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

One of only two Chihuly exhibitions in the world in 2026,&nbsp;CHIHULY at Meijer Gardens Presented by Macatawa Bank&nbsp;is a major exhibition of international significance. The experience spans both the outdoor gardens and indoor Sculpture Galleries, creating a dynamic dialogue between glass, landscape, and architecture.&nbsp;Outdoors, guests will encounter monumental glass sculptures, vibrant&nbsp;Reeds, and striking site-responsive installations that appear to grow from the landscape, amplifying color, light, and form throughout the gardens. Indoors, the separately ticketed gallery exhibition&nbsp;Chihuly: Radiant Forms&nbsp;traces more than 40 years of Dale Chihuly’s creative journey. The exhibition features work from many of his most celebrated series, including&nbsp;Baskets,&nbsp;Macchia,&nbsp;Seaforms,&nbsp;Putti,&nbsp;Ikebana,&nbsp;Persians,&nbsp;Venetians,&nbsp;Cylinders, and&nbsp;Rotolo, along with original drawings that offer insight into his creative process and sources of inspiration.&nbsp;Designed for visitors of all ages,&nbsp;CHIHULY at Meijer Gardens&nbsp;invites both long-term admirers and first-time viewers to experience the work of one of the world’s most influential artists in a setting where art, culture, and nature meet. See&nbsp;<a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rC-2Fc4ce2SDpH5WBMhYM8Lg3vMPQs5XAbZCZ0FrT4y8DV5IAx5_a1zzESVdmgLIQ4rlql6kbXT9QXaGGWYBxHAPtO1QqWO5GLp4idxebnEhHBD62Papsj-2FEMdnG4nN1Qo796g0RxGgCD6tZhe9AwtUHIFq1tAylqDj842HkNV4wYVNY4xw2XiPRSDLBolCKLsmz4mAfXyTKdAWEBNXMZS2HPTyW9tzh76eJPxtoS3TeCfWde-2FWTR36oITD8AJ2o16OioU6rZzSVhUtY-2FQMgnv00UizvWdkF-2F6vDGFX8RjYZ6VxGE9RjaFP3GxOchTBy9JEhqw0aRDSSQKKZ9o5ocAwD09kINSqSLHBx-2FwnUgD-2BEf05TldTsoQY4IIsvjRN-2FDK-2FrtXNjUU2iL2upL7H53VA7YA-2BwQHU-3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" target="_blank">website</a>&nbsp;for related exhibition programming. Tickets go on sale in February.

