawrence Ave., Springfield, IL, <a href="http://dana-thomas.org">dana-thomas.org</a>, 217-782-6776&nbsp;&nbsp;Meyer May House (Grand Rapids, MI)&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2045/original/mmh-ext-porch3-copy.jpg" alt=""></figure>Beautifully restored with funds from Steelcase Inc., the Meyer May House will likely remind Chicagoans of the Robie House, one of Wright’s most famous Prairie Style buildings. Though designed in the same year and similar in style to the Robie House, the Meyer May House is distinctive due to its T-shaped plan, tan brick, and hollyhock partition wall mural by interior architect George Mann Niedecken.450 Madison Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI, <a href="http://meyermayhouse.steelcase.com">meyermayhouse.steelcase.com</a>, 616-246-4821&nbsp;Wingspread (Racine, WI)&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2019/original/wingspread.jpg" alt=""></figure>Wright’s famous S.C. Johnson Wax Headquarters may be nearby and is definitely worth a visit, but don’t leave the Racine area without visiting Wright’s lesser known but equally innovative Wingspread. Wright designed this mansion for Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr., the president of S.C. Johnson, in the late 1930s. From above, the house resembles a pinwheel, with a central core uniting four wings of the house. One wing houses a “Romeo and Juliet” style cantilevered balcony and a unique “crow’s nest” lookout sits atop the house.33 E. 4 Mile Rd, Racine, WI, <a href="http://johnsonfdn.com">johnsonfdn.com</a>, 262-639-3211&nbsp;Unity Temple (Oak Park, IL)&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2020/original/unity-temple-oak-park-il-9-3224132995-1-.jpg" alt=""></figure>Though many Chicagoans have likely been inside Wright’s iconic Unitarian Universalist church before, the structure is currently undergoing a massive restoration project. Overseen by Harboe Architects, the firm also responsible for restoring the Rookery Building in downtown Chicago, the restoration of Unity Temple is expected to be complete this summer. After being closed for nearly two years, the Unity Temple will surely delight new and old guests alike with its fully restored art glass windows, lighting fixtures, paint finishes, and oak trim.875 Lake St, Oak Park, <a href="http://utrf.org">utrf.org</a>, 708-383-8873Top image: Exterior view of Monoma Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin. Courtesy of Monoma Terrace Community &amp; Convention Center&nbsp;

Five Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings to explore in honor of the architect's 150th birthday.

Architectural Adventures 

<h3>CURATOR YESOMI UMOLU BRINGS RESEARCH-BASED PROGRAMMING TO LOGAN CENTER</h3>

By ALISON REILLY

The voice of a Ghanaian woman proselytizing reverberates within the walls of a dark room as images of a Roman Catholic church slowly appear on the screen. The video, titled Sunday&rsquo;s Best, was the focus of Larry Achiampong&rsquo;s solo exhibition, OPEN SEASON, which opened last September at the Logan Center Gallery. But the show extended well beyond the walls of the University of Chicago building. Yesomi Umolu, the curator of the exhibition, organized a mini-residency for the Achiampong, who spent three weeks visiting different religious organizations and community groups on the South Side.&nbsp;

&ldquo;He was able to do interviews, live recordings and shoot new footage,&rdquo; Umolu said. The field recordings and videos that the London-based artist gathered in Chicago were not included in the exhibition, but for Umolu, that was not the point. As curator of <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/logan-center-exhibitions">Logan Center Exhibitions</a>, she hopes to give artists access to the vast resources and rich community that the gallery, the University of Chicago and the greater South Side can offer. &ldquo;There is intellectual capacity here, there are interesting cultural histories, there are a number of great people to talk to, and there are practical resources, especially in this building. We have production facilities, and we have access to different types of spaces for making and thinking creatively.&rdquo;

Umolu recently brought the Canadian born, Paris-based artist Kapwani Kiwanga to the Logan. While preparing for her show, Kiwanga stumbled upon the archives of twentieth-century color theorist Faber Birren in the Special Collections Library at the University of Chicago. Kiwanga, who studies the design of institutional spaces like prisons and hospitals, searched through folders of Birren&rsquo;s color design studies and sketches for clients. Eventually, she was able to create prints for her exhibition that incorporated images from the archive as well color palettes used by Birren and his colleagues. But Umolu noted, &ldquo;there was a lot she gathered that didn&rsquo;t materialize in this exhibition but will be presented elsewhere, including&nbsp;an upcoming publication that we are co-publishing with the Power Plant, Toronto. I&rsquo;m really excited that when we bring artists to the Logan it&rsquo;s not solely about what they can do for us; there is a long-term investment on our part. There might be something that we are able to spark here that will have a life outside of our program.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="Kapwani Kiwanga: &lt;i&gt;The Sum And Its Parts,&lt;/i&gt; 2017. Installation view at Logan Center Gallery. Courtesy of Logan Center Exhibitions, University of Chicago. Photo by RCH | EKH" data-rich-file-id="2029" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2029/original/rch-ekh-logan-center-020617-026.jpg" />

Since joining the Logan in August 2015, Umolu has launched an impressive international exhibition series and introduced a program to commission new work. She also takes seriously the mission of the University to educate students and prepare them for life after graduation.&nbsp;

&ldquo;So much of this context is about pedagogy,&rdquo; Umolu said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about investing in individuals and giving them the tools to go out into the world and apply that in the best way for them. I see that in a similar way to the artists we work with.&rdquo;

This fall, Umolu is working with artist Cinthia Marcelle and filmmaker Tiago Mata Machado to present a trilogy of videos. Hailing from Brazil, Marcelle and Mata Machado are longtime collaborators, and the exhibition will be the first time their works Community (2016), One Way Street (2013), and The Century (2011) have been shown together. &ldquo;The videos are in different ways a meditation on political agency and resistance in public space,&rdquo; Umolu said, &ldquo;with depictions of what look to be confrontations of bodies and objects in those spaces.&rdquo; The exhibition will coincide with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, and Umolu is planning to use the opportunity to host a critical discussion on their collaboration.

In addition to planning exhibitions, Umolu is in the midst of an ambitious research project that explores the histories of Pan-Africanism and in particular the history of a Chicago delegation that attended FESTAC (Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture) in Lagos, Nigeria in 1977. &ldquo;Chicago has always been a meeting point for members of the African diaspora especially in relation to progressive political and social movements,&rdquo; she noted. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really interested in mining that history.&rdquo;

The project, tentatively titled The Ties That Bind: Waves of Pan-Africanism in Contemporary Art and Society, is supported by a curatorial fellowship from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and will take shape through a series of three public forums, organized by Logan Center Exhibitions but with the potential to be hosted at various sites around the South Side. &ldquo;The aim is that the project is steeped in an ethos of collaboration and open exchange,&rdquo; Umolu said. &ldquo;Given that I am new to Chicago, and my colleagues are already well versed in Chicago&rsquo;s art history, there&rsquo;s a lot that I can learn from them and a lot that the Logan can learn as well.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="Cinthia Marcelle and Tiago Mata Machado, &lt;i&gt;O Século (The Century),&lt;/i&gt; 2011. Courtesy of the artists and Galeria Vermelho, Sao Paulo" data-rich-file-id="2041" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2041/original/logancenter-2.jpg" />

The first forum, which is scheduled for October 2017, explores the idea of the return. Umolu is interested in asking, &ldquo;What does it mean to return to Africa as a site of artistic engagement, a site of political emancipation and a site of social inquiry? How is that related to Chicago and the history of the black arts movement here?&rdquo; The second and third forums, which will take place in the spring and fall of 2018, will consider the themes of non-alignment and horizons in relationship to the African diaspora.

&ldquo;The Warhol fellowships allows curators to have a certain level of autonomy to explore an idea at the very beginning of its genesis,&rdquo; Umolu said. With this freedom, she was able to first delve into the research and then propose the format of the public forums. &ldquo;Eventually the hope is that this is good groundwork for an exhibition. But what&rsquo;s exciting about the Warhol is that there&rsquo;s not necessarily a defined product that you have to deliver, you just have to follow the course of your research. The public forums will be things in and of themselves. They&rsquo;ll bring a lot of value and conversation to this context.&rdquo;

Yesomi Umolu is Exhibitions Curator at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, where she is also a lecturer in the humanities division. Prior to joining the Logan, Umolu was Assistant Curator at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at MSU and Curatorial Fellow for Visual Arts at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.

Top image:&nbsp;Larry Achiampong, Sunday&rsquo;s Best, 2017. Courtesy of the artist

Curator Yesomi Umolu brings research-based programming to the Logan Center.

