West Town, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Kinzie Corridor, Humboldt Park

West Town

Wisconsin

IL • MI • IN

West Loop, Fulton Market, East Garfield Park

West Loop and West Side

Evanston, The North Shore, Northern, Western and Southern Suburbs

Suburbs

Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, Rogers Park

North Side

Michigan Avenue, Streeterville, The Gold Coast, The Loop, and South Loop

Michigan Avenue

Pilsen, Bridgeport, Chinatown, plus Hyde Park, Jackson Park/Dorchester, and Bronzeville

South Side

Superior and Franklin streets, West Chicago Ave, and down to Merchandise Mart and the River

River North

This exhibition is a collaboration with Loyola University's Fine Arts Division, including student and faculty work from both institutions.&nbsp;The show will feature works that convey meaning through embodied art practice. Pieces that explore the rich history, tradition, and cultural expression of contemporary sculpture, including ceramics, glass, and stone, as well as innovative, reinterpretative sculptural works using non-traditional materials that push the boundaries of visual art.

Material Inquiry

Krasl Art Center presents&nbsp;Malcolm Taylor: Prologue, The State of Play, on view February 7 through May 10, 2026 in the ArtLab. The exhibition opens with a free public reception on Thursday, February 6, from 6 – 8 PM.The State of Play&nbsp;marks Benton Harbor–based photographer Malcolm Taylor’s first gallery exhibition, offering an adventurous exploration of storytelling through action figure photography. Taylor stages intricate miniature sets and captures them in vivid, cinematic photographs that blur the line between play and narrative. Featuring characters drawn from comics, video games, and popular culture, the works are infused with humor, nostalgia, and imagination, inviting viewers into fully realized worlds at a toy-sized scale.

Malcolm Taylor: The State of Play

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/" target="_blank">Hyde Park Art Center</a>, the renowned non-profit hub for contemporary art located on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, is proud to announce&nbsp;Yoonshin Park: Prompt and Prompted, an exhibition highlighting the artist’s, as well as her students’, experimental ways of creating artist books that push the boundaries of what books can be. On view from&nbsp;January 24-May 10, 2026,&nbsp;the exhibition offers hands-on experiences for the audience to make their own artist books on multiple dates throughout the duration. Both the exhibition and the public programs are free and open to the public. An artist book is an artwork that reimagines or transforms the form, function, or concept of a book into an expressive medium. For more than two decades, Park has used artist books as an experimental form and conceptual space to expand what books can be. For Park, the medium offers freedom that invites alternative ways of living other aspects of life, and invites the audience to live their lives as expansively as Park defines artist books. This exhibition presents new works that further her exploration of artist books as spatial, symbolic, and participatory sites capable of engaging notions of memory, marginality, translation, and transformation. More than a creator, Park is an arts educator of the medium. Since 2019, she has been teaching courses on artist books virtually through the Art Center’s Oakman Clinton School + Studios, and has found her practice of teaching to be as generative for her as it is for her students. The title of the exhibition refers to the reciprocal exchange that takes place in Park’s classroom. The exhibition includes artworks by 12 of Park’s students, including Kimberly Bailey, Miriam Bisby, Priya Deb, Devie Dragone, Bryne Hadnott, Rebecca Kelly, John Michael Korpal, Carol Lett, Camille Levi, Sumiah Salloum, Virginia Van Vynckt, and Max Washington. Park shares how this presentation differs from past work: “This exhibition marks a shift in my practice from intimate, book-inspired gestures to spatial and communal forms, allowing me to explore how books can extend beyond the page. I hope visitors experience the work as an invitation to engage with their own stories and with spaces—both in books and in the gallery—in new ways, noticing how meaning and connection can emerge through shared interaction.” Free public programs include the following:Wednesday, January 28, 1pm Artist-led workshopWednesday, February 11, 1pm Artist-led workshopThursday, February 19, 6pm Artist talk with Yoonshin Park and curator Mariela AcuñaWednesday, February 25, 1pm Artist-led exhibition walk-throughWednesday, March 4, 1pm Artist-led workshopWednesday, March 18, 1pm Artist-led exhibition walk-throughSaturday, April 4, 1-4pm Center Day workshop led by one of Park’s students, John Michael KorpalWednesday, April 8, 1pm Artist-led workshopWednesday, April 22, 1pm Artist-led workshopWednesday, May 6, 1pm Artist-led exhibition walk-through This exhibition was curated by Mariela Acuña, art center Director of Exhibitions and Residency, and produced by Tran Tran and Liang-yu Huang, with fabrication support provided by Huang.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1771018610/l1mhn1jbmv7qkttusjfz.png"> ABOUT THE ARTISTBorn in Seoul, Korea, Park now resides in Chicago. She has participated in residencies including the HATCH Residency at the Chicago Artists Coalition and Hyde Park Art Center’s Center Program. She teaches at both the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Hyde Park Art Center, and in 2024, served as curator and facilitator for the Hyde Park Art Center’s Bridge Program. Park has exhibited at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Northeastern Illinois University Fine Arts Center Gallery, Beverly Arts Center, Evanston Art Center, Riverside Art Center, Pablo Center and the AIR SPACE at Saint Kate Hotel in Wisconsin, and Simyo Gallery in Seoul, Korea, among others. She is represented by Zolla/Lieberman Gallery in Chicago. ABOUT THE HYDE PARK ART CENTERHyde Park Art Center, at 5020 South Cornell Avenue on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, is a hub for contemporary arts in Chicago, serving as a gathering, production, and exhibition space for artists and the broader community to cultivate ideas, impact social change, and connect with new networks. Since its inception in 1939, Hyde Park Art Center has grown from a small collective of artists to establishing a strong legacy of risk-taking and experimentation, emerging as a unique Chicago arts institution with social impact. Today, the Art Center offers a diverse suite of programs for artists and art lovers of all backgrounds, ages, and stages in their careers including: contemporary art exhibitions in six galleries; an open-access community-based school with 2,000 annual enrollments; weekly arts education to 1,000 elementary school students in public schools; weekly and summer teen programs for 100 teen artists; professional-advancement programs for artists; a local and international artist residency; and public programs that connect residents with Chicago art and artists. The Art Center’s Oakman Clinton School + Studio is the nation’s first fully contribute-what-you-can visual art school for all ages. The Art Center functions as an amplifier for creative voices of today and tomorrow, providing the space to cultivate new work and connections. For more information, visit<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/" target="_blank">&nbsp;www.hydeparkart.org</a>.

