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

Free Registration Open!Join a 1-hour guided tour of&nbsp;Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, led by Smart Museum Fellow, Ian Brundige.<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://uchicago.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aba2086a45b4ee8391b89447b&amp;id=4947a8c778&amp;e=00938adab1" target="_blank">Register Here</a>

Friday Tour: Unto Thee

In 2022, RAM organized a landmark exhibition for its street-facing Windows on Fifth Gallery. With artworks chosen from RAM’s collection,&nbsp;<a style="color: var(--link_color);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ramart.org/exhibit/on-fire-women-glass/" target="_blank">On Fire: Surveying Women in Glass in the Late-Twentieth Century</a>&nbsp;offered a cursory look at how women were shaping glass as an art material in the 1980s and 1990s. The exhibition title alludes to certain techniques of physically working with glass as well as the idea that some artists were innovating and making names for themselves—that they were “on fire” in their art world trajectory. This exhibition, an expanded version of the 2022 show, offers a deeper dive into this vital period in contemporary craft by outlining the concerns of artists who explore the sculptural, visual, metaphorical, and creative potential of glass. Seen through the eyes of women, it reflects developments with the medium as an art material two and three decades after studio glass concepts were being implemented into university programs and contemporary practices. Notably, a portion of the gallery is dedicated to supporting materials, such as images, articles, and books, which offer a broader context for understanding the artists, medium, and field.Glass does not have a single history as it has been used in many different ways. Its usage in a decorative context still exists, but the twentieth century also saw the academic establishment of it as a viable art-making material. This exhibition includes various examples of work produced within the studio glass framework—as self-consciously made art reflecting artistic investigations of materials, processes, and ideas. Artists represented include Sonja Blomdahl, Kimiake Higuchi, Concetta Mason, Flo Perkins, Kari Russell-Pool, Ginny Ruffner, Acquaetta Williams, Ann Wolff, and Toots Zynsky. Expanding on the 2022 exhibition, this iteration also features examples from collaborative teams, such as John Littleton and Kate Vogel and Benjamin Edols and Kathy Elliott. These artists explore numerous topics, including identity, beauty, color, pattern, nature, abstraction, form, the figure, metaphor, process, and the properties and abilities of glass as a material. There is also a range of techniques represented, including blowing, lampworking, casting, fusing, carving, polishing, pâte de verre, assembling, and various surface treatments. In essence, the exhibition summarizes the experimental nature of the artists and studio glass in general. A critic of another recent all-female glass exhibition lamented about needing to draw attention to the fact that all of the artists were women—are they artists first or women first? These conversations can also be limiting as they sidestep more fluid gender dynamics. Yet, in this particular moment in time, it is indeed important to draw attention to components beyond the objects themselves. Who the makers are and how they move through the world influences the work even if it is not the identifiable subject matter. Image: Ginny RuffnerTempest in a Spoon&nbsp;from the&nbsp;Structuring Beauty Series, 1999Glass and enamel paintRacine Art Museum, Gift of Stanley and Evelyn AsraelPhotography: Jarvis Lawson

On Fire Part II: Surveying Women in Glass in the Late-Twentieth Century

City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago&nbsp;is an intergenerational group exhibition that highlights Chicago’s essential, yet often underacknowledged, role in the story of queer art and activism. The exhibition examines this history from the mid-1980s, when activists radically mobilized in response to the US government’s disastrous handling of the AIDS crisis. In this moment of change, activists reclaimed the historically pejorative epithet “queer” as a liberatory term, encompassing all who purposefully deviate from heteronormative society. Drawn from the MCA’s collection and other local collections,&nbsp;City in a Garden&nbsp;follows this paradigm shift in LGBTQ+ history by bringing together work from over 30 artists and collectives working in Chicago from the 1980s to the present.These artists address queerness through diverse media and methods: documenting clandestine queer spaces in photographs, creating sculptures that challenge normative depictions of gender and sexuality, and exploring queer intimacy through drawings, paintings, and videos.&nbsp;City in a Garden&nbsp;also features archival materials related to groups who innovatively combine artistic practices with their activism. The exhibition takes its title from Chicago’s official motto,&nbsp;Urbs in Horto, which translates to “city in a garden.” In the context of this presentation, this motto speaks to the exhibited artists’ and activists’ utopian visions of a metropolitan sanctuary for people of all races, genders, and sexualities. As queer people continue to fight for their lives and livelihoods under ongoing and renewed political threats, these visions remain as urgent today as ever.City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago&nbsp;is curated by Jack Schneider, Assistant Curator.