Expanding Exhibitions at the Logan Center

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418558/mjzpnjc6kjnyghvuvnuj.jpg"><figcaption>Roger Brown,&nbsp;Chicago Hit by the Bomb, 1985, oil on canvas, 48" x 72"</figcaption></figure><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>A CHICAGO IMAGISTS COLLECTION SPANS TWO CITIES</h3>&nbsp;By GINNY VAN ALYEAChristopher Slapak and Michael Robertson’s shared passion for contemporary art began decades before they would start to build a collection of work by Chicago Imagists and other related artists. At the University of Chicago in the 1980s, the two met when they were medical students in the same class. When a colleague in the University’s Masters of Fine Arts program recommended that they see a show of famed Chicago Imagist Ed Paschke’s work at the Renaissance Society in 1982, they went as two poor medical students who didn’t know what to expect. What they saw blew them away; looking back now, they say if they’d had any money they would have bought the whole show.After that experience, they became increasingly interested in the Imagists, a group of representational artists who banded together in the 1960s, learning about figures such as Roger Brown and seeing shows at the Hyde Park Art Center. At the time, their lives were dominated by their medical education. A love for art was in the background, but they did not think they would ever collect art. They didn’t know what a gateway that Ren show would ultimately be to weekends packed with gallery visits and two art-filled homes.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2021/original/paschke.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Ed Paschke, Vibrex, oil on canvas, 1982, 42" x 80"&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;When Christopher and Michael finished medical school at UChicago, as well as their internships and residencies in Chicago, they moved to Boston to continue their medical training. Contemporary art was not&nbsp; a focus for the pair during nine years in Boston.&nbsp;They returned to the Midwest when Christopher was recruited to work at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, and Michael was offered a position at the Indiana University School of Medicine. After a decade in Indiana, around 2005, they made the decision to purchase a condo in downtown Chicago, so they could visit on weekends and enjoy all that the city has to offer. Living in a contemporary high rise was a contrast to their traditional, 100-year old, antiques-filled home in Indianapolis. The time was right, with a new base in Chicago, to begin exploring the contemporary art scene again.Michael and Christopher met Chicago dealers Ann and Roy Boyd early on in their reacquaintance with the art community. The Boyds’ gallery had been in business for over 30 years, and their program’s focus fit well with Christopher and Michael’s taste for vibrant, unique works by living artists, such as William Conger and Brigitte Riesebrodt. The four quickly became good friends, with Ann and Roy introducing them to many artists and showing them a range of works. A focus on unique art that was abstract, rather than representational, defined their early collecting.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418559/te1c8jwwgv8ojjis9xj3.jpg"><figcaption>Robert Lostutter</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;The couple also enjoyed supporting living Chicago artists. Explains Christopher, “We want to support the artists who are working now, because if they’re deceased you’re just supporting the person that owns the piece, not the artist. We came to appreciate that half of what you’re paying for goes to the artist.” From Michael’s perspective, “It was an ethical thing, we just thought it would be better buying the work of living artists in this area and supporting them – we love Chicago.”&nbsp;What began as a somewhat casual desire to buy art while also supporting local artists quickly became more serious and sophisticated. Michael recalls, “That was the ironic thing. I said, ‘Oh, it will take us years to find anything we like,’ and of course that was not the problem, no, not at all.” Christopher adds, “There was a handful of artists we quickly started collecting: Rebecca Shore, William Conger, Brigitte [Riesebrodt], and John Phillips. Those artists led to an exploration of more up and coming contemporary artists, such as Geoffrey Todd Smith, Dana Degiulio, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, and Matthew Metzger. Before they knew it, they had started to define and build a collection.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418560/hcus5wlicp8upje29wep.jpg"><figcaption>Gladys Nilsson</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;When Michael and Christopher moved back to Chicago in 2005, they were eager to return to the galleries and take in all that was happening in the contemporary world. They immersed themselves, often going to as many as 25 galleries in a day. They visited dealers, met artists and attended opening receptions. By looking at so much, the focus of their collection shifted radically.&nbsp;Christopher says, “When an artist had caught our eye, we would explore a little bit more and get to know who they were.” Michael adds that though they did do their research, it was mostly hands on, spending entire weekends in town going from gallery to gallery.&nbsp;When they would travel to other cities gallery hopping was their starting point. Christopher notes, “My business takes me to New York a lot, so we also started going to the&nbsp;Chelsea&nbsp;and Upper East Side galleries to get an understanding of the full breadth, as much as we possibly could.” Michael and Christopher each confess they just like seeing what’s there each time they visit. One difference they’ve noticed when traveling, according to Michael, “In Chelsea they rarely talk to you, but they do in LA and San Francisco. And Chicago.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418561/izkbxuryiytjrqfxhcfb.jpg"><figcaption>Jim Nutt</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;They each feel at home in galleries and have done the majority of their exploration and buying through dealers, but according to Christopher, a key collecting moment presented itself at Art Chicago in 2006, the same year the longstanding art fair unexpectedly moved to the Merchandise Mart. “When we went to our first fair, we were overwhelmed.” Michael concurs, “There was so much stuff to see, it was a sensory overload.”&nbsp;Chicago dealer Russell Bowman had a booth at Art Chicago that year, and that was where Christopher and Michael first met him. Bowman was showing BG Summer, a work by Ed Paschke from 1991, which sent the couple right back to that 1980s exhibition at the Renaissance Society. Christopher recalls, “We both remembered how much we really loved him, and when we saw this piece at the fair – it was more money than I thought we would ever pay for a piece of art, but we’d always wanted a Paschke – we bought it.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418562/mivu5tm61bqfqm8m9vuz.jpg"><figcaption>Roger Brown, Long Wait, oil on canvas with artist's frame, 1968, 12" x 12"&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;For the next couple of years they were satisfied, as they admired the Paschke on weekends in their Chicago condo. Like a tempting sweet that they couldn’t resist forever, they eventually considered buying other Imagist works. In the mid 2000s, a few paintings by Paschke and Brown were available on the secondary market, but many were still privately held. First, they bought a Roger Brown. Then a work by Karl Wirsum. They continued their research and made inquiries.&nbsp;The pair got to know local dealers Carl Hammer, Jean Albano and Karen Lennox, and they kept in touch with Bowman, who would call if he had something that he thought might interest them. Once they bought a large Roger Brown, and then a couple more Wirsums, they made the decision that they should find space to display the works at their home in Indianapolis, since the house has a third floor.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418562/igb21ggb2if2sdsne9na.jpg"><figcaption>Karl Wirsum</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Michael admits that whenever he makes a declaration about collecting, usually the opposite will happen. Around 2008, when the national recession was beginning, and with their buying increasing in frequency and expense, Michael said to Christopher, “You know, we will never really put together a serious Imagist collection at this point,” Despite the headwinds that were ravaging collectors in the rest of the art world, Christopher and Michael were in fact inspired to do just that. Christopher reflects, “No one was buying much of anything at that time.” Michael was skeptical, “It was too late – we agreed that all the best works were already in collections and that we would get a few dribs and drabs.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418563/okg5sspenzlbuogawwbe.jpg"><figcaption>Barbara Rossi</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Christopher figured it was worth attempting anyway, so they reached out to the four Chicago dealers they already knew to let them know that if they had more pieces come up to let them see them. What they began to see struck them as much more remarkable than dribs and drabs. “They started showing us incredible examples coming out of private collections.” Not only was the recession motivating some collectors to sell, but there was also some generational turnover due to collectors who passed things along to heirs who wished to sell what they inherited. To Michael, who wasn’t counting on those scenarios, he figured these prime works would end up in museums. Christopher points to that period as yet another tipping point, “We got a few pieces, and then we got a few really lovely pieces, and then we had to start thinking seriously about actually putting together a Chicago Imagists collection.”Ironically, the Chicago artists collection is in the couple’s Indianapolis home. The collection prompted a remodel of the second and third floors, and the house’s traditional feel provides a striking setting for contemporary works.&nbsp; In Chicago they ended up displaying an array of contemporary abstract works. John Corbett and Jim Dempsey, of Chicago’s Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery, suggested that the way to stitch the two pieces of the collection together was to think about the abstract painters who were contemporaries of the Imagists. Around 2012 they began to actively buy works from the ‘60s and ‘70s by abstract painters who either worked with the Imagists directly or were clearly influenced by them, including Richard Hull, Jordan Davies and Evelyn Statsinger, who preceded them.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418564/akxfdjiqbuvfoz7foang.jpg"><figcaption>Evelyn Statsinger</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Prior to having a focus for the two parts of the collection, Christopher and Michael would go to a fair or gallery, see something they liked and just buy it. Now, for the most part, they are very disciplined about what they buy and why. There are pieces in the collection that they still love but which they acknowledge they would not buy now. Christopher points to two distinct works in resin by German-born artist Markus Linnenbrink, “We would not likely buy a piece [by Markus] right now because he’s really outside of our collecting focus.”&nbsp;That discipline has not come at the expense of maintaining relationships with artists living in Chicago. Michael points out that the couple is still buying work by young, up and coming&nbsp; Chicago artists, such as Matthew Metzger and Andrew Holmquist, among others, in an effort to keep up with the contemporary scene, even though much of their focus and resources have gone towards pursuing the Imagists and more historical works. According to Christopher, one artist they have collected in depth is Rebecca Shore. He says they have visited her studio several times and haven’t missed an opening since first buying her work. It was through Shore that the pair was first introduced to Corbett vs. Dempsey, when she moved to the gallery from the now-closed Byron Roche Gallery in River North.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418565/at7ifjl8dj9vl1zmztwa.jpg"><figcaption>Rebecca Shore, Untitled 01, 15 x 11", Casein on panel, 2014</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;They began collecting with a desire to support living artists, but then they bought their first Paschke after the artist had passed away. They both admit that the rules can change over time, and how you start out is not where you’ll end up. Either way, the contemporary as well as historical relationships all seem to be connected.&nbsp;More than building a collection or just pursuing elusive works, Michael and Christopher enjoy the experiences that the art world offers. As Christopher sees it, “The diversity of contemporary art is just stunning right now, I mean it can be overwhelming for anyone.” Michael confesses, “We love looking at everything. It’s just interesting to us. It’s challenging. It’s intellectually stimulating. There’s tons of stuff that we would have no interest in collecting – some of the really conceptual work I find fascinating, but I would absolutely not want to live with that in my home. We are drawn to things with a lot of visual interest. We’ve got enough purely intellectual activity in our professional lives, we don’t need that in our art collecting lives.”Michael and Christopher seem to represent an old fashioned way of doing things in the art world. At a time when so much is experienced virtually or through a screen, both men are passionate about in-person visits to galleries and about relationships with living artists. Michael admits, “I can’t see how people would not go to galleries because, unless you collect videos, it’s an analogue experience. How can you appreciate a Markus Linnenbrink or a Teo Gonzalez through an image? It just doesn’t work; you have to be there to understand the scale and texture – all of it.”&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418566/rklgq2dobrebc0fe6ucc.jpg"><figcaption>Richard Hull</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;For Christopher, “If you know the artist, maybe you can acquire art from afar. You’ve collected their work before, so you might understand it through an image. I think it’s still best to see it in person.” The couple has bought art sight-unseen via auctions, if something prevents them from travelling to a gallery or auction preview, but ultimately they are adamant that up close is the ideal way. They recommend that anyone trying to get introduced to art should rely heavily on personal visits and not just virtual research. They are hopeful that once people tire of looking at everything on a tiny screen and viewing art only for the selfies, the trend will return to participating in the physical art community.&nbsp;Michael and Christopher seem to be very busy professionally, yet they always find time to go and see art. They will switch roles this summer when they curate a show at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery in River North. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/zolla-lieberman-gallery">Chicago and Indianapolis – What’s the Connection?</a> is a&nbsp;group exhibition (July 14–August 16, 2017) featuring the work of faculty members at the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis. This exhibition explores common themes and concerns of contemporary artists working in Chicago and Indianapolis. Herron started out like the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where there was a museum collection and then an associated school. Eventually Herron became part of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis system, and the art collection became the Indianapolis Museum of Art.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418566/az7scl43mtkuxoakgla4.jpg"><figcaption>Ray Yoshida</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;Today the school is very studio-oriented, devoted to producing working artists. Michael and Christopher had been attending shows at the school for some time, but they did not know much about the academic program. It was William Lieberman who suggested that the couple curate a summer group show at the gallery, and when the subsequent discussions were taking place, the idea took shape to do a faculty show. Michael and Christopher are candid about the fact that they are not curators, and that they have never done something like this before, but they were up for the adventure, and the idea of putting together a gallery show of work they find compelling was appealing. They are also excited for the opportunities it could present to the artists.Amidst the pressure of assembling a public exhibition for the first time, Christopher and Michael still find themselves doing what they love most – seeing art, visiting studios and talking to artists. The couple continues to&nbsp;hunt for what appeals to them, and their passion for art never dims.&nbsp;&nbsp;</body></html>

