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

LGBTQIA+

Feminist

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

Italian

<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

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

Indigenous & Native

Chicago Imagists

East Asian

Medieval / Renaissance 

Non-Western

Southeast & South Asian

<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

West Asia  & North Africa

Middle Eastern & Islamic

Land Art

<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>

Hispanic/Latinx

The Kavanagh Gallery at Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles offers new and existing artists a place to show their work. Each year, the gallery hosts six to seven exhibitions featuring art by local and national artists and artmakers. These curated shows bring together both established and up-and-coming artists, using all forms of media, in a wide range of price points. The gallery team at the Kavanagh strives to bring innovative and exciting artists to the gallery. Admission to the Kavanagh Gallery is always free and open to all. We invite you to stop by to view our gallery and see for yourself the fantastic space at Fine Line. Fine Line Creative Arts Center is a thriving community where artists and art lovers have been experiencing, learning and sharing for over forty years. The center offers year-round adult classes for artists of all levels, from complete beginners to more advanced. Class options include blacksmithing, glassblowing, weaving, basketry, jewelry and ceramics. Please visit our <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.fineline.org" target="_blank">website</a> for the current exhibition and opening reception details.&nbsp; There is ample free onsite parking available. Image: Outside of The Kavanagh Gallery at Fine Line Creative Arts Center. Pictured: The Other Side of the Wall, sculpture by Dan Caldwell.

Kavanagh Gallery at Fine Line Creative Arts Center

Racine Art Museum (RAM) is a nationally recognized institution that presents exhibitions and programming curated around contemporary art, craft, and design. Located in Racine, Wisconsin, a historic community on the shores of Lake Michigan, it occupies two facilities—the Racine Art Museum, an expansive modern gallery with award-winning architecture on the downtown waterfront, and the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts (Wustum), an exhibition space and studio art center housed in a historic farmhouse surrounded by lawns and gardens. RAM is known for having the largest contemporary craft collection in North America, with more than 14,000 works by renowned artists in ceramics, fiber, glass, metal, polymer, wood, and more. RAM's thoughtful exhibitions invite visitors to engage with artistic innovation, the physicality of materials, and the intersection of the craft and contemporary art movements. Wustum—located just two miles away from RAM—offers community outreach programs, studio art classes for students of all ages and abilities, and exhibitions like Watercolor Wisconsin and annual themed Community Art Shows that showcase the vitality of the area's arts scene. Please visit the website for information about current onsite and virtual programming. Image: Jarvis Lawson

Racine Art Museum

Bridgeport Art Center (BAC) is home to artists, woodworkers, sculptors,&nbsp;fashion designers, architects, interior designers, attorneys, counselors, therapists, non for profits, for profits, and many other professionals.&nbsp;BAC features 3 galleries, Fashion Design Center, Shared Floor Ceramics, Chicago Maritime Museum, and Base cafe.&nbsp;BAC is home for creative minds, emerging artists, and evolving professionals in Chicagoland. Visit <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.bridgeportart.com" target="_blank">bridgeportart.com</a> for a complete 2026 exhibition schedule and to see what we offer.&nbsp; Join us every third Friday of the month from 7–10 pm when artists open their studios to the public.&nbsp; For information on leasing, please call us at 773–843–9000. The office and galleries are open Monday–Saturday, 8am–6pm, Sunday, 8am–12pm.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Bridgeport Art Center

The Evanston Art Center (EAC), founded over 95 years ago in 1929, is an integral part of community life, providing access and experiences in the arts to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Through community-based events, classes and exhibitions, EAC helps expand its mission to provide accessible arts education and arts enrichment experiences to the community and the surrounding areas. The Evanston Art Center’s galleries exhibit contemporary artwork by emerging and established artists, and are free and open to the public seven days a week. Exhibition programming includes publications, artist talks, interviews with curators, opening receptions, In Focus lectures and docent led tours for groups (please call to schedule a tour) at no charge to the public. The Evanston Art Center’s in-person and online art courses have something for everyone and every schedule. Subjects include: painting, drawing, sculpting, jewelry, bookbinding, and much more! Browse our online adult and youth course schedule at <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.evanstonartcenter.org" target="_blank">EvanstonArtCenter.org</a> Opening receptions typically held on first Sunday of exhibition 1–4pm.&nbsp; Photo credit: Erica McKeehen

Evanston Art Center

New Location Opening February 2026&nbsp;Volume Gallery is pleased to announce its forthcoming move to a new, more expansive and distinctive, location at 1700 W Hubbard Street, opening February 2026 with a landmark group exhibition,&nbsp;The Heresy of Legacy, exploring the cyclical nature of currents in art, architecture, and design, how acts of rebellion and refusal have continually propelled cultural production forward. Celebrating fifteen years of the gallery’s operations, including almost ten at its Chicago Avenue location, Volume Gallery’s move marks a significant new chapter in the program’s evolution. The expanded location will provide additional gallery space designed to foster the development of new ideas and methodologies by both established and emerging artists.&nbsp;More about the gallery's new space and forthcoming exhibitions&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(137, 137, 137);" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ymlps3.com/51be0mjbmaiaeqmbsazauuhbaoajbsm/click.php" target="_blank">here.</a> Established in 2010, Volume Gallery focuses on material-driven practices across disciplines with a concentration on contemporary and historical American art and design. There is a commitment to finding meaning in materiality and a dedication to advancing innovative makers of the present and recent past. In addition to its exhibitions program, Volume Gallery releases editions, publications, and engages in site-specific commissions that showcase the work of American artists and designers to regional, national, and international audiences. Image: Work by Christy Matson and Jennefer Hoffmann, installation view, Volume Gallery

