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

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=cfc9476def&amp;e=49b9939ea4" target="_blank">Register here</a>Perspective Gallery presents&nbsp;Grand Vistas: Intimate Views, a new exhibit by members&nbsp;Frank Monnelly&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jane Feely. While each photographer takes us on a journey, the striking contrast comes in how they view their respective destinations.&nbsp;Monnelly brings us&nbsp;Denali: Sublime Majesty, aerial photography which captures the scale, grandeur and elegance of the highest mountain peak in North America. Shot from a Cessna 185, the spirit of Denali is revealed in a cathedral of stone and ice. During the show, Monnelly will also premiere a video on aerial photography made in collaboration with Alex Joseph Hansen and Alexander Marvin.In Japan: With A Beginner’s Mind, Feely embraces the Zen Buddhism concept of “Shoshin”, which encourages a sense of openness and curiosity, approaching life with a childlike vision. Her images invite you to get close to the details of this fascinating country, to find joy in even the smallest of experiences.

Virtual Artists’ Talk: Jane Feely & Frank Monnelly

This year’s The Block Collects installation features two projects featuring works selected by students:2025 Student AcquisitionThe Block Museum of Art’s collection supports learning across disciplines through exhibitions, research, and class and co-curricular visits. One of the ways we grow this resource is through an annual student-led collecting initiative undertaken by the Block Museum Student Associates (BMSAs), an interdisciplinary group of Northwestern undergraduates. Throughout the academic year, they learn about museum interpretation, gallery teaching, and collecting practices, culminating in their recommending the purchase of one or more works of art that invite sustained looking and multiple avenues of inquiry.The 2024–2025 BMSAs recommended the purchase of three works by artist Chitra Ganesh inspired by images from the comic book series Amar Chitra Katha, which popularizes Indian epics and folklore. These comics seek to educate children in India and across its diaspora on South Asian history, culture, religions, and mythologies. Like many stories written for children, Amar Chitra Katha reinforces conventional models of gender relations and sexuality as well as citizenship, nationalism, religious expression, and public behavior. Ganesh subverts these narrative traditions and their embedded patriarchal norms by constructing alternative worlds where women, girls, and other marginalized communities are empowered. Ganesh has cited canonical and contemporary feminist and queer scholarship as sources of inspiration for her work.

The Block Collects 2025

Reception and Gallery Talk: December 4, 7-9pm The Lewis University Department of Art and Design is proud to present the Senior Capstone Exhibition. This biannual art show coincides with the capstone course, Senior Project. The course challenges graduating students to put their newly acquired skills and understanding of art to the test by participating in a professional exhibition experience. Featured Artists: Isaiah Nolan and Elizabeth Spencer Image by Isaiah Nolan

Senior Capstone Exhibition

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to Outta Here“The work in this show explores the need to rise up and escape from the troubles below. Following the impulse to hide away. The sculptures imply the ability to move away as needed for protection. Branches, gestural and twisted, rise up the woven vessels of safe enclosure. The vessel form represents a refuge for the human consciousness. The state of this refuge speaks to the condition and needs of the consciousness within. I have been creating sculptural works exploring our relationship with Nature since the early ’90s. I have attempted to share my ideas about our need to create a better relationship with Nature as a way to find peace within ourselves and with each other.”Outta Here will be exhibited in the Second Floor Gallery of the Art Center. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibition is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC’s general membership.

Outta Here

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to A Tragedy of Religious Fanaticism.Her paintings narrate the stories of the contemporary situation of the systematic persecution of the Iranian Baha’i community after the 1979 Iranian revolution. Safajoo's paintings narrate these stories which are a result of her conversations and interviews with the people who were near or in these actual events. Many of the incidents she depicts only exist in the memory of those who experienced them and have no pictorial existence. In many cases if visual records did exist, they have been confiscated by the Iranian authorities in raids of homes. Her depictions are often the first time these events have taken visual form. She records the details of this history. For example, the shoes, clothes, artifacts, and environments seen in her paintings are very close to those that were there in the event.A Tragedy of Religious Fanaticism will be exhibited in the Second Floor Gallery of the Art Center. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibition is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC’s general membership.