Christopher Slapak and Michael Robertson have acquired an impressive collection of Imagist works.

The Personal Art of Collecting

ARAM HAN SIFUENTES CREATES A SPACE FOR DISSENT&nbsp;By ALISON REILLYI meet Aram Han Sifuentes on the first floor of the Chicago Cultural Center in the Garland Gallery. She is working at one of the tables set up in her public studio—a “workspace, workshop” as she calls it, with her young daughter Nara and her collaborator Verónica Casado Hernandez. On each of the tables is a sewing machine, scissors and assorted fabrics. Hanging above them are large, cloth banners with slogans like “America Was Never Great,” “Climate Change is Real,” and “We Are In This Together.” Across from their workstation, I see hundreds of postcards answering the question posted on the wall: “What does your banner say?”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2031/original/ccc-protest-banner-making-10-x2.jpg" alt=""></figure>Aram’s Protest Banner Lending Library offers those feeling taxed by a divided political system a space for creative expression. The project is part of the Chicago Cultural Center’s ongoing artist-in-residence program, which provides a stipend and dedicated studio space for artists who hope to interact directly with the public. Along with walk-ins, Aram, Verónica and their two other collaborators, Ishita Dharap and Tabitha Anne, often host school and community groups. Visitors are invited to imagine what their protest banner would look like and then, if time allows, they can make one of their own.&nbsp;“We have all the materials, and we teach people how to make their own protest banners,” Aram says. “It takes about an hour and a half, so it’s a bit of a time commitment.” Sewing is inherently a slow process. In a digital world where political activism can mean copying and pasting a form letter to a representative, designing and sewing a cloth banner can be a radical exercise.&nbsp;For Aram, the act of sewing is itself a form of resistance. After the 2016 election, she began making banners at home by herself and then started to invite friends over to create their own designs. Soon, she was hosting workshops at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum and the Smart Museum. This past month she was invited to the Whitney Museum in New York to co-present a banner-making workshop with another Chicago-based artist, Cauleen Smith.&nbsp;“Before any big protest we get a wave of people all wanting very specific slogans so we try to be good about keeping up with it. But there’s too much to keep up with these days!” Aram says. Although the banners have been popular for protests like the January 2017 Women’s March, they can be checked out for other purposes, too. “A high school teacher recently took one out to put in her classroom for a couple weeks.”<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2032/original/ahs-sampler.jpg" alt=""></figure>Politics and sewing have always been intertwined in Aram’s life. Her mother, Younghye Han, was an artist in South Korea and ran her own art center. When Aram’s family immigrated to Modesto, California in 1992, her parents started working at a dry cleaner and Younghye became a seamstress. Like many in the garment industry, Younghye was paid per item, which Aram says, “leads to unregulated working conditions.” Aram learned to sew when she was six years old by helping her mother with small pieces. “For me engaging in the act of sewing is always about that history and social context.”&nbsp;Aram has questioned her own status as an immigrant in her ongoing project, US Citizenship Test Sampler. In 2012, as she beganstudying for the United States Naturalization Test, she decided to hand sew the 100 questions and the answers onto a single piece of fabric. The questions range from “Who makes federal laws? (Congress)” to “During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States? (Communism).”&nbsp; The long scroll, which is still in progress, is now on display at the Hull-House, along with a collection of other needlework samplers.&nbsp;After starting the project, Aram decided to start teaching other non-citizens how to create samplers. The idea is based on needlework samplers that were used in colonial America to teach children how to sew. “They would sew the alphabet and numbers and learn educational concepts,” Aram notes. “Adolescent girls from wealthier families would create another decorative, pictorial sampler to show her worth as a woman and as a wife to her potential suitor.” &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2033/original/1ccc-protest-banner-making-183.jpg" alt=""></figure>Each participant that Aram has worked with chooses one question and answer from the test and sews it, along with their own decoration, on a square of fabric. The completed samplers are available for purchase for $725 each, the cost of applying for citizenship. The full amount goes directly to the participant to help cover any costs associated with the process.&nbsp;Symbolically, the project speaks to the monetary value associated with immigrant labor. While working on her own sampler, Aram tracked the number of hours she spent working on it and estimated that after selling the piece, she had only made about $2 an hour. But, like the colonial samplers, the project functions on another level. “I teach people how to sew and depending on their needs I tutor English or we study for the citizenship test together.” The longer Aram spends with an individual, the more she is able to help them execute complex ideas for their sampler and better prepare them for their test.US Citizenship Test Sampler also serves as a reminder of the uphill battles that people who want to become citizens have always faced. Even if they have prepared by studying, the cost of taking the test can be prohibitive. There has been a renewed interest in Aram’s project following the 2016 election, and many of the samplers have sold within the last few months. “It’s been really awesome because before the recent election the samplers that sold were more aesthetically beautiful, but now the ones that are selling are about need—either to apply for citizenship or get legal help, because a lot of my participants are undocumented.”After her residency ends at the Cultural Center, Aram will travel to Washington D.C. for the month of June. As a Smithsonian artist research fellow, she will have access to the archives of American art. “I’m going to research recipes, which includes food and drinks, but also syllabi and templates for unrealized projects. I use the word recipe, but it’s really a very broad interpretation.”<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2038/original/ccc-20protest-20banner-20making-205-x4.jpg" alt=""></figure>The recipes will become another piece of Aram’s work. “These banners, some were made by me, but a lot are made by other people who come in here or to workshops and then donate them. In a way this is a collection in and of itself. That [pointing to postcards on the wall] is a collection of many different people and their contributions. Ballots, needles, samplers, I think all of them are pieces from individuals that come together as a collection.”The Protest Banner Lending Library at the Chicago Cultural Center is open Tuesday-Friday, 12-6pm through May 18, 2017. For more information visit <a href="http://aramhan.com">aramhan.com</a>.Top image:&nbsp;Aram Han Sifuentes (Right) and Verónica Casado Hernandez (Left) in the protest banner lending library at the Chicago Cultural Center. Photo: eedahahm

Aram Han Sifuentes creates a space for dissent at the Chicago Cultural Center.

