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

The Art Center Highland Park is proud to announce its forthcoming exhibition KLAUBA, a survey of the works of painter and tattoo artist George Klauba. This show will be on view at The Art Center from March 6 to April 4, 2026.Curated by gallerist Teresa Hofheimer, this large exhibition of paintings and sculpture spans over two decades, referencing George Klauba’s life works as a Navy officer, a tattoo artist, and eventually a celebrated painter and fine artist.Works by George Klauba are in public and private collections across the U.S., including the New Bedford Whaling Museum, MA; the Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL, and the VermillionCounty War Museum in Danville, IL. Three Moby-Dick paintings have been chosen for the book covers of Melville’s novel.KLAUBA will open with a free, public reception at The Art Center from 5:30 to 8:00 pm on March 6, with all works on display for sale through the exhibition’s run.

George Klauba

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jmkac.org/exhibition/familiar-texture/?utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz--3ltRN229IYW6amwf9BwlVoynj9P-wWQnCqcp7iqRNGTlfMqSkuurGL0gvDRvyto79NLfEDi-NC3vxrvl6oHLkgUth4KUD_YekpyhDAXRiMjpD1io&amp;_hsmi=343424237&amp;utm_content=343424237&amp;utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Details</a> Childhood memories of home are reconstructed in the form of textiles and fibers by artists Hangama Amiri, Keith Jackson, Yvette Mayorga, Tressa Prisbrey, and Dalila Sanabria. Each artist presents interior settings such as a bedroom inspired by fantasies, a living room of communal gatherings, or a storage space that marked the passage of time. Each of these sites memorialize social and environmental influences that shaped the future of an individual. The use of or reference to textiles and fibers, such as clothing, blankets, boxes, carpet, or upholstery, imbues memories and feelings with a tactile quality found in the rooms re-created by each artist. Importantly, they do not depict themselves or others in these scenes. This anonymity encourages imagined conversations, interactions, sounds, or scents of homeland to emerge from a variety of perspectives. By relying on textures—both literally and figuratively—the exhibition provides context for domestic spaces where an origin story is found, and a familiar emotional weight is recognized. Together, the works celebrate the right to choose from narratives of the past and how these stories inform and enrich the fiber of one’s being. Image: Yvette Mayorga, Bedroom After 15th (detail), 2022; acrylic piping on Disney TV, purses, shoes, lotion, wooden shelves, lamp, ceramic, bookbag, sneakers, Hello Kitty bubble blower, clock, faux books, mirrors, wood, pillows, wall paintings, nightstand, acrylic piping on bike, acrylic piping on canvas, and video; 9 x 9 x 10 ft. Courtesy of the artist.

Familiar Texture: The Fibers of Childhood and Home

Anne Loucks Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibition in our Winnetka gallery featuring work by Bernd Haussmann from his Maine and Massachusetts studios. The show will be on view through April 6th and includes 16 of the artist's color saturated paintings on canvas and aluminum. Haussmann’s compositions are built up layer by layer using varied hues and imagery. Organic forms, lines, and gestures transcend textured fields of color, offering a glimpse of what lies beneath the surface. His paintings, though decidedly abstract, represent his concern for the fragility of the natural world and are filled with lush color found in nature. Please stop in to see the show. We'd love to see you.

Bernd Haussmann: Presence, Values and Hues

From March through November, we’re returning to Free First Tuesdays! On the first Tuesday of every month, enjoy extended hours from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm - admission is free for all, no residency restrictions.