Yoonshin Park: Prompt and Prompted

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jmkac.org/exhibition/a-beautiful-experience/?utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_TAgiwr9CcUCqp8PARBnetZDmy4oA4M6rKVEblEJGj0fYaKmL0n8Naot67z_PVofiAcW7Sb0wnbX5AHJQODsWXa0U2UYeyKUnYSDhaHXxDMn2lHxQ&amp;_hsmi=343424237&amp;utm_content=343424237&amp;utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Details</a> A Beautiful Experience: The Midwest Grotto Tradition&nbsp;takes its title from a slogan found on years of brochures, maps, and swag from the Dickeyville Grotto in Wisconsin. It is one of several grottoes found throughout the region. These sites began to inspire pilgrimage, tourism, reflection, and community gathering during the 1910s. This exhibition looks at their continuing influence on artists and visitors alike. Materially, midwestern grottoes often reflect local industries, decorative trends, and an area’s geological makeup. Grotto architecture mainly comprises concrete embellished with objects including shells, marbles, colored glass, toys, figurines, fossils, and geodes. This accumulation, as well as the objects incorporated, creates a documentation of the maker’s life, faith, and home. Madeline Buol is one of the few known women grotto builders. The materials she utilized include figurines and stones gathered during her travels. She had a special affinity for shells of all shapes and sizes. The exhibition is the first public showing of Buol’s monumental thirteen-piece grotto since it was saved from the artist’s yard in 2011 by the Kohler Foundation, Inc. It was then gifted to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. In addition to Buol’s grotto,&nbsp;A Beautiful Experience&nbsp;includes objects related to the Midwest grottoes that directly inspired her, such as the Dickeyville Grotto, Jacob Baker’s “dream houses,” the Rudolph Grotto, and the Wegner Grotto. The exhibition illustrates the material histories of these grottoes and strategies for their conservation. Visitors are offered opportunities to learn about the legacy and care of Midwest grotto sites. A Beautiful Experience&nbsp;also includes new work by Stephanie Shih and E. Saffronia Downing, each responding to the grotto tradition. Shih presents a work inspired by Jacob Baker and Chinese immigration in the U.S. Downing shares her explorations of clay and material foraging throughout the Midwest, providing insight into material studies for the concrete and construction materials often invented and improvised upon by grotto builders. Image: Madeline Buol, Buol Grotto and Sculptures (site view, n.d.), Dubuque, IA, 1946–c. 1960. Photo courtesy of Pam Mendenhall.