City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://tnxbinhbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0019Zs6dNFjX7qIcYdaZ8XX_Eff-Fb8JzDYn1L2P8gn-uAqJj96CDvdTMa5_smWVyCbxO-4qAc7vl3KM8exRRuogt08ukdYKZ64ip_8vNq83bRq5EI4YcatBvsusY7rLUvfVoKP05KTH1IS7PRG_016qRjN0G-v1HpIak3UGMDTasT_p_KcBfgSch8kLOujM7501cIw53QGFhM=&amp;c=UAse3PA9iSB-4Mj0SuvQGzlKGOWy0Nx2SbKZlCYkiKHksGmZSDk4Lw==&amp;ch=ZVooo2YRVsSxdN6CxIjYyHMGPkHLYBVf1zkjZEoneF1y2qqImyqpKQ==" target="_blank">From Its Own Ashes</a>, a two-person exhibition by 2024-26 Artist Residents&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://tnxbinhbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0019Zs6dNFjX7qIcYdaZ8XX_Eff-Fb8JzDYn1L2P8gn-uAqJj96CDvdTADW1hvQwLbfOmJwQcRg-utLAitPWJkmgZOiXHSaGRYX--zEwatwpgbHDsRJ7l94R_sg9A1V1yK7YuK6LMFO2YD6iLnxd05o387a884Hbha2inPAH1Q2MZuJA8aR8jzTRekHdN_cssoL&amp;c=UAse3PA9iSB-4Mj0SuvQGzlKGOWy0Nx2SbKZlCYkiKHksGmZSDk4Lw==&amp;ch=ZVooo2YRVsSxdN6CxIjYyHMGPkHLYBVf1zkjZEoneF1y2qqImyqpKQ==" target="_blank">Isaac Couch</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://tnxbinhbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0019Zs6dNFjX7qIcYdaZ8XX_Eff-Fb8JzDYn1L2P8gn-uAqJj96CDvdTADW1hvQwLbfGbqYnsj_lm9PGYZaQni0pwXDex0te1kaFalbLkf0rYiVc4ibvWBXXoi7-NIIgtdtZ0fsmLd92w3hWGAXlg9N77jB0A2ykZC7BLb61vViDqUB4nosWtJo2vIVwEwykvmM&amp;c=UAse3PA9iSB-4Mj0SuvQGzlKGOWy0Nx2SbKZlCYkiKHksGmZSDk4Lw==&amp;ch=ZVooo2YRVsSxdN6CxIjYyHMGPkHLYBVf1zkjZEoneF1y2qqImyqpKQ==" target="_blank">Sangwoo Yoo</a>,&nbsp;curated by 2024-26 Curatorial Resident&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://tnxbinhbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0019Zs6dNFjX7qIcYdaZ8XX_Eff-Fb8JzDYn1L2P8gn-uAqJj96CDvdTPyiSucoXInJWbyvp3hen9WHUEPBqkLnXqTii3QuYPGoFsvTxdHMX8p6UdGPwinjxgg5nMUm-YpfNXzCDkT4yLmpxlgFwSITXL5Ww2kSvwlyDyrst5ymPJt1D8zMb9ogadA8-g95cxS2x4s2-hMkNOY=&amp;c=UAse3PA9iSB-4Mj0SuvQGzlKGOWy0Nx2SbKZlCYkiKHksGmZSDk4Lw==&amp;ch=ZVooo2YRVsSxdN6CxIjYyHMGPkHLYBVf1zkjZEoneF1y2qqImyqpKQ==" target="_blank">Francine Almeda</a>. With similar mechanisms and social inquiries at its core,&nbsp;From Its Own Ashes&nbsp;is a duo exhibition that originates from both artists' personal navigation of loss. Yoo recalls encountering a felled Christmas tree in downtown Chicago as a pivotal moment of unexpected sorrow, its fallen form symbolising both the tree’s life giving force and the grief he holds for friends and family lost; Couch embodies a similar mourning for loved ones lost, drawing upon his upbringing within the American Southern and the constraints of western garment design as a metaphor for the destructive forces of systemic oppression. Although influenced by grief, both artists embrace the potentiality of instability. Working across sculpture, scent, video installation, and garments, Yoo and Couch investigate how these processes of loss (both material and spiritual) can become an alchemic, generative site of transformation.

From Its Own Ashes

Our&nbsp;Winter Salon&nbsp;show,&nbsp;featuring works by our gallery artists,&nbsp;opens on Friday, November 28th. Browse works by 40+ artists in a range of styles and sizes to find that perfect gift for someone special or to make your home ready for the holidays! We'll be open regular hours on both Friday and on Small Business Saturday (the 29th) and hope to see you then!Our&nbsp;Winter Salon&nbsp;will be on view through January 30th.

Winter Salon

CSI Member Benefit Art AuctionLittle, But Bold is in celebration of all things unmonumental. Often flying under the radar, small things have the special ability to bridge private and public spaces. Within the sculpture field, there has been a projected narrative that bigger is better. We are here to assert that small things can hold the same importance as the largest monument.

CSI Project Space: Little, but Bold! 