Free First Tuesdays

The Renaissance Society is thrilled to announce that artist&nbsp;Maurizio Cattelan&nbsp;will conceive and orchestrate&nbsp;RenBen 2026, taking place on&nbsp;Wednesday, April 8, 2026, during Chicago's EXPO Art Week.&nbsp;Known for his provocative and darkly humorous approach to contemporary art, Cattelan has spent four decades creating works that spark conversation, to say the least. From his infamous solid gold toilet&nbsp;America&nbsp;to his hyperrealistic sculptures, Cattelan's work consistently captivates audiences while questioning authority, religion, celebrity, and the art world itself.&nbsp;RenBen is the Renaissance Society’s annual artist-centered gala and the institution’s most important fundraising event, vital to sustaining its experimental exhibitions and programs throughout the year. Each edition invites a single artist to design every aspect of the evening, from the space and performances to the food and choreography. Past editions have been conceived by Meriem Bennani (2025), Kevin Beasley (2024), Adam Linder (2023), and Piero Golia (2022), each expanding what an artist-driven benefit can be.&nbsp;For RenBen 2026, Cattelan will draw on his established signature forms of playful inversion, surprise, and surrealist elegance. Guests can expect his subversive wit and theatrical sensibility. “BEING AN ARTIST IS NOT A JOB, IT'S A MALFUNCTION,” he shared.&nbsp;Maurizio Cattelan's work has been featured in major museums and exhibitions worldwide, including solo shows at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and the Beyeler Foundation in Basel. His collaborations through&nbsp;Toiletpaper&nbsp;magazine and with brands including Kenzo, Berluti, Longchamp, and Seletti—demonstrate his ability to merge high art with popular culture, making him an ideal artist to reimagine RenBen.&nbsp;All proceeds from RenBen 2026 support the Renaissance Society's program of exhibitions,&nbsp;Intermissions, concerts, public programs, and publications—all free and open to the public.&nbsp;RenBen 2026 takes place during Chicago's EXPO Art Week, in alignment with EXPO CHICAGO contemporary art fair, attracting cultural figures from around the globe.&nbsp;Additional details will be announced in early 2026.&nbsp;Corporate sponsorships and in-kind gift opportunities are available.&nbsp;Please contact Polina Kasian at&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:pkasian@renaissancesociety.org" target="_blank">pkasian@renaissancesociety.org</a>&nbsp;for more information.&nbsp;Underwriter and Benefactor sponsorships and individual tickets are now available&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/TqGCpLmdPWCEh8kci33nKQ" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp; Photo:&nbsp;Maurizio Cattelan by Alberto Zanetti.

RenBen 2026

Potter &amp; Potter Auctions is pleased to announce a landmark auction of tattoo art and memorabilia to be held April 9, 2026.&nbsp;This sale celebrates both the rich history of early-twentieth century tattooing and the life and legacy of legendary tattooer and underground cultural luminary Jonathan Shaw.&nbsp;Place your bids now at<a href="http://url2796.potterauctions.com/ls/click?upn=u001.Xrkv5MDx4JU-2BcO33dbI1-2BQkLeC4Nhem9skMoCbF6bGTlMpvd2axwZTvc5s4Oz2NRU7Oh0eZgvyu-2FMgZ1o1EWkvf207c-2FY0orraWsvul11na57JbgMTtU2UJW9eTccFG21ZAhx2Sdu0e5FN4wLDVm9-2FAMKMegnE36tN-2BHYVIZdEqt8KmUediOB2S-2Bg2MCCcLcAcYCt2TbFYQZ0R-2FiMLNlPe68-2FLd5467Dd7x3Do5RkFM-3DrVLF_F-2B18IOO1ZU6iY4K-2F9Q9GBGu5rvP-2BL20ZUrVQMSgnAy2dkeZXZkSsnZVlr-2Bsr2mNTUSMMfJD2V-2FRPtVrL8NfH4NsYcVVovND75gEbcsQMav2JYN8x-2BYtUIOTMYtGf4PSRuO3Pk3sHy1pxo4IKCqSNvzAAFWsXm2KMOVHfoAdbHp1CF202u0GInl66R2qP7ge0ufZhscYvqk6QwPViykEoJYWzxLbGCquwYJtWi46legAXn0bJJ-2B1nSarJ9YQTpVeJnk28DNjrHLORbj2FZwVFiOYOvjfWIneDk7luIl6IVKoNFbtLcDJzkmzNzc1G6-2FU6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;POTTERAUCTIONS.COM</a><a href="http://url2796.potterauctions.com/ls/click?upn=u001.Xrkv5MDx4JU-2BcO33dbI1-2BQkLeC4Nhem9skMoCbF6bGTwWvV7W6IocFx6yAX4Lr8y5Skx7M5G-2B4Pgmfgpym8LjQ-3D-3DiKV__F-2B18IOO1ZU6iY4K-2F9Q9GBGu5rvP-2BL20ZUrVQMSgnAy2dkeZXZkSsnZVlr-2Bsr2mNTUSMMfJD2V-2FRPtVrL8NfH4NsYcVVovND75gEbcsQMav2JYN8x-2BYtUIOTMYtGf4PSRuO3Pk3sHy1pxo4IKCqSNv7JJgn8CAjXcxRdoIvq5QlmC0CiQCWAf37TER2aAX6KY0gDfs44qK5F-2BrB-2FoUhV25qKcmew8Yb4GFkoPIPY7WvBB9BmzXHLD4JnNh1PWcaYYzmrnfVabGSHq9gzboCW7d90zAgIRrRFJ4XiqlHIDpnGygIz7yUPkEx91T3wV6v0Q" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Register now</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="http://url2796.potterauctions.com/ls/click?upn=u001.Xrkv5MDx4JU-2BcO33dbI1-2BQkLeC4Nhem9skMoCbF6bGTwWvV7W6IocFx6yAX4Lr8ysLJDk6xWcmZMLAkQMEZtkA-3D-3D_gap_F-2B18IOO1ZU6iY4K-2F9Q9GBGu5rvP-2BL20ZUrVQMSgnAy2dkeZXZkSsnZVlr-2Bsr2mNTUSMMfJD2V-2FRPtVrL8NfH4NsYcVVovND75gEbcsQMav2JYN8x-2BYtUIOTMYtGf4PSRuO3Pk3sHy1pxo4IKCqSNv-2FQYryv9q-2FQH0O-2FdGHXQJUF5d2Ea5N18jifxVYnunbwmH-2BBAGEKz7XLIUfRQfQ0qgazPTAIPvY0JkDGZjiFnONFkMQBhNihTL1SXJNoV-2Fk2HJ-2FQVV7Pq-2FjbeEa-2F-2FSr8q1wZb71XV8y13SQjUBUrko75QhDCRAprJ0DkE55-2FvgUst" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sign in</a>&nbsp;below.&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@potterauctions.com?subject=&amp;body=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EMAIL</a>&nbsp;us or call 773.472.1442 to leave phone or absentee bids.

