Art for which the idea (or concept) behind the work is more important than the finished art object.&nbsp;

Conceptual / Performance

<h3>Developed during the Italian Renaissance, primarily for aesthetics or beauty, the highest art was that which allowed the full expression and display of the artist's imagination.</h3>

Fine Prints & Painting – Pre 18th Century

<h3>Graphic Art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional. It includes calligraphy, photography, painting, typography, computer graphics, and bindery.&nbsp;</h3>

Graphic Art

Works of art that utilize the form of the book. They are often published in small editions, though they are sometimes produced as one-of-a-kind objects.

Artists' Books

The exploration of video art and music or sound set, including visual music, abstract film, audiovisual performances and installations.

Video / Sound

The objects produced by shaping pieces of clay that are then hardened by baking, or the skill of making such objects.

Ceramics

An artistic form in which hard or plastic materials are carved, modeled, casted, and constructed into a three-dimensional art object.&nbsp;

Sculpture

The process of creating artworks by printing, typically on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints that have an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting.

Printmaking

<h3>Something made in an earlier period that is collected and considered to have value because it is beautiful, rare, old, or of high quality.</h3>

Antiques and Artifacts

Imagery where the subject matter centers around a view or depiction of Chicago.&nbsp;

Chicago Scenes & Regionalism

Old Masters refer to any painter of skill who worked in Europe before about 1800.

Old Masters

Socio-Political art is used to help the public understand a particular social or political issue.

Socio-Political

<h3>The attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, or implausible, exotic, and supernatural elements.</h3>

Realism

<h3>Artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real objects and is representational.</h3>

Figurative

<h3>Individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. Glass art ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces, to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including glass jewelry and tableware.</h3>

Glass

<h3>Artwork that often deals with Rococo, the Enlightenment, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism.</h3>

Fine Prints & Painting – 18th & 19th C.

From the Tate Museum's website: Modernism refers to a global movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the twentieth century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life. Building on late nineteenth-century precedents, artists around the world used new imagery, materials and techniques to create artworks that they felt better reflected the realities and hopes of modern societies.

Modernism

<h3>Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that continue to challenge boundaries.</h3>

Fine Prints & Painting – Contemporary

<h3>Art that is concerned with the design and decoration of objects that are chiefly prized for their utility, rather than for their purely aesthetic qualities including, ceramics, glassware, metalware, furniture, textiles, clothing, and more.</h3>

Furniture & Decorative Arts

<h3>Emerging art is work by artists who are still building their artistic careers and have not yet reached a more established and widely recognized status.&nbsp;</h3>

Emerging

<h3>Fiber art refers to fine art whose material consists of natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as fabric or yarn. It focuses on the materials and on the manual labour on the part of the artist as part of the works' significance, and prioritizes aesthetic value over utility.</h3>

Fiber Arts / Textiles

The quality of dealing with ideas rather than events. Freedom from representational qualities in art.

Abstraction

<h3>Art by African-American artists.</h3>

African-American

<h3>The art and science of designing and making buildings, or the style of a building.</h3>

Architecture

<h3>Impressionism is a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, an emphasis on light and its changing qualities, and inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience.</h3>

Impressionism

From the Tate Museum's website: Abstract expressionism is the term applied to new forms of abstract art developed by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning in the 1940s and 1950s. It is often characterized by gestural brush-strokes or mark-making, and the impression of spontaneity.

Abstract Expressionism

Numismatics

Relating to Africa or people of African descent.

African

Eastern European art is a product of recent history. It can be traced to the division of Europe into the Western and Soviet spheres of influence of the allied victory over Germany in World War two.

Eastern European

Considered one of the most influential periods of art, featuring movements including Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism.

Early 20th Century

Skill and experience, especially in relation to making objects by hand.

Craft

<h3>The skill of making plans, drawings, or arrangements to show how a building or product is made.</h3>

Design

Asian art is diverse and rich, spanning thousands of years and dozens of countries. It is known for its ritual bronzes, beautiful ceramics, calligraphy, jades, textiles, painted landscapes, garden design, pagodas and stupas, and woodblock prints.