A Protest Banner Lending Library 

In January DOCUMENT, Paris London Hong Kong, Volume Gallery and Western Exhibitions moved from the West Loop to 1709 Chicago Avenue in West Town. CGN asked Sibylle Friche, Gallery Director at <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/document">DOCUMENT</a>, to share her favorite spots in her new neighborhood.

&nbsp;

<h2>RUXBIN</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Courtesy of Ruxbin" data-rich-file-id="2051" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2051/original/ruxbin-interior-05-1000x0-c-default-copy.jpg" />

&quot;I love Ruxbin on Ashland Avenue. The food is unique and very sophisticated, yet the atmosphere is relaxed, because it&rsquo;s BYOB.&quot;&nbsp;851 N. Ashland, <a href="http://ruxbinchicago.com">ruxbinchicago.com</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>PICKWICK COFFEE</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Courtesy of Pickwick Coffee Roasting Company" data-rich-file-id="2049" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2049/original/pickwick.jpg" />

&quot;I get my espresso fix at Pickwick on Chicago Avenue, half a block from the gallery. They also have a great selection of chai teas. The staff is super friendly.&quot; 1651 W. Chicago, <a href="http://pickwickcoffee.com">pickwickcoffee.com</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>DOVETAIL</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Courtesy Dovetail Instagram @dovetailchicago" data-rich-file-id="2048" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2048/original/dovetail.jpg" />

&quot;Julie Ghatan opened Dovetail on Chicago Avenue in 2008 and has an amazing selection of vintage items, gifts and jewelry. She carefully handpicks everything, and you can&rsquo;t beat her sense of style.&quot; 1452 W. Chicago, <a href="http://dovetailchicago.com">dovetailchicago.com</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>WICKER PARK FARMERS MARKET</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Courtesy of Wicker Park Farmers Market" data-rich-file-id="2052" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2052/original/wickerpark.jpg" />

&quot;Wicker Park is a must-see during the summer for the farmers markets, but I enjoy walking or biking around the neighborhood&rsquo;s residential streets and admiring the unique mix of old and new architecture.&quot; 1425 N. Damen, <a href="http://chicagoparkdistrict.org">chicagoparkdistrict.org</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>CLEOS &amp; HAPPY VILLAGE</h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Courtesy of Cleos" data-rich-file-id="2050" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2050/original/lut5e.jpg" />

&quot;Cleos is great for anyone who enjoys watching international soccer championships! I also like Happy Village for its casual patio, and I love that they have ping pong tables.&quot; 1935 W. Chicago, <a href="http://cleospub.com">cleospub.com</a>; 1059 N. Wolcott; 773-486-1512

Top image:&nbsp;Courtesy of Pickwick Coffee Roasting Company

DOCUMENT gallery director Sibylle Friche shares her favorites spots in West Town.