CHIHULY

<a href="https://qjxtjxbbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001nAIZ-KMiam2OpI8hS2Bd0Nhy8lSL7FMNN1UATmQ0pRUkVywPaObBRk0aAmP5O8eoBSAfOIrLb5BSDuHX_dq13YezX5OJykN_Dd3oWhhUnv476xT2_epW-2O5l1_EbI3jfsSUh7FqH2q9Vr9j5SqGYKDr2mXnMyrS8YITi3r-2mk=&amp;c=4Q-fZ_8tWuBqZs6su9ripqUSRmVfYp3tSPOuBnICkBerqjSK6p-8JA==&amp;ch=EZs2hgl8M_oS5zH5F8Z3oQ5jipfyJAjbgUUSHnasG3c4NGDZ2alqRw==" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Karla Wong: Journeys of Being</a>&nbsp;is on view September 3. Wong’s oil paintings are a love letter to her Mexican culture. They are interwoven with her life experiences as a trans woman, a person of Mexican and Chinese heritage, and of the journeys between her homes in the United States and Oaxaca.&nbsp;&nbsp;Traditional Oaxacan clothing and landscapes integrated with subtle odes to Chicago landmarks are often included in Wong’s paintings. Symbolic elements are hidden throughout each painting: balloons representing the unborn, birds for male genitalia, and apples and pears for forbidden fruit. Her vivid, dreamlike compositions, which evoke Victorian and Surrealist styles, are interlaced with themes of life and death, self discovery, and gender identity, and frequent portal archway motifs lead to mysterious places. Wong’s work portrays the beauty and harsh realities of being true to oneself.&nbsp;“Karla Wong’s paintings are encoded with references to her life experiences as a Mexican immigrant and as a trans woman,” said Christina Stavros, exhibition curator and Intuit’s associate curator. “We’re excited to share this vibrant and important work with our community and hope it inspires reflection, connection and a deeper understanding of Wong’s experiences and perspective.”&nbsp;You’re invited to celebrate&nbsp;Karla Wong: Journeys of Being&nbsp;with the artist and the Intuit Art Museum community.&nbsp;Enjoy Mexican cocktails, bites, and a live performance by world-renowned singer and friend of the artist, Geo Meneses. After a toast to the artist, make your way to the exhibition to celebrate the work and the artist behind it.&nbsp;Museum admission and reception are free.<a href="https://qjxtjxbbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001nAIZ-KMiam2OpI8hS2Bd0Nhy8lSL7FMNN1UATmQ0pRUkVywPaObBRvsXa2_hKzebE3SFUG0brwEuFVzxHB-Cfq35Y5C2c245DsnNptKIhOKBrgIt6ulYNTX8rprrnuSnV6FKYqVxbmCUnFIpSwFLoPQleCGtZUZ4KBzoEDf-jiwyam66ye8TPFpJ4JwwULB0gk9OZqUdwIol0OxsePezGA==&amp;c=4Q-fZ_8tWuBqZs6su9ripqUSRmVfYp3tSPOuBnICkBerqjSK6p-8JA==&amp;ch=EZs2hgl8M_oS5zH5F8Z3oQ5jipfyJAjbgUUSHnasG3c4NGDZ2alqRw==" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reserve your ticket now</a>Image credit: Karla Wong (Mexican, b. 1974).&nbsp;The Catrina Comes to Chicago (La catrina llega Chicago), 2026. Oil on canvas, 48 x 36 in. Collection of the artist

Karla Wong: Journeys of Being 

Jackson Junge Gallery is pleased to present, for the fifth year, our annual TEN by TEN exhibition! This show brings together artists from around the world, from exciting emerging talent to more established artists. Featuring more than 500 original works of art, the exhibition celebrates creativity across all mediums, including painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, and much more. Every artwork measures exactly 10 inches by 10 inches and is displayed in a striking grid formation, transforming the gallery into a one-of-a-kind installation you won’t want to miss! NO TICKET NECESSARY - this event is free and open to the public! Snacks and refreshments will be served.

TEN by TEN

Krasl Art Center proudly presents the 2026 Community ⇄ Members’ Show, an annual exhibition showcasing the community’s art created over the last year. Open to any resident of Berrien County or member of Krasl Art Center, the show encourages submissions from individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels, regardless of whether they consider themselves artists. The exhibition will run from November 22, 2026, to January 11, 2027, with a Public Preview Party on November 20, 2026, from 6 – 8 pm. Artists must submit their online registration via a Google Form and drop off their artwork between November 12 and November 14 during Krasl Art Center's open hours. Each artist may submit one artwork completed within the past year, adhering to size guidelines of 36” x 36” for 2D works and 36” x 36” x 48” for 3D pieces. All artworks must be display-ready and created entirely by the artist, without AI assistance. Krasl members have special incentives, including a free membership renewal for bringing a non-member to exhibit and eligibility for a special juried award. The exhibition concludes with the annual Pizza with the Artist event on January 9, 2027, from 4 - 6 PM. The show is a celebration of local art and talent, offering a rich experience of creativity in the community.

2026 Community ⇄ Members' Show

Bert Green Fine Art&nbsp;is pleased to present our second solo show by Chicago-based photographer&nbsp;Eleftheria Lialios&nbsp;and our ninth solo show by San Francisco-based painter&nbsp;Sandra Yagi.&nbsp; Eleftheria Lialios&nbsp;is a photographer with a long and distinguished history in the Chicago art community. ORIGIN is a body of photographic work created during the artist's 2026 Guest Artist residency at Fermilab. All of the photographs in this exhibition were taken within the scientific environments she encountered at Fermilab and enhanced by the artist. Sandra Yagi&nbsp;is interested in the intersection between science and art, using themes of anatomy, genetic manipulation, evolution, and medical oddities as tools in the creation of paintings in traditional styles. Her latest works explore the human tendency to “anthropomorphize” animals, seeing characteristics and motivations of ourselves in them; to both their detriment and salvation. All gallery events are free and open to the public. Additional information found at the gallery website at&nbsp;<a href="https://bgfa.us./" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bgfa.us.</a> Opening ReceptionSaturday November 7, 2026, 5-7 pm