SCAB VENDOR: Rare Tattoo Flash and Underground Art from the Collection of Jonathan Shaw

<a style="color: rgb(0, 124, 137);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mcachicago.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c24ba7c5a91cefd699dc985e1&amp;id=2520d7f3f7&amp;e=95b957c616" target="_blank">Vernissage</a>Navy Pier Festival HallApr 9, 2026 | 10 am–12 pm&nbsp; The Women’s Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago invites you to attend this year's spectacular benefit, the Vernissage Champagne Brunch, on the opening day of <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.expochicago.com/" target="_blank">EXPO CHICAGO</a> Contemporary Art Fair at Navy Pier's Festival Hall. The MCA is proud to participate in the 13th year of EXPO CHICAGO, which presents artwork from more than 170 leading galleries from around the world. Proceeds from Vernissage raise significant funds in support of the MCA Learning department, whose programs offer compelling opportunities to explore, challenge, discuss and reflect on the MCA’s exhibitions and programs, as well as the world of contemporary art and culture.

Vernissage

Reception and Awards: April 9, 7pmGallery Talk with Prize Winners: April 22, 2pm The President’s 18th Annual Art Exhibition highlights the top artwork from Lewis Students and Alumni. This important juried exhibition is hosted by the Department of Art and Design and sponsored by Dr. David Livingston,President of Lewis University. Image Description:&nbsp;Electric Madonna, oil on canvas by Annabelle Makselan, First Place 2025

Reception and Awards: The President’s 18th Annual Art Exhibition

Kim Storage Gallery is pleased to present Snack Shop, a solo exhibition featuring paintings created at a pivotal moment in Gabrielle Marie Stone's practice. At a time when continuing her painting practice felt uncertain, the artist considered converting the front exhibition space of her studio into a snack shop—a practical solution to keep the lights on and sustain her creative work. While the snack shop concept never came to fruition, the paintings in this exhibition are the first pieces that occupied that never-to-be retail space. Intimate and episodic, they offer entry points rather than resolutions, inviting viewers into a world that sits somewhere between necessity and indulgence. Like little snacks, these works provide sustenance inquieter ways—not essential, yet deeply nourishing. Snack Shop names both the space and practice as it almost was, honoring the conditions in which the work was made: adaptive, provisional, and hopeful. The paintings retain their inherent dreamlike and atmospheric qualities, yet the exhibition grounds them in the real economies and lived decisions of making art today—a reflection on vulnerability, resilience, and the creative impulse that persists even in uncertainty. Gabrielle Stone (b. 1990) is a contemporary abstract painter based in Chicago, IL. Her work explores the nature of place using color, form, and materiality to depict environments that are whimsical in their reimagining. Influenced by her deep attachment to physical spaces, Stone’s paintings communicate geometry and structure while embodying its very dissolution. Stone holds a Bachelor of Arts in studio art and creative writing from Carleton College where she studied under artists Fred Hagstrom and David Lefkowitz, art historian Ross Elfline, and curator Margaret Pezalla-Granlund. The late artist, Larry McKim, was also a significant mentor in her early years before leaving the east coast. On view: February 27 – April 10, 2026Opening Reception: Friday, February 27 from 5 to 8PM Image: Sound of Satin, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 46”&nbsp;