A Beautiful Experience: The Midwest Grotto Tradition

Mason Pott, born and working in Chicago, is a fine artist whose practice centers on traditional oil painting with a contemporary sensibility. Known for his vivid explorations of florals and color theory, he approaches each work with a deeply considered, multidisciplinary process.&nbsp;Every painting begins with a carefully staged, high-quality photoshoot of a floral arrangement—an essential step in&nbsp;shaping the composition, lighting, and emotional tenor of the&nbsp;final piece. From there, Pott hand-cuts an aluminum panel to&nbsp;echo the contours of the bouquet, creating a sculptural support&nbsp;that blurs the line between painting and object.This integration of form and subject transforms the still-life&nbsp;tradition, inviting viewers to engage the work as both image and&nbsp;physical presence. Pott’s practice reflects his belief in the&nbsp;interconnectedness of craft, intuition, and design.&nbsp;His meticulous attention to color relationships animates the&nbsp;surface of each painting, resulting in works that feel simultaneously timeless and distinctly of the present.&nbsp;He received his BFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2015.Image: Color Field [Purple &amp; Crimson} with Kale &amp; Grapes,&nbsp;2025, Oil on custom cut aluminum panel, 26 x 38 in., 66 x 96.5 cm

Chromatic Fields by Mason Pott

Special Event on Mothers Day (May 10)Deb Koo&nbsp;is an oil painter based in Charlotte, North Carolina, whose work reflects a refined balance between cultural perspective and painterly experimentation. She began her formal art studies at Smith College and went on to earn her MFA in Western Painting from Ewha Womans University in Seoul. A member of the Goodyear Arts Collective and a professor of art at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Koo actively contributes to Charlotte’s creative community. Her work has been exhibited locally at Goodyear Arts, LaCa Projects, Sozo Gallery, and The Mint Museum Randolph, as well as nationally and internationally at Lorin Gallery in Los Angeles, Tchotchke Gallery in New York, and Delphian Gallery in London.

Material Offering by Deb Koo

The annual&nbsp;High School Area Show&nbsp;is a juried exhibition featuring the artwork of high school artists from Kalamazoo and its surrounding counties. This show provides students opportunities to not only show their work in a museum, but also the chance to win prizes and scholarships. The KIA is proud to host this annual exhibition committed to nurturing emerging talent and expanding access to meaningful arts experiences for young people.The 2026 juror is Ginger Owen-Murakami. Owen-Murakami’s artwork reflects narratives of family history, race, gender, and culture. Her practice includes installation, sculpture, and various photographic methods. She is currently a Professor of Photography at Western Michigan University’s Gwen Frostic School of Art.The show is open to high school students residing in Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties. Students can submit up to two works online. (Submissions have closed for 2026.)

2026 High School Area Show

Opening: Friday, April 10th, 6-10pm. <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/issy-wilson-boundary-layer-opening-at-pagoda-red-tickets-1985607690052?aff=oddtdtcreator&amp;utm_source=Pagoda+Red+Master+List&amp;utm_campaign=d349add43a-20260108_NewArrivals_COPY_01&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_d5a5331306-d349add43a-106923209&amp;goal=0_d5a5331306-d349add43a-106923209&amp;mc_cid=d349add43a&amp;mc_eid=3e481c464e" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="_blank">RSVP is required.</a>Herbaceous tequila tasting by Inspiro TequilaImmersive Listening Experience with Catieooooooo A series of multi-media paintings by London-based artist Issy Wilson, Boundary Layer explores the liminal space between earth and air, an overlooked micro-ecosystem where moss cultivates its own conditions for survival. A pioneer species that can shape its surroundings, moss challenges the idea of borders as impenetrable and attests to the impact of quiet perseverance. Dwelling in the boundary layer, mosses are living tapestries with porous and continually renegotiated borders.&nbsp; In a moment when political and social systems increasingly seek to solidify borders and regulate movement, moss suggests an alternative—one rooted in permeability, mutual support, and resilience.&nbsp; Each Boundary Layer work is inspired by London in winter, where mosses emerge as vivid interruptions to misty tones of gray and brown. Dotting the urban landscape like small, forested worlds, the moss bejewels its stark surroundings with moments of color and softness. Even in conditions of constraint, moss continues to thrive, reshape its surroundings, and create new possibilities for growth.&nbsp; Wilson’s paintings symbolize resilience without spectacle, adaptability without erasure, and resistance without domination. Her quiet landscapes remind us that transformation is possible, even when it occurs slowly and in overlooked spaces.