Asian

<h3>An artistic genre of three-dimensional works that often are site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space.</h3>

Installations

An art form that combines visual art with dramatic performance.

Performance

Some of the most prominent, highly influential artists, who challenged preconceptions and pushed the limits of visual art, shaping the art world of our time.

Modern Contemporary Masters

Created in accordance with the vision of the artist as a photographer, using photography as a medium to bring something to life that only lives in the artist's mind.

Photography

The design movement in interior, product, graphic design, architecture, and urban development from roughly the 1930's to 1965.

Mid-Century

A movement in art and literature that flourished in the early 20th-century. Surrealism aimed at expressing imaginative dreams and visions free from conscious rational control.&nbsp;

Surrealism

An innovative discipline which seeks to unify a large range of art forms. This is creatively achieved by combining an array of artistic insights and crafts such as film, literature, performance, music and sound, drama, visual arts, or design.

Multi-Media

<h3>The depiction of landscapes in art—natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composition.</h3>

Landscape

Plein air is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look.

Plein-air

Printed 2-D artwork which is designed to be affixed to a vertical surface, may consist exclusively of images, or images and text.

Poster / Lithography

<h3>A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.</h3>

Portraits / Portraiture

<h3>These works are often stunningly beautiful, and encourage the viewer to engage with the rich history of research and experimentation that led to the piece’s conception.</h3>

Scientific

<h3>The Art of the American West is defined by geographical subject, consists of historic and contemporary works of art which focus on varying expressions of individuals, landscapes, ideals, and myths of the American West.</h3>

Western (The American West)

<h3>Borrowed from Wikipedia: In visual arts, music, and other mediums, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Dan Flavin, Robert Morris, Anne Truitt, and Frank Stella. It derives from the reductive aspects of modernism and is often interpreted as a reaction against abstract expressionism and a bridge to postminimal art practices.</h3>

Minimalism

<h3>Occupying the space between fine art and the everyday, functional art refers to aesthetic objects that serve utilitarian purposes. The genre is remarkably inclusive, it encompasses everything from furniture and lighting to dishes and even books.</h3>

Functional Art - Jewelry / Fashion

A range of artistic practices encompassing both historical approaches to nature in art and more recent ecological and politically motivated types of works.

Wildlife / Nature

Watches & Timepieces

Sports Collectibles

3-Dimensonal

Rare Books / Manuscripts

Western European art represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition from antiquity until the present time. Until the mid-19th century it was primarily concerned with representational and Classical modes of production. After the mid-19th century modern, abstract and conceptual forms gained favor.

Western European

<h3>Artistic expression of Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, as well as Latin and Hispanic Americans living in other regions. Latin American art has roots in the many different indigenous cultures that inhabited the Americas before European colonization in the 16th-century.</h3>

Latin American and Hispanic

Comics

Large Scale (over 6')

Visual art created in public locations, usually unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of traditional art venues. Common forms and media include spray paint graffiti, stencil graffiti, poster art, sticker art, street installations, and sculpture.

Pop / Street Art / Graffiti

Medieval / Renaissance 

Non-Western

<h3>Art produced by self-taught or naïve art makers. Typically, those labeled as outsider artists have little or no contact with the mainstream art world or art institutions. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrates extreme mental states, unconventional ideas, or elaborate fantasy worlds.</h3>

Folk / Outsider / Self Taught

American Regionalism

Literary Arts

Mosiac

Includes manuscripts, prints, drawings, collages, and paintings on paper.

Works on Paper

Prints and Drawings

The highlight of 2025 is the posthumous homecoming of acclaimed American painter Lennart Anderson (1928–2015). The John David Mooney Foundation is honored to present Lennart Anderson: A Retrospective, March 27–May 2.&nbsp;Celebrating 50 years, the Mooney Studio has advanced the careers of 700 alumni worldwide through its two-year Intern and Apprenticeship program. For 44 years, the Foundation has exhibited groundbreaking art from 27 countries across seven continents. Resident artists share their work through publications, lectures, and workshops; collaborating with local organizations to engage underserved communities. The 3rd floor gallery features wartime Vietnamese paintings from the Albert I. Goodman Collection. Since 2022, our Ukrainian Art Bridge Fellowship has supported 15 at-risk Ukrainian artists, with more residencies planned for 2025. The JDMF is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 educational arts organization. Image: Lennart Anderson, Street Scene, (1961), Oil on canvas, 77 x 99”. Collection of BNY. © Estate of Lennart Anderson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.&nbsp;

