CGN Spring/Summer 2023

Page 35

CGN

/ SUMMER 2023
GALLERY NEWS
SPRING
CHICAGO
COVER ART: ANNA KUNZ

FORECAST FORM

ART IN THE CARIBBEAN DIASPORA, 1990s –TODAY

CLOSING APRIL 23, 2023

Donna Conlon and Jonathan Harker, Tropical Zincphony (Zincfonía tropical) (still), 2013. HD video (color, sound); 1 minute, 45 seconds. Courtesy of the artists and DiabloRosso, Panamá.
4 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
R Ullsvik June 3 - Sept. 10, 2023 Warhol2023.org
Bjarne

Voted BEST sculpture park in USAToday’s Reader’s Choice

Competition

100 acres of open prairie

Grass paths guide visitors around a lake and through a collection of 30 monumental outdoor sculptures

On and around the campus of Governors State University

Free admission and parking

Free Otocast app for GPS guide to the collection

Open from dawn to dusk 365 days a year

Paul, 2006 Tony Tasset

www.govst.edu/sculpture

Governors State University 1 University Parkway University Park, IL 60484

6 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 THROUGH JUNE 4, 2023 NOT ALL REALISMS PHOTOGRAPHY, AFRICA, AND THE LONG 1960S MARCH 21, 2023—FEBRUARY 4, 2024 CALLING ON THE PAST SELECTIONS
THE COLLECTION Opening Celebration Tuesday, April 11, 7–9 pm Presented as part of EXPO ART WEEK Admission is always free. All are welcome. Amir H. Fallah, Calling on the Past, 2018, Acrylic on canvas. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Gift of the 2018 Northern Trust Purchase Prize, 2018.46. Ernest Cole, From “House of Bondage,” 1960s,
silver print. Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, Gift of the Estate of Lester and Betty Guttman, 2014.224. © Ernest Cole / Magnum
Smart Museum of Art | The University of Chicago | 5550 S. Greenwood Avenue | Chicago, IL 60637 | smartmuseum.uchicago.edu
FROM
Gelatin
Photo.

A dazzling electronic art installation combining ancient poetry and modern anime—part comic book, part motion picture, part meditation on history.

SHAHIDUL ALAM: SINGED BUT NOT BURNT

Renowned photographer and activist Shahidul Alam exposes the resilience of Bangladeshi people and their continued struggle for freedom over four decades.

PATRIC McCOY: TAKE MY PICTURE

Traveling Chicago by bike, always with his camera, Patric McCoy captures 1980s Black gay Chicago, creating a poignant marker of place, time and memory.

APRIL 14 - JULY 15, 2023

wrightwood659.org

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 7 IMAGE CREDITS: (KONGKEE) The Singer, 2018, by Kongkee (Kong Khong-chang 江記; b. 1977, active Hong Kong and London). Courtesy of the artist and Penguin Lab. Copyright © 2018 the artist. Detail. (ALAM) Woman Wading in Flood, 1988, by Shahidul Alam, Courtesy of the artist. (McCOY) Jeff, 1985, by Patric McCoy, Courtesy of the artist. CHICAGO WRIGHTWOOD THESE EXHIBITIONS ARE PRESENTED BY ALPHAWOOD EXHIBITIONS AT WRIGHTWOOD 659 Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk is organized by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
8 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
View All Lots and Bid at HA.com/Art Heritage Auctions | 222 W Hubbard Street | Chicago 312.260.7200 | Chicago@HA.com
Joan Mitchell | SunflowersI,diptych, 1992 | Color lithograph on two sheets
|
Est. $40,000
-
$60,000. © Estate of Joan Mitchell.
Prints & Multiples Signature® Auction | April 18 Modern & Contemporary Signature® Auction | May 18
DALLAS | NEW YORK | BEVERLY HILLS | CHICAGO | PALM BEACH LONDON | PARIS | GENEVA | BRUSSELS | AMSTERDAM | HONG KONG
CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 9 EXPO CHICAGO Navy Pier 13-16 April McCORMICK GALLERY www.thomasmccormick.com MARY ABBOTT (1921-2019) Singing , 75 x 70 inches, oil on canvas

PERMANENT INSTALLATIONS

FEATURING DERRICK ADAMS, CANDIDA ALVAREZ, DANIEL ARSHAM, CARLOS ROLÓN/DZINE, CODY HUDSON AND MORE

ROTATING EXHIBITIONS

FADING THROUGH GRADATIONS FEATURING WORKS BY IVELISSE JIMÉNEZ

NOW ON VIEW

130+ DESIGNER OUTLETS

INCLUDING GUCCI, SAINT LAURENT, BURBERRY, PRADA, VERSACE, MONCLER, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI, BOGNER AND MORE

TEXT “ART” TO 847.957.4600 TO SIGN UP FOR SPECIAL ART EVENTS AND MORE INFORMATION

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 11
PAINT YOUR PICTURE-PERFECT WEEKEND JUNE 9 & 10, 2023 Experience art outdoors this June at Discover Wauwatosa’s ART 64 A free two-day bracket-style live performance painting tournament in the Village of Wauwatosa, WI. Stroll through the quaint European-style village while 64 artists from around the country paint in the streets and compete in a head-to-head competition for $20,000. Enjoy food, shopping and musical performances as you vote for your favorite artists and decide the grand prize winner. Learn more about this one-of-a-kind event at art64tosa.com @art64tosa @art64tosa
Curtis Anthony Bozif In the Mist of a Great Fall: The Niagara Paintings OLIVA GALLERY 3816 W. Armitage Chicago, IL 60647 www.olivagallery.com 847–922–5736 Opening Friday, Sep 8, 5 – 9 pm On view through Oct 7, 2023 NIAGARA , NUMBER 5 (DETAIL), 2022, OIL ON CANVAS, 70 X 45”

EXHIBITIONS POETRY FOUNDATION

60 W. WALTON STREET, CHICAGO

Free Admission

MARCH 21 – JULY 15

14 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
From the exhibition opening for Diana Solís: Encuentros, Photographs of Chicago Poetry Communities, 1978–1994. Photo by Sarah Joyce.
poetry and visual art
Connecting
Discover the Rare and Remarkable SPRING FINE ART AUCTIONS POST WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART APRIL 19 PRINTS & MULTIPLES APRIL 20 EUROPEAN ART MAY 18 AMERICAN ART MAY 19 Zack Wirsum | 312.600.6069 zacharywirsum@hindmanauctions.com HINDMANAUCTIONS.COM To be offered in our April 19 Post War & Contemporary Art auction Miyoko Ito E.E. 179 (the ken), 1976 Estimate: $50,000 - 70,000 FALL FINE ART AUCTIONS Now welcoming consignments. Contact us to receive an auction valuation.
Two-Faced Blues, 2021, Yamaha acoustic electric guitar parts. Stanley Museum of Art, Mark Ranney Memorial Fund, 26.2023. Willie Cole
ON VIEW NOW Always free and open to all stanleymuseum.uiowa.edu FLOYD NEWSUM: EVOLUTION OF SIGHT May 20–October 8, 2023 • Madison Museum of Contemporary Art 227 State Street • Madison WI mmoca.org FREE ADMISSION
Photo: Joy Whalen. Image courtesy of Alexander and Bonin, New York Floyd Newsum, Sirigu Janie's Journey (detail), 2018. Oil and acrylic on paper, 55 x 95 inches. Photo by Mason Rankin. Courtesy of the Artist.
57th Street Art Fair JUNE 3–4, 2023 Between Kenwood & Woodlawn www.57thStreetArtFair.org CHICAGO’S 76TH ANNU AL
CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 19 TONY FITZPATRICK Cinderella Blackbird Book Available Fall 2023
tonyfitzpatrickno.9@gmail.com • 773.850.9702 • tonyfitzpatrick.co
Tony Fitzpatrick, “Cinderella Blackbird,” 2023 series, Drawing, Collage, Watercolor, ink, paper ephemera.

JESSI REAVES

All possessive lusts dispelled

February 16 – May 20, 2023 www.artsclubchicago.org

A Visual Exploration of Identity, Activism, and Collaboration with Fatherless and Friends.