Volume Gallery

Conceived with the vision to return Epiphany to a place for people to once again congregate, the shuttered historic Church of the Epiphany has been preserved and adapted into an iconic cultural hub ‘For the Good of Art, Entertainment and Events. Thoughtfully designed, the exemplary 42,000 square foot campus boasts three distinct venues and a stunning array of amenities, including eight art galleries, a commercial and catering kitchen, cafe and bar, VIP suite and a collection of artistically appointed outdoor spaces: a charming quarter-acre courtyard, spacious terrace and stunning patio with lounge seating. Epiphany’s diverse and inclusive arts programming serves to unite artists, while bringing the community together at Chicago’s newest cultural destination for art, music, and entertainment. For more information about art exhibitions and events, contact <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="mailto:art@epiphanychi.com" target="_blank">art@epiphanychi.com</a> Photo: Tom McDonald

Epiphany Center for the Arts

Located in the heart of Milwaukee, the Kim Storage Gallery is a vibrant space celebrating the creativity of Wisconsin and beyond. This gallery features a diverse mix of museum-quality artwork, ranging from innovative pieces by emerging local talents to esteemed works by established artists. It’s a dynamic hub where art enthusiasts can explore the evolving landscape of contemporary art in an inviting and accessible environment. Jan 2–Feb 14: Susan Hall. Opening Jan 16, 5–8pmFeb 27–Apr 10: Gabrielle Marie Stone. Opening Feb 27, 5-8pmApr 17–May 30: Katherine Steichen Rosing. Opening: Apr 17, 5-8pmJul 10–Aug 15: Color Play. Opening: July 17, 5-8pmAug 21–Sept 26: Tim Anderson. Opening: Aug 21, 5-8pmOct 2–Nov 7: Hector Acuna &amp; Andy Paczos. Opening: Oct 16, 5-8pmNov 13–Dec 19: Doug Fath. Opening: Nov 13, 5-8pm Image: Art by Paul Krainak

Kim Storage Gallery

SECRIST | BEACH, located in the West Town neighborhood at the corner of&nbsp;Wood and Hubbard Streets, occupies a double bow-truss, sky-lit 10,000 sq. ft. space that features an expanded approach to contemporary exhibition experiences. Our reinvigorated programming presents solo artists’ exhibitions alongside curated surveys by like-minded creators, elaborating the dialogue around related topics.&nbsp; Additional programming includes panel discussions, space activations, and&nbsp;curatorial invitationals. As we dive into our third decade we offer a revitalized&nbsp;mission as a gift to engage our art community locally and at large.&nbsp; Image: Installation view: Jacqueline Surdell

Secrist | Beach

ShadowBoxX Gallery is a new art space in Waukegan, IL, a northern suburb of Chicago. As founder and artist, Michael E. Voss fosters a community of artists celebrating the creativity that lives within us. ShadowBoxX Gallery honors the catharsis that artwork and creativity bring. ShadowBoxX Gallery is home to curated fine artwork from local, U.S. and international artists, hosting group and solo art exhibitions each month. ”The gold is in the shadow.” – Carl Jung Images by StudioJ Media <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1765498285/zwstvjuepzu36nvvvsli.jpg"> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1765498287/rq2ilz5snruc3vptyfkd.jpg"> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1765498288/onqu2g4npdhkuvdroc0z.jpg">

ShadowBoxX Gallery

Joy Machine is a contemporary art gallery in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood. Founded in 2025 by Grace Ebert and Christopher Jobson, the gallery exhibits works by emerging and established artists, with a particular focus on creating dialogues between those working locally and others making their Chicago debuts. Fostering joy through accessibility and the unexpected remains a central tenet of our programming. Image: Installation view of Light Preserver (2025). Photo by Daniel Kwon

Joy Machine

Forum 301, in collaboration with Complement Consulting Group, a nationally recognized education agency, is proud to highlight a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary forums and interactive programming. The partnership with Complement Consulting Group strengthens our mission by aligning the arts with educational innovation and leadership development, ensuring that the programming we deliver not only inspires but also equips participants with practical insights and strategies. Through exhibitions, forums, workshops, and collaborative projects, Forum 301 seeks to cultivate an inclusive cultural ecosystem that connects local voices with national and international perspectives, positioning Chicago as a hub for artistic exchange, critical dialogue, and transformative learning.

Fiber Arts / Textiles

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.

Other Specialties

Chicago Gallery News