25 Years: Art + Design Alumni, 2000–2025, showcases the breadth of creativity and talent that emanates from the Department of Art + Design at Eastern Illinois University. As a quarter-century survey, the exhibition welcomes back former students and families to reflect on and celebrate what it means to have "bled blue"—on canvas, in the round, or anything in between or beyond—while inviting current and prospective students and community members to see what is possible after graduation.&nbsp;

25 Years: Art + Design Alumni, 2000–2025

During the month of January, the gallery will host a group exhibit on Saturdays only&nbsp;featuring the work of several local artists.&nbsp;Each artist will be exhibiting work that while not similar in subject matter, presents contrast with focus on light and shadows, positive and negative space, and color vs. its absence. The variety of work will allow visitors to experience a wide breadth of artistic styles, mark making, and expression within the exhibit.&nbsp; Image: David Keel, "The Hummingbird."&nbsp;

January 2026 Featured Exhibitor: Gallery Artists

Triptych: Kate Berry-Brown, Vanessa Filley, and Darren Oberto&nbsp;&nbsp;The points of convergence between the work of Berry-Brown, Filley and Oberto are a place of mystery that demands inquiry and invites contemplation. With practices as disparate as figurative photography, pencil based portraits and works of oil on canvas these three artists come from varied approaches, but continual probing investigation and a turn towards the abstract links their work together.&nbsp;Through a wide-range of subject&nbsp;matter as disparate as motherhood and the weight of belonging, relationship to place and environment, the cosmos, historical allusions and conversations with artists across time these artists navigate through life with the necessity to make.&nbsp;Each of them mulls what it is to exist in the here and now and how one might grapple with the complexity of being, often finding synthesis and answers in geometric abstraction. There is a profound interest in mark making, foundational craft-based skills, and acts of repetition&nbsp;that show up in the practices of all three, as well as a willingness and curiosity to experiment with materials and explore what medium might best support or express an idea. For these artists, each endeavor influences the direction of future projects, prompting subtle course corrections toward new horizons. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1768437097/xw5zfwek7lnawn1y9lc5.jpg">Darren Oberto <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1768437100/wv4xxf7gjsiqnqvmz5w4.jpg">Vanessa Filley Top image: Kate Berry-Brown

Triptych: Kate Berry-Brown, Vanessa Filley and Darren Oberto

Sights, Seen, and Never Seen&nbsp;explores the imagery found in the urban environment and the representation of urban life that are often ignored or hidden. Among the rush hours and countless telephone poles, we aim to magnify the mundane, to look at the bigger picture, not for what it is, but for what makes it.&nbsp;After Line, Before Form&nbsp;explores the moment when a point becomes a line, and a line transforms into a shape, tracing the liminal spaces between them and the threshold where line gives rise to form—where movement and perception bring form into being. Featuring works by artists from Ukraine, the Ukrainian diaspora, and other international contexts, the exhibition considers geometry as both a physical structure and an imaginative order.Both exhibitions are curated by Students from the&nbsp;School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Curatorial Practicum Class.&nbsp;The course is led by UIMA’s Curator,&nbsp;Adrienne Kochman, PhD, Lecturer in the Department of Art History, Theory &amp; Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Each exhibition is comprised from work in the&nbsp;permanent collection at UIMA.

Sights, Seen, and Never Seen

Virtual Artists’ Talk:&nbsp;Thursday, January 15th, 2026 at 7 PM | <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=e288dd61d3&amp;e=49b9939ea4" target="_blank">Register here</a> Perspective Gallery is pleased to announce&nbsp;Fugue, a solo exhibition of new photographic works by acclaimed music composer, and visual artist William Harper, opening January 2, 2026. In this striking series, Harper explores the visual equivalent of musical counterpoint through motion-intensive photographic techniques, including timelapse, burst sequencing, and drone-based imaging.The exhibition features work that capture the dynamic patterns of landscapes and natural phenomena, revealing hidden harmonic relationships within movement. Each image or sequence becomes a “voice,” interacting with others to create a visual polyphony.Fugue&nbsp;invites viewers to experience time, movement, and structure in a photographic decisive moment.