JUN 9–SEP 24, 2023

Galleries open TH-SU, 10 AM-5 PM Rockford Art Museum 711 N Main St, Rockford IL rockfordartmuseum.org

Museum of Contemporary Photography

Columbia College Chicago

600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605 mocp.org

Free Admission

Open to the Public

Sunday 12-5 pm

Monday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm

Thursday until 8 pm

LIGHTS CAMERA AUCTION

8 june 2023 O O

TO BENEFIT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY

Deborah Lovely and Genia Yovankin CO-CHAIRS

MOCP.ORG

MoCP

CONTENTS

22 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 SPRING
SUMMER
22 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS Notable exhibitions in galleries + museums 24 GALLERY OPENINGS 26 ON VIEW: APRIL – AUGUST Galleries, museums, exhibitions, maps FEATURES 36 The Many Colors of Anna Kunz 40 An Interview with MCA Dir. Madeleine Grynsztejn 43 New Installations at The Fashion Outlets 44 Five to Talk to: Anticipating The Season’s Art 47 Highlights of EXPO CHICAGO’s 10th Anniversary 48 Artist Richard Hunt; Sculpting at 87 51 ARC Gallery; A Women-Led Art Program Turns 50 52 Collector and Connector: Dealer William Lieberman 56 Take a Road Trip to Southwest Michigan 57 Diasporal Rhythyms: Two Decades of Advocacy 58 Suburban Spotlight: Skokie and Glencoe 59 Spring ‘23 at Auction 60 COLLECTOR SERVICES
/
2023
22
FROM TOP: ANDY WARHOL: PORTFOLIOS AT THE CLEVE CARNEY MUSEUM OF ART IS ONE OF SEVERAL EXHIBITIONS IN AREA MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES; A Q&A WITH MCA DIRECTOR MADELEINE GRYNSZTEJN; AN INTERVIEW WITH SCULPTOR RICHARD HUNT AT 87.
48 38
56
A TRIO OF JAUME PLENSA FIGURES AT FREDERIK MEIJER SCULPTURE GARDENS IN MICHIGAN.

Publisher’s Letter

Every morning Lin Brehmer proclaimed on the radio, “It’s great to be alive.”

We each understand that life is short, but we feel it acutely when we lose someone or when time seems to move too fast. In January Brehmer, DJ at WXRT for decades, died. His death from cancer was a one of too many recent reminders that what he said on air every day is indeed worth remembering. I listened to him on the radio for half my life. Lin was known for staying out late at concerts until the wee hours and then waking up practically in the middle of the night to go back on the air at 6am. He loved music, art, literature, the Cubs, and Chicago. He had lots of friends. I admired him so much. His time was too short, but he made it count.

*

So what can we recommit to doing while we’re here for such a short time? Looking through past issues of CGN, I came across a 2016 interview with designer, artist, collector and all-around art lover Jason Pickleman, who said then that art is a kind of memory device. Art can remind us of the past, and it can outlast our short time on earth. He admitted then to buying almost everything for his collection at first sight. If it piques his interest, he buys it immediately. He does not hem, haw, think, or research. He abides by a sort of “seize the art” motto. His words are also a reminder to enjoy art as well as life. Life is short. Art lasts longer.

In this spring issue, we record how fast time flies. EXPO is 10 ARC Gallery is 50 Richard Hunt is 87. We aim to capture stories about working to make a difference through art. Each person we interviewed expressed a gratitude for being part of this community as well as a wish to creatively give back to it, either by creating, celebrating or collecting art every precious day.

William Lieberman is both a dealer and a collector committed to supporting living artists. Artist Anna Kunz talks about depicting relationships through color and her pride of being from Chicago all her life. MCA Director Madeleine Grynstezjn makes the case for Chicago’s gift to the art world right now. We also share insights from five art world leaders who are each making new things happen in 2023 and beyond.

Through the end of the summer there are anniversaries to celebrate, road trips to take and exhibitions to explore, hopefully with someone you’re close to. Maybe you will stay up a little later and wake up a little earlier to do it all. Through art we have the opportunity to glimpse the past, make new memories and make each day count.

Happy spring. It’s great to be alive.

Founded in 1982 Chicago Gallery News is the central source for information about the area’s art galleries, museums, events and resources. CGN aims to be a clear, accessible guide to the region’s visual arts, as well as an advocate on behalf of the local cultural community.

Magazine subscriptions are available for $25 / year.

Complimentary issues may be available in galleries, museums and art centers and select hotels. Quantities are limited.

Chicago Gallery News

Chicago, IL 312-649-0064 chicagogallerynews.com

Published 3 times annually: CGN Arts Guide / Spring / Fall © 2023

Chicago Gallery News, Inc.

Publisher + Executive Editor

Virginia B. Van Alyea

Managing Editor + Business Manager

Emily Ackerman

Contributors

Anna Dobrowolski

Jacqueline Lewis

Alison Reilly

Interns

Isobel Van Alyea

Thomas Van Alyea

Spring/Summer 2023

Vol. 38, No. 1

© 2023

ISSN #1046-6185

ON THE COVER:

ANNA KUNZ

THE TIDE, 2021, 66” X 60”, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS. PHOTO: DARIO LISAGNE NYC

CGN

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 23
CGN Publisher Ginny B. Van Alyea

This Season’s Highlights

VAN GOGH AND THE AVANT-GARDE: THE MODERN LANDSCAPE

Between 1882 and 1890, five artists—Vincent van Gogh, along with Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Emile Bernard, and Charles Angrand—flocked to villages on the fringes of Paris. More than 75 paintings and drawings from this intensely creative period— many from private collections and rarely publicly displayed— come together for this insightful presentation.

The Art Institute of Chicago • May 14–Sept 4, 2023 • artic.edu

GARY SIMMONS: PUBLIC ENEMY

This first comprehensive career survey at the MCA of the work of multidisciplinary artist Gary Simmons (b. 1964, New York, NY; lives in Los Angeles, CA) is the most in-depth presentation of Simmons’s work to date. The exhibition covers 30 years and encompasses approximately 70 works. Since the late 1980s Simmons has played a key role in situating questions of race, class, and gender identity at the center of contemporary art discourse.

Museum of Contemporary Art • Jun 13–Oct 1, 2023 • mcachicago.org

OLGA ZIEMSKA: OF THE EARTH

Five large-scale sculptures by Polish American artist Olga Ziemska, created exclusively for Of the Earth at The Morton Arboretum in suburban Lisle, aim to remind people that “everything in life is derived from the same basic elements that form everything in nature, including ourselves. There is no separation.” In Polish, Ziemska means “of the earth.” The artist’s work will be created from reclaimed tree branches and other natural materials gathered from throughout the Arboretum’s 1,700 acres.

The Morton Arboretum • May 26 thru 2025 • mortonarb.org

24 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
Vincent van Gogh, Factories at Clichy, summer 1887, Saint Louis Art Museum, Funds given by Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg by exchange, 579:1958 Gary Simmons, Hollywood, 2008. Pigment, oil paint, and cold wax on canvas; 84 × 120 in. (213.4 × 304.8 cm). Courtesy Rubell Museum, Miami. © Gary Simmons. Olga Ziemska, Stillness in Motion, 2002. Locally reclaimed willow branches, wire, metal armature. 6 ft x 9 ft x 12 ft (183 cm x 274 cm x 366 cm). Temporary Indoor and Outdoor Sculpture Centre of Polish Sculpture, Chapel Gallery, Oronsko, Poland

PATRIC MCCOY: TAKE MY PICTURE

In the 1980s, Patric McCoy traveled around Chicago on his bike, always with his camera, finding no shortage of Black men who wanted their picture taken. The exhibition is a selection of 50 photographs from this rich document of 1980s Black gay Chicago. HIV/AIDS hit Black men especially hard. Thousands would die by the end of the decade. Take My Picture is marker of place, time, and memory. It is an altar to those lost.

Wrightwood 659 • Apr 14–Jul 15, 2023 • wrightwood659.org

EDRA SOTO: DESTINATION/EL DESTINO

Destination/El Destino: a decade of GRAFT is the largest exhibition to date of Puerto Rican artist Edra Soto. Rooted in themes of cultural hybridity, the exhibition addresses the unsung influence of Afro-diasporic cultures on Puerto Rico’s decorative architecture. An exhibition highlight is a new, large-scale commission of the artist’s GRAFT series with porous sculptures, documentary photographs, drawings, and games that activate the Art Center’s indoor/outdoor main gallery.

Hyde Park Art Center • Apr 22–Aug 6, 2023 • hydeparkart.org

THE ART OF ELIZABETH CATLETT, FROM THE COLLECTION OF SAMELLA LEWIS

Elizabeth Catlett (1915 – 2012) was a celebrated African American artist known for her depictions of 20th century Black American experiences, which also often focused on women. This exhibition features 30 prints and sculptures by the artist and honors a half-century of her artistic activism in support of women, African Americans, and Mexican laborers.

Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MI • Jun 10–Sept 3, 2023 • krasl.org

ANDY WARHOL PORTFOLIOS: A LIFE IN POP / WORKS FROM THE BANK OF AMERICA COLLECTION

The Warhol Exhibition includes 94 works from Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop/Works from the Bank of America Collection on loan through BofA’s Art in our Communities program, and over 11,000 sq. ft. of interactive experiences including a Biographical exhibit, Video installation, 150+ photos taken by Warhol, Children’s Print Factory, Studio 54 experience and a Central Park-inspired outdoor space.