John David Mooney Foundation

Located one block east of the historic Water Tower, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has been at the forefront of showcasing new and experimental work since its inception in 1967. Be inspired by their ever-changing, provocative exhibits and programs; indulge in&nbsp;innovative cuisine crafted by one of the city’s foremost chefs at their restaurant, Marisol; and shop at one of the best gift stores in Chicago. Visit the MCA’s <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.mcachicago.org/" target="_blank">website</a> to plan your next visit. The MCA offers&nbsp;FREE admission for&nbsp;anyone under 18 all&nbsp;year long. Photo: T. McDonald&nbsp;Photography (@tmcd.chi)

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA)

Founded in 1940, South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC) is the nation’s first Black art institution, dedicated to amplifying the voices of contemporary Black artists. SSCAC is a dynamic cultural space where Black art, thought, and radical creativity thrive on Chicago’s South Side. Here, we embrace art as a living, evolving language, one that speaks to resilience, imagination, and the complexities of Black identity in our time. SSCAC is both a platform and a sanctuary—a place where emerging creators stand shoulder-to-shoulder with seasoned visionaries, and where every exhibition, workshop, and performance is an invitation to explore and challenge. Our commitment is to showcase bold, current perspectives that resonate with the realities of today while honoring the legacy that brought us here. Join us as we nurture the future of Black art, creating space for innovation, dialogue, and profound cultural expression. January 2025–March 2029: Beyond Frames: Black Women Collectors Shaping&nbsp;Cultural Heritage in Chicago Image: South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC), the nation’s first Black art space, forging the future on Chicago’s South Side.&nbsp;Design: Jada-Amina / Photo Credit: Lennell Davis, Jr.

South Side Community Art Center

Since 1916, The Arts Club of Chicago has been a preeminent exhibitor of international art, a forum for established and emerging artists, and a celebrated venue for performers from around the world. For over 100 years, The Arts Club has opened its membership to artists and patrons of the arts, and its exhibitions to the public.&nbsp; Image: Haegue Yang, artist. Photo: Michael Tropea

The Arts Club of Chicago

Arts of Life advances the creative arts community by providing artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities a collective space to expand their practice and strengthen their leadership.&nbsp; Circle Contemporary is a multi-purpose exhibition space and an extension of the Arts of Life studios’ efforts to strengthen the creative community. Aimed at showcasing a diverse range of creative practices from individuals of all talents and abilities, Circle Contemporary provides a space and outlet for artistic inspiration and exploration. North Shore Location:&nbsp;1963 Johns Dr. Glenview, IL 60025<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://artsoflife.org" target="_blank">www.artsoflife.org</a> Image: Arts of Life &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Circle Contemporary (Arts of Life)

The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago presents contemporary art exhibitions, events, and publications. “The Ren”—as we are known by many—is an independent, non-collecting museum driven by an uncompromising commitment to artists and their ideas.For artists, we offer an unfettered platform for bold experimentation.&nbsp;Our work with artists frequently results in newly commissioned art, and these&nbsp;presentations in our gallery at the University of Chicago spur further scholarly&nbsp;and creative reflections in our publications and public programs.&nbsp;Events—including artist talks, lectures, screenings, concerts, readings, and more—offer further&nbsp;opportunities for discovery and discussion.&nbsp;All exhibitions and events are free to attend. Join The Ren's mailing list <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://renaissancesociety.org/about/" target="_blank">here.</a>The Renaissance Society is a registered 501(c)(3). We are a member of Mod/Co, Common Field, and UChicago Arts, and we are an independent affiliate of the University of Chicago.Image: Neïl Beloufa, Growth, 2024, installation view in Neïl Beloufa: Humanities, 2024, The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago. Photo by Bob.