Exploring West Town with Sibylle Friche

<html><head></head><body><figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418556/qs6rujqejucnegftgnhc.jpg"><figcaption>Photos by M Lindsay Photography</figcaption></figure>By GINNY VAN ALYEASally Schwartz says she has always been a hoarder. As a child she was always saving various objects, and she’s continued to hold onto many of those things even today, from an old record case and all of her 45 records, to Winnie-the-Pooh’s Piglet and a resultant collection of pigs. If Sally is drawn to something, she will hunt for many more examples of it. Her passion for seeking just the right vintage needle in a cluttered haystack has led her to become queen of Chicago’s vintage market scene, having founded the Randolph Street Market Festival in 2004.“I used to go antiquing as a kid,” Sally recalls. Whenever her mom and her friends would head into the city from the North Shore, she would tag along so she could check out the antiques stores in Boystown. Recalling the unusual pieces she found there, she says, “They had really cool, funky style. I’ve always loved the stuff – I like looking at it. It makes me happy.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2005/original/sally-schwartz-398.jpg" alt=""></figure>Sally’s taste in art and vintage clothing is much the same as what she looks for in antiques. She explains, “I’ve always loved art, and my taste is just all over the place. I like some of the really formal things, and then I like really wild stuff.” She seems to greatly appreciate so many things, from old vases to antique sconces, just for what they mean to her, rather than considering whether or not they have potential to be a monetary diamond in the rough.&nbsp;She loved vintage clothing so much, even as a kid when no one else was wearing it, she says she didn’t care if she ever wore it – she just loved to have it. That same appreciation and enjoyment is a large part of the fun for her today.&nbsp;Sally has long specialized in festive gatherings, and it was through event planning that she would get her start organizing markets. She began doing very elaborate theme parties while also working as a decorator. Sally explains, “If I was doing a ‘50s party, I would go find the grill of a 1957 Chevy, or I’d find a jukebox. If it was a jazz party I would find all this Art Deco stuff. I’d have these really big budgets to put together these parties, but I had to start buying and keeping the decorations, since they could be hard to find – there was no market in the city of Chicago to source these types of authentic props.”&nbsp;Sally saw an opportunity not just for herself but for others hunting for eclectic pieces, too. In the mid ‘90s she organized three big markets with her then-husband, but then, Sally recalls, “I lost the site, and then my marriage ended, and everything sort of fell apart.” Around 2002 she was recruited to take over the Taste of Randolph, but that was not the type of event she wanted to do. Instead, she pitched the idea of an antique market. At the time, she says, there was nothing happening in the West Loop. “It was pretty much dead,” she recalls. “On Randolph Street it was just HARPO, Ina [Pinkney’s diner], Michael Jordan’s One Sixtyblue, and Jerry Kleiner’s restaurants.”Her first market, in 2004, was outside on the street, and the next one was in Hoops the Gym, a basketball space where Jordan and former Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen practiced before they retired.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1721418557/nlfetpvm4vjnpxoebijz.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;Since then Sally has expanded from one-day sales six times a year, to indoor and outdoor markets the last weekend of each month. The Randolph Street Market is internationally known as a go-to source for finding vintage and antique furniture, jewelry, clothing and art. Over 300 vendors take part, and the people who show are an eccentric bunch. The markets have become popular because visitors can find anything from vintage handbags and china to sterling silver candlesticks and high-end rugs. Special themes and on-site events introduced throughout the year make it an unusual experience every time.&nbsp;Sally’s professional life seems to have evolved to perfectly embody who she is personally, while offering her an endless source for finding treasures. While the pace of running the monthly markets is frenetic, she has her own life, away from Randolph Street, in a serene yet glamorous contemporary house in Lakeview, with her husband, Reid Brody.&nbsp;Sally likes to joke that Reid sent away for a mail order bride. The reality is that the couple met in Chicago 14 years ago. Friends had insisted they knew someone who was perfect for her. After getting his name wrong for a while – she thought she was looking for Reid Brophy – Sally finally tracked him down through another friend’s boss. They went on a date, and that was it.&nbsp;The couple got married this past December, after years of living apart in order to raise their own children. Their marriage aligned with their decision to move into a new home together, where they have combined their tastes as well as their belongings and collections. Sally came from a vintage Hyde Park home with art everywhere, while Reid was living in what Sally called a frat house/man cave in Wrigleyville. In their Lakeview house they wanted to display their pieces with more air and a much less cluttered feeling. Reid admits, “The good thing about moving was getting a ton of stuff out.” To Sally, “When we moved in here, we wanted things quiet and spaced. We have a lot of art that we have gotten rid of, and there are pieces that we don’t hang, because putting too much in this space wouldn’t look right.”The home’s open spaces are filled with blonde wood floors, and big windows that let in generous light. Each room is sleek and bright. Even though Sally says they tried not to have too much in the space, there is still something to look at on every wall and around every corner. Many of the pieces and objects have personal stories associated with them: a pair of imposing needlepointed chairs in the dining room were stitched by Sally’s grandmother. A metal sculpture of a woman, created by Sally’s aunt, is installed in the same room up by a large window. Custom built shelves display a range of objects in the living room: Sally’s extensive collection of vintage cigarette lighters is set off by glass and a mirrored background, while Reid’s vintage speakers, receivers and amps are plugged in and arranged opposite the lighters. How to make everything come together, in a single home after more than 14 years of living separately, was the challenge as well as an opportunity for the couple. Sally notes, “Taking our things – like the red couches in our kitchen – and curating how they would work together was fun. I just looked for art and pieces that had accents of red, and then you start to find them – that pillow I found at my market, these works are from the Project Onward program.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2007/original/sally-schwartz-160.jpg" alt=""></figure>So much comes through the markets each month, one wonders how Sally could possibly resist making impulse purchases all the time. “It’s hard, but I’ve become more limited,” she admits. She has undoubtedly found a lot of special pieces at the markets over the years, but she must try to be discerning in what she chooses to take home. The items she has acquired range from simply interesting things to overlooked steals. One hand grooved woven piece from the 1920s was dumped in a shopping bag. Sally bought it for $20, paid to clean&nbsp;and&nbsp;frame the piece, and it now complements the pair of needlepoint chairs by her grandmother in her dining room. A pair of salon style bucket chairs add to the glamour of her modern living room, and remarkably, they feature the original fabric – she only had a pair of pillows made to go with them. Sally restores or fixes some pieces, so she tries to find things with good bones no matter what.&nbsp;Sally and Reid’s new house is big enough to accomodate multiple collections of two different people who each have one foot in the past and one in the present. They both have developed an eye for making history their own. &nbsp;Reid’s collecting history is no less serious than Sally’s and just as eclectic, though he has a very different and personal focus. Sally sums up Reid’s extensive collection, “He doesn’t only collect guitars, he collects microphones, he collects clock radios, he collects little lights that you put next to your bed; in his last house he had this entire wall unit that was filled with clock radios, lights and gadgets, and they were all plugged in.” Reid has also long admired toaster ovens. He says, “The downfall of America can be traced to one of these [toaster ovens]. They’re amazing. It’s just the greatest thing ever.” Sally still can’t seem to believe Reid’s fixation with the common household device, but with more fondness than exasperation, she smiles at him when she says, “Can you believe he’s talking about a toaster oven?”<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2040/original/reidsinstruments.jpg" alt=""></figure>Although Sally and Reid say they have very different taste in just about everything, they each end up looking out for what the other collects. Sally remembers, “Reid was at a guitar show in Dallas when he found a really cool cigarette lighter that looks like a microphone – the best of both our worlds. He’s found me a few lighters at his shows.” Says Reid, “The two really good ones were a Jet, and then an RCA microphone lighter.”When Sally comes across a guitar she immediately sends photos to Reid, but she says he’s so picky because he knows what he wants and he’s collected so much already. Reid has spent his career in the film and music industries, and his interest in guitars and recording equipment springs from his childhood, when he says his family couldn’t really afford anything. As an adult, it led him to chase what he once couldn’t have. Today he says he’s mostly held off acquiring things, since he more or less thinks he’s gotten everything he wanted. His collection spans mid-century digital recording equipment, guitars and vintage Hi-Fi, as well as a lot of vinyl. Reid has spent years in search of these objects, and Sally calls their lower level of the home Reid’s Fun House, where he displays nearly 50 guitars as well as more audio components. There is a custom built retro recording environment for ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s sound in a basement room that measures around 12’ x 10’. The equipment in the room also features a digital overlay so that Reid can work with a digital hybrid system. He uses vintage equipment to record an authentically old sound, but he captures it in an up-to-date format.&nbsp;He’s acquired a number of old microphones that each have a place in history. Their sound is distinct and so are the voices that have used them in the past. One example is a U47 mic that was made in post-war Germany and is still closely associated with Frank Sinatra and other ‘50s singers. To Reid, “These things have been used to record history, so they become very collectable. This is all restored, and it’s the original stuff.” Reid admits, “It all can start to own you after awhile, so I think at this point I’ll just enjoy what I have. I don’t feel that precious about anything anymore.” It’s the best way, he says, to appreciate what he already has.&nbsp;Sally and Reid’s children are each into their parents’ collections in their own way. Reid says his kids have a good sense of the sound collection. He dragged them around to flea markets and estate sales when they were young, and that they learned to collect items of their own, like comic books, Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards and other paper things. Today Reid and his son buy and sell vintage guitars together, and someday his son will inherit his collection of guitars, amps and microphones. Reid’s daughter is captivated by Sally’s lighters, so Sally says she’ll never sell them as long as she wants them. Her daughter, about to be a junior in college, has said to her, “You know I’m going to sell everything when you’re dead,” but Sally says she’ll hold onto most things, just in case she has a change of heart.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2009/original/sallyflickers-2.jpg" alt=""></figure>&nbsp;Sally’s markets are built on the concept of trading and sharing things between generations. Some people are naturally interested in the search, while others love to look through pieces of history. Many are seeking a unique style in an age of sameness. When she looks to future generations of collectors, Sally says it can be helpful to start something small and fun for a child. Sally had her own collection of pigs, and for her daughter she started picking up various poodles when she was a baby – a collection to complement her French-themed nursery. Sally says, “When they have outgrown that, or they decide, ‘I’m bored with this I want to collect something else,’ they may have developed an eye and be inspired to look at things more deeply,” eventually building a collection on their own. She loves to see kids tagging along at the market. As she points out, almost wistfully, “It helps kids to start looking at stuff, at materials, at the way things were made and how they last, to see that not everything is disposable.”Top image: Sally and Reid’s living room features a pair of salon chairs from the Randolph Street Market, his (architecture) and her (Nancy Drew books) bookshelves, a collection of vintage cigarette lighters, and vintage sound equipment (not shown.) All photos: M Lindsay Photography.&nbsp;</body></html>

CGN interviews collector Sally Schwartz and her husband Reid Brody. 

In Search of the Eclectic 

This summer features an enticing&nbsp;lineup of exhibitions&nbsp;from Jim Dine paintings at Richard Gray Gallery&#39;s new warehouse&nbsp;space to a survey of work by&nbsp;Angela Gonzales at Fermilab Art Gallery.

&nbsp;

<h2>Deana Lawson | <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/rhona-hoffman-gallery--2">Rhona Hoffman Gallery</a></h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/deana-lawson"><img alt="" data-caption=" Deana Lawson, &lt;i&gt;Ring Bearer&lt;/i&gt;, 2017. Courtesy of Rhona Hoffman Gallery" data-rich-file-id="2000" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2000/original/lawson-ringbearer-2017.jpg" /></a>

At first glance Deana Lawson&rsquo;s photographs look like snapshots from a family album, but the Brooklyn-based photographer first sketches scenes and then carefully constructs her images. Her exhibition features a new body of work that was first presented at the Whitney Biennial 2017, along with other recent photographs.&nbsp;

Through&nbsp;May 26, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, 118 N. Peoria. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/deana-lawson">Read more</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Roberto Salas | <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/the-rangefinder-gallery-at-tamarkin-camera">Rangefinder Gallery</a></h2>

<img alt="" data-caption="Roberto Salas, &lt;i&gt;Fidel Castro and “Che” Guevara, Havana, January 1959&lt;/i&gt;" data-rich-file-id="1999" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1999/original/rangefinder-robertosalas.jpg" />

What was it like to be behind the lens documenting Fidel Castro&rsquo;s rise to power? Roberto Salas was part of a small group of Cuban photographers who had access to the communist leader. Cuba: Photographs of an Era&nbsp;presents a selection of his historic work.&nbsp;

&nbsp;May 5-June 30, Rangefinder Gallery at Tamarkin Camera, 300 W. Superior.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/cuba-photographs-of-an-era">Read more</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Jim Dine | <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/richard-gray-gallery-w-carroll-ave">Richard Gray Gallery</a></h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/looking-at-the-present-recent-works-by-jim-dine"><img alt="" data-caption="Jim Dine, &lt;i&gt;Oslo, Midsummer with E.&lt;/i&gt;, 2016. Photo: Bertrand Huet. Courtesy Richard Gray Gallery and the artist" data-rich-file-id="2001" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2001/original/richardgraygallery-jim-20dine-2016.jpg" /></a>

Richard Gray Gallery&nbsp;inaugurates their expansive West Side space with Looking at the Present, an exhibition of large-scale, gestural paintings by Jim Dine. A concurrent exhibition, titled Primary Objects is on display at the gallery&rsquo;s New York location.&nbsp;

April 28-June 10, Richard Gray Gallery, 2044 W. Carroll (new location). <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/looking-at-the-present-recent-works-by-jim-dine">Read more</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Klein / Olson | <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/renaissance-society">Renaissance Society</a></h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/klein-olson"><img alt="" data-caption="B. Ingrid Olson, &lt;i&gt;If taken releasing heat&lt;/i&gt;, 2017. Courtesy the artist and Simone Subal Gallery, New York" data-rich-file-id="2002" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2002/original/renaissancesociety-b-20ingrid-20olson-2017.jpg" /></a>

Curator Solveig &Oslash;vsteb&oslash; brings together sculpture, collage and photographic works by B. Ingrid Olson (Chicago) and Astrid Klein (Cologne). Though they work independently, the two artists both take an interest in the manipulation of space, the impact of scale and the representation of gender.