Cleve Carney Museum of Art • Jun 3–Sept 10, 2023 • theccma.org

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 25
Patric McCoy Edra Soto Andy Warhol, Flowers (10 of 10 in Suite from Flowers Portfolio) (1970) © 2022. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Elizabeth Catlett

Openings

• WEST SIDE

• RIVER NORTH

APRIL 1

• Vertical

• Madron

• Firecat

• Perspective Photo 6

• Pistachios 7

• GRAY

• Rhona Hoffman

• Koppel

• FLXST

• Oliva

• Tandem Press 10

• Heritage

• SOUTH SIDE

• MICHIGAN AVE

• NORTH SIDE

• SUBURBS

• IL • MI • WI

• Pistachios 5

• Corbett vs. Dempsey

• Addington

• Gallery Victor

• Lily Pad | West

• Tandem Press

11

• Smart 12

• Povos 14

• EXPO Art After Hours

• Chicago Artists Coalition

• DOCUMENT

• ENGAGE

• Goldfinch

• GRAY

• Kavi Gupta

• Hindman

• Mariane Ibrahim

6

• moniquemeloche

• P•L•H•K

• PATRON

• David Salkin

• Volume

• Western Exhibitions

• Addington

• Carl Hammer

• Heritage

• Gallery Victor

• Alma

• Elephant Room

• MoCP

15

• Weinberg/Newton 18

• Heritage

20

• gallery 1871 21

• Bridgeport Art

• Lily Pad | West 28

• DOCUMENT

• Volume

18

26

• ENGAGE 3

• M. LeBlanc 9

• Oliva

• Elephant Room 10

• moniquemeloche

• Chicago Printmakers

JUL 7

• Addington

• Gallery Victor

• Oliva 14

• ENGAGE

• Zolla/Lieberman

• Vertical Project Space

• Woman Made 12

• Oliva 13

• OS Projects

13

• Christopher, Prairie State College 16

• Gallery Victor

• Bridgeport Art

• Alma 17

• Woman Made

• Pistachios 19

• Rhona Hoffman

• Zolla/Lieberman

• Bridgeport Art 20

• Chicago Truborn

• Firecat 2

23

• Corbett vs. Dempsey 30

• Lily Pad | West

15

• Chicago Truborn

• Bridgeport Art

• Woman Made 27

• Pistachios

28

• Elephant Room 29

• M. LeBlanc

AUG 11

• Oliva 12

• OS Projects 18

• Bridgeport Art 19

• Chicago Truborn

26 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
MAY JUN JUL / AUG 4
21
22
• IA

In The Galleries

Michiko Itatani: Infinite Hope

JEAN ALBANO GALLERY

April 5–June 3

Opening April 14

The Lunch Drawings: Tony Fitzpatrick

POVOS GALLERY

April 12–May 21

JAUME PLENSA: FORGOTTEN DREAMS

Through 21 cast aluminum doors and 21 cast aluminum heads Plensa wants us to confront the poetry and beauty of the individual articles and text in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), drafted and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.

• April 7–June 3 GRAY

Xie Hongdong

ENGAGE PROJECTS

June 2–July 8

Sandra Yagi, Yokai

BERT GREEN FINE ART

July 15–August 25

Bibbs has said that numb was how she felt during traumatic experiences she went through for nearly a decade. This exhibition is a creative means of moving forward for herself and hopefully for others as well.

• April 7–May 6

OLIVA GALLERY

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 27
Alone Against It All, 2022. 5.5’ x 5.5’. Hand-felted wool, handwoven hand-spun wool, angelina fiber, bamboo fiber, silk, and recycled sari silk. BRYANA BIBBS: NUMB

Art Listings: April–August 2023

WEST TOWN KINZIE CORRIDOR UKRAINIAN VILLAGE GARFIELD PARK

• ARC Gallery

1463 W. Chicago (60642) www.arcgallery.org

Celebrating 50 years in 2023

• Chicago Artists Coalition

2130 W. Fulton (60612) www.chicagoartistscoalition.org

CAC is a non-profit organization that supports contemporary Chicago artists and curators by offering residency programs, exhibitions, professional development and resources.

Thru Apr 20:

BOLT: Enduring Roots, Tulika Ladsariya; HATCH: High Maintenance, Chloe Munkenbeck & SUNGJAE LEE, curated by Nicky Ni

• Chicago Truborn

1741 W. Chicago (60622) www.chicagotruborn.com

Chicago Truborn is a non–traditional gallery dedicated to supporting emerging and established artists with an emphasis on street art/graffti.

Through Apr 22: Nicolas Jimenez Solo Show

May 20–Jun 24: Ras Terms Solo Show

Jul 15–Aug 12: Sean Hannaway Solo Show

Aug 19: Chicago Truborn’s 10 Year Anniversary Show featuring Jay Turner / “Lie”

• Circle Contemporary (Arts of Life)

Chicago: 2010 W. Carroll (60612)

North Shore: 1963 Johns Dr., Glenview (60025) www.artsoflife.org

May 5: Neon Dreams Benefit Auction

• Corbett vs. Dempsey

2156 W. Fulton (60612) www.corbettvsdempsey.com

Thru Apr 29: Sam Gilliam: Driftless; Jimmy Wright: Down Home

May 5–Jun 17: Robert Lostutter; Jeff Perrone

Jun 23–Aug 5: Omar Velázquez; Thomas H. Kapsalis

• David Salkin Creative

1709 W. Chicago (60622) www.davidsalkin.com

Thru Apr 22: Assaf Evron: Collages for Mies van der Rohe

• DOCUMENT

1709 W. Chicago (60622) www.documentspace.com

Thru Apr 22: Meg Lipke

Apr 28–Jun 17: Anya Kielar

• ENGAGE Projects 864 N. Ashland (60622) www.engage-projects.com

Apr 14–May 26: Adam Daley Wilson: This Is Text Based Art Jun 2–Jul 8: Xie Hongdong Jul 14–Aug 26: Adia Sykes Guest Curated show

• Goldfinch

319 N. Albany (60612) goldfinch-gallery.com

Thru Apr 15: Gallery 1: Irene Wa: Crisálida de Sal; Gallery 2: A Flatfiles Show; East Wing: Sarah Leuchtner: Sequential Escapes Apr 22–Jun 3: Gallery 1: Iris Bernblum: Various Pleasures; Gallery 2: Lovesick on the Floor, group show curated by Iris Bernblum Jun 10–Jul 22: Gallery 1: Gallery Artists Group Show; Gallery 2: LaNia Sproles

• The Golden Triangle

2035 W. Grand (60612) goldentriangle.biz

• GRAY 2044 W. Carroll (60612) www.richardgraygallery.com

Apr 7–Jun 3: Jaume Plensa: Forgotten Dreams

• Hindman 1550 W. Carroll, Ste. 106 (60607) www.hindmanauctions.com

Hindman operates more U.S. salesrooms than any other firm and conducts over 100 auctions annually in categories such as fine jewelry, fine art, modern design, books and manuscripts, furniture, decorative arts, couture, Asian art, arts of the American West, and numismatics.

• Rhona Hoffman Gallery

1711 W. Chicago (60622) www.rhoffmangallery.com

Apr 7–May 13: Spencer Finch: La Grande Jatte May 19–Jun 24: Julia Fish: Hermitage Threshold/s — scores + bricks

• Mariane Ibrahim Gallery

437 N. Paulina (60622) www.marianeibrahim.com

French-Somali gallerist, Mariane Ibrahim has established herself as a leading Chicago and international art dealer through her spotlight on artists of the African diaspora.

Apr 12–May 17: Patrick Eugène, 50 LBS

May 27–Jul 8: Carmen Neely, sometimes a painting is a prayer

• Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art 756 N. Milwaukee (60642) www.art.org • 312–624–9487

Founded in 1991, Intuit is a premier museum of outsider and self-taught art. Its mission is grounded in the ethos that powerful art can be found in unexpected places and made by unexpected creators.

• Mongerson Gallery

2251 W. Grand (60612) www.mongersongallery.com

Mongerson Gallery specializes in paintings by Surrealists Gertrude Abercrombie and Julia Thecla, and Black artists Charles McGee and Harold Neal.

• Monique Meloche Gallery

451 N. Paulina (60622) www.moniquemeloche.com

Apr 1–May 26: Maia Cruz Palileo: Days Later, Down River

Apr 13–16: EXPO Chicago

Jun 10–Jul 29: Antonius Bui

• Paris London Hong Kong

1709 W. Chicago (60622)

www.parislondonhongkong.com

Thru Apr 22: Pedro Vaz: Lived Landscape

• PATRON

1612 W. Chicago (60622) www.patrongallery.com

Apr 1–May 27: Mika Horibuchi; Kay Hofmann

Jun 3-Jul 15: Lucas Simões

28 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
CGN CALENDAR

The West Side

VERTICAL

UKRAINIAN VILLAGE

AUGUSTA

UKRAINIAN INST. OF MODERN ART

VERTICAL PROJECT SPACE

WEST TOWN

ENGAGE PROJECTS

PATRON

RIVER WEST

ERIE

GRAND

HUBBARD

GOLDFINCH

FULTON LAKE

GOLDEN TRIANGLE

MONGERSON

KINZIE GRAY WAREHOUSE

CORBETT VS DEMPSEY

CHICAGO OAKLEY

GARFIELD PARK

CHICAGO TRUBORN

– PLHK

– VOLUME

– DOCUMENT

– WESTERN EX

CHICAGO

– RHONA HOFFMAN

– DAVID SALKIN

MONIQUE MELOCHE MARIANE IBRAHIM

ARTS OF LIFE / CIRCLE CONTEMPORARY

CHICAGO ARTISTS COALITION

HOYNE LEAVITT

CARRIE SECRIST

HINDMAN

CARROLL PAULINA WOOD WOLCOTT

KINZIE CORRIDOR

WASHINGTON

MADISON

ADAMS HARRISON

• Povos Chicago

1541 W. Chicago (60622) www.povoschicago.com

Apr 12–May 21: The Lunch Drawings: Tony Fitzpatrick

• Carrie Secrist Gallery

New West Town location at Hubbard and Wood coming in spring 2023 www.secristgallery.com

• Toomey & Co. Auctioneers

1440 W. Hubbard (60642) www.toomeyco.com

Toomey & Co. Auctioneers is a premier specialty auction house, conducting auctions of 20th century art and design since 1987.

• Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (UIMA)

2320 W. Chicago (60622) www.uima-chicago.org

UIMA preserves and promotes contemporary art as a shared expression of the Ukrainian and American experience and develops, utilizes and encourages artistic talent through programs serving the cultural needs of our community and city.

POVOS

• Vertical Gallery

1016 N. Western (60622) www.verticalgallery.com

– WRIGHT – TOOMEY & CO.

I-90/94

GRAND HUBBARD

KINZIE

CARROLL

ARC LAKE

KAVI GUPTA #2

RANDOLPH

INTUIT

WEINBERG / NEWTON

FULTON GREEN PEORIA

RANDOLPH ST. MKT.

WASHINGTON

MADISON

ADAMS HARRISON

– KAVI GUPTA – MCCORMICK

• Wright 1440 W. Hubbard (60642) www.wright20.com

Apr 1–29: 10 Year Anniversary Show featuring AlexFace, Martin Whatson, Flog, 2CHOEY, Hama Woods, Sergio Farfan, Collin Van Der Sluijs, Mr. Kreme, Mau Mau, and Pipsqueak Was Here!!!

• Vertical Project Space

2006 W. Chicago, 1R (60622) www.verticalprojectspace.com

May 6–27: Launch, Group Show

• Volume Gallery

1709 W. Chicago (60622) www.wvvolumes.com

Focusing on design and art, with a strong emphasis placed on emerging contemporary designers and artists.

Apr 28–Jun 17: Tanya Aguiñiga

• Weinberg/Newton Gallery

688 N. Milwaukee (60642) www.weinbergnewtongallery.com

Thru Apr 15: For Those Without Choice

Apr 1: Amplify Teen Night, 5–7pm Apr 15: Artist Conversation & Closing Party, 7-10pm

• Western Exhibitions

1709 W. Chicago, 2nd Floor (60622) www.westernexhibitions.com

Thru Apr 22: Richard Hull: Mirror and Bone

Wright is the industry’s leading auction house specializing in 20th century art and design.

WEST LOOP

• Kavi Gupta Gallery

835 W. Washington and 219 N. Elizabeth (60607) www.kavigupta.com

• McCormick Gallery 835 W. Washington (60607) www.thomasmccormick.com

Thru May 6: Kim Piotrowski, Joy Experiment Summer 2023: works from the Estate of Maurice Golubov

• Randolph Street Market 1350 Block of W. Randolph www.randolphstreetmarket.com

May 27 and 28

July 29 and 30

Sept 23 and 24

Nov 4 and 5

Dec 2 and 3

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 29
• UKRAINIAN VILLAGE • WEST TOWN • KINZIE CORRIDOR • RIVER WEST • WEST LOOP • GARFIELD PARK
WESTERN GRAND
DAMEN
MILWAUKEE
DESPLAINES
WEST LOOP HALSTED I-90
NOBLE ELIZABETH OGDEN ASHLAND
ADA RACINE

RIVER NORTH

WELLS CLARK DEARBORN

HURON

ERIE ONTARIO OHIO

The River North Design District (RNDD) features design showrooms from Chicago Ave. to the Merchandise Mart

RIVER NORTH

• Addington Gallery

704 N. Wells (60654) www.addingtongallery.com

Thru Apr 30: Group exhibition: In Pursuit of Spring

May 5–Jun 30: Tread Lightly, New oil on copper paintings by Joan Holleb. Late Spring River North Gallery Walk

Receptions held first Friday of May, July, Sept, Nov.

• Jean Albano Gallery

215 W. Superior (60654) W–Sa, 11–4 and by appt www.jeanalbanogallery.com

Apr 1–Jun 3: Michiko Itatani: Infinite Hope Opening Reception April 14, 5–7pm

• Gallery VICTOR

300 W. Superior (60654) www.galleryvictor.com

Apr 7–29: Art Shay/Richard Shay: Father and Son Photographers. Opening Apr 14, 5-9pm

May 5–Jun 3: Brian Driscoll: 56 Weeks

Opening May 5, 5-8pm

Jun 16–Aug 26: Pat Vale collaboration with Cubs Player Ian Happ: A Day at Wrigley. Opening Jun 16, 5-9pm.

Jul 7: Midsummer Opening, 5-8pm

• Carl Hammer Gallery

740 N. Wells (60654) info@carlhammergallery.com • 312–266–8512 www.carlhammergallery.com

Thru April 30: Fred Stonehouse: EMBLEMS

• Heritage Auctions

222 W. Hubbard (60654) www.ha.com

Fine Art and Collectibles Auction House

Apr 10–15: Modern & Contemporary Art

Apr 18–20: Fine Jewelry and Luxury Accessories

Apr 27–28 and May 1–2: American Art May 16–18: Watches and Fine Timepieces

• Hilton | Asmus Contemporary River North: 716 N. Wells (60654) Also in Bridgeport: 3622 S. Morgan (60609) www.hilton-asmus.com

• John David Mooney Foundation

114 W. Kinzie (60654) www.mooneyfoundation.org

• Alan Koppel Gallery

806 N. Dearborn (60610) 342 Park, Glencoe (60022) www.alankoppel.com

Apr 7–Jun 30: Gregory Crewdson: Eveningside

• Pistachios Jewelry 716 N. Wabash (60611) www.pistachiosonline.com

Thru Apr 2: Pistachios Artist Series III

Apr 6–May 7: Nicole Jacquard: Stories from Scotland

May 11–Jul 3: Between Realms

Jul 27–Sep 10: Earrings Galore

• Richard Norton Gallery 14–119 Merchandise Mart (60654) www.richardnortongallery.com

Founded in 2000, Richard Norton Gallery offers a diverse selection of notable American and European Impressionist and Modern paintings, drawings and sculpture from the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Also offering consultation, appraisal, consignment and purchase of artwork.

Annual participant in EXPO CHICAGO

• Rosenthal Fine Art

210 W. Superior (60654) www.rosenthalfineart.com

• Vale Craft Gallery

230 W. Superior (60654) www.valecraftgallery.com

Contemporary American fine craft objects and sculpture. Works in clay, fiber, metal, glass, and wood.

Thru Jun 17: SPRING VALE SALE!

*Note the gallery is closing in late June

• Zolla/Lieberman Gallery

325 W. Huron (60654) www.zollaliebermangallery.com

Thru Apr 29: Shai Azoulay; Rhonda Gates; Derek Walter May 19–Jun 30: Igor and Marina; Jay Strommen

Jul 14–Aug 19: Group exhibition featuring: Meredith Kopelman, Lynn Neuman, James Ostrander, Ruth Poor, Margaux Siegel, Zachary Weber, Ben Wilkinson

30 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
STATE RUSH PISTACHIOS
CHICAGO SUPERIOR
ORLEANS FRANKLIN VALE CRAFT HILTON | ASMUS ADDINGTON JEAN ALBANO GALLERY VICTOR CARL HAMMER ZOLLA / LIEBERMAN RICHARD NORTON
ROSENTHAL FINE
ALAN KOPPEL CHESTNUT
ART
HERITAGE
WABASH
222 W. HUBBARD 14–119 MERCHANDISE MART PLAZA
114 W. KINZIE LASALLE

DOWNTOWN

MICHIGAN AVE GOLD COAST THE LOOP / SOUTH LOOP

• The Arts Club of Chicago 201 E. Ontario (60611) www.artsclubchicago.org

Thru May 20: Jessi Reaves: All possessive lusts dispelled

May 1–Oct 7: Garden Project: Yasmin Spiro: Groundation

Jun 14–Aug 15: Brenda Draney: Drink from the river

• The Art Institute of Chicago 111 S. Michigan (60603) www.artic.edu

• The Chicago Cultural Center 78 E. Washington (60602) www.chicago.gov

• The Richard H. Driehaus Museum 40 E. Erie (60611) www.driehausmuseum.org

Thru May 21: Capturing Louis Sullivan: What Richard Nickel Saw

Begins Jun 22: Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism

• Elephant Room Gallery

704 S. Wabash (60605) www.elephantroomgallery.com

Thru April 22: Yams, Ways and Actions

Apr 28–Jun 3: Cujo Dah & Dredske, Synthesis

Jun 9–Jul 22: Yuqing Zhu

Jul 28–Sep 9: Chantala Kommanivanh

• Les Enluminures

980 N. Michigan, Ste. 1330 (60611) www.lesenluminures.com www.textmanuscripts.com

Mar 30–May 9: The King of Beasts, an Exceptional Renaissance Gem from the Marlborough Collection. Les Enluminures NY

Apr 27–30: The NY International Antiquarian Book Fair

• GRAY

Downtown: 875 N. Michigan (60611)

West Town: 2044 W. Carroll (60612) www.richardgraygallery.com

• Bert Green Fine Art

8 S. Michigan, Ste. 620 (60603)

Fridays 12–4 pm and by appt. other days www.bgfa.us

Contemporary Fine Art and Prints

Apr 29–Jun 16: Jeff Gillette, Art History Shacks; Laurie Hassold, New Sculptures

Jul 15–Aug 25: Sandra Yagi, Yokai

• Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA)

220 E. Chicago (60611) www.mcachicago.org

Thru Apr 23: Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today

Thru Apr 29: Firelei Baez

Thru Jul 23: Enter the Mirror

Thru Sep 3: Duane Linklater: mymothersside

Thru Nov 26: Mona Hatoum: Early Works

Jun 13–Oct 1: Gary Simmons: Public Enemy

• Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP)

Columbia College Chicago

600 S. Michigan (60605) • www.mocp.org

Apr 13–Aug 6: Shift: Music, Meaning, Context

• International Museum of Surgical Science (IMSS)

1524 N. Lake Shore (60610) • www.imss.org

Thru Apr 23: Deborah Simon: Embroidered Morphologies

Thru May 7: Fabrizzio Subia: Año Nuevo (2023)

Thru Sep 4: Strips & Needles—A Day in the Life

Mar 31–May 14: Alexander Gonzalez: Process

May 12–July 23: Megan Euker: BODIES III

• Newberry Library

60 W. Walton (60610) • newberry.org

Thru May 26: Surviving the Long Wars: Residues and Rebellions

Thru July 15: Pop-Up Books through the Ages

Jun 20–Sept 23: Wheels

• Sotheby’s Chicago 980 N. Michigan (60611) www.sothebys.com

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 31
CONGRESS JACKSON VAN BUREN ADAMS MONROE M I C HIG AN A V E WACKER MILLENIUM PARK GRANT PARK DELAWARE OAK WALTON CHESTNUT PEARSON HURON ERIE F A IRB AN K S R US H ONTARIO OHIO ILLINOIS STAT E WA B AS H M I C HI GAN AV E CHICAGO MADISON WASHINGTON SUPERIOR GRAND HUBBARD KINZIE LAKE RANDOLPH M I C HI GAN AV E C OL UM B U S BALBO HARRISON N.LAKE SHOREDR GRAY STATE THE ARTS CLUB NAVY PIER CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER
SAIC SULLIVAN GALLERIES BERT GREEN THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
FAIRBANKS
OF CONTEMPORARY
WABASH DRIEHAUS MUSEUM ELEPHANT ROOM
MUSEUM OF SURGICAL SCIENCE • LES ENLUMINURES • SOTHEBY’S
NEWBERRY LIBRARY
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY (MOCP)
MUSEUM
ART (MCA)
INTL.
DEARBORN

NORTH SIDE

LINCOLN SQUARE / RAVENSWOOD

• Chicago Printmakers Collaborative

4912 N. Western (60625) • 773 293 2070 www.chicagoprintmakers.com

Chicago’s longest-running community printshop, with gallery featuring international printmakers, classes, and events.

Thru May 27: GRABADO POPULAR: Prints for the People, featuring Carlos Barberena, Atlan Arce-Witzl, CHema Skandal!

Apr 13–16: EXPO CHICAGO, Editions + Books, Booth #407

Jun 10–Aug 26: CLOSE TO TRANSPORTATION

• Bojitt Studio

3759 N. Ravenswood #226C (60613) www.bojittart.com

Ongoing: WOMAN TO WOMAN. On view at 3044 N. Eltson Ave., in partnership with XCĒD Design Build.

BUCKTOWN / LOGAN SQUARE / WICKER PARK

• Firecat Projects

2019 N. Damen (60647) www.firecatprojects.org

April 1–May 21: We Are All Vessels: Beth Herman Adler

May 27–Jul 22: Kurt Herrmann

Jul 28–Sept 23: Dmitry Samarov

• Oliva Gallery

3816 W. Armitage (60647) www.olivagallery.com

Thru Apr 2: Juxtaposed: Darren Oberto and Jesus Monsivais. Curator: Kate Roth.

Apr 7–May 6: Numb: Bryana Bibbs

May 12–Jun 3: Secret Life of Plants: Jim Newberry. Curator: Kate Roth.

Jun 9–Jul 1: Truth Be Told: Pinar Aral and Corinne D Peterson.

Jul 7–Aug 5: The Ocean Between VI. Curator: Marianna Buckwald, Cem Koc and Janet Trierweiler

Begins Aug 11: Body [ ] Space. Curator: Elizabeth Hatton

• Studio 6F

1834 W. North (60622) www.studio6f.org

• T.F Projects / The Dime

1513 N. Western (60622) thedimechicago@gmail.com

LAKEVIEW

/ LINCOLN PARK / OLD TOWN

• DePaul Art Museum (DPAM)

935 W. Fullerton (60614) https://resources.depaul.edu/art-museum

Thru Aug 6: Art for the Future: Artists Call and Central American Solidarities

• Gallery 1871

1871 N. Clybourn (60614) www.chicagoartsource.com (Formerly Chicago Art Source Gallery)

Thru Apr 15: New Directions: Featuring New Work by Lisa Ridgers, Allison Svoboda and Ana Zanic Apr 20–Jun 24: Cynthia Bjorn, Shar Coulson and Sara Mast. Opening reception April 20th 5-7pm

• M. LeBlanc

3514 W. Fullerton (60647) mleblancchicago.com

Apr 15–May 27: Israel Aten, Zoe Barcza, Sven Loven, Isabelle Frances Mcguire, Mindy Rose Schwartz

Jun 3–Jul 15: Yves Scherer

Jul 29–Sep 2: Hans-Jörg Mayer

• Madron Gallery 1000 W. North , 3rd Fl. (60642)

www.madrongallery.com

Our extensive inventory showcases the breadth and depth of art in the U.S. between 1890–1940, as well as a growing inventory of modern and contemporary artists.

Thru Jun 16: Working Memory: New work by Erin Garrity-Duffey

• Pagoda Red 1740 W. Webster (60614) www.pagodared.com

• Wrightwood 659 659 W. Wrightwood (60614)

Th 1–8; F 12–7; Sa 10–5 www.wrightwood659.org

Apr 14–Jul 15: Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk; Patric McCoy: Take My Picture; Shahidul Alam: Singed But

Burnt

32 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
Not
RACINE DAMEN DIVERSEY BELMONT ADDISON IRVING PARK MONTROSE LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW CHICAGO PRINTMAKERS COLLABORATIVE RAVENSWOOD ASHLAND CLARK HALSTED
NORTH AVE ROSCOE BROADWAY CLARENDON EDGEWATER MARINE INNER LAKE SHORE WRIGHTWOOD 659 SHERIDAN FOSTER DEPAUL ART MUSEUM GALLERY 1871 FIRECAT PROJECTS I-90/94 KEDZIE CALIFORNIA CENTRAL PARK NORTH AVE ARMITAGE LINCOLN SQUARE OLIVA LOGAN SQUARE UPTOWN RAVENSWOOD LAWRENCE LINCOLN MADRON MILWAUKEE T.F. PROJECTS LAKE SHORE DR. BUCKTOWN FULLERTON PAGODA RED OLD TOWN WICKER PARK CLYBOURN WESTERN ELSTON BOJITT STUDIO STUDIO 6F M. LEBLANC
WRIGHTWOOD

BRIDGEPORT / PILSEN / CHINATOWN

• Alma Art and Interiors

3636 S. Iron (60609) Open Su 12–5 www.olivagallery.com

Apr 14–Sept 1: Alma IV

• Bridgeport Art Center 1200 W. 35th (60609) www.bridgeportart.com

Thru Apr 23: 2023 IHSAE Exhibition

May 19–Jul 7: 11th Annual Art Competition 3rd Friday receptions take place monthly.

• FLXST Contemporary 2251 S. Michigan, Suite 220 (60616) www.flxst.co | 773-800-1470

Apr 7–May 14: DONNIE NIE: Envisaged Potentials; Group Show: Quality Control

Apr 14–May 21: DAVID WILLBURN: Traits, Tendencies, and Acts

• Hilton | Asmus Contemporary Bridgeport: Morgan Arts Complex: 3622 S. Morgan (60609) Also in River North: 716 N. Wells (60654) www.hilton-asmus.com

• National Museum of Mexican Art 1852 W. 19th (60608) www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org

Thru Aug 27: Los huecos del agua, Recent Indigenous Art from Mexico

Ongoing: Giving Shape: Yollocalli Artistic Practice Through the Years

• Woman Made Gallery 2150 S. Canalport, Ste. 4A3 (60608) www.womanmade.org

Thru Apr 22: 24th International Open; juried by Pritika Chowdhry

May 6–Jun 3: Woman Life Freedom; juried by Shahrbanoo Hamzeh

Jun 17–Jul 8: Indrani Nayar-Gall and Madelyn Turner | Two Women Show

Jul 22–Aug 19: Absurdity: In Dada We Trust; juried by Kelly Hensen and Beate Minkovski

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 33 SOUTH SIDE
PILSEN
CHINATOWN / BRIDGEPORT / BRONZEVILLE 18TH ST 19TH ST MORGAN
MUSEUM
PILSEN – MANA CONTEMPORARY –
CULLERTON BRIDGEPORT ART
PROSPECTUS BRIDGEPORT CULLERTON CANALPORT
GALLERY CANAL HALSTED CERMAK STATE MICHIGAN AVE 31ST ST 35TH ST 19TH PL PILSEN EAST 18TH ST BRONZEVILLE PERSHING 23RD ST FLXST 26TH ST CHINATOWN ASHLAND RACINE 19TH SOUTH SIDE COMMUNITY ART CENTER PRAIRIE DISTRICT 43RD ST 47TH ST GRAND BOULEVARD CANARYVILLE ALMA ARCHER –
/
NATIONAL
OF MEXICAN ART
FRACAS GALLERY
CENTER
WOMAN MADE
HILTON | ASMUS
MORGAN ART COMPLEX

HYDE PARK / UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO / DORCHESTER

HYDE PARK / DORCHESTER

• DuSable Museum of African American Art 740 E. 56th (60637) www.dusablemuseum.org

Thru Jul 16: Diaspora Stories: Selections from the CCH Pounder Collection

• Hyde Park Art Center 5020 S. Cornell (60615) www.hydeparkart.org

Thru Jul 9: SURVIVING THE LONG WARS: Unlikely Entanglements

Apr 22–Aug 6: Edra Soto: Destination/El Destino: a decade of GRAFT

Apr 13–16: LandForms at EXPO CHICAGO

Apr 22–Aug 13: Amuleto

Jul 22–Oct 29: William Estrada: Multiples and Multitudes

• The Oriental Institute

University of Chicago 1155 E. 58th (60637) oi.uchicago.edu

• The Renaissance Society

University of Chicago 5811 S. Ellis, 4th Fl. (60637) www.renaissancesociety.org

Thru Apr 16: Aria Dean: Abattoir, U.S.A.!

Apr 1: Whitney Johnson Concert Apr 22-23: Intermissions: Özgür Kar

• Smart Museum of Art

University of Chicago 5550 S. Greenwood (60637) www.smartmuseum.uchicago.edu

Thru Jun 4: not all realisms: photography, Africa, and the long 1960s

Thru Jul 9: The Metropol Drama

Ongoing: Haegue Yang: Quasi-Legit

Ongoing: Calling on the Past: Selections from the Collection

• South Side Community Art Center 3831 S. Michigan (60653) www.sscartcenter.org

• Stony Island Arts Bank 6760 S. Stony Island (60649) www.rebuild-foundation.org

34 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
67TH ST 51ST ST WASHINGTON PARK HYDE PARK ART CENTER SMART MUSEUM OF ART DUSABLE MUSEUM STONY ISLAND ARTS BANK 60TH ST 58TH ST MIDWAY PLAISANCE CORNELL RENAISSANCE SOCIETY ORIENTAL INSTITUTE MUSEUM
OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY
PARK BLVD HYDE PARK 56TH ST ELLIS COTTAGE GROVE UNIVERSITY
DORCHESTER STONY ISLAND 63RD ST MLK DRIVE WOODLAWN
HYDE
WOODLAWN KENWOOD

SUBURBS + MIDWEST EVANSTON

• Art Encounter

927 Noyes, #222, Evanston (60201) artencounter.org

Thru May: Monthly, Thurs. 7:00 pm: Night Visions

Apr–Jun: Weekly, Weds. 11:00 am & 1:30 pm: Expanding Visions

Jun 1: Kaleidoscope Spring Benefit and Art Auction

• Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University 40 Arts Circle, Evanston (60208) W–Fr 12–8, Sa and Su 12–5, Closed M and Tu www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu

Thru July 9: The Heart’s Knowledge: Science and Empathy in the Art of Dario Robleto; The Living Image of Sound: Notes on Jazz and Protest at Northwestern University

• Evanston Art Center 1717 Central, Evanston (60201) www.evanstonartcenter.org

The Evanston Art Center is a non-profit that inspires art education, exhibitions and expression for all. Our galleries exhibit contemporary artwork by emerging and established artists, and are committed to providing a venue for new artistic ideas and forms.

Apr 1–May 7: Matthew Dicks: 23; Rebecca Keller: All The Water That Ever Was, Now Is Apr 15–May 21: Artmakers North: The Artist’s Voice

• Perspective Group + Photography Gallery

1310-1/2 Chicago, Evanston (60201) (224) 200-1155 www.perspectivegallery.org

April: Perspective Members Anthony Iacuzzi and Dianne Kittle

May: Student Perspectives (Chicago area High School Students), juried by Aimee Beaubien, Assoc. Professor of Photography at SAIC

June: Perspective Members Kurt Kramer and Howard Hart

July: Vicinity 2023, juried by Kristin Taylor, Curator of Academic Programs & Collections, Museum of Contemporary Photography, August: Perspective Members Iris Lutz and Tobin Fraley

NORTH SHORE + NW SUBURBS

THE NORTH SHORE AND NORTHWEST SUBURBS

• The Art Center – Highland Park

1957 Sheridan, Highland Park (60035) www.theartcenterhp.org

Apr 14–22: Central Suburban League Annual Exhibition

May 5–Jun 17: The Passion Project

Jun 23–Aug 5: Absurdity: In Dadaism we Trust

Beginning Aug 11: Partition Anti-Memorial Project: Pritika Chowdhry (Center Gallery)

• Art Post Gallery

984 Willow, Ste. G, Northbrook (60062) www.artpostgallery.com • 847–272–7659

For nearly 42 years, Chris Bates has helped clients create beautiful and unique fine art collections. She is especially proud of the gallery’s reputation for art expertise and good design sense. Offering one of the largest selections of original art in Chicagoland. Specializing in large/ oversized pieces.

• Blue Moon Gallery

18620 Belvidere, Grayslake (60030) www.thebluemoongallery.com

Apr 22–May 7: Les Scott

Apr 22–Jun 11: William Weidner & Samira Gdisis

May 27–Jul 9: June Ambro

Jun 24–Aug 6: Frank Fitzgerald & Mimi Peterson

Jul 22–Sep 10: Trace Chiodo

Aug 26–Oct 15: Darlene Bock & Paul Pinzarrone

• Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center 9603 Woods, Skokie (60077) www.ilholocaustmuseum.org

• Alan Koppel Gallery – North 342 Park Ave., Glencoe (60022) Sa 11–5 and by appt www.alankoppel.com

• Anne Loucks Gallery 309 Park Ave., Glencoe (60022) www.loucksgallery.com

Anne Loucks Gallery, celebrating our 23rd year, specializes in contemporary American painting, photography, and works on paper. The gallery curates six exhibitions annually.

• (northern) Western Exhibitions 7933 Lincoln Ave., Skokie (60077) www.westernexhibitions.com

Thru May 6: Miller & Shellabarger: Photography

• Who Modern 7933 Lincoln Ave., Skokie (60077) www.whomodern.com

Who Modern offers rare and unusual decorative objects, furniture, and art from the mid-20th C. to today.

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 35
O’Hare SKOKIE – (northern) Western Exhibitions – WHO Modern – IL Holocaust Museum EVANSTON

WESTERN + SOUTH SUBURBS

• Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park Governors State University, 1 University Pkwy., University Park (60484) www.govst.edu/sculpture

Voted Best Sculpture Park 2021, USA Today, 10 Best Readers’ Choice! Open dawn to dusk 365 days a year, free admission and parking.