ORIGIN

Frank Buffalo HydeCourtney M. LeonardNeepa Hyde

Pocket Full of Shells

Burnt Mind is an upcoming event featuring the work of Nicholas Szymanski. The event will take place from October 23, 2026, to January 16, 2027, at 65GRAND Project Space located at 3252 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60647. The opening reception is scheduled for Friday, October 23, from 6-9 PM. The gallery is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 12-6 PM and by appointment.

Burnt Mind

Sandra Yagi is interested in the intersection between science and art, using themes of anatomy, genetic manipulation, evolution, and medical oddities as tools in the creation of paintings in traditional styles. Her latest works explore the human tendency to “anthropomorphize” animals, seeing characteristics and motivations of ourselves in them; to both their detriment and salvation.

Anthropomorphs

PATRON Gallery is pleased to announce&nbsp;Xoanon, a solo exhibition of new sculptures by São Paulo-based artist, Lucas Simões. The works developed for his exhibition extend Simões’s ongoing investigation into the relationship between form, volume, and the structures that give shape to matter and presence. xoanon, 2025, Galvanized steel, 73” x 19 1/4” x 10 1/4” | 185 x 49 x 26 cm, detail

Lucas Simões: Xoanon

Working Times&nbsp;marks Salah Elmur’s second exhibition with Mariane Ibrahim and his first with the gallery in the United States. Bringing together a new series of paintings, the exhibition explores the figure of the worker in the vocational training centres and workshops of Sudan, places the artist has visited with admiration over the years.&nbsp;The representation of workers in art is rarely an inconsequential gesture. Throughout the history of modern painting, the worker has embodied individual dignity and the political aspirations of societies in transformation. For Elmur, the subject is also deeply personal. As in much of his work, painting becomes a means of revisiting the social and cultural landscapes of his native Sudan, tracing the occupations, gestures, and environments that have shaped everyday life. Although he no longer lives in the country, he returns regularly, gathering images and impressions that eventually find their way onto his canvases.&nbsp;The vocational training centres hold a particular place in Sudan’s modern history. Developed in the decades following independence in 1956, they formed part of a broader project of national development, intended to cultivate technical knowledge and a skilled workforce capable of sustaining the country’ industrial ambitions. Beyond their practical function, these institutions came to emblematize an aspiration toward economic autonomy and national sovereignty. Generations of workers passed through their workshops, acquiring skills, and contributing to the construction of a modern nation.&nbsp;<a href="http://link.marianeibrahim.com/ls/click?upn=u001.QEhnWBve3x4w-2FznpuSOKkHDHeH9lWxp-2BpojXmbdTFEfNIzMO4Fk0hZGVAcuFTnrwrAJJTD2GXSiCrDrpbtolrebQG2zKRpbvOK-2B7t3S3HY4-3DAhGe_F-2B18IOO1ZU6iY4K-2F9Q9GBGu5rvP-2BL20ZUrVQMSgnAy2dkeZXZkSsnZVlr-2Bsr2mNTrrX1Su-2BlhTy9s-2FYv05MbNc7NAiXwoxRT6c8CqvVK9HHsNMxKi6kVUBqBBKfQWu9Edu6g8zJxwDnCyAm8yFbYT35L0IEiJsk4OVmwYMpTfBaglf4cz9G4jxFa5ltNJCct49tW6ahOEG5lzn7BYoYQrG8-2BYY37BqSn9uSOn3MUZ9OuvmQaDvbyhuKEwmkHCB5jLrXh2MUYR8cswVdRYuTZlplR8DEV3y2McwKE9nxMVjPNJygmjQBF0-2B0gYDEPJd0GSz8wmHnE7-2BlCFSRmNUqSyiZhKbaMTSWFe09jLDVvP3Cpf2uaaoypZUIfyrfcU6K10cYvXnowfHJ9QFQlhfPYQmHChfYV26HBCotbgsCCzREtQaJe50Y0cYAkb3hUOHM7hRFrTl9u-2FGthY4D3LU4hLm8PkOk3d9Zt3lipm51o89YMFbwbanKTWrMWYnIZQQ9YP-2F-2B1pR768R8dF4T4o0uQoVKsXPDqLwdsFS1s3n7rORFGoP8MB6kGVHmyxjAkEVkKZ-2FVo3FT5bsxqTezL1Sp9ZSBFiF12I0KBq1PoBbzaY5NZdc6-2BWG9CKNQGrBi4WJXUvHhaR2VOcJJ7UrV6I1w2f6Elbuu1Y-2FNO-2BMd1x7joOp9yCmv6QI9CSBJbowu-2F5o423RPFn040WJdnjHjuAijw1trB5JrGNh-2Bil9raFsriLU1gOYfA1Vn9mUawBsb4IsLeJMUiJisChfBDW20wx3Y-2FaRl5eNhDi7QD7LEkGPRFqv4k4bdThDcdpe0RBxPRTVgPD-2Bd2syL-2FAuFyoalxYSmCQM4zd0KdeogAedMpou5KnnY-3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MORE INFORMATION</a> Image: Salah Elmur,&nbsp;Working Time, 2026. Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