Through&nbsp;June 18, Renaissance Society, 5811 S. Ellis. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/klein-olson">Read more</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Candida Alvarez | <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/chicago-cultural-center--2">Chicago Cultural Center</a></h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/candida-alvarez-here"><img alt="" data-caption="Candida Alvarez, &lt;i&gt;Rainbows on my studio floor&lt;/i&gt;, 2016. Courtesy of the artist" data-rich-file-id="2003" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2003/original/candidaalvarez.jpg" /></a>

Candida Alvarez&rsquo;s bright canvases will be on display at the Chicago Cultural Center in her first major institutional exhibition. Curated by Terry Meyers, Here&nbsp;showcases over four decades of paintings by the Chicago-based painter.&nbsp;

April 29-August 6, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/candida-alvarez-here">Read more</a>

&nbsp;

<h2>Angela Gonzales | <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/fermilab-art-gallery">Fermilab Art Gallery</a></h2>

<a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/a-lasting-mark-artist-angela-gonzales-at-fermilab-1967-1998"><img alt="" data-caption="Angela Gonzales, Cover of 1984 Fermilab Annual Report" data-rich-file-id="2004" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2004/original/fermilab-angelagonzales.jpg" /></a>

Fermilab Art Gallery honors the legacy of longtime employee and artist Angela Gonzales who designed everything from logos to annual report covers for the renowned particle physics and accelerator laboratory. Gonzales joined Fermilab in 1967 and made a lasting impression on the community with her bold color palette and striking designs.

June 1-September 30, Fermilab Art Gallery, Kirk Rd. &amp; Pine St., Batavia IL. <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/calendar/a-lasting-mark-artist-angela-gonzales-at-fermilab-1967-1998">Read more</a>

For a full schedule of exhibitions and openings, visit <a href="http://chicagogallerynews.com/calendar">chicagogallerynews.com/calendar</a>

Top image: Astrid Klein, Endzeitgef&uuml;hle (detail), 1982, collage from the exhibition Klein / Olson&nbsp;at the Renaissance Society.&nbsp;Image courtesy the artist and Spr&uuml;th Magers, Berlin.&nbsp;

CGN shares exhibition previews for the summer season.

Season Previews: Summer 2017

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 second in the series examines the connections between three sculptures in Grant Park.&nbsp;

By FRANCK MERCURIO

Public art, by definition, is intended for the public&mdash;you, me, and the rest of the masses&mdash;it&nbsp;is meant to be consumed by all, no matter one&#39;s individual social status, economic means, or political influence. But public art is not only&nbsp;for&nbsp;the masses; it is often&nbsp;about&nbsp;the masses. The south end of Grant Park provides three great sculptural&nbsp;examples: two permanent and one recently de-installed.

<img alt="" data-caption="Magdalena Abakanowicz, &lt;i&gt;Agora&lt;/i&gt;, 2006. Courtesy of the artist and Richard Gray Gallery. Photo: Kenneth Tanaka" data-rich-file-id="1962" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1962/original/agora-1-photo-by-kenneth-tanaka.jpg" />

Agora&nbsp;(2006) by Polish artist <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2017/4/polish-sculptor-and-agora-artist-magdalena-abakanowicz-has-died-at-86">Magdalena Abakanowicz</a>,&nbsp;who recently passed away, gives new meaning to the phrase &ldquo;the faceless crowd.&rdquo; Pedestrians walking along Roosevelt Road toward the Museum Campus can&rsquo;t help but notice&mdash;and often engage with&mdash;this collection of 106 headless human-like forms. Giant in size, each figure walks in a different direction, seemingly intent on reaching its destination, oblivious to the mortals milling below them. In their preoccupation and hurry, these iron (not bronze) figures seem to reflect the anonymous hustle of city life.

Agora means &ldquo;gathering place,&rdquo; and appropriately, Abakanowicz&rsquo;s installation marks the spot where one of Chicago&rsquo;s greatest gathering places once stood: the Illinois Central Depot (1893&ndash;1974). The artist&rsquo;s ghostly figures seem to evoke the unnamed millions who passed through this railway station during its 81-year existence. Many of those passengers included African Americans escaping the Jim Crow South during the Great Migration. According to the&nbsp;Encyclopedia of Chicago, more than 500,000 African Americans migrated to Chicago between 1916 and 1970. The majority traveled by train along the Illinois Central Railroad lines, which linked the southern states to Chicago.

<img alt="" data-caption="Grant Park in 1891 looking north from the Kimball Building before the installation of the Logan Memorial. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum" data-rich-file-id="1963" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1963/original/grantpark-kimballbldg.jpg" />

The new arrivals must have been impressed by the view of Grant Park and the city skyline that greeted them outside the railway station&rsquo;s great Romanesque Revival archway. Just north of the station, they could see the&nbsp;General John A. Logan Memorial&nbsp;(1897) rising some 30 feet above the park.

Dedicated in 1897, the Logan Memorial stands today as an example of a not-so-typical &ldquo;bronze man on a horse.&rdquo; American artists Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848&ndash;1907) and Alexander Phimister Proctor (1860&ndash;1950) collaborated on the commission, capturing the dynamism of the General riding his warhorse into battle. The memorial was a true team effort; Proctor, an animalier, modeled the stallion; and two women sculptors, Annette Johnson and Mary Lawrence Tonetti, assisted Saint-Gaudens in modeling the figure of Logan. (Regrettably, Johnson&rsquo;s and Tonetti&rsquo;s contributions have often been omitted from the historical record.)

<img alt="" data-caption="Vintage postcard, Grant Park, c. 1900. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum" data-rich-file-id="1964" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1964/original/grantpark-1900.jpg" />

Cast in bronze, the Logan sculpture stands atop a giant earthen mound, a dramatic architectural element that anchors the memorial to its site in Grant Park. Designed by Stanford White (of the New York architecture firm McKim, Mead and White), the mound recalls the Anglo-Saxon burial tumuli of Dark Age Britain, but also evokes the monumental earthworks of Cahokia in southern Illinois, Logan&rsquo;s old stomping grounds.

Logan was a complex character. A popular Illinois politician before the Civil War, he helped legislate the state&rsquo;s infamous &ldquo;Black Laws&rdquo; of 1853, which prohibited African Americans from settling in Illinois. But the General seems to have experienced a kind of political&mdash;and moral&mdash;conversion while serving in the Union Army and later as a US House representative and US Senator. According to the John A. Logan Museum, &ldquo;This was a very different Logan. It was a Logan who voted for constitutional amendments to abolish slavery and to grant citizenship and voting rights to African Americans&hellip;Throughout this time, Logan continued to fight for civil rights for America&rsquo;s former slaves and supported women&rsquo;s suffrage.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="A contemporary view of the &lt;i&gt;General John A. Logan Memorial&lt;/i&gt; (1897). Photo: Franck Mercurio" data-rich-file-id="1967" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1967/original/logan-memorial-2.jpg" />

Logan had transformed himself into a &ldquo;man of the people,&rdquo; and on the occasion of his death, the Illinois state assembly commissioned the memorial in his honor. In July 1897, a staggering 500,000 Chicagoans turned out for the unveiling of the equestrian sculpture&mdash;nearly one-third the city&rsquo;s population at that time. &ldquo;Logan Day&rdquo; was designated an official city holiday and celebrated with a 17,000-person military parade on Michigan Avenue and a naval procession on Lake Michigan. The masses had turned out&nbsp;en masse&nbsp;to honor Logan and dedicate his bronze likeness.

Fast forward to 1968 when the Logan Memorial was again at the center of a mass gathering, this time the political protests outside the Democratic National Convention. Barred from protesting in front of the Conrad Hilton, the site of the convention, hundreds of people staged an impromptu &ldquo;sit-in&rdquo; around the Logan monument. Iconic photographs record crowds of protestors occupying the memorial&rsquo;s great mound&mdash;with General Logan seeming to lead them into battle [see top image]. &nbsp;

<img alt="" data-caption="Tony Tasset, &lt;i&gt;Artists Monument&lt;/i&gt;, 2015. Courtesy of the artist and Kavi Gupta" data-rich-file-id="1965" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1965/original/tasset-monument.jpg" />

For a brief period, one other public work f&ecirc;ted the masses in the south end of Grant Park. In 2016, the city installed Tony Tasset&rsquo;s&nbsp;Artists Monument&nbsp;(2015) adjacent to the Logan Memorial. A literal recording of the masses, this sculptural work documented the names of nearly 400,000 artists&mdash;the famous and the obscure&mdash;on colorful panels wrapped around two reclaimed shipping containers. Tasset listed the names in alphabetical order, treating each artist equally&mdash;a gesture that calls attention to the collective power of artistic creativity. Paradoxically, this &ldquo;monument&rdquo; was a temporary proposition and de-installed after a few months on view. But you can still visit its more somber sister installations, which recall Chicago history and celebrate the power of the people in their own distinctive ways.