William Harper: Fugue

The exhibition showcases Lustig's multifaceted creative force spanning from childhood to the present day. The showcase includes drawing, painting, sculpture, and more. Highlights include her&nbsp;Surreal Tree Paintings, oil works revealing anthropomorphic qualities in nature; Abstract Illusion Paintings, spontaneous landscapes evoking music and motion; and&nbsp;Zofscape, a multimedia installation combining LED light sculptures, animated video, and original music composition.A graduate of California College of the Arts in Oakland, Lustig has built a remarkable career as a caricature artist, ceramic sculptor, mural painter, and puppet maker. Her work reflects the influence of Bay Area underground comics culture and the Chicago Imagist movement, blending whimsy with deeper commentary on contemporary life. Her signature Pop Surrealism style transforms ordinary subjects into dreamlike scenarios that are simultaneously playful and profound. About the artist:&nbsp;Ellen Lustig is a multi-faceted artist and composer working in variousmedia to create her dynamic installations. Ellen’s light sculptures are a fabrication of acrylic etchings enhanced by LEDs and music, producing what feels like an all-immersive voluminous 3d space. Her animation series includes digitally rendered passages that mimic the designs seen in her sculptures and also have the effect of an other-worldly landscape. A graduate of California College of the Arts in Oakland, California, Lustig has spent decades as a caricature artist, ceramic sculptor, mural painter, and puppet maker, creating unique pieces that are sought after nationwide. In addition to numerous one woman and group shows with her sculptures and paintings, she dedicates time by regularly teaching art to cancer patients and their families in hospitals and wellness centers such as Gilda’s Club of Chicago. Ellen can also be found playing blues keyboards at open mic nights in Chicago and the suburbs.Ellen Lustig's paintings are a collection of Pop Surrealism art. Her subject matter is forever transforming as she delves into toys, nature, and abstraction. The imagery in Ellen's paintings is a combination of whimsy, pop and realism. The subjects in her paintings also vary between baby boomer toys in uncanny situations, anthropomorphic trees, or quirky abstractions.Throughout Ellen's paintings including her early work, tree paintings, toy paintings or abstractions, Lustig creates a variety of subjects and styles. Her continuous theme is Pop Surrealism Art.The Pop Surrealism/Lowbrow art movement originated in the 1960's with hot rod culture and underground comics. It has evolved into a vilified, vital, and exciting art movement.Having been schooled in the Bay area for College, Ellen was definitely influenced by the comical area surrounding her. She then moved to Chicago where the Hairy Who and Imagists were prevalent in the art world which also had an effect on her subject matter. Lustig still resides in Chicago where she has made a lifelong career as a multimedia artist. Her work has been shown nationally in galleries and museums along with private collections. About the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art:&nbsp;The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (UIMA) preserves and promotes contemporary art as a shared expression of the Ukrainian and American experience. UIMA develops, utilizes and encourages artistic talent through exhibitions, concerts, readings, lectures and films to serve the cultural needs of our community and city, and thereby strengthen cultural understanding and diversity. <ul><li>Artist Talk: Saturday, January 17, 1–2 pm</li></ul>

Ellen Lustig: Transformations

The show&nbsp;highlights print projects published by Manneken Press over the past twelve months. The exhibition features work by five artists, with works&nbsp;ranging from symbolism to geometric and painterly abstraction to photographic realism. Included are unique monotypes as well as limited-edition etchings and photogravures. On view online at Artsy <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.artsy.net/partner/manneken-press" target="_blank">here</a> The exhibition features work by five artists, ranging from symbolism to geometric and painterly abstraction to photographic realism. Included are unique monotypes as well as limited-edition etchings and photogravures — a hybrid of photography and intaglio printmaking. Artists invited to Manneken Press typically travel from cities such as New York, Dallas, or Bogotá to our central Illinois studio, where they work intensively for a week or longer. The artist’s presence is crucial, and the compressed nature of these working sessions often yields a cohesive body of prints that can stand individually or function together as a series — hence the term “project.” Artists included in the show:•<a style="color: rgb(9, 194, 105);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tf/c/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzI4ODYwMjc4NzgyNzAxOTEsXCJyXCI6MTcyODg2MDQxMzkzMzY2NTk0fSIsInMiOiI0MTE0YzU0ODZmZDEyZWE5In0" target="_blank">Edie Fake</a>•<a style="color: rgb(9, 194, 105);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tf/c/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzI4ODYwMjc4ODQ1NjE2NTYsXCJyXCI6MTcyODg2MDQxMzkzMzY2NTk0fSIsInMiOiI3MzU5ZTkzNzYyNDIyYjY0In0" target="_blank">Andrea Ferrigno</a>•<a style="color: rgb(9, 194, 105);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tf/c/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzI4ODYwMjc4ODk4MDQ1NDAsXCJyXCI6MTcyODg2MDQxMzkzMzY2NTk0fSIsInMiOiI2YTM4YjRiMzk5Y2YxMjhlIn0" target="_blank">Jason Karolak</a>•<a style="color: rgb(9, 194, 105);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tf/c/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzI4ODYwMjc4OTYwOTYwMDEsXCJyXCI6MTcyODg2MDQxMzkzMzY2NTk0fSIsInMiOiI3YTM5Y2NjNjEyZmIzNDMwIn0" target="_blank">Claire Seidl</a>•<a style="color: rgb(9, 194, 105);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tf/c/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzI4ODYwMjc5MDEzMzg4ODUsXCJyXCI6MTcyODg2MDQxMzkzMzY2NTk0fSIsInMiOiJhYWU5NjE2YTVlZjE2NjU1In0" target="_blank">Philip Van Keuren</a> Image: Jason Karolak:&nbsp;Prospect,&nbsp;2024. Aquatint on Magnani Incisioni paper.&nbsp;Edition of 20. Image: 21" x 18"/sheet: 26.5" x 23".

Projects: Recent Releases from Manneken Press

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tj/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzMyNDE4MTEyMzY1NTM4NDAsXCJyXCI6MTczMjQxODIzMzYxMjM4NTIwfSIsInMiOiJlOThmMGIzOTE2ZDA3YjNjIn0" target="_blank">Projects: Recent Releases from Manneken Press</a>The show&nbsp;highlights print projects published by Manneken Press over the past twelve months. The exhibition features work by five artists, with works&nbsp;ranging from symbolism to geometric and painterly abstraction to photographic realism. Included are unique monotypes as well as limited-edition etchings and photogravures -&nbsp;a hybrid of photography and intaglio printmaking.Artists invited to Manneken Press typically travel from cities such as New York, Dallas, or Bogotá to our central Illinois studio, where they work intensively for a week or longer. The artist’s presence is crucial, and the compressed nature of these working sessions often yields a cohesive body of prints that can stand individually or function together as a series — hence the term “project.” Artists included in the show:•<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tj/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzMyNDE4MTEyNDkxMzY3NzYsXCJyXCI6MTczMjQxODIzMzYxMjM4NTIwfSIsInMiOiJmN2ExYWNjOWEwMmU1OTFmIn0" target="_blank">Edie Fake</a>•<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tj/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzMyNDE4MTEyNTQzNzk2NjcsXCJyXCI6MTczMjQxODIzMzYxMjM4NTIwfSIsInMiOiJkMGJiZGRmMTExODg1MWUyIn0" target="_blank">Andrea Ferrigno</a>•<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tj/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzMyNDE4MTEyNjA2NzExMzMsXCJyXCI6MTczMjQxODIzMzYxMjM4NTIwfSIsInMiOiJlNDcxODc1MGExYzFkMWNjIn0" target="_blank">Jason Karolak</a>•<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tj/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzMyNDE4MTEyNjY5NjI1OTYsXCJyXCI6MTczMjQxODIzMzYxMjM4NTIwfSIsInMiOiIyY2Q0MmJhNTI5ZTY3NzFmIn0" target="_blank">Claire Seidl</a>•<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://qvrzaq.clicks.mlsend.com/tj/cl/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjM4NzU1NixcImxcIjoxNzMyNDE4MTEyNzMyNTQwNjEsXCJyXCI6MTczMjQxODIzMzYxMjM4NTIwfSIsInMiOiJiNWNjYmU1YmQwZDYyOTg4In0" target="_blank">Philip Van Keuren</a>

Projects: Recent Releases from Manneken Press (online exhibition)

In&nbsp;Born on a Forgotten Day, Fernández explores how people create meaning through the spaces they inhabit. Drawing from his ongoing series&nbsp;Façade, the work reflects on overlooked architectural forms and the quiet narratives they hold—revealing themes of identity, memory, and place. His photographs invite viewers to pause and consider the emotional and cultural stories embedded in the built environment around us.

Juan Fernández: Born on a Forgotten Day

Oh, you’ve got to come back to the city, the place where you belongOh, you’ve got to come back to the city, the place where you were bornOh, you’ve got to come back to the city, the city of dreams&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;—Marvin Tate, “City Promenade” OH, YOU’VE GOT TO COME BACK TO THE CITY is a solo exhibition by Theaster Gates. This is Gates’s fourth solo exhibition with GRAY.In&nbsp;OH, YOU’VE GOT TO COME BACK TO THE CITY, Gates brings together a new series of tar paintings, sculpture, and installation to tell an allegory of the city in decay and the potential contained within its ruins. The exhibition’s title comes from a song by Chicago musician and poet Marvin Tate, in which the City, personified as a character, has cleaned up its act and attempts to lure its residents back from the suburbs.&nbsp;Gates’s artistic practice has engaged and reframed the cultural and material history of Chicago as material for the studio. His new installation explores the possibilities that lie within the city’s unattended corners. From his stone repository, Gates has selected a family of marble, granite, scholars’ rocks, and concrete forms that anchor a grid-like installation evoking both the planning logic of cities and the quiet order of memorials. Ceramic works and everyday artifacts rest atop each stone, suggesting the remnants left behind by former inhabitants. Surrounding the sculptural installation is a new series of tar paintings that extend Gates’s patching and bonding strategies. Both sculptural and painterly, these works represent a new direction in the series.&nbsp;In this body of work, Gates wrestles with the burden brought on by aging infrastructure to create new narratives that build on the rich metaphors embedded in his materials—as tools of resistance, signs of excess, and evidence of decline. Developed in conjunction with his exhibition&nbsp;Unto Thee, on view at the Smart Museum of Art through February 22, 2026,&nbsp;OH, YOU’VE GOT TO COME BACK TO THE CITY&nbsp;offers a profound reflection on Gate’s life as a craftsman, urban planner, and pedagogue. ABOUT&nbsp;THEASTER GATESTheaster Gates (b. 1973) currently lives and works in Chicago. Gates creates works that engage with space theory and land development, sculpture and performance. Drawing on his interest and training in urban planning and preservation, Gates redeems spaces that have been left behind. Known for his recirculation of art world capital, Gates’s practice focuses on the possibility of the “life within things.” His work contends with the notion of Black space as a formal exercise—one defined by collective desire, artistic agency, and the tactics of a pragmatist.Gates has received numerous awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2025), Crystal Award (2020), Nasher Prize (2018), Kurt Schwitters Prize (2017), American Academy of Arts &amp; Sciences Award (2016), and the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Social Progress (2015). His work can be found in public collections worldwide, including the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas; Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York; National Gallery of Canada, Ontario; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Illinois; Tate Gallery, London, England; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California. Gates is a professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Visual Arts and the Harris School of Public Policy.

Theaster Gates: OH, YOU'VE GOT TO COME BACK TO THE CITY

Witches are guardians of suppressed forms of knowledge; they channel ancestral wisdom and embodied practices that have long been dismissed or feared. Visionary agents of transformation, spiritual practitioners conjure alternative futures through acts of resistance, imagination, and care.&nbsp;Witches, Bitches: Witchcraft as Empowerment&nbsp;explores the rise of the occult, new spirituality, and magic in contemporary culture, and reads it as a symptom of undergoing social transformations. Featuring contemporary artists who challenge dominant systems of patriarchy and colonialism to reclaim power on their own terms, this exhibition situates the practice of witchcraft into the past, present, and future acknowledging it as a form of feminist and political empowerment, and a radical proposition for a fully decolonial way of being.&nbsp;Witches, Bitches&nbsp;brings together works that engage with the iconography, stereotypes, and active practices of witchcraft to explore themes of spiritual power, collective energy,&nbsp;alternative cosmologies, and environmental consciousness. The exhibition features works spanning from the 1970s to the present by about thirty women-identifying international artists from different generations. Some of them self-identify with witchcraft or draw on practices of magic and spirituality, while others engage these themes through a critical and defiant lens. The exhibition will be accompanied by a robust public program including a talk series with public scholars and authors specializing in witchcraft, workshops in spell-casting with witchcraft practitioners, programming for families, performances, panel discussions with artists from different generations, and film screenings.&nbsp;Witches, Bitches: Witchcraft as Empowerment&nbsp;is co-curated by Ionit Behar, PhD, DPAM Curator, and Magdalena Moskalewicz, PhD, Chief Curator and Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs, Sheldon Museum of Art, and organized by DePaul Art Museum. Support for this exhibition is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts.&nbsp;More <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://resources.depaul.edu/art-museum/exhibitions/Pages/witches-bitches-witchcraft-as-empowerment.aspx" target="_blank">Details</a> Image credit: Tirtzah Bassel,&nbsp;Four Sweepers of the Apocalypse,&nbsp;2025. Oil on canvas. 72 x 96 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Witches, Bitches: Witchcraft as Empowerment

Goldilocks Moment&nbsp;is a playful yet contemplative exhibition that explores themes in the popular childhood fairy tale such as those moments&nbsp;when things are "just right." How do we find that moment? How do we keep it? What do we do when we lose it?&nbsp;The&nbsp;story changes when the Bears come home and disruption occurs. But who is the intruder in this story?&nbsp;There is a concept in the field of astronomy called the Goldilocks zone, which is the exact distance from the sun where human life is possible.&nbsp;The artists are interested in the Goldilocks Moment as functional folklore and how the concept gets adopted by economists, scientists, and culture makers to describe a kind of moment, the right moment to leave, the moment to stay, the moment of creation, the moment of equilibrium, the “just right” state of being.&nbsp; The artists are a collective of mostly University of Chicago graduates who have collaborated for many years. They have presented their work in unique spaces including the loading dock of a contemporary art museum and a friend’s garage as a drive-through exhibit during covid.&nbsp;Working together for them is an endeavor of joy that represents a Goldilocks Moment. Each of the artists bring these larger questions into a personal realm that they explore through a variety of media. The artists use photos, film, sculptures, painting and performance to wrestle with ideas such as cultural change, how images can illuminate qualities of common experiences, and one’s comfort and identity in society. They realize that even the practice of creating can bring Goldilocks Moments. As one of the artists put it,&nbsp;In the field, my Goldilocks Moment is when I am so much in the moment of making an image, that I can forget having made it or ever having been there. The artists in this exhibition are Anthony Adcock, dado, Marco G. Ferrari, Hannah Givler, Maymay Jumsai, Stacee Kalmanovsky, Paul G. Somers, and Jay Wolke. The Goldilocks Moment&nbsp;opens at SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art on Friday, January 9 from 5-8 p.m. The Reception for the show will be on Friday, January 16 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.&nbsp; There will be an Artist Talk on Saturday, January 31 from 2-3:30 pm, where a panel of several of the artists will be interviewed by Molly O’Donnell. SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art is located at 1527 N. Ashland Ave. Regular hours are Fridays 5-7 p.m., Saturdays from 12-4 p.m., and by appointment by calling Laura Botwinick at 773.513.4436 or emailing&nbsp;Lkbotwinick@gmail.com. <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1767477365/an9e5r9ij21nda7qlafi.jpg">

Goldilocks Moment

Image: Herman Aguirre,&nbsp;¡Ni uno mas!, 2023, Oil and oil/acrylic skins on panel, 63" x 98" x 4.5"

Herman Aguirre

Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle’s (b. 1961) current practice creates objects that blur the line between art and utility, ultimately inviting viewers to meditate on the role and “usefulness” of art in society. His approach challenges notions of function, beauty, and purpose in art by making works that resemble utilitarian objects but often serve no conventional practical purpose—or, alternatively, reveal surprising functionality that critiques broader sociopolitical or environmental concerns. One could say that Manglano-Ovalle has a phenomenological practice (the study of how we experience things through our senses and perceptions)—he places profound importance on the viewer’s sensory and intellectual experience, emphasizing how art can engage the body and mind in ways that go beyond representation.&nbsp;Manglano-Ovalle’s solo exhibition at DePaul Art Museum&nbsp;presents site-specific works that are both familiar and opaque, encouraging viewers to confront ambiguity and engage in deeper contemplation. Our experiences are never predetermined; they exist at the intersection of the private and the public, the personal and the shared. However deeply felt, they are also open to examination. Manglano-Ovalle’s work calls us to inhabit the present moment fully, urging us to consider: How does the work draw us in, and how do we, in turn, respond to it—right here, right now?&nbsp;Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle’s exhibition is curated by Ionit Behar, PhD, and organized by DePaul Art Museum.&nbsp; Image credit: Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Untitled, 2023. Pine and graphite. Courtesy of the artist.&nbsp;

Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle: A Want for Nothing

“Tengo Lincoln Park en mi corazón: Young Lords in Chicago” explores the Young Lords Organization's trajectory in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Gentrification and urban renewal displaced the vibrant Puerto Rican community of the 1950s and 1960s. Originally a street gang, the Young Lords transformed into a prominent civil rights organization.&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://click.agilitypr.delivery/ls/click?upn=u001.DMJAPtLMia7h-2FoQouHpZ7VucsQcy3YmuN9E-2BBveaH488JEjYiLL6gNNvfxkw-2FGqyXcJ0Mk6-2BmX21J9JiYsIHXzENjzM2kQUb5rLOElK1dhV69SYpdTqREc3e7jN4PgfJPYhyLo7-2BAld1-2FJUzovRT1g-3D-3DuNLS_0g5QiKQ3ANfCkWXxwzczn1phIok0-2FnBF8GNWXrNhq2-2B4ftGj9DI8Jn4AfRAGeAJVr5d8tZaUkO86wELMDcgOg2JJnq4MYeWc7vJT8UFoP9JB4ktPrjnyT0Q-2FgJDbrrl4gKCk3EQ7EQCKK7Y-2B8HvMMN5HreRSKCKXooND8rxLMCbg-2B05tGi82LGb3OISpzjoVvNgw2sPbWSU7IbcWae7HM9JoWTFkwW5YoLJI26ngy3AkfG50sS15PTIRzqm6Xq8xg4JTDnNCSo49XfmFsOiKdBMTb1it82ohrC8v4yi79AI-2Feu-2FfnhrSxpeKJACjPI33Ac6lAR9ifJFK0op4yLggtB7tMaRoR5VfNcuQixNIBNkVp59o7I5P2w57eXAwKl052-2FXVJz-2FJ0MmeAsEo-2FxV1a7CKY8uui3w612dejPzEw-2BTQSuMdoVcWV0e5bKErNGydSEd4FTVtC-2B4i2SFYXlasyXoiAaC8IqnO6QOzviL41Kc-3D" target="_blank">Curator and faculty member Lazú</a>&nbsp;is recognized as a leading scholar of the Young Lords Organization and helped establish<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://click.agilitypr.delivery/ls/click?upn=u001.DMJAPtLMia7h-2FoQouHpZ7V-2BNjmn91WVUUN2-2Fz4l6r58oGmh5RnBYP1-2BidTW12IE5zDqc1VXBwp11yHHAQUpxiOw6A8kd7Aa-2FmNXcX27Ibv0-3Drbby_0g5QiKQ3ANfCkWXxwzczn1phIok0-2FnBF8GNWXrNhq2-2B4ftGj9DI8Jn4AfRAGeAJVr5d8tZaUkO86wELMDcgOg2JJnq4MYeWc7vJT8UFoP9JB4ktPrjnyT0Q-2FgJDbrrl4gKCk3EQ7EQCKK7Y-2B8HvMMN5HreRSKCKXooND8rxLMCbg-2B05tGi82LGb3OISpzjoVvNgw2sPbWSU7IbcWae7HM9JoWTFkwW5YoLJI26ngy3AkfG50sS15PTIRzqm6Xq8xg4JTDnNCSo49XfmFsOiKdBMTb1it82ohrC8v4yi79AI-2Feu-2FfnhrSxpeKJACjPI33Ac6lAR9ifJFK0op4yLggtDIbp275btVB9OOkgETcHRh-2Fr1dH1NQcsk5j2s5jnl-2ByFsavGAbC6Krxq6psExt846nJXS1P1TcvF9H1bxgytih1OqQvWLHaVyrV5Ugxhon5ZOGg7-2BG3qee5-2FJTEqfxaoLqhfwQVnAMZ6YByWfds2hA-3D" target="_blank">&nbsp;DePaul's Young Lords special collections archive</a>&nbsp;as a destination of study on social movements.&nbsp;The exhibition explores the origins of the movement, emphasizing the concept of counter-mapping as a means of activism and community empowerment. Counter-mapping is a mapmaking approach that challenges narratives upheld by traditional maps, representing elements of a place that may have been overlooked or intentionally erased.The exhibition features archival materials, historical artifacts, photography, murals and prints, with works by Carlos Flores, Ricardo Levins Morales and John Pitman Weber. It also includes newly commissioned work by Sam Kirk and a central multimedia installation by Arif Smith with Rebel Betty, inviting visitors to engage with one of the most influential movements in Latinx civil rights history, rooted in the everyday struggles of a Chicago neighborhood."Tengo Lincoln Park en mi corazón confronts the erasure of the spaces that gave rise to the Young Lords’ fight for justice,” said Lazú. “These works reclaim that ground, making visible the neighborhood that shaped the movement and insisting that its memory of struggle and community endures."&nbsp;﻿Image credit: A member of the Young Lords writes in chalk as a family looks on during a Puerto Rican heritage festival at the Armitage Methodist Church, 1969. ST-40001976-0057, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum.