A Tragedy Of Religious Fanaticism

This fall, The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University presents&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://northwestern.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=904f932038284b4d9eea69636&amp;id=80aae993fa&amp;e=ec81127d70" target="_blank">Pouring, Spilling, Bleeding: Helen Frankenthaler and Artists’ Experiments on Paper</a>, on view September 17–December 14, 2025. The exhibition explores how artists have used printmaking—and works on paper more broadly—as a site for experimentation, improvisation, and aesthetic risk. The exhibition centers on the pioneering print practice of&nbsp;Helen Frankenthaler(American, 1928–2011). Known for her signature “soak-stain” technique in painting, Frankenthaler brought a similar sensibility to printmaking, embracing fluidity, chance, and the variable interaction of materials in her works on paper. Her lithographs, etchings, and woodcuts reflect a dynamic, process-oriented approach—what she has described as “pouring, flooding, spilling, bleeding.” The presentation marks the debut of a recent gift of 34 works from the&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://northwestern.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=904f932038284b4d9eea69636&amp;id=4e47ecce69&amp;e=ec81127d70" target="_blank">Helen Frankenthaler Foundation</a>, part of the Frankenthaler Prints Initiative. In 2023, The Block was one of ten university art museums nationally to receive a portfolio of Frankenthaler’s prints and working proofs, along with funding to support interpretation and public engagement.&nbsp; Pouring, Spilling, Bleeding&nbsp;places this new acquisition in dialogue with over 30 works from The Block’s permanent collection, highlighting artists who have similarly challenged the boundaries of control and gesture in their artwork. Prints, drawings, and watercolors by artists of Frankenthaler’s close circle, including&nbsp;Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell,&nbsp;and&nbsp;David Smith, provide a broader&nbsp;context for Frankenthaler’s contributions to postwar abstraction and printmaking. The conversation expands beyond the historical frame of Frankenthaler’s contemporaries, bringing in artists who have since drawn inspiration from Frankenthaler’s approach—Lynda Benglis&nbsp;and&nbsp;Amy Sillman—as well as artists who have welcomed chance and the unexpected in their artistic practice, such as&nbsp;John Cage, Max Gimblett,&nbsp;and Frankenthaler’s studio&nbsp;assistant&nbsp;Kikuo Saito. Curated by&nbsp;Stephanie S.E. Lee, 2024–25 Block Museum Graduate Fellow in Art History, and&nbsp;Corinne Granof, Academic Curator, the exhibition draws from in-depth research, including time spent in the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation archives. There, the curators uncovered visual and textual documentation of Frankenthaler’s collaborative print process, insights that shape the presentation of&nbsp;Divertimento&nbsp;(1983), shown alongside a full suite of working proofs. "In many ways, these working proofs show what the editioned print cannot: they are traces of decision-making, experimentation, and artistic dialogue between Frankenthaler, her circle, and the print workshop. That is what we wanted to bring to life in the exhibition,"&nbsp;said Stephanie S.E. Lee.&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1757532227/camxlmonrdqcxz3uud6e.jpg">

Pouring, Spilling, Bleeding: Helen Frankenthaler and Artists’ Experiments on Paper

Artists from around the country submit two self-portraits that depict change, progress, growth or other personal developments in a wide range of styles and media.