Up next: Franck Mercurio recounts the battles between traditionalists and modernists by looking at Lorado Taft&#39;s&nbsp;Fountain of the Great Lakes&nbsp;and John Storrs&#39;&nbsp;Ceres&nbsp;and making&nbsp;connections to contemporary public works by Roger Brown and Richard Hunt.

Top image: Protesters climb the General Logan statue in Grant Park while thousands gather on the ground in August of 1968. The Illinois Central Railway Station&nbsp;can be seen in the background. Courtesy of the Chicago Tribune Historical Archives

Chicago Gallery News explores examines the connections between three sculptures in Grant Park.

Public Art and the Masses: Examining Sculpture in Grant Park

Information excerpted from Richard Gray Gallery&#39;s website:

Polish sculptor&nbsp;Magdalena Abakanowicz (born in&nbsp;1930),&nbsp;an artist&nbsp;with a career spanning more than five decades, died yesterday in Warsaw.&nbsp;

In Chicago she is most known for&nbsp;Agora&nbsp;(2006),&nbsp;106 upright figures, made of iron and&nbsp;each standing&nbsp;nine feet tall,&nbsp;permanently&nbsp;installed in Grant Park.

Abakanowicz told The Chicago Tribune in 2005,&nbsp;&ldquo;Every sculpture can be turned into decoration. But if you have 100, you are confronted by them and must think and imagine and question yourself. This is what I want.&rdquo;

<img alt="" data-caption="Installation view from &lt;i&gt;Mutations&lt;/i&gt;, 2016 exhibition at Richard Gray Gallery in Chicago" data-rich-file-id="1980" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1980/original/6290d8c2867137214b9264402887cb3d.jpeg" />

Her first North American retrospective was organized at the <a href="https://mcachicago.org/Exhibitions/1982/Magdalena-Abakanowicz">Museum of Contemporary Art</a> in Chicago in 1982. She has works in the museum&#39;s permanent collection.&nbsp;

Throughout her long and prolific career she has developed a distinctive sculptural language that is specific to her recollections of life in Communist-ruled Eastern Europe while remaining open to universal readings of human struggle. Her installations often portray crowds of headless or faceless bodies as somber testimonies to ongoing personal, societal, and international violence. Mutations brings together sculptures from the past thirty-five years in an installation that emphasizes the sculpture&rsquo;s materials and symbolic impact. 
 
Magdalena Abakanowicz was born in Falenty, Poland in 1930 and studied painting at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. She was a foundational voice in the development of avant-garde sculpture beginning in the 1960s, particularly challenging the use of fiber as a sculptural material. By the 1970s, she had established herself as a presence in the global art community.

<img alt="" data-caption="Installation view from &lt;i&gt;Mutations&lt;/i&gt;, 2016 exhibition at Richard Gray Gallery in Chicago, showing works in burlap and resin, and bronze" data-rich-file-id="1978" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1978/original/1d49b9f21ff414e7464ee65b16316b3a.jpeg" />

She is regarded as one of the most influential sculptors of the Post War period. Her powerful portrayal of the figure explores the human condition, the relationship between man and nature, and social and political histories pertaining to her experience in Soviet-occupied Poland. 
 
Her earliest mature works&mdash;monumental, soft textile sculptures called Abakans that she completed when she was in her early thirties&mdash;won the artist international recognition in an era when very few Polish citizens were permitted to travel abroad. Since that time, Abakanowicz has become best known for her unique treatment of the human figure, often headless and modeled in found burlap or cast in bronze, representing our capacity to follow a leader or movement blindly, without thought. At the same time, she creates each form by hand, emphasizing the individuality that remains, even in the crowd.

<img alt="" data-caption="Magdalena Abakanowicz, &lt;i&gt;The Group of Five with Arms&lt;/i&gt;, 2014, bronze, 60&quot; x 84&quot; x 36&quot;." data-rich-file-id="1981" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1981/original/31483cb1847512407efc1e213351d459.jpg" />

Abakanowicz studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw from 1950 &ndash; 1954. Her work can be found in public collections internationally including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Australian National Gallery of Art, Canberra; the Center for Contemporary Art, Warsaw; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri; the Ludwig Museum, Cologne; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Mus&eacute;e d&#39;Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea; the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York; the Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo and many others.

Additional reading: <a href="http://www.richardgraygallery.com/artists/magdalena-abakanowicz">richardgraygallery.com</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/arts/design/magdalena-abakanowicz-sculptor-of-brooding-forms-dies-at-86.html?_r=0">nytimes.com</a>

Top image: Magdalena Abakanowicz,&nbsp;Agora, 2006.&nbsp;Courtesy the artist and Richard Gray Gallery.

Magdalena Abakanowicz, a Polish sculptor with a career that spans more than 50 years, died on Thursday.

Polish Sculptor and Agora Artist Magdalena Abakanowicz Has Died at 86

The Terra Foundation for American Art&nbsp;in partnership with the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation&nbsp;officially announced&nbsp;Art Design Chicago, a yearlong&nbsp;initiative&nbsp;to explore Chicago&#39;s role in the history of art and design.&nbsp;Art Design Chicago&nbsp;provides over $6 million in funding to&nbsp;support exhibitions and public programming at more than 40 cultural organizations.&nbsp;Partners range from large institutions like&nbsp;the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/art-institute-of-chicago">Art Institute of Chicago</a> and the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution to community focused art organizations like the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/hyde-park-art-center-hpac">Hyde Park Art Center</a> and the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/south-side-community-art-center">South Side Community Art Center</a>.

A number of exhibitions have been announced including Arte Dise&ntilde;o Xic&aacute;go: Mexican Inspiration from the World&rsquo;s Columbian Exposition to the Civil Rights Era at the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/national-museum-of-mexican-art--2">National Museum of Mexican Art</a>; Picture Fictions: Kenneth Johnson and Contemporary Photography at the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/museum-of-contemporary-art-chicago-mca">Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago</a>;&nbsp;A Home for Surrealism at the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/galleries/the-arts-club-of-chicago">Arts Club of Chicago</a>; South Side Stories: Rethinking Chicago Art, 1960-1975 at the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/smart-museum-of-art">Smart Museum of Art</a> and the <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/dusable-museum">DuSable Museum of African American History</a>; and Chicago Disability Arts and Design: At the Center of the Disability Rights Movement 1974-2000 at <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/gallery-400">Gallery 400</a>.

Other notable forthcoming programs include Show the World: 150 Years of Chicago Art and Design, a four-part documentary produced by WTTW-TV (PBS) and Into the City: A History of Chicago Art published by University of Chicago Press.

Elizabeth Glassman, president and CEO of the Terra Foundation noted, &ldquo;We are delighted to be working with so many brilliant organizations to bring Art Design Chicago to life, and to share with new and existing audiences the dynamic artistic history of Chicago. This city has long had a pioneering spirit, championing the avant-garde, and shaping modern art and design. Chicago continues to be uniquely positioned to translate artistic vision into the consumer goods that we live with everyday. We could not think of a better moment to launch this initiative, when reconnecting with who and what comprises the American story is so essential and immediate.&rdquo;

For more information visit <a href="http://www.artdesignchicago.org">www.artdesignchicago.org</a>

<img alt="" data-caption="Ephemera, “Hollywood Bond Cavalcade,” Soldier Field, Chicago, September 16, 1943, courtesy University of Chicago Press" data-rich-file-id="1948" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1948/original/08-into-the-city.jpg" />