Snack Shop

Chair-ish&nbsp;is a presentation of multimodal works made in tandem by Chicago-based artists Alex Chitty and Norman Teague. Working together for the first time, the pairing of their distinct yet complementary approaches to design, craft, and the love of joyous, intuitive making result in an exhibition where the process "IS" the product. Through a collaborative exchange of tactics and speculations, Chitty and Teague create new works that critique, absorb, reposition and remix the narratives, materials, and aesthetics of modern design while inspiring fresh modes of measuring value and utility.

Alex Chitty and Norman Teague: Chair-ish

Our winter show, Beneath the Surface: Featuring Arlene Byster and Patricia Markos Dolan, opens on Thursday, February 5th with a reception in the gallery from 5-7pm. Both artists will be in attendance and we hope you'll join us for an evening of arresting art, engaging conversation and light refreshments!Beneath the Surface will be on view through April 11th.

Beneath the Surface: Featuring Arlene Byster and Patricia Markos Dolan

PATRON announces&nbsp;Margin, our second solo exhibition with Chicago-based artist Daniel G. Baird.&nbsp;"…. I wanted to make something that brought me as close as possible to the horizon, to embody it in some way. I thought that to achieve this I’d have to orient my body horizontally, and float on the surface of the water, being both slightly submerged and in the open air. I’ve seen the horizon as a threshold between two states, whether between past and future, or the spatial experience of emerging from a subterranean space into the light. That point of convergence is the movement. To journey to the horizon is to anticipate death, and you need a vehicle for that.It struck me once that there is a scar on every human body that remembers water. We were all, once, aquatic — and the navel is where that ruptured. This surreal object on us all.On the western slope of a mountain in Jordan is a Byzantine church overlooking Jerusalem and the surrounding landscape. Fragments of a mosaic map cover the floor, covering its floor are fragments of a mosaic map charting landmarks and sacred events. One section of the map depicts two fish, facing one another. One swims downstream the Jordan River and the other, emerges, impossibly, from the Dead Sea.&nbsp;It lodged in me. The mind has its own gravitational pulls — images, moments, exert their force from years back, bending the present toward them whether you cooperate or not. Trout do it with their whole bodies. We do it in memory, which is maybe the same thing.&nbsp;It’s as though we’re all trying to get as far away from the place we’ve come from, like walking in a straight line around the globe only to meet ourselves exactly where we were…"–Daniel G. Baird&nbsp;

Daniel G. Baird: Margin

You ALREADY KNOW Won Kim. His influence can be felt across Chicago’s art, music, and culinary communities....And if you think you don't know the name Won Kim, you definitely know the name <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.instagram.com/revisecmw/" target="_blank">@revisecmw</a>. He's a Chicago born N raised artist whose work moves between street art, graffiti, and contemporary fine art."He took on the moniker, REVISE, because he’d see that so often, in red ink, at the top of his homework assignments in high school. Revise became one of the best abstract graffiti writers in the Midwest due to his use of vibrant colors and fluid and organic, nature like lettering, making his name with the highly respected artist collective and graffiti crew, CMW." (<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.instagram.com/kevincoval/" target="_blank">@kevincoval</a>)&nbsp;Beyond the studio, Won is also a prominent chef at the acclaimed @kimskichicago. His culinary prowess directly influences his artwork. Thinking on your feet while also being intentional with your practice blends structure with spontaneity and process with intuition.Won's solo show marks his first in ten years, following his previous solo show right here at Chicago Truborn, and represents a return that underscores both the evolution of his practice and his long-standing relationship with the gallery.It is an absolute honor to welcome back the one and only&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.instagram.com/revisecmw/" target="_blank">@revisecmw</a> | <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.instagram.com/sleepingisforsuckers/" target="_blank">@sleepingisforsuckers</a> | DJ Genghiswon <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.instagram.com/kimskichicago/" target="_blank">@kimskichicago</a>&nbsp;