Issy Wilson: Boundary Layer

Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago (MoCP) announces its next exhibition,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mocp.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9e4250b7536dc23e9352b28ee&amp;id=1157c0cf86&amp;e=58cea278c7" target="_blank">MoCP at Fifty: Collecting Through the Decades</a>, on view January 22-May 16, 2026. As we enter the new year, MoCP celebrates its 50th anniversary. Since opening in 1976 and initiating collecting in 1979, MoCP has acquired over 18,000 objects by more than 2,000 artists, representing a broad scope of aesthetics, technologies, and processes. The variety of artworks collected has allowed the museum to engage in conversations across political, social, and cultural landscapes. To celebrate this milestone,&nbsp;MoCP at Fifty&nbsp;examines the evolving practice of building a dynamic collection, presenting a range of objects, from the rarely exhibited to newly acquired works. Together, these selections question and reflect on the role cultural institutions play in shaping the photographic canon. Each of the museum’s five galleries represents a decade of collecting, beginning with the most recent acquisitions (2016-2026) in the first gallery, then moving backwards through time. “Over five decades, the MoCP has built a collection that traces shifting cultural, political, and visual histories. This moment allows us to look back with reflection and celebrate our holdings, knowing that every photograph we steward becomes part of a larger conversation about how images shape our understanding of the world.” Karen Irvine, Chief Curator and Deputy Director Looking at MoCP’s collection decade by decade is as much an archive of history as it is of art. Collections are fluid, often evolving in ways that mirror the values and trends of society at large. The first decades are noticeably missing many women and artists of color, not because such artists were not making work at the time, but because cultural institutions had yet to fully consider the value of varied perspectives and forms of practice. The later decades were collected with intention, not only of addressing gaps in representation, but to embrace conceptual works and works that push the boundary of what defines “photography,” in the process expanding, innovating, and redefining what a photography museum can offer the public. This exhibition displays over 100 objects from the MoCP collection. Featured artists include: Joel Sternfeld (American, b. 1944), Barbara Crane (American, 1928–2019), Matthew Finley (American, b. 1972), Carrie Mae Weems (American, b. 1953), Yasuhiro Ishimoto (Japanese American, 1921-2012), Dayanita Singh (Indian, b.1961), Bob Thall (American, b. 1948), Carlotta Corpron (American, 1901-1988), and various others. Uta Barth, Field #3, 1995; printed 2021. 2021:244

MoCP at 50: Collecting Through the Decades

Gallery VICTOR is proud to present&nbsp;Bruno Surdo, a major exhibition of new work by one of Chicago’s most accomplished contemporary figurative painters. Opening April 11 and continuing through May 16, 2026, the exhibition begins with a public reception on Saturday, April 11 from 12–6 PM.For nearly three decades, Gallery VICTOR has represented Surdo, whose work occupies a rare space where the discipline of Old Master painting meets the urgency of contemporary life. Trained in the atelier tradition, Surdo’s practice is rooted in rigorous draftsmanship, anatomical precision, and the technical lineage of Renaissance and Baroque painting. Yet his subjects are unmistakably of our time, charged with psychological intensity and shaped by the social, emotional, and cultural realities of the present.This exhibition offers a sweeping and immersive view into Surdo’s current direction, bringing together monumental multi-figure narratives, intimate portraits, allegorical compositions, and exquisitely rendered anatomical studies. In works such as&nbsp;Crossroads of Time&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Union of Different Skies, Surdo constructs densely populated urban scenes that function as contemporary stages, spaces where anonymity and intimacy collide, and where individuals exist both together and profoundly alone. These compositions recall the grandeur and complexity of historical painting while confronting the fractured nature of modern experience.Alongside these expansive narratives, Surdo turns inward, exploring vulnerability, desire, and emotional exposure through more focused imagery. Paintings such as&nbsp;Daydreamer,&nbsp;Dreams of Hope, and&nbsp;Guardian&nbsp;capture fleeting yet deeply human moments, while works like&nbsp;Martyrdom of Freedom&nbsp;and&nbsp;Venus of America&nbsp;introduce a sharper, more confrontational edge. In these pieces, Surdo engages directly with contemporary cultural tensions, using symbolism and allegory to probe issues of identity, power, and societal fracture.Equally compelling are Surdo’s mythologically inflected works on paper and canvas, including&nbsp;Ganymede’s Seduction,&nbsp;The Harpies, and&nbsp;The Riddle. Drawing from classical sources, these works reframe archetypal narratives through a contemporary psychological lens, collapsing distinctions between myth and lived experience. Here, Surdo’s ongoing dialogue between past and present becomes especially vivid, revealing the enduring relevance of ancient forms in articulating modern consciousness.Throughout the exhibition, Surdo’s technical mastery remains unwavering, but the emotional tenor of the work pushes into increasingly personal and unguarded territory. The paintings reveal an artist deeply engaged with memory, identity, and the complexities of the human condition, unafraid to confront both beauty and disquiet with equal intensity.A second, more intimate presentation,&nbsp;Bruno Surdo: Unfiltered, will take place at the artist’s studio in Evanston on Saturday, May 2 from 12–4 PM. This special event will offer rare insight into Surdo’s process, with a focused exploration of his work centered on the human body and the raw immediacy of direct observation.Bruno Surdo was born in Chicago and has exhibited widely across the United States, with work held in numerous private and public collections. He is also a dedicated teacher and lecturer, recognized for his commitment to sustaining and advancing the tradition of figurative art.Later this year, Gallery VICTOR will present a special exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, centered around Surdo’s monumental painting&nbsp;Tragedy, Memory, and Honor. First exhibited at Chicago’s Daley Center, the work stands as one of the artist’s most powerful and unflinching achievements, a deeply moving meditation on collective loss, remembrance, and national identity. Its return to public view offers a rare opportunity to encounter a work that confronts history with both gravity and humanity. <a href="https://galleryvictor.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5e6a1ed366983a0ba9bbe21e1&amp;id=d0c86e304f&amp;e=c95ff8b063" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Off the Wall: In Conversation with Bruno Surdo | April 25, 10 AM - 12 PM</a>