Salah Elmur: Working Times

Fireworks in the Rain explores the coexistence of apparent opposites: fragility and&nbsp;strength, luminosity and weight, monumentality and delicacy. The exhibition seeks to reveal the poetry of contradiction and the beauty found in&nbsp;nuance. Image: Eunseok Han,&nbsp;Necklace, recycled aluminum, sterling silver, copper, agate, 2026.

Fireworks in the Rain

Sep 19, 2026–Jan 18, 2027 Jill Mulleady paints by breathing new life into unseen histories.&nbsp; Drawing from art-historical, cinematic, and literary sources, her memorable images can haunt the viewer long after encountering them. This exhibition—Mulleady’s first solo show at a major museum—brings together approximately 20 paintings by the artist. Mulleady uses various methods including staining, and at times incorporating materials such as copper, to achieve fragile, luminous surfaces that feel impossibly thin yet visually deep, holding tension between flatness and depth. Not limited to canvas or linen, she employs a range of supports, including glass and velvet. The resultant works balance different degrees of transparency and opacity and can be looked at and, sometimes, seen through. Mulleady’s paintings often depict scenes that are enigmatic and dangerous, showing figures at risk or under threat—from appetite, predation, or compulsion. While these ambiguous scenes may imply narratives, they likewise refuse tidy resolutions. Her imagery draws actively on painting lineages—allegory and the Baroque, Symbolist unease, the grotesque—recasting genres and canonical images for the present. In contrast to the purity and rationality of 20th-century modernism, Mulleady prioritizes a tradition in which chaos, instinct, and history drive art making. As Mulleady has said, she works with existing languages in order to invent a new one, and her staged tableaux are particularly resonant within the Art Institute galleries, as they&nbsp;rhyme with many works in the collection that have informed the artist.&nbsp; Jill Mulleady: The Passenger&nbsp;is curated by Giampaolo Bianconi, Dittmer Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art. Image: Maldoror,&nbsp;2025Jill MulleadyCourtesy of the artist and Gladstone. Photography by Nicolas Brasseur

Jill Mulleady: The Passenger

Since the 1980s, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center has built a remarkable collection of Asian textiles, including works from Bengali kantha, Hmong-Miao paj ntaub, and Japanese boro traditions. While these practices developed in different regions and cultures, they share common themes of resourcefulness, care, and storytelling through cloth.<a href="https://us.list-manage.com/pnUEGGLwsr2?e=62e89a6c87&amp;c2id=edfb4aca6fcc01b3e5cc7350834d6f24" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank">When Threads Meet, They Speak</a> brings these textile traditions into conversation for the first time, highlighting the connections and distinctions that emerge through their materials, techniques, and histories. Often created by women in rural communities, these works transform worn fabrics into objects of beauty and utility, carrying generations of creativity, resilience, and cultural knowledge within every stitch. <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/xDUrCcgR1W_?e=62e89a6c87&amp;c2id=edfb4aca6fcc01b3e5cc7350834d6f24" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank">View the Exhibition</a>

When Threads Meet, They Speak

Anne Loucks Gallery is pleased to announce Rodney Smith: Beauty, Wit and Wonder, opening November 21, 2026, and on view through January 25, 2027. The exhibition offers a compelling look at the artist’s vision and creativity, bringing together twenty-five exceptional examples of his work from 1994–2016. Please join us for the Opening Reception, Saturday, November 21st from 5 – 7 pm to celebrate the exhibition. Rodney Smith (1947–2016) was widely acclaimed for his iconic images that blend portraiture and landscape, with beauty, grace and humor. Working exclusively with film and light, he created enchanting worlds filled with subtle contradictions and surprise. Featuring both black-and-white and color photographs, Wit, Wisdom and Wonder showcases the breadth of Smith's artistic vision and skill. Set against a backdrop of beautiful cities, gardens, and landscapes, the images in the exhibition combine brilliant composition, color, and light with Smith’s distinctive blend of wit, elegance and humor. Born and raised in New York, Rodney Smith developed an early interest in photography, inspired by visits to the Museum of Modern Art. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1970, he studied photography at Yale University with Walker Evans while pursuing a master's degree in theology. Although he gained prominence in the 1990s through his fashion photography, Smith's work ultimately transcended into fine art photography. Today, his photographs are held in the permanent collections of major institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and the J. Paul Getty Museum. Throughout his four-decade career, Smith remained devoted to sharing his view of the world through his work. He wrote, “I want people to see the beauty and whimsy in life, not its ugliness. I feel the need to reach out for its soul, its depth, and its underlying beauty. I represent a world that is possible if people act their best.” For additional images or information, please contact Anne Loucks at 847 835-8500 or anne@loucksgallery.com. Anne Loucks Gallery specializes in contemporary American painting, photography and works on paper. Celebrating its 25th year, the gallery represents a diverse group of 45 emerging and mid-career artists. The gallery curates ten shows annually from two locations in Glencoe and Winnetka on the Northshore of Chicago. Hours are 10:30-5:00 Tuesday – Saturday and by appointment.

Rodney Smith: Beauty, Wit, and Wonder

Bergman Family GalleriesKenzi Shiokava&nbsp;is the first museum solo exhibition dedicated to artist Kenzi Shiokava (b. 1938, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, Brazil; d. 2021, Los Angeles), gathering over fifty sculptures made across five decades, from the 1970s to the 2010s. A second-generation Japanese Brazilian, Shiokava departed São Paulo in 1964—narrowly evading the military coup d’état—and relocated to Los Angeles just months prior to the 1965 Watts Riots. After earning a BFA from the Chouinard Art Institute (now California Institute of the Arts) and an MFA from the Otis Art Institute (now Otis College of Art and Design), he spent the next fifty years working with found materials in Los Angeles while serving as a longtime artist-in-residence at the storied Watts Towers Arts Center, where his peers included assemblage artists John Outerbridge, Noah Purifoy and Betye Saar.Through intuitive acts of carving and arranging, Shiokava unearthed what he described as the “inner movement” of discarded objects, revealing their spiritual vitality and reinvigorating them with life. Deeply attuned to his materials, which ranged from telephone poles to plastic toys, Shiokava allowed them to guide his sculptural process, which he compared to archeology—both patient practices of excavation, recovery and revelation. Reflecting the artist’s career-long embrace of wood carving and assemblage, the exhibition is anchored by two core bodies of work: abstract totems meticulously sculpted from wood and enigmatic box installations animated by miniature figurines, dried plants and stones. The exhibition also underscores the transcultural nature of Shiokava’s practice, which melds the aesthetic sensibilities of wood carving in Japan, assemblage in South Los Angeles and multiple belief systems, including Candomblé, Catholicism and Zen Buddhism.Kenzi Shiokava&nbsp;is organized by Nolan Jimbo, Assistant Curator.

Kenzi Shiokava

Among the Beasts&nbsp;explores the many roles that animals have played in artistic expression for millennia. Through diverse media, artists have depicted animals as subjects of labor and companionship, symbols and recordings of the natural world and spiritual beliefs, and figures of our imagination, traveling between reality and myth. Organized into three thematic sections—wild, domesticated, and fantastical—Among the Beasts&nbsp;traces how cultural values, environmental perspectives, and cultural traditions shape these representations.&nbsp;Drawing entirely from the permanent collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts,&nbsp;Among the Beasts&nbsp;spans centuries, continents, and vast/varied artistic traditions. Ancient pre-Columbian gold pendants, Japanese netsuke, Chinese scrolls, African sculpture, European and American prints, and contemporary paintings and photographs reveal the remarkable diversity of ways animals appear in art. Together, these works demonstrate that animals are far more than artistic subjects—they are a mirror of human beliefs, identity, wonder, and creativity. Across time and place, artists continue to use animals to understand both the world around us and the stories we tell. <a href="https://www.kiarts.org/exhibition/among-the-beasts-wild-tamed-imagined/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Details</a>

Among the Beasts: Wild, Tamed, & Imagined

Cutting and Pasting a World: The Paper Craft of Henry Darger&nbsp;April 22, 2026 to January 31, 2027&nbsp;IAM joins in the celebration of the 250th anniversary celebration of American craft, Handwork 2026, organized by Craft in America, with an exhibition exploring the connection between Henry Darger’s art and traditional American paper crafts. Drawing on research by guest curator and art historian Dr. Mary Trent(College of Charleston), the exhibition illustrates how the turn-of-the-century practices of making paper dolls and paper dollhouse scrapbooks may have influenced Darger’s evolution as an artist and maker. By showcasing both finished artworks and original source materials, the exhibition demonstrates how Darger adapted these humble pastimes into sophisticated methods for constructing large-scale, mixed-media narratives. The exhibition provides context for these crafts within the early 20th-century movement to instill middle-class American "taste" in a burgeoning immigrant population. Likely exposed to these practices within social welfare institutions as a child, Darger ultimately subverted them—transforming decorative domestic crafts into a profound and complex commentary on the vulnerabilities of marginalized children.&nbsp;&nbsp;IAM joins in the celebration of the 250th&nbsp;anniversary celebration of American craft,&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.handwork2026.org/" target="_blank">Handwork 2026</a>,&nbsp;organized by&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.craftinamerica.org/" target="_blank">Craft in America</a>, with an exhibition exploring the connection between Henry Darger’s art and traditional American paper crafts. Drawing on research by guest curator and art historian&nbsp;Dr.&nbsp;Mary Trent (College of Charleston), the exhibition illustrates how the turn-of-the-century practices of making paper dolls and paper dollhouse scrapbooks may have influenced Darger’s evolution as an artist and maker. By showcasing both finished artworks and original source materials, the exhibition demonstrates how Darger adapted these humble pastimes into sophisticated methods for constructing large-scale, mixed-media narratives. The exhibition provides context for these crafts within the early 20th-century movement to instill middle-class American "taste" in a burgeoning immigrant population. Likely exposed to these practices within social welfare institutions as a child, Darger ultimately subverted them—transforming decorative domestic crafts into a profound and complex commentary on the vulnerabilities of marginalized children.&nbsp;

Cutting and Pasting a World: The Paper Craft of Henry Darger

Hyde Park Art Center is excited to partner with the Veteran Art Movement, Chicago Cultural Center, Elmhurst Art Museum, and Walls Turned Sideways for the 2026 Veteran Art Triennial and Summit. The Hyde Park Art Center chapter&nbsp;Shifting Horizons&nbsp;considers land, migration, and decolonization through ideas informed by thinkers like Frantz Fanon and Harsha Walia. The exhibition invites reflections on how borders shape experience, how people navigate systems of control and resistance, and the uncertain landscapes that emerge amid ongoing struggles. The 2026 Veteran Art Triennial and Summit,&nbsp;Resisting the Long Wars, organized by curators Aaron Hughes, Mohamed Mehdi, Meranda Roberts, and Amber Zora, highlights artists’ creative defiance of war and militarism.