Mirror Mirror Exhibition

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to our 23nd Annual Winter Arts &amp; Crafts Expo. The Winter Arts &amp; Crafts Expo will be held in our Main Floor Gallery from&nbsp;November 21 – December 20, 2025.The&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.evanstonartcenter.org/news/21st-annual-winter-expo" target="_blank">Winter Arts &amp; Crafts Expo</a>&nbsp;includes original, handmade works of jewelry, ceramics, fiber, metal, glass, painting, photography, mixed media, and more. All proceeds from the Expo will benefit the ongoing exhibition, education, and outreach programs at the Art Center. The Winter Expo is also the perfect opportunity for families to shop for everyone on their holiday gift list.9am-6pm Monday – Thursday, 9am-5pm Friday, 9am-4pm Saturdays &amp; Sundays (closed Thanksgiving)The Winter Arts &amp; Crafts Expo includes original handmade works of jewelry, ceramics, fiber, metal, glass, painting, photography, mixed media, and more. All proceeds from the Expo will benefit the ongoing exhibition, education, and outreach programs at the Art Center. The Winter Expo is also the perfect opportunity for families to shop for everyone on their holiday gift list. General Shopping&nbsp;–&nbsp;November 22nd – December 20th, 2025, 9am-6pm Monday – Thursday, 9am-5pmFriday, 9am-4pm Saturdays &amp; Sundays (closed Thanksgiving) Preview Party&nbsp;– November 21st, 6-9pm Shop before the general public!Tickets&nbsp;are&nbsp;$40 for early registration and $50 at the door Silent Auction&nbsp;– November 21st – November 23rd, closes at 4pmFeaturing artworks donated by participating Expo artists EAC Student Expo&nbsp;–&nbsp;December 7th – December 20thHandcrafted items made by our very own Art Center students! The Winter Expo is free and open to the general public from November 22nd – December 20th, 2025. Evanston Art Center, a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization, is dedicated to fostering the appreciation and expression of the arts among diverse audiences. The Art Center offers extensive and innovative instruction in broad areas of artistic endeavor through classes, exhibitions, interactive arts activities, and community outreach initiatives. Evanston Art Center is located at 1717 Central Street, Evanston, IL. Evanston Art Center Gallery Hours:9am–6pm, Monday – Thursday; 9am–5pm Friday; and 9am–4pm, Saturday &amp; Sunday. First and Second Floor Gallery spaces are handicapped accessible. Limited free parking is available.For more information please visit us online at&nbsp;www.evanstonartcenter.org&nbsp;or contact Emma Rose Gudewicz, Director of Development &amp; Exhibitions, at (847) 475-5300. Visit the Evanston Art Centeron Facebook:&nbsp;www.facebook.com/evanston.art, follow us on Twitter:www.twitter.com/#!/evartcenter, or on Instagram: @EvanstonArtCenter.

23rd Annual Winter Arts & Crafts Expo

Celebrate the holidays by shopping for unique, affordable, small works of art handmade by local artists.&nbsp;Our curated selection of paintings, drawings and prints range from abstraction, Impressionist landscapes, interiors and figurative work. Made to fit any budget, our collection is sure to please.&nbsp;We are collaborating with Evanston Made, a local arts nonprofit which celebrates community.&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://grovegallery.shop/" target="_blank">www.grovegallery.shop</a>&nbsp;

Small Works Holiday Show

Currently on display at the Gallery is&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=245f4c99b5&amp;e=d73170d386" target="_blank">15 Years In An Instant</a>&nbsp;a mobile installation of instant Polaroid prints curated by members Alexa Frangos, Susan Isaacson and Kathryn Rodrigues. This project came about as part of Perspective Gallery's recent 15th anniversary celebrations. It honors the work of our many current and past members in a tangible manifestation of our diverse artistic expression.&nbsp;15 Years In An Instant&nbsp;also marks time well spent promoting fine art photography within our Chicagoland community. This mobile installation will be on display at the Gallery through December 28, 2025.&nbsp;

15 Years In An Instant

Virtual Artists’ Talk:&nbsp;Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 7 PM<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=cfc9476def&amp;e=49b9939ea4" target="_blank">Register here</a>Perspective Gallery presents&nbsp;Grand Vistas: Intimate Views, a new exhibit by members&nbsp;Frank Monnelly&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jane Feely. While each photographer takes us on a journey, the striking contrast comes in how they view their respective destinations.&nbsp;Monnelly brings us&nbsp;Denali: Sublime Majesty, aerial photography which captures the scale, grandeur and elegance of the highest mountain peak in North America. Shot from a Cessna 185, the spirit of Denali is revealed in a cathedral of stone and ice. During the show, Monnelly will also premiere a video on aerial photography made in collaboration with Alex Joseph Hansen and Alexander Marvin.