Bruno Surdo: An exhibition in two parts

The exhibition&nbsp;<a href="https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/exhibitions/walldrawings-friedhard-kiekeben-and-maria-burundarena" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Walldrawings</a>&nbsp;at Evanston Art Center creates immersive spatial experiences for the viewer through digital wall works made on inkjet-printed paper and pasted vinyl, suggesting dynamic crystalline and hyperbolic abstract repeat forms that invite contemplation and a multiplicity of views and readings.&nbsp;Maria Burundarena was invited to create a dialogue with these works through reflective and mirrored spaces, LED light intervention, and pillar wrappings throughout the gallery. Both artists also show a selection of 'panel paintings' that accompany the site-specific installation works.RCA, trained, the German/American artist&nbsp;Friedhard Kiekeben&nbsp;is currently based in Indianapolis.&nbsp;A minimalist aesthetic manifests in site-specific installations and series of paintings and overpaintings, and has been exhibited internationally in galleries and museums since the late 1980s.The Chicago-based Argentinian artist&nbsp;Maria Burundarena&nbsp;makes site-specific installations using large-scale printed images, light projection, and reflective materials. Her work has been exhibited at ZAZ 10, Times&nbsp;Square, New York, SITE Gallery, Mayfield, MdW Mana Contemporary, Chicago Athletic Association, The Franklin, Heaven Gallery, and Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Walldrawings | Friedhard Kiekeben and Maria Burundarena

Reception and Gallery Talk, May 7, 7-9pmThe Lewis University Department of Art and Design is proud to present the Senior Capstone Exhibition. This biannual art show coincides with the capstone course, Senior Project. The course challenges graduating students to put their newly acquired skills and understanding of art to the test by participating in a professional exhibition experience.Image by: Erika OrnelasArtists:Nicholas AguilarEmilia ConnellAmanda DeweyErika OrnelasMarley PiersonJenna Purdy

Senior Capstone Exhibition

We meet abroad on neutral ground.Forget he of plain food and soft looking shoes, and all that which is common among commoners.&nbsp;Learn to love things so fine that they border on nothing. As for your successful animals and cities - descend upon them and pronounce them good.&nbsp;A princess is unsure of what to eat.&nbsp;And who will chew my food? Who will call and refresh me?She embodies sweetness and wants harmony, but lacks inner power until a crisis forces growth.&nbsp;If you walk slow and there’s no moon, your nightly disappearance will go unnoticed. You will see others in their respective pavilions, enduring their own peculiar tests. Their eyes point in different directions to keep their mythologies intact. Some are clever, some are spoiled, but all are as real as stone.Show them your gift, you are grateful and good. We all drink from the same glass.Fall asleep tonight never to be threatened again by such different but equal beauties.&nbsp;Know that I would make the world a ruby for your little finger, and die in an oval of your tears. So goes the path of the clean heart - see things only as God sees them. Between me and an angel there must be a difference.Image: Scroll,&nbsp;Oil on canvas, 22 x 36 inches

Castle: Amy Pearl Lang

Artist Talk: Saturday, April 18 starting at 1PM207 E Buffalo St, Suite 404, Milwaukee, WI 53202 (Marshall Building, 4th floor)Kim Storage Gallery is pleased to present Reflections and Undercurrents, a solo exhibition of new&nbsp;paintings by Katherine Steichen Rosing that immerses viewers in the invisible forces shaping forests and watersheds amid&nbsp;climate disruption. Rosing’s work reveals both the resilience and fragile balance of ecosystems under stress, asking what&nbsp;persists—and what quietly disappears—beneath the surface of the landscapes we love.In this body of work, she abstracts hidden ecological processes into vividly hued, densely layered surfaces, merging the&nbsp;visible and invisible through inscribed marks that are later veiled by color, like root systems and currents we cannot fully&nbsp;see. Reflections and Undercurrents introduces submerged forests of yellow-green trunks rising through ultramarine&nbsp;floodwaters, holding the tension between visual allure and the unsettling question of whether we witness temporary&nbsp;inundation or irreversible transformation.Grounded in long-term observation, environmental research, and collaborations with scientists, Rosing’s practice&nbsp;addresses extreme weather cycles—drought, deluge, and intensifying storms—that leave forests stressed and&nbsp;vulnerable, from local neighborhoods to distant northern ecosystems. She understands painting as a way to convey the&nbsp;felt experience of environmental change, creating a contemplative space where beauty and unease coexist and where&nbsp;subtle shifts in color, light, and texture echo broader ecological transformations.Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Rosing is known for environmentally engaged paintings and immersive installations&nbsp;exploring relationships among forests, watersheds, and climate. She has exhibited in over one hundred solo and group&nbsp;shows in museums and galleries, including the Rockford Art Museum, Amos Eno Gallery (New York), the Arts Club&nbsp;(Washington, DC), and the Museum of Wisconsin Art. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections, and she holds an MFA from Northern Illinois University. She received the 2022 Forward Art Prize.Image: Blue Damselflies Flitting About My Kayak, Acrylic on canvas, 44 x 55"