Veteran Art Triennial - RESISTING THE LONG WARS: Shifting Horizons 

Fashion and the visual arts share a common language. Both frame the body and shape our identities through representation, understanding, and perceived value.&nbsp;Statement Pieces&nbsp;brings together works from the KIA's collection alongside contemporary fashion from the Barrett Barrera Projects collection to explore how appearance becomes a means of self-expression and agency.<a href="https://ojlcakzab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001O9TTbo1D7gfNDar4l-Viks2IQL_ypTmMu3sO-ga-4i6PWFvlT2dChSRvGGLWsXBXk3gu1hXbgeU4Mry6UPEieJtuD8ba-4M1snqfC4jOIjLZnAHJpumVAELJcY6zpZW7C0q2NV0YMLtN0xFxaFbdJ6KIcgHTYHgtKWxkcGyJiNg5Ig_r48inpXRXTIk9ti6zKsXawgY5eylpwShO4QE98iYym7d4jTz_NxtP-xCYFbE=&amp;c=KcDmGUVggG_uTwHOE0xwMMps9QTvcID4fMxtcrkAtbOeMHrOSLJrcg==&amp;ch=hRH5Hoh8uUNWrcnlNlsgKQKMrp8hcWAdss5pCN_5ZV4gPzO0eYzQaQ==" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Learn More﻿</a>

Statement Pieces: Fashioning the Self & Society

Crystal City is a monumental found-object sculpture by Robert Blackstone (1971–2023) that depicts a self-contained modern city. Begun when he was a sophomore in high school, Blackstone built the work from found objects, electronics, harvested glass, toys, family videos, and personal mementos. Crystal City combines sound, light, movement, and living elements to create a miniature immersive urban landscape. First created and shown in Dayton, Ohio, this marks the first time the work will be exhibited outside that city. Originally conceived as an elegy for Blackstone’s grandmother, the project evolved into a reflection on social and economic injustice and a vision of a more unified, interconnected city. The exhibition also features additional works by Blackstone drawn from the downtown Dayton bank building where he developed the project in its final years. Many of these sculptures attest to Blackstone’s interest in history, the passing of time, and the human condition.

Robert Blackstone: Crystal City

Called “Floating Flowers” by Thomas Haneman, these fantastical botanical paintings, richly toned and wildly inventive, could be specimens from outer space, underwater, or some sort of Eden. Positioned out-of-space and time, they joyously spring from his canvases, unfettered by nature or science. Many of them face away from the viewer, growing in the direction of an unseen source of light or energy. After emerging from a long and crippling depression, and inspired by his garden, Haneman’s subjects appear like synapses, the fresh sparks in his brain, brought on by his new-found happiness and excitement for life. They are the visual result of his healing, synaptic displays of joy. His paintings bear reference to seventeenth-century Dutch still-life and eighteenth-century botanical illustrations, while feeling atemporal and contemporary.

Floating Flowers

For his first solo museum exhibition in Chicago, Tony Lewis offers an introduction to his various uses of shorthand notation as a catalyst for drawing. Serving as a lively primer to his practice across more than a decade, the exhibition brings together works from multiple series, including new works. Gregg shorthand is a stenographic language that transcribes speech into quick, fluid strokes based on its sounds. Lewis carries its kinetic quality into his drawings as they become complex explorations of meaning, abstraction, and form. Often working at a large scale, Lewis has steadily developed an inventive practice that has drawing at its core, using his chosen materials in different ways to feel out what the medium can do. Taking&nbsp;off from the original uses of shorthand in settings beyond art, Lewis’s drawings take us to unexpected places as language and gesture converge in his marks on the page.&nbsp; Curated by Karsten Lund <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/E4gDv_ExIrJ?e=d43a594e95&amp;c2id=a15cbe831e17b3baf871f3826312c6eb" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank">Learn more</a> Image: Tony Lewis,&nbsp;Plunder&nbsp;(detail), 2017. Courtesy of the artist.