Frank Monnelly: Denali: Sublime Majesty

Virtual Artists’ Talk:&nbsp;Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 7 PM<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=04a588cae42ffc5c2d944d823&amp;id=cfc9476def&amp;e=49b9939ea4" target="_blank">Register here</a> Perspective Gallery presents&nbsp;Grand Vistas: Intimate Views, a new exhibit by members&nbsp;Frank Monnelly&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jane Feely. While each photographer takes us on a journey, the striking contrast comes in how they view their respective destinations.&nbsp;Monnelly brings us&nbsp;Denali: Sublime Majesty, aerial photography which captures the scale, grandeur and elegance of the highest mountain peak in North America. Shot from a Cessna 185, the spirit of Denali is revealed in a cathedral of stone and ice. During the show, Monnelly will also premiere a video on aerial photography made in collaboration with Alex Joseph Hansen and Alexander Marvin.&nbsp;In Japan: With A Beginner’s Mind, Feely embraces the Zen Buddhism concept of “Shoshin”, which encourages a sense of openness and curiosity, approaching life with a childlike vision. Her images invite you to get close to the details of this fascinating country, to find joy in even the smallest of experiences.﻿

Jane Feely: In Japan: With a Beginner's Mind

Art of GivingDuring the month of December, the gallery will host a group exhibit. Each artist is exhibiting unique work that reflects the natural beauty of the world, most notably the changing seasons, whether it be the vibrancy of spring and summer, the stillness of winter, or the varying colors of fall. 10% of all gallery sales during the month will benefit the New Trier Township food pantry.Image: Matthew Schaefer, Summertime

Art of Giving

The new exhibition, featuring over forty paintings, is on view in our Glencoe gallery through December 31st.Rodger Bechtold's work captures the Midwest landscape in an expressive, painterly style that blurs the line between realism and abstraction. His compositions, filled with vibrant color and seemingly effortless brushstrokes, offer a unique sense of warmth, joy and spaciousness that extends beyond the canvas. Mary Jo O’Gara’s paintings are a study in harmonious layers of color, texture and light. Intentionally uncomplicated and fresh, her richly textured compositions of barns, outbuildings and pastoral landscapes reflect a sense of nostalgia, connection, and space found in her Midwest surroundings.