Won Kim: Everything I Know

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.mocp.org/events/talk-and-workshop-reimagining-the-photo-album-with-matthew-finley/" target="_blank">Talk and Workshop: Reimagining the Photo Album&nbsp;with Matthew Finley</a> Saturday, April 11, 202612- 1 pm Lecture1-2:30 pm Workshop MoCP600 S. Michigan Ave.Chicago, IL Join MoCP collection artist Matthew Finley (American, b. 1972) for a lecture and workshop exploring the creative possibilities of family and personal archives. Participants will reimagine the photo album as a space for personal or fictional storytelling, using either their own pictures or provided images to create imaginative, curated albums. This program is inspired by Finley’s series and new book&nbsp;An Impossibly Normal Life, a fictional narrative composed of sourced snapshots from around the world that reimagine his late uncle’s life and their shared experiences of coming out and belonging.&nbsp; This program will be held in the MoCP print study room. It is free but requires registration (link is forthcoming).

Talk and Workshop: Reimagining the Photo Album with Matthew Finley

Join Oliva Gallery for Small Talk, an artist talk with Lindsey Kircher presented during her solo exhibition Girl Talk. The conversation offers visitors an opportunity to hear directly from the artist about the ideas, imagery, and processes behind the paintings on view. Kircher’s work stages psychologically charged scenes populated by women, animals, and symbolic objects. Through dense compositions and saturated color, she constructs theatrical environments that blur the boundaries between interior life and performance. During the talk, Kircher will discuss the layered narrative spaces that unfold across her paintings, where bodies, decorative objects, and animal figures intertwine. Elements such as poodles, parrots, musical instruments, bird cages, fruit, and candles appear alongside female figures whose poses oscillate between vulnerability and command. These environments operate less like conventional portraits and more like staged tableaux where fragments of domestic life accumulate into something closer to allegory. The talk will explore how Kircher engages traditions of figurative painting while complicating the visual language historically used to frame femininity. Through exaggeration, humor, and visual excess, the work treats identity not as a fixed image but as a shifting composition of gestures, objects, and symbolic relationships. <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/small-talk-artist-talk-with-lindsey-kircher-tickets-1985083173208?aff=oddtdtcreator" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RSVP here</a> Follow Oliva Gallery to stay updated on upcoming exhibitions, events, and workshops. Facebook:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/olivagallery" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/olivagallery</a>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.instagram.com/olivagallery" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.instagram.com/olivagallery</a>LinkedIn:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/oliva-gallery-chicago" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.linkedin.com/company/oliva-gallery-chicago</a>

Small Talk with Lindsey Kircher

<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://experience.mcachicago.org/7252/7259" target="_blank">Get Tickets</a> Admission is free to Family Day attendees. Make yourself big and make yourself little, play with perspective and scale. Join us for a smaller-than-usual Family Day while the rest of the museum opens a new exhibition.Designed for children under 12 and their grown-ups, MCA Family Days invite our youngest visitors to be the museum’s artists, thinkers, and collaborators. Image: Family Day | It’s Alive!, MCA Chicago, April 12, 2025. Photo: Natasha Moustache, © MCA Chicago.