Apr 22: Earth Day Fresh Air Walk at the Nate, Saturday, 2–4 pm

Jun 17: Juneteenth at theNate, Saturday, 4–9 pm

Jun 20: Summer Solstice - Sip, Shop and Stroll, Wright in Kankakee Friendraiser, Tuesday, 5–8 pm

GREATER ILLINOIS

• Krannert Art Museum (KAM)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

500 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign (61820) kam.illinois.edu • Tu–Sa 10–4 • Free Admission

On view: Pattern & Process and The Ink Wash Paintings of Shozo Sato

Apr 8-22: 2023 Art & Design MFA Exhibition

May 6-14: 2023 Art & Design BFA Exhibition

• Northern Illinois University (NIU) Art Museum

Altgeld Hall, 1st Fl., West End, DeKalb (60115) www.niu.edu/artmuseum

Thru May 13: Perspectives on collecting: Americans in Burma: The Art of Collecting; Local Visions II

WESTERN SUBURBS

• Cleve Carney Museum of Art College of DuPage

425 Fawell, Glen Ellyn (60137) theCCMA.org

Jun 3–Sept 10: Warhol, featuring Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop. Works from the Bank of America Collection.

• Elmhurst Art Museum

150 S. Cottage Hill, Elmhurst (60126) www.elmhurstartmuseum.org

May 6–Jul 31: Superheroes in Wilder Park, an outdoor public art installation

May 28–Aug 20: Marvelocity: The Art of Alex Ross, celebrating one of the greatest artists in the field of comic books

• Expression Gallery of Fine Art

10 E. First, Hinsdale (60521) wwww.expressiongalleries.com

Since 2005 our gallery has specialized in 19th, 20th century works on paper by Masters, contemporary French painters like Coulomb, Moiras, Millan, and paintings by living Master Nikolay Blokhin. Known for works by Renoir, Klimt, Picasso, Miró and others.

• Kavanagh Gallery at Fine Line Creative Arts Center

37W570 Bolcum, St. Charles (60175) www.fineline.org

Thru May 12: Environments: Exploring the Concept of Environments.

May 18–Jun 23: Art 2023: It’s What We Create.

Jun 29 – Aug 9: From the Earth: Functional & Decorative Art.

SOUTH SUBURBS

• Christopher Art Gallery at Prairie State College

202 S. Halsted, Chicago Heights (60411) prairiestate.edu/christopher-art-gallery/index.aspx

Apr 24–May 17: Never Forget: Holocaust Awareness; Annual Spring Student Show

Jun 5–Jul 19: The Mix: A Sculpture show. Artists: Kim Matthews, Jesse Hickman, David Richards and Darlys Ewoldt. Reception: Tuesday, June 13, 4-6:30 pm

April 15 and 29: Meet the Collectors: Collector talks with four of the featured collectors in Local Visions II, 2pm, South Gallery

April 20: Objects Worth Keeping: Poetry/short story readings about collecting, 7–8:30 p.m., Altgeld Hall 125

Beginning Aug 29: Things that seem needed: Dialogue; Mourning

• Rockford Art Museum

711 N. Main St., Rockford (61103) www.rockfordartmuseum.org

The RAM Permanent Collection focuses on modern/ contemporary, photography, studio glass, African American, and regional art; exhibits change throughout the year.

Thru May 28: Outer Harmonies

Apr 21–Jul 9: Deb Newton Retrospective May 19–Sept 24: Ken Hoffman: Ten More & Bigger Begins Jun 9: Fatherless Print Posse

• Tarble Arts Center

Eastern IL Univ., 2010 9th St., Charleston (61920) www.tarbleartscenter.org

Thru May 6: Falling Into Milk;

Apr 1–May 6: 2023 EIU Undergraduate Art Exhibition

2023 EIU Master of Arts in Studio Art Exhibition

36 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023

ILLINOIS, IOWA, MICHIGAN, WISCONSIN

• Milwaukee Art Museum

700 N. Art Museum Dr., Milwaukee, WI (53202) www.mam.org

• OS Projects 601 6th St., Racine, WI (53403) www.osprojects.art

OS Projects is a contemporary art gallery featuring visual artists in solo and small group exhibits. The gallery’s primary focus is on artists living and working in the Chicago-Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee urban corridor.

Thru Apr 8: Carey Watters: Sharp Points

May 13-Jul 15: Lisa Englander

Aug 12-Oct 14: Jerrold Belland and Andrew Larson

• Racine Art Museum

441 Main St., Racine, WI (53403) www.ramart.org

Home to America’s largest contemporary craft collection, RAM organizes 15–20 intriguing exhibitions each year featuring its holdings of 11,000 pieces.

• Saint Kate Arts Hotel

139 E. Kilbourn Ave., Milwaukee, WI (53202) www.saintkatearts.com

• Sculpture Milwaukee

Various locations. Milwaukee, WI www.sculpturemilwaukee.com

IOWA

• Stanley Museum of Art –University of Iowa

160 W Burlington St, Iowa City, IA (52242) stanleymuseum.uiowa.edu

Ongoing through July 2025: Homecoming

MICHIGAN

• Krasl Art Center

707 Lake Blvd., St. Joseph, MI (49085) www.krasl.org

Thru Apr 9: The Galleries: The World After Us: Imaging techno-aesthetic futures

Thru Apr 16: The Lab: Sasha Stiles

Apr 15–Jun 4: The Galleries: Andy Sweet’s South Beach

Apr 22–Jun 25: The Lab: Excursions by Marat Paransky

Jun 10–Sept 4: The Galleries: The Art of Elizabeth Catlett, from the Collection of Samella Lewis

Jul 1-Sept 17: The Lab: Theda Sandiford: Triggers, Truth and Transformation

• The J. Petter Galleries

161 Blue Star Hwy, Douglas, MI (49406) www.JPetterGalleries.com

Located in Douglas, Saugatuck & Holland, MI Flagship Gallery at 161 Blue Star Highway, Douglas MI

WISCONSIN

• John Michael Kohler Arts Center

608 New York Ave., Sheboygan, WI (53081) www.jmkac.org

• Lily Pad | West

215 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, WI (53202) www.lilypadgallery.com

Lily Pad | West is a contemporary art gallery that presents artwork from over 70 artists. Visit our website to view more information and our full exhibition schedule.

Thru Apr 30: In a Place of Dreams. Closing Reception: April 21, 5–9 pm. France Jodoin artist talk at 7pm

May 2–Jun 25: Tonalism Now

Opening Reception: May 5, 5–9pm

Jun 27–Aug 27: Forward: A Wisconsin Artist Exhibition. Opening June 30, 5–9pm

• Mahogany Gallery

1422 Washington Ave. Racine, WI (53403) www.mahoganygallery.com

Sculpture Milwaukee is a non-profit organization transforming downtown Milwaukee’s cultural landscape every year with an outdoor exhibition of contemporary sculpture that serves as a catalyst for community engagement and economic development for locals, tourists, and art lovers alike.

Open at no cost to visitors we make sculpture accessible for everyone to enjoy 24/7, 365 days a year.

Thru October 2023: Nature Doesn’t Know About Us, guest curated by Ugo Rondinone

• Tandem Press

1743 Commercial Ave., Madison, WI (53704) www.tandempress.wisc.edu

Thru April 14: Cullen Houser: Singularity

Reception: Friday, April 7, 5-8 pm

April 24–May 19: Sophie Loubere: Trespasses

Reception: Friday, May 5, 5-8 pm

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THE MANY COLORS OF ANNA KUNZ

In 2022, Anna Kunz stepped down as Associate Professor in the Art and Art History department at Columbia College. Throughout her 20 years at the school, she mentored many young artists as they began their careers. As part of her legacy, Kunz generously established a scholarship called the AK Prism Award. “For ambition and kindness, my initials - AK,” she told me. She

explained that she wants to use her work as an artist to help others. During our recent conversation, I found myself wishing I could have sat in on one of her color theory courses. Her warmth, compassion, and creativity were evident during our time together. Kunz, who recently created an ambitious and immersive solo exhibition at Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco and will be showing with McCormick Gallery and Manneken

Press at EXPO Chicago, told me about her process, inspirations, and other new projects.

CGN: When did you know that you wanted to be an artist?

AK: I loved to listen to the WFMT radio show hosted by Harry Bouras (the Harry whose name inspired the artist group the Harry Who) called “On Art and Artists‚“ when I was a teen. When he said, “An artist’s job

is to continually reinvent themselves,” I thought, that would be a great job.

CGN: I read that your father worked at the Art Institute of Chicago and you used to sit in front of the Rothko painting and watch visitors’ reactions. What did you observe?

AK: Yes. My father was in the hospitality industry. I’d have to go to work with him as a kid, and I’d sit in the gallery that housed a Rothko painting. People would stop to look, sometimes laugh, get angry, become emotional. It made quite an impression upon me–how color, and the “exterior form”, painting, could invite all of that in the viewer.

CGN: You have talked about choreographing color - what does that mean to you?