Art Design Chicago: Partners To Date&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution</li>
	<li>The Art Institute of Chicago</li>
	<li>The Arts Club of Chicago</li>
	<li>Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University</li>
	<li>Black Metropolis Research Consortium</li>
	<li>Caxton Club</li>
	<li>Chicago Art Deco Society</li>
	<li>Chicago Cultural Alliance</li>
	<li>Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events</li>
	<li>Chicago Design Museum</li>
	<li>Chicago History Museum</li>
	<li>Chicago Humanities Festival</li>
	<li>Chicago Parks Foundation&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Chicago Public Library</li>
	<li>Chicago Public Schools</li>
	<li>DePaul Art Museum</li>
	<li>DePaul University</li>
	<li>Duke University Press&nbsp;</li>
	<li>DuSable Museum of African American History</li>
	<li>Edgar Miller Legacy</li>
	<li>Ed Paschke Art Center&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Elmhurst College</li>
	<li>EXPO Chicago</li>
	<li>Gallery 400</li>
	<li>Glessner House Museum&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Hyde Park Art Center</li>
	<li>Illinois Executive Mansion Association</li>
	<li>Illinois Humanities</li>
	<li>Illinois Women Artists Project</li>
	<li>Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art</li>
	<li>Jane Addams Hull-House Museum&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Koehnline Museum of Art</li>
	<li>Mary &amp; Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University</li>
	<li>Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago</li>
	<li>Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago</li>
	<li>Museum of Modern Art, New York</li>
	<li>National Museum of Mexican Art</li>
	<li>National Public Housing Museum</li>
	<li>Navy Pier</li>
	<li>Newberry Library</li>
	<li>Northwestern University Press</li>
	<li>Rebuild Foundation</li>
	<li>The Renaissance Society at University of Chicago</li>
	<li>The Richard H. Driehaus Museum</li>
	<li>Smart Museum of Art</li>
	<li>South Side Community Art Center</li>
	<li>Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership</li>
	<li>Tang Museum at Skidmore College</li>
	<li>UChicago Arts Public Art Program&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art</li>
	<li>&nbsp;University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies</li>
	<li>University of Chicago Press</li>
	<li>University of Illinois at Chicago</li>
	<li>University of Illinois Press</li>
	<li>Vamonde</li>
	<li>Video Game Art Gallery</li>
	<li>WTTW</li>
</ul>

Top image: Kenneth Josephson, Chicago, 1972, gelatin silver print, 4 3/4 x 7 in. (12.1 x 17.8 cm), Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Gift of the Foster Charitable Trust in memory of Reuben A. Foster, 1983.37 &copy; 1972 Kenneth Josephson. Photo: Nathan Keay &copy; MCA Chicago

The Terra Foundation announced a major 2018 initiative to explore the history of art and design in Chicago.

Terra Foundation Announces Yearlong Initiative to Explore Impact of Chicago's Art and Design Legacy

By JACQUELINE LEWIS

Brazilian artist H&eacute;lio Oiticica&rsquo;s first U.S. retrospective is now on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. The survey includes a number of well-known works alongside material that has never been exhibited. Spanning his short but impactful career, To Organize Delirium maps out his early modernist works while recreating a number of large-scale, interactive environments.

Oiticica strongly believed that art was a social and ethical pursuit that must be embedded into daily life, and he often argued that art simply could not function outside of society. The&nbsp;title of the exhibition comes from Oiticica&rsquo;s friend, the Brazilian poet Haroldo de Campos who noted that the artist&rsquo;s philosophy &ldquo;combined extreme diligence for organization with strong need for freedom&rdquo; which culminates in &ldquo;chaos and order coexist[ing] and in this way, he managed to organize delirium.&rdquo;

Oiticica&rsquo;s interactive works require the direct participation of viewers. At first, it feels jarring to play and explore in the galleries at the Art Institute, because the museum and others like it have such strong, performative social codes of respect and reserve. However, these rules must be broken in order fully experience Oiticica&rsquo;s environments.

Early in his career, Oiticica realized the significance of removing art from its canvas and pedestal. He disagreed with the belief that art should be positioned behind the ropes of a museum or hidden from the populous. Instead, he advocated for human interaction with art in order to promote activism and fight corrupt political agendas.

<img alt="" data-caption="Hélio Oiticica, &lt;i&gt;Seja marginal, seja herói (Be an Outlaw, Be a Hero)&lt;/i&gt;, 1967, screenprint on fabric, 41 5/16&quot; x 35 3/8&quot;. © César and Cláudio Oticica. Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. " data-rich-file-id="1919" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1919/original/se-20heroi.jpg" />

The exhibition demonstrates Oiticica&#39;s political involvement with the inclusions of&nbsp;Seja Marginal, Seja Her&oacute;i (Be an Outlaw, Be a Hero), made in 1968 for the Festival of Flags. At this time, Brazil&rsquo;s dictatorship became increasingly oppressive and opposing ideas were stifled through torture and imprisonment.&nbsp;However, a resistance was able to form, and Oiticica helped fuel that movement through his work.&nbsp;At the Festival of Flags, the bossa nova musicians Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil held up Oiticica&rsquo;s banner Se Marginal, Se Her&oacute;i.&nbsp;They were subsequently jailed and deported for their actions but their message was clear.&nbsp; They would break the law and become &quot;outlaws&quot; to further their fight against the censorship and the oppression of the Brazilian people.

Oiticica came from a privileged background yet felt a connection to the favelas or shantytowns of Rio and visited them often.&nbsp;His visits inspired his most inventive and participatory art, Parangol&eacute;s.

<img alt="" data-caption="Hélio Oiticica with &lt;i&gt;P8 Parangolé Cape 5, Homage to Mangueira (P8 Parangolé capa 5, Homenagem à Mangueira&lt;/i&gt;, 1965) at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, 1969. César and Claudio Oiticica Collection, Rio de Janeiro. © César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro." data-rich-file-id="1911" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1911/original/parangole.jpg" />

Parangol&eacute;s are objects intended to be carried or worn, often realized in the form of fabric wrappings. They are considered unfinished objects until they are &ldquo;activated&rdquo; on a human body, especially through dance. This embodies the idea of a work that is &ldquo;collaborative, constantly developing, and open to change,&rdquo;[1] which is a guiding philosophy for Oiticica.

At the Art Institute&nbsp;visitors are allowed to become active participants by wearing reproductions of Parangol&eacute;s and dancing in them, if they so choose.&nbsp;Many were&nbsp;skeptical and only wore them for moments, unsure whether or not they could actually touch and wear objects in a museum.

After the Parangol&eacute;s station, visitors can enter the sandboxes of Eden and Tropic&aacute;lia. Both environments are open-ended &ldquo;instruments for reflection&rdquo; meant to &ldquo;proposition for behavior.&rdquo;[2] &nbsp;The installations include places for rest, contemplation, reading, and listening to music. Oiticica called these areas penetrables, a term he used throughout this career.

<img alt="" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium&lt;/i&gt;, installation view of &lt;i&gt;Eden&lt;/i&gt;, 2017. Photo: Jacqueline Lewis" data-rich-file-id="1912" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1912/original/17357449-1634538683242531-1583685241-o.jpg" />

Museum-goers seem to hesitate before entering this space as if security will arrive the second they cross into the sandbox and touch the objects.&nbsp;In this controlled setting, the penetrables become a sort of social experiment, everyone looking to each other to see what they should do because of the now ambiguous social codes.&nbsp;A note of caution to the enthusiastic adventurer: be careful when exploring the penetrables, because there are hidden areas full of water ready to soak your socks.

Tropic&aacute;lia became a decisive work in Oiticica&rsquo;s career and eventually became the name of a movement that transcended the defined contours of music, literature, theater and film. &nbsp;The work&nbsp;rejects&nbsp;the influence of North American and European culture and embraces the local&nbsp;Brazilian lifestyle, while addressing&nbsp;stereotypes of tropical cultures through the inclusion of palm trees and live birds.

<img alt="" data-caption="&lt;i&gt;Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium&lt;/i&gt;. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago." data-rich-file-id="1917" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/1917/original/tropicaliabirdcage.jpg" />

CC Coke Head&rsquo;s Soup also challenges expected museum etiquette. The work appropriates the&nbsp;Rolling Stone&rsquo;s album Goat&rsquo;s Head Soup.&nbsp;Images of the album covered in cocaine flash on the walls of a room with a padded floor, immersing the viewer and moving them into another realm, aided by John Cage-like chance sounds and Rolling Stones song, Sister Morphine.&nbsp;

The unsettling sounds and images of drug use contrast with the lighthearted feel of the floor that just begs to be jumped on. Viewers walk in, look around nervously, and then jump a few times before getting embarrassed. Many seem to hold back their desire to break loose in the room, possibly due to the subject matter but most likely due to its location in a museum. In general, adults do not expect to bounce around in a museum, yet the exhibition demands that kind of spontaneity.

To Organize Delirium asks visitors to rethink&nbsp;the social constraints and etiquette expected in museum settings. Oitcica intended&nbsp;his work to combat social and political issues within&nbsp;communities, instead of&nbsp;hanging behind a rope in a museum.&nbsp;As a participant, letting go of culturally proscribed notions of the museum space will, in turn, help you&nbsp;better understand the work of this important&nbsp;artist. &nbsp;&nbsp;

H&eacute;lio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago through May 6, 2017. Click <a href="http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/institutions/art-institute-of-chicago">here</a> for more information.

Top image:&nbsp;H&eacute;lio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium, installation view, 2017.&nbsp;Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

[1] Wall text, H&eacute;lio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium, Art Institute of Chicago, February 18-May 6, 2017.&nbsp;

[2] Wall text,&nbsp;H&eacute;lio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium, Art Institute of Chicago, February 18-May 6, 2017.&nbsp;

The Art Institute of Chicago presents a large-scale survey of the Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica.