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

Raised in Wheaton, Illinois, and based in New York, Jeanette Andrews&nbsp;bridges the worlds of illusion, installation, and conceptual art, creating interactive vignettes and surreal, multisensory experiences that investigate perception, cognition, and the seemingly impossible. Andrews applies sensory illusion techniques and her interest in the bounds of perception to create artworks that explore magic, multiple realities, and the human psyche, often inviting audiences in as co-creators in her illusory performances.Her first solo museum exhibition,&nbsp;On Wonder, Mind, &amp; Magic&nbsp;will present interactive and site-specific works including installation, sculpture, video, sound, and performance, alongside&nbsp;new work developed while Artist in Residence at MIT’s Center for Art, Science, and Technology&nbsp;in 2024-25. Curated by&nbsp;Liz Chilsen, Manager of Exhibitions &amp; Collections, the exhibition represents a return home for Andrews, who cites EAM as an early influence in her pursuit of a career honing her technical skills and applying magic and sensory illusion techniques to create artworks.&nbsp;Andrews has presented numerous commissioned works with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, as well as for the Quebec City Biennial and Boca Raton Museum of Art, presented talks for Cooper Hewitt, Chicago Ideas Week, The British Society of Aesthetics, and universities, including Yale, Columbia, Princeton, and Harvard. She has held residencies with the Institute for Art and Olfaction and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at the University of Houston and is a former National Arts Club Artist Fellow and Affiliate of metaLAB at Harvard. She was a 2024-2025 Visiting Artist for the Center for Art, Science and Technology at MIT and the current visiting artist for the Arts Institute at Brown University.

On Wonder, Mind, & Magic: Jeanette Andrews

Exhibit Hall, Chicago Cultural Center&nbsp;Chicago-based artist Alberto Aguilar presents a two-part&nbsp;retrospective&nbsp;exploring&nbsp;the&nbsp;themes of communication,&nbsp;translation&nbsp;and collaboration. Through&nbsp;distinctive&nbsp;acts of translation&nbsp;and&nbsp;shared authorship, Aguilar invites artists, friends, family members and even strangers into his creative process, transforming the exhibition into a living dialogue.&nbsp;The exhibition features works created with a range of collaborators including Saoirse Ahumada Furin, Jess Bass, Cecilia Beaven, Julieta Beltrán Lazo, Alex Bradley Cohen, Maria Burundarena, Jooeun Kim, Joshua Mitchell, Jonas Müller-Anheim, Ricardo Vilas Freire and Zespo.&nbsp;&nbsp;Please click&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.CSSunAOBvEOR4GhykBjJWWnTwxFlkUDDBF-2Fji248p2y6hFXsBorvoCC9fZuH5e36AZGg2-2FtjC961wjBmgLlzNuz7Rq0zU-2BMLYcNhNIvpeOQ-3DEHvI_0g5QiKQ3ANfCkWXxwzczn1phIok0-2FnBF8GNWXrNhq2-2B4ftGj9DI8Jn4AfRAGeAJVn7gGoI0v4yHfyxNzcTgWoLurliSnTAPDeTMjcpIoytOOx4olIMMV-2FUlia6rP-2BnJxXYH5O8tvn-2Fktq8OM7hVEsSIVa5QMZTlavNfGLkxY-2Bv5Ob8cNxVZY2QQwdDW7CjMxGACT3QdirHvuvzc-2FrsOP9qq38FKVrw-2Bh9GrF70Ft5aJeGU9JUtxgunhG3qQqj-2BBd7tnD-2FdpqjWxL-2Fa4NHpdsTiQUtoaEwE3RrYEjNAtk3izMJ2YvahaFX3oiKvlOSprDrjkY8srcE6zhUZAIal-2Fc7gOryvSwKytp1PAKnMYGiT-2Fh5CExJ-2BJuSePSfHnwccFhcyqY4CDYCv6QC3KEKttMDQ-3D-3D" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;for more information on this exhibition.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Alberto Aguilar: I just really want to tell you this one thing 

The City of Chicago and its people are celebrated in IAM’s exhibition of works by Chicago-based artist Marvin Young. A lifelong resident of Chicago’s South Side, Young joined&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://artsoflife.org/" target="_blank">Arts of Life</a>’s progressive studio for artists with intellectual and physical disabilities in 2024. Using graphite, colored pencil, crayon, pen, and marker, Young creates vivid drawings that reflect his community and personal history, capturing imagined and remembered urban scenes alongside large-scale portraits. Young’s architectural landscapes feature vintage Chicago walk-ups, brownstones, and high rises framed by bright skies and classic cars, taxi cabs, police officers, and bustling city life. Curated by IAM Assistant Curator&nbsp;Christina Stavros, the exhibition showcases Young’s vision and prolific practice.

Impressions of a City: Drawings by Marvin Young

Fluid Mechanics&nbsp;is guest curated by Alexandra Riesco, Tandem Press 2025–2026 University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate Student Curatorial Assistant. During her time at Tandem over the past year, Riesco has familiarized herself with many of the prints created at Tandem Press. As one of her final projects, she was challenged to conceptualize and curate an exhibition, selecting pieces from the Tandem Press inventory and contextualizing them to create a unique statement. Fluidity is defined as the ability of a substance to flow easily, the quality of being smooth and continuous, or the state of being unstable, likely to change repeatedly or unexpectedly. Artists use fluidity both conceptually and materially to express a range of seemingly contradictory ideas: stillness and motion, serenity and distress, unpredictability and the breakdown of boundaries. The quality of fluidity is directly tied to how liquids behave. Liquids respond to their environment, changing shape to fit their container. They are also transparent, acting as a lens to highlight or distort their surroundings. Beyond how these substances physically behave, different fluids—water, tears, beer, ether, etc—can each carry their own meanings.Fluid Mechanics&nbsp;features work by local Madison artists as well as selected works from Tandem Press’s inventory, each using or expressing fluidity in different ways. Created in a variety of processes and techniques, including printmaking, sculpture, photography, and painting, these works demonstrate the wide range of ideas and emotions that fluidity can express.This exhibition includes works by&nbsp;<a href="https://baranataei.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Baran Ataei</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://tandempress.wisc.edu/artists/suzanne-caporael/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Suzanne Caporael</a>, Emma Harris,&nbsp;<a href="https://danifhughes.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Dani Hughes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://tandempress.wisc.edu/artists/marie-lorenz/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Marie Lorenz</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://tandempress.wisc.edu/artists/cameron-martin/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Cameron Martin</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://tandempress.wisc.edu/artists/judy-pfaff/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Judy Pfaff</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://tandempress.wisc.edu/artists/jane-rosen/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Jane Rosen</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://tandempress.wisc.edu/artists/alison-saar/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Alison Saar</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://christianulloa.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Christian Ulloa</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.alexandrariesco.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: inherit;" target="_blank">Alexandra Riesco</a>&nbsp;is an artist and printmaker from Miami, Florida. Her work is heavily influenced by the natural world and the dynamic processes that drive it. After completing a semester-long geology field program, she discovered the parallels between the forces that shape the planet and the slow, physical processes of printmaking. Her interest in the sciences and deep love for the outdoors feeds her practice, which incorporates drawing, printmaking, and papermaking to explore the bodily experience of the landscape, mapping and the geologic record, and the possibilities of a reciprocal rather than controlling relationship with the environment. Riesco received her B.A. in Studio Art and Biology modified with Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College in 2017, where she won the Robert Read Prize and the Artist’s Book Prize. After spending a few years working in outdoor education, Riesco returned to printmaking and has worked as an assistant printer, workshop instructor, and manager of a fine art print publisher. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she received the Graduate Research Scholars Fellowship from the School of Education.

Fluid Mechanics

Oliva Gallery, in partnership with Bridgeport Artist Community, presents Art in Transit, a group exhibition bringing together artists CV Peterson, Daniela Castro, Jane Michalski, Kuna Na, Pamela Staker, Takako, and Tara Sabini. The exhibition explores how movement, transition, and shifting environments shape artistic practice. Transit appears here as both a physical and internal condition, moving through space, memory, perception, material, and time. Together, the works reflect a creative community shaped by exchange, passage, and ongoing transformation. Programming in conjunction with Art in Transit includes: Opening Reception: Art in TransitFriday, July 24, 5:00 PMOliva Gallery Cake Decorating Workshop: Faux Frosting with Daniela CastroThursday, August 6, 4:30 PMOliva Gallery Introduction to Encaustic Materials and Demonstration with Jane MichalskiSunday, August 9, 10:00 AMOliva Gallery Virtual Studio Visit: Tara SabiniSaturday, August 15, 3:00 PM CDTVirtual Workshop: Collage with Recycled Materials&nbsp;Thursday, August 20, 6:00 PMOliva Gallery Art in Conversation: Art in Transit Closing ReceptionSaturday, August 29, 2:00 PMOliva Gallery To RSVP visit <a href="https://bit.ly/Oliva_Gallery" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bit.ly/Oliva_Gallery</a>

Art in Transit with Bridgeport Artist Community

Anne Loucks Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of&nbsp;Age of Abstraction, a&nbsp;new exhibition in our Glencoe gallery featuring Liz Barber, Charlie Bluett, Jenny Nelson and Maura Segal. The show will be on view through August 30th and features forty vibrant, abstract paintings by these talented artists. For an exhibition list, please click&nbsp;<a href="https://loucksgallery.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=94b15167543c6c56d1b3c36b4&amp;id=a8a812016a&amp;e=f72f6f8cb1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.Liz Barber's work is inspired by memory, emotion, and natural elements. With loose, textured brushstrokes and a fresh palette, organic forms and lines flow through her canvases, capturing movement and light.&nbsp;Charlie Bluett's paintings combine subtle layers of color, texture and free flowing shapes. Inspired by nature, his compositions evoke light, movement, and reflection.Jenny Nelson’s paintings are vibrant, intuitive abstractions built through layers of color and gestural marks. Rooted in drawing and observation, her compositions balance spontaneity with structure, creating a sense of depth, movement, and harmony.&nbsp;Maura Segal’s abstract works conjure a delicate simplicity. Fields of color are balanced with thin meandering lines and curves - intricately cut patterns that add texture and interest to her compositions.&nbsp;&nbsp;Please stop in this summer ~ We'd love to see you!

Age of Abstraction: Liz Barber, Charlie Bluett, Jenny Nelson and Maura Segal

Mystic Meadows is an ethereal exhibition with dark undertones. Featuring work from four Swedish artists - Hanna Liljenberg, Karin Roy Andersson, and Märta Mattsson and Sofia Bjorkman - the exhibition addresses themes of repetition, transience, rebirth, and the tension that lies between beauty and decay.&nbsp;

Mystic Meadows

David R. Harper: Good Morning Sweetheart&nbsp;brings together sculpture, textiles, ceramics, stained glass, and found imagery to explore how memory takes shape in objects. Couches, perfume bottles, motel soaps, detergents, birds, flowers, fragments of figurative sculpture, and everyday household items appear throughout the exhibition. Familiar at first glance, these things are carefully handmade, altered, and recombined—becoming intimate, uncanny, and quietly charged.The exhibition unfolds across two connected spaces. In the MMoCA Icon, Harper creates a suspended environment centered on a lightweight mid-century couch upholstered in handwoven tones of pink, sherbet, melon, and honey. Embedded with domestic cleaning products, the couch becomes a floating “memory bank”—a meditation on home, care, and repose—surrounded by a mobile featuring a summer patio umbrella and garlands of cast-ceramic Froot Loops.In the State Street Gallery, the exhibition pivots around&nbsp;She Drank the Water That Was Meant for the Orchids&nbsp;(2019), a recent addition to MMoCA’s collection. New large-scale embroideries, stuffed horses with embedded objects, shelves of ceramic vases covered in cast cicadas, and ceramic flower bouquets extend the exhibition’s domestic and emotional terrain.Across both spaces, memory functions as a material. Objects act as containers of experience—holding care, pleasure, grief, desire, and loss. Rather than telling a single story, Harper creates environments where meaning emerges through movement and attention. Looking becomes an active process, shaped by proximity, perspective, and the viewer’s own lived experience.About the ArtistDavid R. Harper (b. Toronto, Canada / Lives and Works in the American Midwest), received his BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Fiber and Material Studies. He currently teaches in the Painting and Drawing department at the Art Institute of Chicago and the New Studio Practice department at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.&nbsp;Harper’s work employs both traditional and non-traditional materials such as embroidery, ceramic, and casting materials such as salt and charcoal in a cross-disciplinary manner to create objects installations that grapple with notions of loss, love, feelings of belonging and how we use objects to inform our notions of self.&nbsp;Harper has been included in group shows at museums in the US and Canada, including MASS MoCA, National Gallery of Canada and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and has participated in numerous solo exhibitions including&nbsp;My Own Personal Ghost&nbsp;(The John Michael Kohler Art Center),&nbsp;Plateau&nbsp;(South Bend Museum of Art)&nbsp;Skin and Bone&nbsp;(Textile Museum of Canada), A solo touring exhibition of Harper’s work titled&nbsp;Entre Le Chien et Le Loup&nbsp;was organized by the University of Toronto in 2013&nbsp;He has participated in several residencies, including the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Residency (2016), Bemis Center for Contemporary Art (2014), and the Kohler Arts Industry (2012/2014)&nbsp;&nbsp;His work can be found in a number of notable collections, including The Museum of Arts and Design (NYC), The John Michael Kohler Art Center, The Museum of Wisconsin Art, The National Gallery of Canada, the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation (Los Angeles), and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

David R. Harper: Good Morning Sweetheart

The momentum continues this summer with&nbsp;Forward V: Our Wisconsin &amp; Regional Artists, our fifth annual celebration of the exceptional painters, sculptors, printmakers, and mixed-media artists who call Wisconsin and the greater Midwest home.&nbsp;&nbsp;This beloved exhibition carries special meaning in 2026 — it will be the first Forward in our beautiful new space, and it arrives at a landmark moment for the Third Ward as the&nbsp;Historic Third Ward Association celebrates its 50th Anniversary.Forward V gathers artists&nbsp;Marc Anderson, Reginald Baylor, Allison B. Cooke, Al Eickberg, Steve Gerhartz, Bobby Girsh, Michael Guinane, Mutópe J. Johnson, Darren Jones, Shelby Keefe, Antwan Ramar, Jolanta Kinga Rose, Colette Odya Smith, Michael Charles Sutton, and John Waite.This year we are proud to introduce two&nbsp;emerging artists&nbsp;to the Forward stage:&nbsp;Greta Berens&nbsp;from MIAD and&nbsp;Abigail Tran&nbsp;from UWM — two extraordinary young talents whose inclusion reflects our deep belief in growing and supporting the next generation of Wisconsin artists.

Forward V: Our Wisconsin & Regional Artists 

“All Terrain”, a landscape group show featuring Brooks Anderson, Mark Flickinger, Paula Blackwell, and others.River North Mid-Summer Gallery Walk, 5-8pm.

All Terrain, a landscape group show

Our summer&nbsp;show,&nbsp;Elements of Summer featuring Ana Zanic, Adam Thomas and Beth Herman Adler,&nbsp;opens on Thursday, June 25th with a reception in the gallery from 5-7 pm. We hope you'll join us for an evening of arresting art, engaging conversation and light refreshments!Elements of Summer&nbsp;will be on view through September 5th.

Elements of Summer featuring Ana Zanic, Adam Thomas and Beth Herman Adler

This summer, the&nbsp;Driehaus Museum&nbsp;presents&nbsp;Ink &amp; Outrage: 18th&nbsp;Century Satirical Prints in London &amp; Dublin,&nbsp;an exhibition that explores the wit and graphic brilliance displayed by English graphic satirical artists such as James Gillray (1765-1815) and Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827) to lampoon civics, society, and culture in Georgian London. The exhibition places original prints in dialogue with plagiarized works by artists in Ireland, evoking conversations about piracy, originality, and reproduction that have become more relevant than ever today. Organized by guest curators&nbsp;Silvia Beltrametti&nbsp;and&nbsp;William Laffan&nbsp;and following its debut at the Irish Architectural Archive in Dublin in 2025,&nbsp;Ink &amp; Outrage: 18thCentury Satirical Prints in London &amp; Dublin&nbsp;takes place at the Driehaus Museum, 50 E. Erie Street, from&nbsp;May 15 to September 13, 2026.&nbsp;Now ubiquitous in Internet meme culture and modern-day satire, the groundbreaking use of image and text during the Georgian period was a powerful form of storytelling, holding those in power accountable, and fostering bonds between classes and communities.&nbsp;Ink &amp; Outrage: 18th&nbsp;Century Satirical Prints in London &amp; Dublin&nbsp;includes approximately 100 original prints and features loans from The William A. Gordon Library of British Caricature, the collection of the O’Brien family, and the Richard H. Driehaus Art Exhibition Lending Foundation.The exhibition places original prints alongside plagiarized works made in Ireland,&nbsp;where copyright law of images did not apply and business for replicas flourished. These pirated copies provoked historic debates around authorship and plagiarism that set the stage for current conversations around artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and mass reproduction today.In the context of the Driehaus Museum, the exhibition presents Georgian satirical prints as a vital precursor to the art, architecture, and ideas that shaped the United States during the Gilded Age. The works reflect the visual and political culture of an influential period in Britain and Ireland that went on to inform American taste and civic life.&nbsp;Executive Director of the Driehaus Museum&nbsp;Lisa M. Key&nbsp;says, “Ink &amp; Outrage: 18th&nbsp;Century Satirical Prints in London &amp; Dublin&nbsp;is a model for meaningful international collaboration, strengthening the Museum’s commitments to rigorous scholarship, shared stewardship, and cross-cultural exchange.&nbsp;We hope visitors see the trajectory from these early forms of satire to the present day, and the importance of satire as a public forum for debate and connection.” Co-curator&nbsp;Silvia Beltrametti&nbsp;adds, “Caricature is the intellectual vehicle that speaks truth to power in the fastest, funniest, and most piercing way possible. Behind the blasts of color in these prints lie a remarkable copyright story-- free from the legal constraints, Irish publishers could copy original productions from London.”Major support for this exhibition is provided by the Driehaus Trust Company, LLC. ABOUT THE CURATORSSilvia&nbsp;Beltrametti&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;lecturer&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Department&nbsp;of&nbsp;Art&nbsp;History,&nbsp;Theory&nbsp;and&nbsp;Criticism&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;School&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Art&nbsp;Institute&nbsp;of&nbsp;Chicago. Beltrametti is an expert on art law and her research focuses on the international trade of art as well as intellectual property, specifically on how copyright shapes artistic production. She has published in the&nbsp;Columbia&nbsp;Journal&nbsp;of&nbsp;Law&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Arts&nbsp;andNorthwestern&nbsp;Journal&nbsp;of&nbsp;Technology&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Intellectual Property.&nbsp;In&nbsp;2025&nbsp;she&nbsp;contributed&nbsp;to&nbsp;Myth&nbsp;and&nbsp;Marble,&nbsp;Ancient&nbsp;Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection&nbsp;(ed. Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Ruff,&nbsp;Yale&nbsp;University&nbsp;Press).&nbsp;With&nbsp;William&nbsp;Laffan,&nbsp;she has published two substantial articles on Dublin caricatures in&nbsp;Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies.William Laffan&nbsp;is a cultural historian and the author of numerous books on Irish art and architecture. He served as editor of&nbsp;Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies&nbsp;and has published extensively across a wide variety of cultural topics.&nbsp;In 2014 he co-authored&nbsp;Russborough:&nbsp;A&nbsp;Great&nbsp;Irish&nbsp;House,&nbsp;Its&nbsp;Families&nbsp;and&nbsp;Collections&nbsp;and&nbsp;the following year was historical adviser to the landmark exhibition at the Art&nbsp;Institute&nbsp;of&nbsp;Chicago,&nbsp;Ireland, Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690- 1840&nbsp;and edited the show’s catalogue.&nbsp;In 2024 he curated&nbsp;Thomas Frye, An Irish Artist in London&nbsp;at&nbsp;Dublin&nbsp;Castle.&nbsp;With&nbsp;Silvia&nbsp;Beltrametti, he has published two substantial articles on Dublin caricatures in&nbsp;Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies.&nbsp;Image: After James Gilray,&nbsp;Oh! that this too too solid flesh would melt, Published by William McCleary, Dublin.

Ink & Outrage: 18th Century Satirical Prints in London & Dublin

Letica Pardo: Carcasa (109 E. Ontario St.)Through a material reconfiguration of the Mies van der Rohe stair and walls from The Arts Club building, the installation foregrounds aspects of architectural production often minimized or rendered invisible within dominant historical narratives. Originally produced for The Arts Club’s former location, the stair was salvaged from demolition and reinstalled in the institution’s current building, becoming an object in the collection.Translating the stair into exposed rebar—a material typically embedded within built infrastructure and intentionally concealed—brings construction to the surface. The seemingly unfinished structure draws attention to manual labor carried out by immigrant workers who have sustained the U.S. building industry. Silicone casts taken from travertine slabs surrounding the staircase function as reversed impressions of the stone, revealing internal veining and voids as surface textures. Together, the rebar structure and silicone casts establish a dialogue between structure and body, visibility and concealment, and value and labor.Reducing architecture to bone and skin, Carcasa (109 E. Ontario St.) approaches modernism as a system whose authority and visibility were produced through selective recognition. In doing so, it positions architecture as a cultural record of collective making shaped by social relations.This project was curated by Executive Director and Chief Curator Janine Mileaf.This site-specific installation involved production assistance by Dishan Rahman, and metal fabrication by Alejandro Castellanos, Ernesto Garcia, Jair Martínez, José Martinez, Ricardo Martínez, Danilo Medina, Ernesto Medina, Gonzalo Medina, Nelson Ramírez, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Heriberto Valdez, Daniel Valencia, Randi Vigueras, D5 Design and Metal Fabrication.Special thanks goes to Gallery Manager Colby Starck and preparators Reggie Williamson, Xavier Hughes, and Adele Henning. Carcasa (109 E. Ontario St.) (detail), Leticia Pardo. Photo by Fran Peñaflor.

Letica Pardo: Carcasa

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence defined “unalienable rights” as “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” And five years after the end of the Revolutionary War, the founding generation ratified a new Constitution to, among other things, “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” What it meant to dedicate a country to liberty was immediately contested and continues to be contested to this day. For whom were these “Blessings of Liberty” to be secured? Under what circumstances could individuals expect the inalienable right of liberty to be recognized? What justifies limitations on liberty, and what does a dedication to liberty demand of us?Though Americans grappled with these issues in all times and places, nothing crystallized the tensions around liberty quite like war. President Abraham Lincoln, in his address at the newly dedicated Gettysburg National Cemetery in the midst of the Civil War, centered his reflection on this very question: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” At the site of so much death and destruction, he wondered whether a nation, “so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.”Conceived in Liberty: Cartoons, Caricatures, and Illustrations in the Wartime US, 1812-1918&nbsp;will draw on the Newberry’s collection to show how artists living through wartime “conceived” cartoons, caricatures, and illustrations that grappled with questions about liberty. These images appeared throughout broader print culture (newspapers, magazines, sheet music, broadsides, posters) as well as in more private contexts, such as diaries, letters, or sketchbooks. Whether patriotic or dissenting, available to the masses or only to a few, wartime imagery reveals in dramatic, visually compelling ways how the people of the US have used the occasion of war to question, revise, challenge, and champion this core value of the country since its founding 250 years ago.<a href="https://www.newberry.org/calendar/conceived-in-liberty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DETAILS</a>

Conceived in Liberty: Cartoons, Caricatures, and Illustrations in the Wartime US, 1812-1918

Willem de Kooning Drawing&nbsp;is the first exhibition to explore the full scope of Willem de Kooning’s drawing practice and how it was foundational to his boundary-breaking artistic career. Featuring more than 200 artworks including rarely-seen drawings—alongside paintings, sculptures, and prints—this exhibition offers an unprecedented opportunity to experience the totality of his graphic production over seven decades and sheds light on his experimentation with materials, tools, and techniques.

Willem de Kooning Drawing

<a href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" 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;Jeff Carter: The Singer Pavilion Project, on view&nbsp;June 6 – September 20, 2026. Exploring the historic and architectural significance of the Singer Pavilion—the only building remaining of the former Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in Bronzeville, the exhibition prompts critical reflection on the Modernist promise of social progress, and considers how architectural ideals are compromised by histories of institutional failure, abandonment, and inequality.Since 2020, Carter has developed an extensive body of work exploring the site, history, and significance of the Singer Pavilion, a structure he refers to as a “Modernist ruin.” The exhibition presents eleven artworks, including sculptures, digital images, sound works and installations. Several artworks in the exhibition are made using materials extracted from the abandoned site: a waiting room chair, vinyl records, and native plants that have reclaimed the neglected landscape. The excavated materials were transformed into sculptures and conjure both the life in and around the building during its active years as a psychiatric institute (1948-2009) and the building’s dereliction following the hospital’s closure in 2009. A series of ‘zines developed in collaboration with artists with connections to the hospital and the surrounding Bronzeville community will be included.Founded in 1881, Michael Reese Hospital was a major research and teaching hospital, and one of the oldest and largest hospitals in Chicago, providing care to all people regardless of religion, nationality, or race. Its architecture, whose designers included Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus School, is considered by preservationists to hold historic value. ABOUT THE ARTISTJeff Carter (1967, he/his) is a multimedia artist living and working in Chicago. He earned his BFA at the University of Colorado, Boulder and his MFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His practice includes sculpture, kinetics, sound, installation, and digital media. Jeff has exhibited his work in Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Renaissance Society, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the Hyde Park Art Center. His work has been shown internationally at the Hayward Gallery, London, the Kunsthalle Hamburg, Germany, the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan, the IKEA Museum, Sweden, and the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, University College Cork, Ireland. His solo shows include the Chicago Cultural Center and the DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York, and Galeria Valle Orti, Valencia, Spain. A previous project about the demolished Michael Reese Hospital campus,&nbsp;The Common Citizenship of Forms&nbsp;(2011), was reviewed in Art In America and profiled in the 7th edition of Bauhaus Magazine. He is a Professor in The Art School at DePaul University. 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 href="https://www.hydeparkart.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.hydeparkart.org</a>.

Jeff Carter: The Singer Pavilion Project

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is thrilled to announce&nbsp;Dancing the Revolution. This exhibition is the first of its kind to explore and expand the visual, political and spiritual histories of dancehall and reggaetón through contemporary art—two dynamic genres that have transcended their grassroots origins to shape global culture. From Kingston to San Juan through London, Toronto, New York City and Panama,&nbsp;Dancing the Revolutionpositions music and dance as a revolutionary practice for collective liberation rooted in the struggle against colonial oppression. Dancehall and reggaetón are not only musical genres but cultural practices and powerful expressions of resistance and joy—reminders of the Caribbean's centuries-old traditions of dance and music as means of liberation and protest rooted in Black Atlantic history and culture.&nbsp;Dancing the Revolution&nbsp;showcases pivotal moments and themes from these histories, starting with the sound system—a mobile disco that embodies both a community experience and a vital civic institution.&nbsp; Presenting work across varied mediums,&nbsp;Dancing the Revolution&nbsp;includes painting, sound sculptures, installations, photographs, and video, showcasing how artists have been and continue to be inspired by these histories and the visual forms that emerge from them. The exhibition features more than 35 artists, including Isaac Julien, Jean Michel Basquiat, Edra Soto, Alberta Whittle, Carolina Caycedo, supakid and Lee "Scratch" Perry. A special commissioned mixtape project invites visitors to learn about the evolution of these popular genres in Panama and hear iconic songs that have paved the way for the global phenomenon of reggaetón. Audiences also will be able to purchase the exhibition’s bilingual catalogue (Spanish/English), which features scholarship on topics such as sound system and sonic aesthetics in painting, dancing and protest during Puerto Rico's&nbsp;Verano del 19, or Summer of 2019, and Panama’s reggae en español, as well as extensive illustrations reproducing exhibition artworks. Dancing the Revolution&nbsp;considers music and dance as powerful tools for sexual and political liberation. The exhibition’s title is inspired by the shifting RPMs (revolutions per minute) that mark the tempo and history of Caribbean popular music, including historic events like Verano del 19 (which famously included protests attended by singers iLe, Residente, Ricky Martin, and Bad Bunny). At this critical moment of collective action, LGBTQ+ and feminist activists led&nbsp;perreo combativo, or “combative twerking,” on the steps of San Juan Cathedral prior to Governor Ricardo Roselló’s resignation, transforming reggaetón’s characteristic dance into a form of political protest. This reclamation of public space through dance—an act deeply rooted in dancehall history and culture—demonstrates how music and dance can serve as bold acts of collective resistance and emancipation. Dancing the Revolution&nbsp;is curated by Carla Acevedo-Yates, former Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator and Director of Curatorial Initiatives, with Iris Colburn, Curatorial Associate, Nolan Jimbo, Assistant Curator, Cecilia González Godino, former Marjorie Susman Curatorial Fellow, and nibia pastrana santiago, Curatorial Consultant.

Dancing the Revolution

Please join us for a new installation, Interrobang, by Jenal Dolson to kick off the project space at 65GRAND. Enveloped in an overtly bright, striped environment, Interrobang stages a dynamic interplay of color, pattern, and optical vibration, destabilizing perceptual assumptions and enacting a phenomenological encounter in which space, surface, and body are inseparably entangled. In this way, the paintings hold gesture as the body holds touch: as residue, as a lingering presence - embodying the interrogative tension of the interrobang itself. Image: Jenal Dolson,&nbsp;Play House,&nbsp;2026, oil and pumice on canvas, 41.25 x 34 inches

Jenal Dolson: Interrobang

Rockford Art Museum (RAM) opens the Rockford Midwestern Biennial exhibition on Friday, May 22, with a preview reception for museum members and exhibiting artists from 5 to 6 p.m., free public opening includes a gallery walk with 2026 Juror Laurie Hogin and an artist awards ceremony at 6 p.m. The museum will be open until 7:30 p.m. RAM, 711 N. Main St., Rockford.The exhibition remains on view through September 27, 2026. The 2026 Rockford Midwestern is the 78th presentation of Rockford Art Museum's juried exhibition, which began in 1913 as an annual showcase of local artists, then expanded eligibility and was known as the Stateline Vicinity Show through 1998. Now a biennial show that surveys new work by contemporary artists across the Midwest, the competition was open to original artwork, in any medium, created since the last biennial by residents of&nbsp;Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.&nbsp; Juror Laurie Hogin selected 98 paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures, mixed media works, and more from eight states (including nine artists from the Rockford region) for this year’s Rockford Midwestern Biennial.&nbsp;“It’s a stellar showcase of the incredible talent of Midwestern artists today,” RAM Curator Carrie Johnson said. Laurie Hogin received her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her BFA from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where she also studied cultural anthropology. Her work is exhibited regularly across the country and is in numerous private and public collections, including the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA, the Illinois State Museum, The United States Federal Reserve, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Brauer Museum, Valparaiso, IN, the Racine Art Museum, WI, among many others. She is currently Professor with Tenure and Chair of the Painting and Sculpture Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2026 Exhibiting Artists:&nbsp;Luke Achterberg (Onalaska, WI); Deidre Argyle (Springfield, MO); Nelson Armour (Chicago, IL); Karen Azarnia (River Forest, IL); Heidi Bailey (Warsaw, IN); Michael Banning (Minneapolis, MN); Audrey Barcio (Muncie, IN); Jason Beck (Rockton, IL); Victoria Bein (Edgerton, WI); Lauren Bertelson (Chicago, IL); Lois Bielefeld (Glendale, WI); Jill Birschbach (Evanston, IL); Rebecca Bissi (Racine, WI); Sharon Bladholm (Chicago, IL); Mark Blassage (South Bend, IN); Jennifer Bock-Nelson (Quincy, IL); Mark Brautigam (Milwaukee, WI); Deborah Brooks (Milwaukee, WI); H. Buchholz (Franklin, WI); Roy Cacek (Ankeny, IA); Rebecca Carlton (Fish Creek, WI); Danielle Casali (St. Charles, IL); Ethan Chan (Chicago, IL); Bob Cholke (Rockford, IL); Bobbye Cochran (Chicago, IL); Brent Cole (Muncie, IN); Bridget Conn (Nashville, IN); Benjamin Cook (Louisville, KY); Kevin Corotis (Oak Park, IL); Dragana Crnjak (Boardman, OH); Gary Cudworth (Oswego, IL); Geornica Daniels (Cedarburg, WI); Anita Dawson (Columbus, OH); Jacob Del Negro (Racine, WI); Sessah DelaRue (Belvidere, IL); Brian DePauli (Saint Louis, MO); Jason Dunda (Chicago, IL); Renee Meyer Ernst (Davenport, IA); Darlys Ewoldt (Chicago, IL); Deirdre Fox (Chicago, IL); Rhonda Gates (Rockford, IL); Shelley Gilchrist (Evanston, IL); Tanya Gill (Chicago, IL); Rita Grendze (Geneva, IL); Camryn Gulledge (Springfield, MO); Denis Hagen (Hiawatha, IA); Fletcher Hayes (Chicago, IL); Alan Hobscheid (Chicago, IL); Ellen Holtzblatt (Chicago, IL); Larsen Husby (Chicago, IL); Jeff Ignatius (Rock Island, IL); Shane-Jahi Jackson (Morris, IL); Noah Kashiani (Chicago, IL); Kara Knutson (Oconomowoc, WI); John Kurman (Arlington Heights, IL); Diane Lamboley (Clayton, MO); Isaiah Lee (Chicago, IL); CoCo Ree Lemery (Chicago, IL); Braydon Letsinger (Springville, IN); Diane Levesque (Kenosha, WI); Paula Kloczkowski Luberda (Naperville, IL); Tanya Lunina (Geneva, IL); Lisa Madden (Mokena, IL); Ellen Mahaffy (Eau Claire, WI); Valerie Mangion (Muscoda, WI); T. Michael Martin (Murray, KY); Madeline Martin (Milwaukee, WI); Aeron Maxwell (Chicago, IL); Don McCurdy (St. Charles, IL); Tom McHale (Rockford, IL); Nancie King Mertz (Rockford, IL); Ryan Peter Miller (Chicago, IL); Zach Mory (Glen Ellyn, IL);&nbsp;Thérèse&nbsp;Mulgrew (Chicago, IL); Louisa Murzyn (Munster, IN); Catherine Nelson (Grayslake, IL); Dan Oliver (Chicago, IL); Robert C Osborne (Racine, WI); Mark Pack (Kansas City, MO); Mielle Park (Vernon Hills, IL); Lorraine Peltz (Chicago, IL); Denise Presnell (Sheboygan, WI); Jessie Rebik (Galena, IL); Jason Reblando (Norman, IL); Kimberly Rodey (Wheaton, IL); Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch (Lexington, KY); Kurt Schabell (Loves Park, IL); Edwin Shelton (Michigan City, IN); Dan Simoneau (Kenosha, WI); DeAnna Skedel (Kansas City, MO); Shalen Stephenson (Chicago, IL); Kathy Snow Stratton (Buffalo, MN); Dan Swanson (Rockford, IL); Tori Tasch (Hartland, WI); Ron Testa (Wilmette, IL); Ged Trias (Rockford, IL); Mark Weller (Waunakee, WI); A M Yeager (Bloomington, IL) Awards will be presented at the preview for members and exhibiting artists on Friday, May 22, including the prestigious Dean Alan Olson Purchase Award ($2,000) plus Juror’s First Choice ($750), and two Juror’s Choice awards ($500 each). The Rockford Midwestern Biennial is organized by Carrie Johnson and juried by Laurie Hogin. This exhibition and its related educational programming are sponsored by the Dean Alan Olson Foundation; and partially supported by a grant from the&nbsp;Illinois Arts Council Agency. Free admission is sponsored for the duration of this exhibition by the Dean Alan Olson Foundation. Galleries are open Thursday through Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. THE 2026 ROCKFORD MIDWESTERN&nbsp;EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMINGAll programs take place at Rockford Art Museum, 711 N. Main St., Rockford LECTURE WITH EXHIBITING ARTISTS&nbsp;THU, JULY 23, 5:30 PM, FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, NO REGISTRATION REQUIREDJoin us for a conversation with exhibiting artists from our Midwestern Biennial as they discuss their inspirations and processes. COFFEE WITH THE CURATOR&nbsp;FRI, SEP 11, 9 AM, FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, NO REGISTRATION NECESSARYGet a behind-the-scenes look into the process of curating the feature exhibition with Executive Director/Curator Carrie Johnson. Complimentary coffee provided.

2026 Rockford Midwestern Biennial

Gelsy Verna (1962–2008) was a Haitian-Canadian artist, educator, and collaborator who taught at UW–Madison and left a lasting impact on students and colleagues. Working primarily in collage and drawing, Verna used symbols, text, and layered images to explore how meaning is never fixed, but constantly shifting.Throughout her work, Verna often challenged familiar cultural icons. In one series, she reimagined Martin Luther King Jr. with different hairstyles, patterns, and even Mickey Mouse ears. In another, she portrayed Marilyn Monroe with brown skin. With wit, courage, and imagination, these works invite viewers to question how identity, history, and power are constructed.Mother, Father, Please Help Me&nbsp;was drawn and redrawn over several years in collaboration with artist and frequent collaborator David Dunlap. Built through many layers of images and marks, it functions as a palimpsest—a surface that holds traces of earlier versions beneath what we see now. The work embodies Verna’s belief that images and symbols change over time, and that new meanings emerge through revision, proximity, and combination.This artwork has both a front and a back, and both are essential to fully experiencing the piece. To allow visitors to encounter the complete work, the reverse side has been carefully reproduced and printed for display.Recently acquired by MMoCA from the artist’s estate,&nbsp;Mother, Father, Please Help Me&nbsp;is among the last major works available from Verna’s studio. Verna died suddenly in 2008 at just 46, leaving behind a rich artistic legacy that her sister, Mahalia Verna now works to preserve.&nbsp;

Gelsy Verna: Mother, Father, Please Help Me

The work of West Michigan’s talented artistic community is on view during the annual&nbsp;West Michigan Area Show.&nbsp;This crowd-pleasing annual juried exhibition was carefully curated from more than 300 submitted entries, ranging from paintings, prints, and photos to mosaics, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, and mixed-media works.Local artists from 14 West Michigan counties submit their art for a chance to be juried into the show.&nbsp;More than $6,000 will be awarded and entries can range from paintings, prints, and photos to mosaics, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, and mixed-media works.2026 WMAS JurorThis year’s juror is Xuxa Rodríguez, Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art at Duke University’s Nasher Museum. Prior to her role at Duke, Rodríguez served as the Associate Curator of Contemporary Arts at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Rodríguez will present an ArtBreak lecture on Wednesday, May 27, at noon in the KIA auditorium.2026 WMAS Awards<ul><li>$1,000 Helen Sheridan Memorial Grand Prize</li><li>$ 500 Second Place</li><li>$ 400 Third Place</li><li>$ 300 Fourth Place</li><li>$ 200 Fifth Place</li><li>Portage Community Art Award</li><li>Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo’s People’s Choice Award</li><li>The Martin Maddox Prize for Imaginative Realism</li><li>Ninth Wave Studio Award for Ingenuity in Mixed Media or Intermedia</li><li>Art League Award</li><li>Signature Artists, LLC, Award</li><li>Eclectic Glass Guild of Southwest Michigan</li><li>Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters’ Art Quilt Award</li><li>Southwest Michigan Printmakers Excellence in Printmaking Award</li><li>Kalamazoo Book Arts Center Book, Print, and Paper Award</li><li>West Michigan Potters Guild Award for Ceramics</li><li>The Ward H. and Cora E. Nay Director’s Purchase Prize</li></ul><a href="https://www.kiarts.org/events/tag/wmas/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to see upcoming events in connection with this exhibition</a>.

2026 West Michigan Area Show

Michigan Avenue Galleries, Chicago Cultural&nbsp;Center&nbsp;Photographer Lauren Deutsch and filmmaker Jonathan Woods present an immersive exhibition translating the energy of Chicago’s improvised music scene into color,&nbsp;movement&nbsp;and visual form. Developed&nbsp;by the Tangible Sound Collaborative, the project celebrates the city’s legendary experimental music community and honors the influence of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).&nbsp;Through photography, film and installation, the exhibition explores how music can inspire visual expression while celebrating the artists and ancestors whose creativity continues to shape Chicago’s cultural identity.&nbsp;

Tangible Sound: Arrival to a Higher Ground 

Special Note: This exhibition takes place at Glass Curtain Gallery – 1104 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, ILThe Museum of Contemporary Photography and School of Visual Arts at Columbia College Chicago proudly present the Diane Dammeyer Fellowship in Photographic Arts &amp; Social Issues exhibition featuring 2025-2026 fellow Lali Khalid.Khalid’s exhibition will be on view&nbsp;June 25-October 3, 2026&nbsp;at Columbia College Chicago’s&nbsp;Glass Curtain Gallery&nbsp;with exclusive programming during Filter Photo Festival.In partnership with CAIR Chicago, Khalid’s multimedia project of video, audio, and photography represents personal narratives within Muslim culture and the everyday by providing a broader perspective beyond stereotypes and inviting conversation on belonging, resilience, and the importance of representation.Click the embedded links to learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lalikhalid.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lali Khalid</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://google.com/search?q=CAIR+Chicago&amp;rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS1078US1079&amp;oq=CAIR+Chicago&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDEzODlqMGo0qAIAsAIA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CAIR Chicago</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.colum.edu/academics/initiatives/diane-dammeyer-fellowship" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Diane Dammeyer Fellowship for Photographic Arts &amp; Social Issues</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.colum.edu/academics/visual-arts/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">School of Visual Arts</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.filterphoto.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Filter Photo</a>.

Diane Dammeyer Fellowship Exhibition: Lali Khalid

Papercutting as a creative handcraft has roots in many cultures, including centuries-old examples from China, the Polish tradition of&nbsp;wycinanki,&nbsp;and the Mexican history of&nbsp;papel picado. Celebrating handwork and recognizing its potential to connect across time, space, and geography, this exhibition combines various forms of papercutting.&nbsp;Through large- and small-scale works, contemporary makers expand upon tradition, adding their voices to rich creative lineages. To further illustrate this concept, shadow puppet theater utilizing paper silhouettes will be performed throughout the run of the show.Cut It Out&nbsp;is part of&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.handwork2026.org/" target="_blank">Handwork 2026</a>, Craft in America’s nationwide semiquincentennial collaboration showcasing the importance of the handmade and celebrating the diversity of craft that defines America.

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