Rodger Bechtold & Mary Jo O'Gara: A Sense of Place

This Fall, the&nbsp;Elmhurst Art Museum&nbsp;presents&nbsp;Shakkei: Work by Mayumi Lake and Bob Faust,&nbsp;the first major museum exhibition for Chicago-based artists Mayumi Lake and Bob Faust. Lake and Faust are mutually inspired by the Japanese principle of&nbsp;Shakkei&nbsp;(“borrowed scenery”), a design philosophy that incorporates organic features and architectural designs. The artists’ kaleidoscopic works use color and pattern to create immersive optical experiences, interpreting the Eastern concept broadly as a metaphor for empathy, adaptability, and the ability to hold multiple viewpoints simultaneously. The exhibition will feature recent large-scale artworks by Lake and Faust in separate galleries, as well as a collaborative new work combining their design languages. The exhibition is curated by Liz Chilsen, Manager of Exhibitions &amp; Collections, and will be on view at the Elmhurst Art Museum, 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst, from September 4, 2025 to January 4, 2026. For this exhibition, each artist will bring their own perspective to the concept of&nbsp;Shakkei, reflecting their unique experiences and history. While Lake’s imagery is based on the symbolic floral motifs found in antique Japanese girls’ kimonos, Faust often incorporates the surroundings of the project or exhibition venue into his “wallworks,” creating site-specific perspectives manipulated from digital photographs. The dialogue between artists addresses the intersection of the patterns of everyday life and cultural and social histories. Shakkei&nbsp;opening reception begins September 5 at 6PM with VIP &amp; Members preview.&nbsp;Doors to the public open at 7PM.Jazz concert with Yoko Noge&nbsp;7:30-8:30.&nbsp;FREE for Members,&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://elmhurstartmuseum.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=79cd6ec4fe739f4c6b4128435&amp;id=5a5e07054e&amp;e=9f943455be" target="_blank">RSVP here</a>. Non-members can purchase tickets online.<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://elmhurstartmuseum.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=79cd6ec4fe739f4c6b4128435&amp;id=16654985fd&amp;e=9f943455be" target="_blank">SHAKKEI RECEPTION TICKETS &amp; INFO</a> Allison Peters Quinn,&nbsp;Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Elmhurst Art Museum, said, “Shakkei&nbsp;highlights cross-cultural exchange by showcasing Japanese principles of landscape design and its influence on contemporary art and architecture. The artists are longtime admirers of each other’s work and decided to collaborate for the first time on a new installation for this show.” She added, “Inspired by our McCormick House designed by Mies van der Rohe, Mayumi and Bob have pushed themselves to consider how their work creates vistas and portals that heighten our understanding of the world around us.&nbsp;We are excited to be the first to present this incredible blend of art practices rooted in nature, pattern, and play, that turn the everyday into an extraordinary, immersive sculptural experience.” ABOUT THE ARTISTSWorking in the space between art and design,&nbsp;Bob Faust&nbsp;crafts artwork with typography at its core and viscerality on its surface. Faust has over 30 years of experience as the principle and creative director of the eponymously named cultural branding studio, Faust. He makes his work with purpose first—to inform, empower and/or instigate in the service and celebration of human difference. Text, patterns, and the ideas of surprise and discovery emerge as throughlines throughout his conceptual art practice that defies categorization and genre. Faust has been recognized nationally and internationally for his inimitable creativity through many prestigious honors including a University of Illinois, College of Fine &amp; Applied Arts, 2022 Distinguished Legacy Award and City of Chicago, 2022 Mayor’s Medal of Honor. Exhibitions have included Mass MoCA BY The Numb3r5 (Mass MoCA), For And Nor But Or Yet So (Poetry Foundation), WA/ONDER (167 Green), with all, and still... (The Peninsula Chicago), Rapt on the Mile (The Magnificent Mile Association), Ways and Means (Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and The Chicago Transit Authority), About Face: Stonewall, Revolt and New Queer Art (Wrightwood 659), Great Ideas of Humanity: Out of the Container (Chicago Design Museum), guilty / Innocent (MASS MoCA); Unfolded: Made with Paper (Chicago Design Museum), Betweens (Riverside Arts Center), and CHGO DSGN (Chicago Cultural Center). In addition to his own work, Faust is also the professional and personal partner of artist Nick Cave. Together they founded the non-for-profit Facility: a multi-use creative space in Chicago that seeks to build community and change the world through art and design. Mayumi Lake&nbsp;is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores the ideas of time, memory, and floating between the real and imaginary. With a foundation in photography, she integrates digital images of nature and Japanese textiles into her collages, sculpture, sound, moving images, and installation to expand the narrative of the work and form conceptual layers. Lake’s artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including Miyako Yoshinaga Gallery, Asia Society, Art in General, and Artists Space in New York; Chicago Artists Coalition and Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago; Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City; Fotografie Forum International in Frankfurt; Cornelius Pleser Galerie in Munich; Galleria PaciArte in Brescia; FOTOAMERICA in Santiago; Witzenhausen Gallery in Amsterdam; and the Setouchi Triennale in Takamatsu. She has published two monographs, Poo-Chi and Ex Post Facto, with Nazraeli Press. Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Art Institute of Chicago, Asia Society, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)/City of Chicago, the McCormick Place Art Collection/Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), Video Art World, the Joy of Giving Something Foundation, and Facebook. Lake received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Shakkei: Work by Mayumi Lake and Bob Faust&nbsp;is presented as part of the sixth edition of the&nbsp;Chicago Architecture Biennial. Running&nbsp;September 19, 2025 - February 28, 2026&nbsp;at locations throughout Chicago,&nbsp;SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change&nbsp;explores timely global issues through the lens of architecture and design.&nbsp;Learn more at&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org/" target="_blank">chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org</a>This exhibition is sponsored by Wintrust Bank with additional support from the Illinois Arts Council, Discover DuPage, Enjoy Illinois and anonymous donors. ABOUT THE ELMHURST ART MUSEUMThe Elmhurst Art Museum is located at 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst (IL), 25 minutes from downtown Chicago by car or public transportation (Metra). On the museum’s campus is the McCormick House, a single-family home designed in 1952 by Mies van der Rohe, one of the great architects of the 20th Century. The McCormick House is one of only three residences designed and built by Mies in the United States – and one of only two open to the public. The Museum is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Friday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Regular admission prices are $18 for adults (ages 18+), $15 for seniors, $10 for students, and $5 for children. For more information, please call 630.834.0202 or visit&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org/" target="_blank">elmhurstartmuseum.org</a>.