Tony Lewis: The Long and Short of It

<a href="https://nmprac.org/exhibitions/our-island-of-treasures-puerto-rican-voices-from-indiana/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Details</a> Curator:Daniel Del Real “These are the treasures we carry with us — across oceans, across generations, and into every place we call home.” Our Island of Treasures: Puerto Rican Voices from Indiana&nbsp;brings together the work of the&nbsp;¡WEPArt! Colectivo, a collective of ten Puerto Rican artists based in Indiana, united by a shared passion for celebrating, preserving, and exploring their cultural identity.&nbsp; This exhibition was born from a desire to challenge disparaging narratives about Puerto Rico and its people by celebrating the treasures of&nbsp;La Isla del Encanto. Rather than defining the island through moments of crisis or misconception,&nbsp;Our Island of Treasures&nbsp;reframes Puerto Rico as a place of extraordinary cultural, historical, ecological, and artistic abundance. Through visual storytelling, the artists share the profound connections they hold with the island’s people, history, landscapes, and spirit, bringing those experiences to audiences across Indiana, the Midwest, and beyond.&nbsp; Each ¡WEPArt Colectivo! member offers a distinct artistic perspective that contributes to a vibrant and meaningful collective voice. Working across a rich tapestry of mediums, the artists explore themes of memory, ancestry, migration, folklore, resilience, ecology, and belonging. Their works celebrate Puerto Rico’s natural beauty, cultural heritage, and evolving identity – particularly as experienced from afar. Together, the exhibition forms a rich tapestry of artistic expression that reflects both individual journeys and a shared cultural inheritance. While each artist tells its own story, collectively they affirm that Puerto Rican identity is not confined by geography but continues to evolve wherever Puerto Ricans preserve their culture, build community, and create. This exhibition is presented by&nbsp;The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture&nbsp;in partnership with ¡WEPArt! Colectivo.&nbsp;

Our Island of Treasures: Puerto Rican Voices from Indiana

The Smart Museum of Art is honored to present&nbsp;<a href="https://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/exhibitions/teamlab-everything-exists-in-infinite-continuity/?mc_cid=7d709976d5&amp;mc_eid=a6ad3ea4a5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity</a>. The exhibition marks the international art collective’s first major institutional presentation in the midwestern region. &nbsp;<a href="https://uchicago.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aba2086a45b4ee8391b89447b&amp;id=660a8f7cbb&amp;e=a6ad3ea4a5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1789673932/rzuvsaat8bpowdnsoqjn.jpg" height="auto" width="612"></a> The art collective teamLab is renowned for creating immersive digital art installations exploring themes of perception and consciousness. Based in Tokyo, teamLab’s artworks draw upon wide ranging experimentation with art created through digital technology. Central to teamLab’s work is their aim to explore the relationship between the self and the world and using technology in new ways to explore perception, with an emphasis on individualized perception in a collective experience. Founded in 2001 by Toshiyuki Inoko, teamLab has grown into an international collective comprised of hundreds of artists, scientists, computer programmers, mathematicians, and architects, among others. teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity&nbsp;is the first exhibition of teamLab in the Midwest and traces the collective’s artistic trajectory over the last twenty-five years. It presents some of teamLab’s most iconic artworks as well as new work made specifically for this exhibition. In doing so, it explores how teamLab has experimented with and expanded their use of digital technologies to create environments that blur the boundary between the viewer and the artwork. Fall Exhibition OpeningSaturday, October 3rd2:00–5:00 pm Celebrate the Smart's new fall exhibitions,&nbsp;teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity,&nbsp;Nina Chanel Abney: Between Us, and&nbsp;How Do We Heal?. The opening reception will include music, hors d’oeuvres, and a themed cocktail.&nbsp; This program is free and open to all; RSVP is encouraged.&nbsp; <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/jGc6cNTyz27?e=a6ad3ea4a5&amp;c2id=3a4d5daac20b4519a6f4b77114bff5af" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" target="_blank">Register Here</a> <a href="https://uchicago.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aba2086a45b4ee8391b89447b&amp;id=306ff82845&amp;e=a6ad3ea4a5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read the Exhibition Listing</a>

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