Family Day | Mini Mundo

OS Projects is pleased to present “The Intelligentsia is at the Gates,” a solo exhibition of drawings, paintings and prints by Colin Matthes. The exhibition opens on February 21, 2026 and will be on view through April 11, 2026. The gallery will host a reception for the artist on Saturday, February 21 from 1 – 3 pm. Colin Matthes uses storytelling, anxiousness, research and humor to make art that solves problems or is about the idea of solving problems. He works on several projects simultaneously, each distinct but informing the others, while foregrounding the means of production: the process, the fingerprints and the mistakes. Juggling multiple responsibilities—as a father, husband, entrepreneur and university gallery director—Matthes has no room for indecision or aimlessness. He creates his work in the garage, basement or on the couch, wherever and whenever he can steal some time. Art matters, but the art world is an afterthought on this island. “The Intelligentsia is at the Gates” questions the certainty of our convictions and our confidence that we can arrive at the “right” conclusions about the world. Our belief systems are initially shaped by our parents, then modified and reinforced by friends and the media we choose to pay attention to: the “right” books, the “right” feeds, the “right” podcasts. Yet we rarely ask ourselves the core question of epistemology: how do we know what we know? What is the source of our knowledge, and how reliable is the source? And why are we so certain that our sources and interpretations are the right ones? As Matthes points out in his incisive, unorthodox and at times hilariously absurd exhibition, we should be suspicious of anyone who claims to have it all figured out, including ourselves. About the Artist: Colin Matthes grew up on a gravel road near a village with three bars, a post office and the World’s Greatest Junk Parade. Before he became an artist, he installed temporary electric at small town county fairs and wired trailer parks. Matthes’ current practice encompasses drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, zine and graphic production, and public art projects. He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally in Milwaukee, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Quebec and Dublin, among other cities. Recent solo exhibitions include “Free Bird” at Invisible Unlimited (Milwaukee), “What is Right about the Right?” at St. Kate Arts Hotel (Milwaukee), “It’s My Fault; It’s Free,” at The Alice Wilds (Milwaukee), and “The Days Go By Like Wildness,” at James Watrous Gallery (Madison, WI.) Matthes is the director of the art galleries at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Colin Matthes: The Intelligentsia is at the Gates

Have you ever been just minding your own business…when suddenly you notice the dishwasher or that weird mark on the ceiling looking back at you?&nbsp;Yeah. That’s PAREIDOLIA - patterns, faces, or forms that we see in otherwise unremarkable, unrelated objects.ShadowBoxX is assembling a group of artists from across the country who have captured this phenomenon in their works.Pareidolia will feature paintings, drawings, carvings, stitchwork, assemblage, and prints. No digital, no AI, just hands and materials, juried by the ShadowBoxX Collective.This show is for you if you've experienced pareidolia too! Opens March 21, 2026.

Pareidolia: Here's Looking at YOU

Center for Native Futures presents Hattie Lee Mendoza, Melissa Melero-Moose, Sean Chandler