Shakkei: Work by Mayumi Lake and Bob Faust

Thoughtfully designed, One of a Kind Art Gifts

Gallery Seven Holiday Gift Show

Andi Crist: Live Laugh Labor Thoughts on usefulness and other myths Cleve Carney Museum of Art&nbsp;(CCMA) presents the first solo museum exhibition by multi-disciplinary artist&nbsp;Andi Crist, titled "Live, Laugh, Labor: Thoughts on Usefulness and Other Myths,” Oct.16, 2025 – Jan. 11, 2026. An opening reception will take place from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16 with remarks from the artist.&nbsp; Recently named one of Newcity’s 2025 Breakout Artists, Crist now presents her first major museum exhibition. The show features sculptures, drawings, and ceramic works from the past five years that explore the artist’s role as an arts worker.&nbsp; In this upcoming exhibition, Crist’s work prompts broader questions about labor, authenticity, and the shifting recognition of human effort in society today. Drawing inspiration from her career as a professional art handler and fabricator, this exhibit navigates the boundaries and relationships between work, play, and practice.&nbsp; “Andi Crist’s playful and humorous work challenges us to consider pressing cultural questions: What is the worth of human labor in an era of cheap goods and artificial intelligence, and what does it mean to ‘make’ in a world where so much work is hidden?” —&nbsp;Justin Witte, Director and Curator of the Cleve Carney Museum of Art In this solo exhibition, Crist utilizes various media, including woodworking, ceramics, leather craft, and mold-making/casting. These pieces showcase Crist’s technical skill and wit, while offering a playful perspective on the roles and representations of an artist as a worker.&nbsp; In Crist’s work “Ladder” the artist has hand-crafted an a-frame ladder appears at first familiar. The work has conventional ladder rungs on one side, but the other side is abruptly shortened and terminates in two handholds carved to fit Crist’s own hands. The piece only functions when Crist physically intervenes: she straps herself to one side, holding the structure steady above her head so another person can climb. That literal dependence makes the work a wry interrogation of the “ladder” as a metaphor for upward mobility and hierarchical progress. Crist transforms a ubiquitous image of success, rungs, ranks, reaching the top, into a staged dependency: she is simultaneously the wall the ladder leans on, the support that enables advancement, and a laborer charging for her service. The work folds wordplay and labor politics together, asking who holds us up and what we pay for that support.&nbsp; Andi Crist is a Chicago-based artist whose practice explores the intersections of urban environments, community and transformation. Known for her innovative use of found materials and construction techniques, Crist reimagines everyday objects and spaces, often incorporating elements of sustainability and reuse in her work. Her installations are immersive, encouraging viewers to reconsider the world around them and engage with their surroundings in new ways. Through both solo projects and collaborations with other artists, Crist’s work highlights the beauty and resilience of urban life, while challenging viewers to reflect on issues of ecology, community and collective responsibility.&nbsp; Her pieces have been featured in Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago, Roots &amp; Culture, and the Chicago Athletic Association. Recently, Crist was named as Newcity’s 2025 Breakout Artist’s issue. Crist graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where she gained her wood and fabrication knowledge while also freelancing as an art handler. In 2010, Crist founded Autotelic, a non-profit arts organization that serves artists on the northwest side of Chicago by creating affordable workspaces and exhibitions.&nbsp; “Live, Laugh, Labor: Thoughts on Usefulness and Other Myths” is curated by Justin Witte, Director and Curator of the CCMA. The exhibition will be on view Oct. 16, 2025 - Jan. 11, 2026. Admission is free. CCMA is open Wednesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and one hour prior to MAC Performance Series concerts.&nbsp;For more information, visit&nbsp;TheCCMA.org&nbsp;&nbsp;and follow along at&nbsp;@CleveCarneyMuseumofArt For expert insight into the exhibition’s themes, tune in to CleveCast, the Cleve Carney Museum of Art’s new podcast, where Justin Witte hosts conversations with special guests including curators, artists, and scholars for behind-the-scenes stories and deep dives into the museum’s exhibitions. His interview with Crist can be found on the CCMA website at&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 28, 40);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://theccma.org/clevecast" target="_blank">theccma.org/clevecast</a> Related Exhibition Events and Programming---Opening reception Thursday, Oct. 16, 5 – 7 p.m. Remarks from the artist. Light refreshments and cash bar. This event is free and open to the public.---CCMA Chief Curator Justin Witte will give a curator talk and tour of the exhibition Saturday, Oct. 18, 6:30 – 7 p.m. The event is free. Advance registration is not required <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1760641826/tm1vtz1z478stzqrp0fd.jpg">