Reflections and Undercurrents

Mekkelson's bass note snare emerges simultaneously from two galleries on opposite ends of Chicago.65GRAND in the North Side neighborhood of Humboldt Park, features bass note. Sixteen miles away, in the South Side Morgan Park neighborhood, boundary presents snare.The exhibitions open on April 24 (65GRAND) and April 25 (boundary) and run through May 23.

Heather Mekkelson: bass note

Mariane Ibrahim is proud to present its first solo exhibition with Youssef Nabil,&nbsp;No one Knows but the Sky.&nbsp;Cinema forms the stage upon which the photographic and video work of Youssef Nabil unfolds. Within it, the history of Egyptian cinema coexists with his childhood memories of Cairo, shaped by the film posters of a country that remains a major center of popular culture. Through its images, sounds, and stories, Egyptian cinema has shaped tastes, morals, and even language across the Arab world for decades. Through cinema, Nabil encountered art for the first time, and it remains the lens through which he has continued to observe and register the many transformations of his native land.The artworks presented in this exhibition—one of which gives the exhibition its title, and where the video&nbsp;The Room&nbsp;is shown for the first time—offer a glimpse into the last twenty years of the artist’s practice, where his stylized films move alongside hand-colored images. In these pieces, Nabil applies a meticulous process of painting directly onto the print, transforming each work into a unique object, in the tradition of the Egyptian film posters of his youth.<a href="http://link.marianeibrahim.com/ls/click?upn=u001.QEhnWBve3x4w-2FznpuSOKkHDHeH9lWxp-2BpojXmbdTFEfNIzMO4Fk0hZGVAcuFTnrwuZu5hmOl-2F6D5nZnF86DF23mK0QDSMs06h62FVId6b8EeBA7gPki6Ji8EdgMRK5OAW-2F3sLMS2dDG6EXp646BAWQ-3D-3DlcsV_0g5QiKQ3ANfCkWXxwzczn1phIok0-2FnBF8GNWXrNhq2-2B4ftGj9DI8Jn4AfRAGeAJVikNEQwxpwEcoOyKbtwuEcOmpV8pZqW9wDkAW98XvXyxFYzbJ4WJEwgS9NSON6MGnCTfJn1AkphRC0R-2FMWpGqOzHnre5xAAnJH0jckxlKiDrzDDB3ft4yXB-2FVIkaItTRuXQ3hju5kyBUW7PMdjkTAgnIQNV3P4O8dFGQ6ATHGnagwAAHuX-2FfZC5QkUT4B0uvuhpa4SC9C81tqNybS1ONfOa17CE42rNNIrUHGi2sfSS-2FFaPjilPEmhUOm6cTxA0BS8lCNIDewVQcr4Jp4CMFh50SF4qaVFpcYFVmre8r5psua2s0dLuDCbAuyL5I5yDiQwdgLSHmoS-2BZCPbt1HOyKCf46Ad4bf2BhPEQ42l1j4xxc0olHXXmTW-2BPDCkLCy1FeWQN2QjhiWSY-2BhnWIEYO-2F21URteTqxj8s0o2nKiHkBoVpNGXD-2FTMmXPcTnRPoWw5yjaypUblX9rBLyNl9X-2FOgoNc9b-2BRvc0A4NqS00FfW4kgkVj9FSXt-2BOEI-2FpxXPYDDmvyfJeO3Fb3p4TKL0tVIDlWjUQCJm5tJWM9yoHfjVoaACgOIJQfCOxSm1f-2F0YSxnV3DEHy-2F40jUgGH0XrfvEZOo2dU6i2dy1XRSdXBxkVc3g9y-2FpGdD6mgFTYrFkJ42Re8IpnJ06TfxH6YlYEmsv0a0DTl0bQKEcW3oxzKvWMPtweY0sHYJHmbjAxmBFzy5ZtEIjNnlu-2BATUuPUlkPWg3QfuUTIh9AGsnaxPjQgYbpSuQtOwHFNPOXN9A5T35bocaAPv9Cg5XX2VlF-2BQWbCGSJoeY0tWc20da-2BL8TSp09Td0-3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank">MORE INFORMATION</a> Image: Youssef Nabil,&nbsp;Self-portrait with Roots, Los Angeles, 2008. Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