The Renaissance Society

The premiere home for arts and culture on the North Shore. Exhibits, Wedding and Events Venue, Classes for All Ages and Skill Levels.&nbsp;Located in the boutique town of Highland Park, The Art Center Highland Park presents museum-quality galleries with ever-changing exhibitions of local, international, emerging, and established artists. Vibrant programming has everything from annual events to monthly artist talks and collaborations with other local cultural arts providers. Your home for creative exploration on the North Shore of Chicago. Check our website for Calls for Artists entry dates and details throughout the year.&nbsp; Image: 2022 Exhibit Fiber • Fashion • Feminism in the Center Gallery at the Art Center Highland Park

The Art Center Highland Park

Perspective Group and Photography Gallery Limited is a not-for-profit, community-oriented cooperative of visual artists whose purpose is to promote fine art photography. Its monthly offerings include: exhibitions and artist talks by its member-artists; lectures by notable guest speakers; an international juried exhibition;&nbsp;a regional juried exhibition; an invitational show; and, a juried show for Chicago-area high school students. The member-artists of Perspective Group and Photography Gallery bring a rich blend of talent, experience and focus to the gallery. Their artistic styles, techniques and media include film, digital, alternative processes, mixed media, collage, and constructed images. In addition to being acquired by private and public collections, members’ work has been shown in prestigious art galleries, colleges, and libraries, as well as in local, national and international juried exhibitions. Opening receptions are generally the first Saturday evening of the month. Information about artist talks and other events may be found on <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://perspectivegallery.org/" target="_blank">www.perspectivegallery.org</a> Image: Huddled Masses&nbsp;© Alexa Frangos

Perspective Photo Gallery

What’s inside the Block? It depends on how you look. The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University is an engine that drives questioning, experimentation, and collaboration across fields of study, with visual arts at the center. We do this by activating art’s power as a form of insight, research, and knowledge creation that makes human experience visible and material. Fueled by diverse perspectives and ways of knowing, we create shared encounters with art and with one another to deepen understandings of the world and our place within it. Through exhibitions, classes, programs, screenings, and initiatives, The Block convenes bold conversations that explore the relevance of art to our lives and that deepen our thinking. We are as committed to exploring what art can do as we are to studying what art is. Jan 25–Jul 13, 2025: Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak/ChicagolandJan 25–Apr 6, 2025: It takes a long time to stay here: Paintings by Jordan Ann Craig Always free and open to all. Image: Block Museum&nbsp;Student Associates tour The Heart’s Knowledge: Science and Empathy in the Art of Dario Robleto, 2023

Block Museum of Art

The gallery will be closed for holiday break December 22, 2024 - January 11, 2025 PATRON is a contemporary art gallery in Chicago created by Julia Fischbach and Emanuel Aguilar in 2015. PATRON is founded on the defining characteristics of a patron of the arts: a person chosen, named or honored as a special guardian, protector or supporter. With this foundation set as a cornerstone, the gallery hopes to help open new avenues for audiences to engage with and find access to contemporary art. Member Art&nbsp;Dealers Association&nbsp;of America (ADAA). Image: Install&nbsp;view of Caroline Kent&nbsp;at PATRON. Photo Credit: Evan Jenkins&nbsp;&nbsp;

PATRON 

moniquemeloche was founded in October 2000, with its debut exhibition&nbsp;‘Homewrecker’ at Meloche’s home, and officially opened to the public in May 2001. Diverse and inclusive since its inception, the gallery promotes politically minded contemporary art, aiming to be a bellwether for artistic talents early or under-recognized in their careers. Working with an international group of emerging and established artists in all media, the gallery presents conceptually challenging installations in Chicago and at art fairs internationally, with an emphasis on curatorial and institutional outreach. Represented artists include: Luke Agada, Candida Alvarez, Sanford Biggers,&nbsp;Antonius-Tín Bui, David Antonio Cruz, Brendan Fernandes, Dan Gunn,&nbsp;Sheree Hovsepian, Rashid Johnson, Lavar Munroe, Ben Murray,&nbsp;Maia Cruz Palileo, Ebony G. Patterson, Cheryl Pope, Karen Reimer, Joel Ross,&nbsp;David Shrobe, Arvie Smith, Jake Troyli, Nate Young. Image:&nbsp;Courtesy of the Artist and Monique Meloche Gallery&nbsp; <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1738094613/yac8pqa2wvhddpc89jpe.png">&nbsp;