Tengo Lincoln Park en mi corazón: The Young Lords in Chicago

Watercolorist Michael Ireland (b.1952) challenges the norms traditionally associated with the medium. Often working on a large scale, Ireland explores how technique and texture impact color. Ireland’s creative studies began at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and he has continued to explore the possibilities of painting and watercolor while navigating a fruitful and diverse artistic career path. Ireland&nbsp;is a member of the National Watercolor Society and the Illinois Watercolor Society.

Different Strokes

Woman Made Gallery (WMG) presents The Uncivil Canvas: Art in the Age of Discord, a national juried exhibition examining the role of artists as witnesses, truth-tellers, and catalysts for civic dialogue during a time of profound social division. Opening January 17, 2026, the show features 34 artists from across the United States whose work confronts the emotional and political tensions shaping contemporary life. The artists use painting, fiber, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics, collage, mixed media, and installation to challenge harmful narratives and elevate voices often pushed aside. Juror: Karen M. Gutfreund is an independent curator, artist, and consultant focused on feminist and social justice art. She has held positions at MoMA, leading galleries, and the Pacific Art League, and served as National Exhibitions Director and board member for the Women’s Caucus for Art. She hasorganized 50+ national exhibitions, curated the book Not Normal: Art in the Age of Trump, exhibits widely, and lives in California’s Sierra Foothills. Exhibiting Artists: Elaine Alibrandi, Salma Arastu, Nicci Arnold, Bianca Bisej, Lorraine Bonner, Nancy Calef, Dagny Rayn Chika, Patricia Dahlman, Sally Edelstein, Pamela Flynn, Lisa Freeman, Libby Gamble, Kelly Hartigan Goldstein, Tonia Indigo Hughes, Cynthia Kerby, Beth Lakamp, Toni Martinez, Clarissa Martinez, Jessica McKenzie, Melisa of MWY Pottery, Judith Mogul, Lori Moretti, Priscilla Otani, Recka, Donna Ruff, Gigi Salij, Adrienne Sloane, Siana Smith, Lucy VanRegenmorter, Lisa Venditelli, Jeane Vogel, Emily Weddle, Michelle Wilkie, Teresa Greve Wolf Together, these artists illuminate the social forces shaping American life while affirming art’s capacity to connect, provoke, and build community across differences. Gallery Hours: Wednesday–Sunday | 12–5 PMLocation: Woman Made Gallery,&nbsp;1332 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60607,&nbsp;Street parking and nearby garage available. Exhibition EventsOpening Reception:&nbsp;Saturday, January 17, 2026 | 4–7 PMClosing Reception + Artist Walkthrough:&nbsp;Saturday, February 14, 2026 | 2–4 PM About Woman Made GalleryFounded in 1992, Woman Made Gallery (WMG) is a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting women and non-binary artists through exhibitions, professional development, and community programming. WMG provides vital visibility for artists marginalized by gender and creates space for critical, inclusive, and transformative conversations in contemporary art. Organizational Neutrality StatementAs a registered Illinois 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Woman Made Gallery does not endorse or oppose political candidates or parties and refrains from promoting individual ideological or religious beliefs. All programming and communications are mission-driven and focused on artistic merit, diversity of perspective, and constructive dialogue. SupportWoman Made Gallery is supported in part by The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The Illinois Arts Council Agency; a major anonymous donor; and the generosity of members and contributors.

The Uncivil Canvas: Art in the Age of Discord

What have you forgotten? When you found it or rediscovered it were you happy, sad, annoyed, delighted, regretful? It was once important and then it became forgotten.What is new to you was once forgotten by me. The work on display is a representation of compartmentalizing ideas and memories with no distinct beginning or end.

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