Andi Crist: Live Laugh Labor

The Art Center's Annual Members and Faculty Exhibition.

In View 2026

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

ESSENCE&nbsp;witnessed by clouds&nbsp; Eight black artists. Seven men, one woman. Seven Nigerian, one American. Through spirit, story, emotion, nature, and culture, ESSENCE reflects the truth that every human being carries within them a light that gives life value, direction, and meaning, and gives voice to the desire to leave something meaningful behind. Opening Reception: February 21, 2026, 5-9 PM ShadowBoxX Gallery, 116 Washington St, Waukegan IL Zoom Collectors Preview/Artist Talk: Friday February 20, 9 AM

Essence

Perspective Gallery is pleased to announce LENS 2026, our 16th annual juried international exhibition of fine art photography. Photographers are invited to submit work for possible inclusion in the exhibition. All subject matter and photographic processes, except AI, are welcome.

LENS 2026

This Winter, the&nbsp;Elmhurst Art Museum&nbsp;presents&nbsp;Living with Modernism: Kelli Connell.&nbsp;Presenting two series by the Chicago-based artist, Connell’s nationally traveling exhibition&nbsp;Pictures for Charis&nbsp;responds to the iconic photographs of Highland Park-born artist&nbsp;Edward Weston&nbsp;through a queer, feminist lens. Her second major body of work—Double Life—explores the evolution of intimate relationships shaped by the changing nature of identity over time, and features new commissions responding to the architecture of the&nbsp;Mies van der Rohe-designed McCormick House. The exhibition marks the largest presentation of Connell’s work in Chicago, placing queerness, power structures, and shifting ecologies in the twenty-first century in conversation with two giants of modernism. The exhibition is curated by&nbsp;Allison Peters Quinn, Executive Director and Chief Curator, and will be on view at the Elmhurst Art Museum, 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst, from&nbsp;January 24 to April 27, 2026.Peters Quinn says, “The Elmhurst Art Museum is honored to present the arresting photographs of nationally acclaimed photographer Kelli Connell in the Chicagoland area, where she has rooted her art practice and mentored dozens of artists for over a decade. Following its extensive US tour, we have expanded the&nbsp;Pictures for Charis&nbsp;exhibition to include an additional series,&nbsp;Double Life&nbsp;by Connell. Connell’s commitment to exploring the everyday moments in relationships with ourselves and loved ones encourages us to cherish both the beautiful and the difficult times in our lives. Chicago is a crucial center for contemporary photography, and we are proud to highlight this through&nbsp;Living with Modernism.”An exhibition in two parts, Connell explores the psyche of human relationships and our connection to nature and architecture. The main galleries will feature 45 photographs from her series&nbsp;Pictures for Charis, a tender and emotional sequence of work placing Connell in dialogue with one of the most innovative American photographers of the 20th Century, Edward Weston (1886-1958).For this body of work, Connell revisited the sites of Weston’s black-and-white landscapes and portraits of his partner of 11 years, writer Charis Wilson, in&nbsp;California and the West&nbsp;(1934-45), to photograph her own former longtime partner, artist Betsy Odom. Connell’s work is presented alongside 48 original prints by Weston on loan from the Center for Creative Photography (Tuscon) and text excerpts from Charis. Shining new light on Weston’s subject, Charis, the installation bridges eighty years of ecological and social shifts with a feminist perspective.The McCormick House gallery features the latest chapter in Connell’s ongoing series&nbsp;Double Life, which the artist began in 2002. For this series, Connell explores long-term relationships with others and the self. The digital images document the fictional relationship of two women, both played by collaborator Kiba Jacobson. Connell describes&nbsp;Double