Artist Reception for Hattie Lee Mendoza, Melissa Melero-Moose, Sean Chandler 

Leah Ke Yi Zheng’s upcoming exhibition presents a complete series of 64 paintings based on the hexagrams of the&nbsp; I Ching (Book of Changes), a foundational text in Chinese philosophy that offers insights into the changing nature of existence. Each painting reflects on a hexagram not through literal representation, but through an evolving visual language shaped by abstraction, intuition, and the interplay of light and material. As she works with silk and hand-built hardwood stretchers, in continual difference, the exhibition becomes a meditation on change itself: how it is read, made visible, and experienced through painting.Zheng’s practice brings together traditional Chinese materialities and conceptual art methodologies to explore transformation, multiplicity, and the logic of variation. It is rooted in a dialogue between Eastern and Western modes of thought and influenced by thinkers such as John Cage and Yuk Hui. In this project, the&nbsp;I Ching&nbsp;is not only a reference, it is a method, a structure, and a philosophical companion. This is a one-work exhibition: Zheng considers the full sequence as a total and single work in itself, with every painting still an individualized piece.&nbsp;For&nbsp;Change, I Ching (64 Paintings), Zheng has also subtly reshaped the exhibition architecture. The transformation is understated rather than dramatic, but carefully calibrated to heighten the play of light throughout the space, and, at times, to redirect it in dialogue with the paintings. By covering certain windows, adjusting the proportions of select walls, and building a new rhythm around the room’s perimeter, Zheng creates conditions that privilege what she calls “the light of the here and now.” As daylight shifts over the course of the day, the silk paintings shift with it, their surfaces absorbing and reflecting minute changes in color and brightness. In turn, these variations reveal the altered space itself, making the architecture and the paintings co-responsive, changing together in real time.&nbsp;Curated by Myriam Ben Salah and Karsten Lund. About the ArtistLEAH KE YI ZHENG (b.1988, China) lives and works in Chicago. Recent solo and two-person exhibitions include&nbsp;Machine(s)&nbsp;at Layr, Vienna (2025);&nbsp;I-Ching/Machineat Mendes Wood DM, New York (2025);&nbsp;Leah Ke Yi Zheng&nbsp;at Mendes Wood DM, Brussels (2024);&nbsp;John Cage, Leah Ke Yi Zheng: The Grasshopper Lies Heavy&nbsp;at Castle Gallery, Los Angeles (2024);&nbsp;Leah Ke Yi Zheng&nbsp;at David Lewis Gallery, New York (2023); and&nbsp;Currency @ Swiss National Bank, Zurich&nbsp;at Soccer Club Club, Chicago (2021). Recent group exhibitions include New Museum, New York (2025); Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (2023); and Caffé Centrale, Monte Castello di Vibio (2022) among others. She was awarded a 2019 – 2021 Fellowship from The Arts Club of Chicago. CreditsLead support for this exhibition is provided by Murat Ahmed &amp; Katherine Mackenzie and School Museum Fund, The Hees Family. Principal support is provided by Gay-Young Cho and Christopher Chiu.Major annual support for the Renaissance Society is provided by the Mellon Foundation. Renaissance Society programs are supported by Teiger Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. Annual support is provided by The Provost’s Discretionary Fund at the University of Chicago.All Renaissance Society publications are made possible by The Mansueto Foundation Publications Program. EventsOpening Reception&nbsp;Sat, Jan 10, 2-4pm&nbsp;&nbsp;With artist talk at 4pm PerformanceEli KeszlerSun, Feb 15, 2pm Eli Keszler is a Grammy-nominated artist, composer, and percussionist based in New York. Whether performing an improvised solo set at the drum kit or writing an electro-acoustic score for a film, he brings an agile experimentation to his work. For this site-specific appearance, Keslzer performs live in the gallery space in the afternoon light. Within this unique architectural and acoustic setting, he offers his own take on some of the dynamics at play in Leah Ke Yi Zheng’s exhibition, including change and variation, iterative multiplicity, and logics of impermanence. DiscussionSpecial Guests of the ArtistWith Danny Bredar, Gaylen Gerber, and Oscar ZhengSun, Mar 22, 2pm For this informal discussion in the gallery space, Leah Ke Yi Zheng is joined by three people from her close circle: artists Danny Bredar and Gaylen Gerber, and her son Oscar Zheng. Each of them brings an intimate familiarity with her practice and a deeply personal perspective on her work. In an impromptu, unscripted exchange, they surface aspects of Zheng’s exhibition that might not emerge in a formal artist talk. Their conversation mirrors the spirit of the&nbsp;I Ching&nbsp;itself, which, according to Zheng, absorbs all aspects of life. Visit&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://renaissancesociety.org/" target="_blank">renaissancesociety.org</a>&nbsp;for more information.

Leah Ke Yi Zheng: Change

Intermission at the Riverside Theater, $2800, 12x18, watercolor and acrylicIn this exhibition, Michael Guinane transforms past and current observation into art. His paintings don't merely depict scenes—they preserve the emotional temperature of specific moments in time.&nbsp;&nbsp;His work depicts figures caught in contemplation and action, and the collective energy of crowds set in often historical settings. These works ask us to remember a place long out of time, creating an intimate dialogue between the artist's memory and our own.The emotional capture of a single moment in time is what motivates Michael Guinane to paint. Michael creates an atmosphere for the viewer to feel. Whether it be a moment in history, the artist's personal experience, a lake scene, a trip to Cuba, or a busy city street, these works capture the feeling and mood of being present in a certain place or time.&nbsp;Everyone experiences the world uniquely. Michael's work creates the opening to read a scene in our own way and see and connect with the characters and places caught in a moment of suspension, sparking the imagination of what has happened and what is to come next.&nbsp;Michael's distinctive artistic approach sets his work apart. His paintings are created with watercolor and water-based paints using a reduction technique involving multiple washes of paint to create layering and depth in a work. This meticulous process is able to show the subtleties in layers of a painting and allows the viewer to see deeper into the piece. Through this technique, light and shadow, atmosphere and emotion emerge gradually, building complexity with each successive layer.&nbsp;Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Michael Guinane moved to Columbus, Ohio, in 1996 to attend the Columbus College of Art and Design. He graduated with a BFA majoring in illustration in 2000. For over two decades, Michael built a successful career in Columbus, showing in galleries and public venues, creating privately commissioned works displayed throughout the country, and teaching courses in painting at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. He has recently returned to his Milwaukee roots, bringing with him an artistic vision shaped by history, place, and years of dedication to his craft and his students.