Youssef Nabil: No One Knows But the Sky

Join Jackson Junge Gallery in celebrating the past, present, and future of Benjye Troob’s remarkable career in FORMS &amp; HORIZONS: A Retrospective.Spanning more than four decades of drawing and painting, this retrospective highlights Benjye Troob's lifelong dedication to art. The exhibition brings together her select works from the late 1990s to today, offering visitors an intimate look at Benjye’s artistic evolution and her ever-shifting yet unmistakable vision. While her style continues to evolve, her art consistently captures both the vitality of the human form and the beauty of the natural world.Free and open to the public.

Forms & Horizons: A Retrospective

Uncertain HistoriesJune 14, 2025 - May 24, 2026Chicago Cultural Center, Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Hall Cases, 2nd Floor North Everything in history, once it has happened, looks as if it had to happen exactly that way. We can’t imagine any other. But I am convinced of the uncertainty of history, of the possibility of surprise, of the importance of human action in changing what looks unchangeable.—Howard Zinn (US Army veteran), 1994* The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Hall was built as a memorial to the sacrifices of Union Civil War veterans and their families. According to the renowned American abolitionist Frederick Douglass, their sacrifices were for freedom and a testament to the most profound declaration of human rights in history. Yet, Douglass also argued in a 1877 speech to the GAR, that the task of fully realizing this freedom remained unfinished. In the face of this unfinished task, and the current challenges to freedoms,&nbsp;Uncertain Histories&nbsp;reveals entanglement between past military actions and today’s state repression, between historic declarations and the current struggle for freedom. The creative practices of contemporary veteran artists&nbsp;Darrell W. Fair,&nbsp;Eric J. Garcia,&nbsp;Monty Little (Diné), and&nbsp;Amber Zora&nbsp;draw throughlines that complicate legacies of colonialism and militarism while seeking a more peaceful future. These creative acts of hope transform violent histories into stories of survival and resistance. As celebrated historian and World War II veteran Howard Zinn writes, “To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.”* Uncertain Histories&nbsp;is curated by Aaron Hughes in affiliation with the emerging Veteran Art Movement, with support from the DEMIL Art Fund, DCASE, and the City of Chicago.* Howard Zinn,&nbsp;You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times&nbsp;(Beacon Press, 1994).

Uncertain Histories

Waterscapes convey emotional depth. The artists in the Horizons Exhibition capture the essence of water by reflecting upon abstract shapes of color and light that shimmer on the surface. They are keenly aware of subtle shifts in temperature, mood and atmosphere.&nbsp;They blur the lines between representation and abstraction. See beyond the horizon through their eyes.&nbsp; This exhibition addresses the fragile relationship humans have with water, our most precious natural resource. Twenty percent of all revenue from sales will be donated to the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Artists: Anna Marie Crovetti, Mark Collins, Catherine Daniels, Cindy Fuller, Ted Glasoe, Louise LeBourgeois, Lynne Miller Jones, Eleanor Speiss-Ferris, Ellen Starr Lyon, and Nina Weiss.&nbsp; Opening Reception: Saturday, May 2nd, 2 to 5 PM &nbsp; May 17th @ 2 PM: Talk "Connections, Conversations and Commitment: Reflections Upon the Great Lakes." Louise LeBourgeois will discuss her connection to Lake Michigan in her paintings. Matt Alsteil will discuss the Alliance’s efforts to ensure clean water via science-based solutions, community engagement.&nbsp; Gallery Hours: Thursday through Sunday, 1 to 6 PMWebsite: <a href="http://www.grovegallery.shop" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(56, 101, 115);" target="_blank">www.grovegallery.shop</a>Contact: Sarah Kaiser, Gallery Director<a href="mailto:sarah@studio215.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sarah@studio215.org</a>773 318 0163

Horizons: the Waterscapes

On Friday, May 1st, we will be having an exhibit opening for featured artist Erin Kaya's show "Atmospheric Geometry." The opening will run from 5-7 PM and will display Erin's lively, intriguing abstract paintings, which&nbsp;are defined by a strong use of color and geometric shapes, specifically lines and squares.Image: Metropolis Tapestry

