2020: CGN Culture List
By CGN STAFF
Following is a list of events and exhibitions that should be on your cultural calendar for 2020. This list represents just a handful of notable shows coming to the Chicago area's museums. From international innovation on display to artistic fashion and two summer blockbusters, there will be a lot to see and talk about in 2020.
More exhibitions and events in galleries and museums throughout the region are added to the CGN calendar daily, and we will also offer seasonal previews throughout the year.
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THE ALLURE OF MATTER: MATERIAL ART FROM CHINA
Since the 1980s, Chinese contemporary artists have cultivated intimate relationships with their materials, establishing a framework of interpretation revolving around materiality. Their media ranges from plastic, water, and wood, to hair, gunpowder, and Coca-Cola. The exhibition features 45 monumental works.
Feb 7–May 3, 2020
Co-presented at the Smart Museum of Art and Wrightwood 659
DURO OLOWU: SEEING CHICAGO
Duro Olowu, a Nigerian-born British designer, is internationally recognized for his womens wear label. Characterized by unique fabrics, evocative patterns, and impeccable construction, Olowu’s garments are informed by his international background and curator’s eye. Now Olowu focuses on Chicago’s public and private art collections, including works at the MCA, to curate a show that reimagines relationships between artists and objects.
Feb 29–May 3, 2020
PAR EXCELLENCE REDUX
A commissioned 18-hole artist-designed golf course pays homage to the wildly popular 1988 exhibition Par Excellence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The fully playable course will be conceived and fabricated for the Elmhurst Art Museum by a new group of artists, designers, and architects.
May 9–Sept 13, 2020
MONET AND CHICAGO
During Claude Monet’s lifetime, Chicago was the American city that most aggressively acquired his work. This exhibition is the first to explore Chicago’s pioneering connection to the great Impressionist artist. Among the more than 65 paintings—from the Art Institute’s holdings and Chicago-based collections—are beloved major works as well as rarely seen still lifes, figural scenes, seascapes, and landscapes.
May 10–Sept 7, 2020
FRIDA KAHLO 2020
This presentation of the life and works of the artist Frida Kahlo will feature 26 original pieces on loan from the Dolores Olmedo Museum Collection, as well as an immersive historical exhibit that provides a framework of the life, circumstances and events that led to Kahlo becoming one of the most important painters of the 20th century and of our time.
Jun 1–Aug 31, 2020