That Feeling of a Place and Time: Featuring Artist Michael Guinane     

65GRAND is pleased to present&nbsp;The Division Street Riots,&nbsp;a new exhibition by Chicago-based artist Carlos Rolón. The exhibition features new graphite and charcoal drawings, works on aluminum, a DIY bicycle sculpture with audio, and a hand-embroidered textile inspired by the 1966 Division Street uprising in Humboldt Park and West Town.On June 12, 1966, one day after Chicago’s first Puerto Rican Day Parade, police shot 20-year-old Arcelis Cruz near Damen and Division. The incident ignited three days of protest, marking the first major U.S. riot attributed to Puerto Ricans. The unrest exposed systemic police brutality, displacement through urban renewal, substandard housing, and educational inequities. It became a turning point in Puerto Rican civic life in Chicago, catalyzing grassroots political organizing and the transformation with the likes of the Young Lords into a civil rights movement.Nearly sixty years later, Rolón revisits this history through a restrained, material language that foregrounds memory, dignity, and collective witness. Drawing from archival photographs and community narratives, the works consider how histories of migration, protest, and belonging continue to shape American cities. At a time of renewed national debate around immigration, civil rights, and ICE enforcement, the exhibition reflects on how communities mobilize in the face of injustice and how solidarity becomes a form of cultural survival.The creation of this body of work was generously supported by a grant from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). The artist also acknowledges the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center for providing studio space during the development of the project. Founded in 1971 in the wake of the uprising, the Center remains a vital institution for Puerto Rican arts and culture in Chicago, continuing a legacy of education, preservation, and empowerment. Presenting this exhibition at 65GRAND, which is part of the cultural fabric of Humboldt Park and where the artist lives, brings the work into direct dialogue with the community from which its history emerges.Rolón (b. 1970) is known for a multidisciplinary practice spanning painting, sculpture, installation, and social engagement. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at major institutions including the New Orleans Museum of Art, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Dallas Contemporary, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, among others. In 2007, he represented Ukraine at the 52nd Venice Biennale and is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for Painting and Sculpture. His work is held in numerous public collections internationally.The Division Street Riots invites audiences to reconsider a pivotal chapter in Chicago history and its urgent resonance today, asking how narratives of struggle, migration, and cultural pride continue to shape the evolving story of the Americas.Image: Carlos Rolón,&nbsp;Rebellion, 2026, Graphite on legion paper mounted on Dibond, 24 x 24 inches, Image credit: Clare BrittCARLOS ROLÓN

The Division Street Riots

IHSAE Awards Ceremony &amp; Art Throwdown Sunday, April 12th from 12pm-4pm The best student artists from 100 Illinois high schools will come together to celebrate the power of art in their lives and showcase their work at the 10th Annual Illinois High School Art Exhibition (IHSAE). The Senior Scholarship Exhibition will exhibit some 500 senior artworks and recognize scholarship offers totaling over $100 million dollars annually. <a href="https://www.bridgeportart.com/ihsae-2026/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Details</a>

IHSAE Awards Ceremony & Art Throwdown

You are invited to an immersive exhibit and 2026 film screening on view in Hyde Park, Chicago, from April 2 - April 12, 2026! On Rock-Soft Matters: Curating Slowness and Reconnection through the Visual Arts&nbsp;is presented by Italian visual artist and curator&nbsp;Chiara Bastoni, Seldon’s current Artist in Residence. The exhibition brings together Bastoni’s photography and her 2026 film&nbsp;A Sun In The Palm,&nbsp;alongside a selection of more than one hundred original visual works by celebrated Egyptian artists Hazem El Mestikawy, Huda Lutfi, Marwan Fayed, and Nour El Sherif. Bastoni’s work offers a profound reflection on the relationship between art, connection, and Islamic ways of seeing. It opens up a contemplative space that feels especially resonant at this moment. Highlights:<ul><li>Reception night on Saturday, April 4, at 6 PM, featuring live music by Egyptian instrumentalist Mohamed Radwan.</li><li>90-minute immersive visits, available through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seldoninstitute.org/bastoni" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RSVP</a>&nbsp;link, offering an intimate experience with Chiara herself—guiding visitors through the exhibition and film.</li><li>An online conversation&nbsp;with Egyptian artists Marwan Fayed and Nour El Sherif on Saturday, April 11, as part of the exhibition schedule.</li></ul> <a href="https://www.seldoninstitute.org/bastoni" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RSVP Here</a> Venue:&nbsp;5659 S Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, IL <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1774475521/vrfrttfnxmqcrsrrpw71.jpg">

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