Erin Kaya: Atmospheric Geometry

Group Exhibition Opening Reception:&nbsp;May 1, 2026, 6–10 PMExhibition Dates:&nbsp;May 1 – May 29, 2026 Chicago Grand Gallery presents&nbsp;Without Permission, a group exhibition featuring&nbsp;Paul Sierra, Kevin C. Lawler, and David Hauptschein. Bringing together painting, material-based practice, and AI-driven image-making, the exhibition explores shifting identity, surface, and constructed narrative across three distinct artistic approaches. Working across abstraction and figuration,&nbsp;Paul Sierra&nbsp;creates paintings that reflect identity in transition. His work draws from memory and migration, where forms remain fluid and continuously evolving. Kevin C. Lawler&nbsp;approaches painting through material and surface. With a background in traditional gilding and conservation, his work carries a strong sense of craft, where texture and process become central to the visual experience. David Hauptschein&nbsp;presents AI-based digital works that question authorship and image-making in the contemporary moment. Using artificial intelligence as both tool and collaborator, his work constructs layered, often unsettling visual narratives. Without Permission&nbsp;brings these practices into dialogue, where painting, process, and machine-generated imagery intersect. The exhibition resists fixed meaning, instead embracing transformation, tension, and the instability of form.

Without Permission

Opening Reception: Sat., April 11, 6-9 pm We will also have a reception on April 8 from 6-9pm. Tony Fitzpatrick was the beloved, brash, and bold artist, actor, and poet who died too soon at the age of 66 on October 11, 2025. He was a prolific collage artist and printmaker who loved the city of Chicago as well as birds, dogs, and regular folks. For years he has supported other artists and lifted them up. Before he died, we were working with him on this very special collage show. Tony selected most of the artists in this show because he said, “they are among the best.” This exhibit includes works by Lisa Barcy, Lou Beach, Monica J. Brown, Andrea Burgay, Tony Fitzpatrick, Glen Gauthier, Paul Loughney, Jack Poker, Nellie Seigel, and Paloma Trecka. Along with Tony’s work, there are several pieces in the show that were made in tribute to Tony. Many of the artists worked with or were mentored by him. The work in this exhibition showcases the myriad styles and subjects of contemporary collage revealing the dynamism of this art form. This exhibition explores personal memories, social commentary, and a diversity of materials. SoNa Chicago is proud to be a part of extending Tony’s legacy by showcasing contemporary collage artists and honoring him through this exhibition.

Pieces Too Short to Save: A Survey of Contemporary Collage

Our main Opening Reception for "Pieces Too Short to Save: A Survey of Contemporary Collage - An Exhibition Honoring Tony Fitzpatrick" is Sat., April 11, 6-9 pm. We will also have a reception on Wed., April 8 from 6-9 pm to celebrate the opening of the show. There will be a short program at the Saturday reception at 7:30 pm to honor Tony. Family members will be present, and his adult children Max and Gaby will read from Tony's poetry. Tony Fitzpatrick was the beloved, brash, and bold artist, actor, and poet who died too soon at the age of 66 on October 11, 2025. He was a prolific collage artist and printmaker who loved the city of Chicago as well as birds, dogs, and regular folks. For years he has supported other artists and lifted them up. Before he died, we were working with him on this very special collage show. Tony selected most of the artists in this show because he said, “they are among the best.” This exhibit includes works by Lisa Barcy, Lou Beach, Monica J. Brown, Andrea Burgay, Tony Fitzpatrick, Glen Gauthier, Paul Loughney, Jack Poker, Nellie Seigel, and Paloma Trecka. Along with Tony’s work, there are several pieces in the show that were made in tribute to Tony. Many of the artists worked with or were mentored by him. The work in this exhibition showcases the myriad styles and subjects of contemporary collage revealing the dynamism of this art form. This exhibition explores personal memories, social commentary, and a diversity of materials. SoNa Chicago is proud to be a part of extending Tony’s legacy by showcasing contemporary collage artists and honoring him through this exhibition.

Pieces Too Short to Save: A Survey of Contemporary Collage  - An Exhibition Honoring Tony Fitzpatrick

A.R.C. Gallery proudly awards fully funded Solo Exhibitions to multiple artists each year. These exhibitions made possible by a generous grant from the Athena Foundation in support of making solo show opportunities accessible to a broader audience. Visual artists of all disciplines, ages and geographic locations are encouraged to apply. The artists are selected by the A.R.C. cooperative based on the quality of their work and commitment to their practice.The Athena Fund Open Calls are open to non-members, and non-affiliates with the purpose of bringing in innovative new work. All work submitted should have been completed within the last 5 years. A.R.C. favors artists who have a strong, cohesive body of work, a clearly communicated vision of their show, and a well-written and thoughtful artist statement. Artists with incomplete submissions will be automatically eliminated. Artists whose work is deemed excellent, but is not selected, may be added to a roster from which A.R.C. can draw for future opportunities and curated exhibitions.

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