moniquemeloche

David Salkin Creative is a collaborative custom surface design studio that features a featuring a rotating series of thought-provoking presentations that delve into key artistic practices and significant moments in art history. Currently, it showcases Art In Chicago: 1995 – 2025 by Gareth Kaye, which explores the evolution of Chicago’s art scene through ephemera and interviews, offering an evolving narrative of the city’s contemporary art history. This program invites viewers to engage with and contribute to the ongoing dialogue about what defines and sustains art in Chicago. Throughout this presentation and long after its conclusion, Kaye will continue to interview subjects and include the recordings in this program with select interviews being subject to transcription and publication as part of his newsletter, Chicago Spleen. As a critic, he is obliged to pick favorites and to make value judgements, but he also acknowledges that the objects, opinions, and interviews he will be presenting only represent a fragment of Chicago’s past and current art world. As such, the project welcomes commentary on potentially overlooked or underexplored historical narratives and inclusions. This project is dedicated to the memory of Alan Longino, who knew plenty about art and even more about the people who truly love it. Image: David Salkin in his studio with textile samples and an installation by Artist Haynes Riley. Photo by Travis Roozee.

David Salkin Creative

ENGAGE Projects is a commercial gallery located in West Town. Our mission is to continue to build our program through engagement with our artists, communities and patrons by striving to break down the walls to the art world and embracing inclusivity and accessibility, resulting in an expanding community with multiple voices and viewpoints within our gallery walls and beyond. ENGAGE Projects was founded as Aspect/Ratio Projects in 2012 as a gallery for international emerging video artists. During 2021 our roster and programming expanded to include both mid-career and emerging multidisciplinary conceptual artists working in painting, photography, sculpture and video. ENGAGE Projects represents the careers of Aaron Spangler, Adam Daley Wilson, Alberto Aguilar, Alejandro Figueredo Diaz-Perera, Andrew Bearnot, Cameron Gainer, Cameron Patricia Downey, Casilda Sanchez, Chris Cosnowski, Chris Larson, Derrick Woods-Morrow, Edra Soto, Xie Hongdong, Hương Ngô, Margaret Welsh, Morgan, Nick Albertson, Phyllis Bramson, Raheleh Filsoofi, Rob Fischer, Selva Aparicio, and Sharon Louden. Check our website for additional programming for each show. Our shows rotate every 5 weeks, with openings held typically on Friday or Saturday evenings 6–8 pm. Usually the artist is present. Image: Margaret Welsh, Suspension of Disbelief at ENGAGE Projects&nbsp;Installation. Photo by Jonas Mueller-Ahlheim

ENGAGE Projects

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) is an independent organization that exhibits, collects, and preserves modern and contemporary art to provide transformative experiences that educate, reflect, and inspire us as individuals and a community. MMoCA fosters the exchange of ideas and creates experiences to inspire a wide audience. It is a nexus for the work of emerging and established regional, national, and international artists, serving as a catalyst for the continued development of a vigorous community of artists and provides a forum encouraging people to be challenged by, reflect on, and make connections between art and the world around them.&nbsp; Designed by world-renowned architect César Pelli, the Museum offers 51,500 sq. ft. of interior space, as well as the 7,100 sq. ft. Rooftop Sculpture Garden. Public amenities include spacious galleries that host rotating exhibitions, a 230-seat lecture hall, a children’s classroom, and a study center for drawings, prints, and photographs.&nbsp; MMoCA presents lectures, discussions, tours, and educational programming free of charge at the Museum. Additionally, MMoCA partners with regional artists for the bi-annual Gallery Night, provides a mobile art classroom to the region, and transforms downtown Madison for the annual Art Fair on the Square. Always admission-free. Museum exhibitions and most education programs at MMoCA are also free to the public. Image: Exterior view of the museum

Conceptual / Performance

Other Specialties

Chicago Gallery News