Life&nbsp;as “an honest representation of the fluidity of the self in regard to decisions about intimate relationships, sexuality, gender, family, belief systems, and lifestyle options.”For&nbsp;Living with Modernism, the Elmhurst Art Museum commissioned Connell to respond to the architecture of McCormick House designed by Mies van der Rohe. Connell chose to photograph the site - and incorporate poetry from its former owner Isabella Gardner (niece of the Boston arts patron by the same name) - to generate new works adding to the perpetual&nbsp;Double Life&nbsp;narrative.Connell says,&nbsp;“I am beyond thrilled to show&nbsp;Pictures for Charis&nbsp;and&nbsp;Double Life&nbsp;together at the Elmhurst Art Museum. Both projects portray my commitment to uncovering forgotten histories. Making new work in the McCormick House, a space where the work will also be shown, was a unique opportunity for me to think about architecture and its impact on people and the relationships we have with each other in these spaces.”Pictures for Charis&nbsp;is co-organized by the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, at the University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona Board of Regents; the Cleveland Museum of Art; and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta.Pictures for Charis&nbsp;is curated for each museum by Rebecca Senf, Ph.D., Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, at the University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona Board of Regents; Barbara Tannenbaum, Ph.D, Curator of Photography and Chair of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Cleveland Museum of Art; and Gregory J. Harris, the Donald and Marilyn Keough Family Curator of Photography at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta and Allison Peters Quinn, Executive Director &amp; Chief Curator of the Elmhurst Art Museum.This project is made possible by Teiger Foundation. Photographs by Edward Weston are courtesy of the Edward Weston Archive at the Center for Creative Photography. Additional support for&nbsp;Living with Modernism&nbsp;and related programs are provided by the Illinois Arts Council and individual donors.ABOUT THE ARTISTKelli Connell&nbsp;(b. 1974) is a photographer based in Chicago. Through her images, she addresses issues of sexuality, identity, and self-perception. Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, J Paul Getty Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, among others. Publications include&nbsp;Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis&nbsp;(Aperture and Center for Creative Photography, March 2024),&nbsp;PhotoWork: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice(Aperture),&nbsp;Photo Art: The New World of Photography&nbsp;(Aperture), and the monograph&nbsp;Kelli Connell: Double Life&nbsp;(DECODE Books). Connell has received fellowships and residencies from The Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, PLAYA, Peaked Hill Trust, LATITUDE, Light Work, and The Center for Creative Photography.ABOUT THE ELMHURST ART MUSEUMThe Elmhurst Art Museum is located at 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst (IL), 25 minutes from downtown Chicago by car or public transportation (Metra). On the museum’s campus is the McCormick House, a single-family home designed in 1952 by Mies van der Rohe, one of the great architects of the 20th Century. The McCormick House is one of only three residences designed and built by Mies in the United States – and one of only two open to the public.The Museum is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Friday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Regular admission prices are $18 for adults (ages 18+), $15 for seniors, $10 for students, and $5 for children. For more information, please call 630.834.0202 or visit <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org/" target="_blank">elmhurstartmuseum.org</a>.Images Kelli Connell,&nbsp;Surf, Point Lobos, 2015, courtesy the artist.

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