AK: I always feel like I understand dance, poetry and music better than painting. Choreography and dance use the body as material and turn ritual actions into a kind of poetry. It is very similar to the way I approach my process. Colors are stand-ins for relationships I observe in nature’s structures, or even the social sphere. I think of color as a body that generates forms and creates relationships and movement. My approach to choreography in painting

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ABOVE: ANNA KUNZ, UNSEEING GREEN, 2021, 66” X 60,” ACRYLIC ON CANVAS PHOTO: DARIO LISAGNE NYC

means I pay attention to time and space on the surface to generate compositions. There is a word choreographers use–kinesphere–the arena or the space around the body. I translate this in painting to be the canvas or architectural space (in the case of my installations).

CGN: What is a typical day in your studio like?

AK: I arrive early and begin each day by moving around many works in progress to create new conversations between the paintings. I decide on color. I work usually with one or two specific hues at a time and apply it in a ritualistic way. I play to develop new approaches and processes in another area of the studio with smaller paintings or paper, or collages. If I’m in my studio in Michigan, I work outside and let unexpected things happen.

CGN: Tell me more about your studio in Michigan.

AK: Yes, it’s in Buchanan, Michigan. My husband, Bryan, and I bought the property about 16 years ago. Little by little we’ve been transforming it into a sanctuary space. There are a lot of building projects going on, so I work in a space that’s pretty raw. I have a very large deck, so I can work in sunlight or outside. A lot of times I try to do some things more experimentally, like work in the forest, or see the work juxtaposed with nature. Sometimes I leave work outside and chance things happen – leaves will fall, or insects, or rain. Things will fold in the wind differently. And I take a lot of photographs of my work in different situations. That helps me get ideas for new work. Outside is more unruly.

I also love to work with water as a material. If there’s a water source that I am around, I can incorporate that, but even the paintings in my studio are very water based. Instead of thinking of the water as just as vehicle to send paint, I think about the water as a material, as a life force.

CGN: What are some of your earliest memories making art?

AK: My grandfather worked at the Hammermill paper factory in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was a pulp stirrer, and every time he’d visit me, he would gift me a ream of paper and new Crayolas. I would think of it as the best present and color every sheet. I got very good at inventing colors and arranging the drawings on the floor.

CGN: And you still work on the floor, right?

AK: Yes, in my studio I have several large paintings going at once because I envision them as one continuous work. Even though they all end up as individual paintings, in my mind, I’m still thinking about building this immersive environment. I work on the floor‚ 360°, turning them. It’s extremely physical work. There’s arranging, and a rearranging, so I can see what kind of conversations are generated through the different relationships I create. I also work on planks, which allow me to perform on top of the painting, if you will, or traverse the painting. I also use them as a measuring device sometimes.

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INSTALLATION VIEW, COLOR CAST, THE HYDE PARK ART CENTER, CHICAGO, IL 2018. MIXED MEDIA, SOUND BY BETH BRADFISH, 20’ X 40’ X 125’. PHOTO: TOM VAN ENDYE CHICAGO
“COLORS ARE STAND-INS FOR RELATIONSHIPS I OBSERVE IN NATURE’S STRUCTURES OR EVEN THE SOCIAL SPHERE.”
- ANNA KUNZ

CGN: And you are working mostly on canvas along with paper?

AK: Yes, I work in different scales. But the scales are all specific to my body. If I work on paper it’s usually 11 by 13” or 13 by 15”, which are my head size and neck size. Sometimes I work in a small format like the palm of my hand. Sometimes I work in 60 by 66, which is my personal wing span, my body measurement. They’re all scaled according to my body proportions.

CGN: Have you always worked that way?

AK: It started out intuitively with my works on paper. Sometimes those paintings end up as fabric work or they inform fabric works that are a

little more ephemeral and meant to be suspended in space. I was given an opportunity at Hyde Park Art Center and it’s this giant space. I looked back at the last 10 or 15 years of my artistic output and reassigned new material identities to some of the work I’ve done. For example, a small, intimate work on paper, gouache on Sakamoto paper, would then inform a new large work on silk. The vocabulary would stay the same. It’s a way for me to almost have my own retrospective. I reinvented my previous work to inform the larger and more ephemeral work. Everything in that show was familiar to me from a previous version or iteration. Instead of just showing working from the past, I reinvented my old work in new forms.

CGN: Can you describe your approach to designing and planning an exhibition?

AK: I like to take a lot of time thinking about any exhibition. I never like to make work for a show, so I just keep a continuum in my studio of lots of different kinds of work. Bryan is an exhibit designer and has an architecture studio. We have had many conversations about space and scale. Planning an exhibition always starts with a small to scale model and a feeling for what kind of experience I want to present to the viewer. I do really look at the site lines of painting to painting and the relationships so that the viewer’s perception is wholly engaged, not just on a headon vision of looking at a painting. I consider what might be happening in the periphery of vision, and multiple viewpoints.

CGN: What are you working on in your studio now? What projects do you have coming up for this spring and summer?

AK: I just closed a large show of paintings and works on paper at Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco. In April at EXPO CHICAGO I’ll show monoprints at Manneken Press, and paintings with McCormick Gallery. I’ve worked with Tom [McCormick] forever – I’ve known him for more than 25 years. I’m also planning another show at McCormick for the fall, which will be more experimental.

And I’m planning to make two different books. One is a project that is an homage to artists who have lost their mothers. I also have some noncommercial projects to think about.

CGN: Can you tell me more about the homage?

The writer Ocean Vuong has written that after losing his mom, he is “half” forever more. I’m just using that spiritual event, the right of passage that we all go through, or will have in

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INSTALLATION VIEW, 2O22, ANNA KUNZ, DRAWING WITH SCISSORS GROUP EXHIBITION, HERE, HALF OCEAN, INK AND DYE ON SILK, 14’ X 8 X 3’ D. BERGGRUEN, SAN FRANCISCO, CA. PHOTO: GLEN CRERITON IMPART PHOTOGRAPHY, SAN FRANCISCO.

common, to inform some of his artwork. The thought of the mother as the creator. Honoring mothers for the gift of life, but also modeling creativity. I started to experience through friends, artist friends, women friends, their thoughts about their personal losses and how they use them and try to find a way to transition sorrow into something more meaningful for their artwork.

My mom was a really amazing reconstructive surgical nurse. She worked a lot in volunteer groups. One was called Operation Smile, which would take surgical helicopters into different parts of the world where children were suffering facial deformities. She taught me a lot about the transformative power of using your creativity. That is always in my mind when I think about why I am an artist, how did I arrive at this.

When my mom left the planet, she left behind an enormous amount of costume jewelry. She was a pretty eccentric person! I had the jewelry, and then I noticed a lot of women

friends who had caregiven their mothers had been gifted their mother’s jewelry collection when they passed on. This book, which is in the preliminary stages, is exploring that. The artist Judith Brotman and I will see where we find commonalities and similar feelings. We both had the extraordinary experience of caregiving our moms. A lot of other artist friends have also expressed that once you lose your mom you’re never really the same.

CGN: What impact has Chicago had on your formation as an artist?

AK: My family has been in Chicago since 1885. They came here with nothing. I feel pride about belonging here, reflecting on the many generations before me over near Wayne Avenue. The city’s grid, its hospitality, the traditions in theater and comedy all end up in my mind when I’m asked about Chicago. There is a work ethic here and an attention to craft and style that I think about.

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INSTALLATION VIEW, ANNA KUNZ: WITH RAYS, 2021, ALEXANDER BERGGRUEN, NYC. PICTURED, L TO R: SAVED HOUR, DIFFICULT RHYTHM, EARLY. EACH 66” X 60”, 2021, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS PHOTO: DARIO LISAGNE NYC

ON CHICAGO AS FLASH POINT AND FLASHLIGHT MCA DIR. MADELEINE GRYNSZTEJN

Madeleine Grynsztejn is a leader on a mission. Since starting her tenure at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2008, Grynsztejn has been committed to presenting art ‘you don’t yet know you love.’

Today as she enters her 15th year as MCA director, she says she is ready to prove that contemporary art is entering a golden era, and Chicago is its crucible.

When the MCA’s doors were shut in 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic, the museum joined the mass migration to digital programming out of a commitment to stay connected to audiences locked out of physical institutions and stuck at home. The three years that followed left the world craving reconnection that Grynsztejn strongly believes can be facilitated not only through the art found in institutions, but also through the institution itself. Criticism that bubbled up in 2020 – from outside as well as within – was ultimately a catalyst for real change.

During a recent candid conversation, Grynsztejn tells us some of the most significant lessons she gleaned from steering the MCA through a pandemic amid local and global unrest, from how she listened to and genuinely responded to criticism while embracing collaborative opportunities. Each is a lesson she says will not be forgotten.

CGN: Where do you see the biggest shift between then (pre-pandemic) and now? Is it in the type of art on view, differences in programming and exhibition themes, or something else?

MG: The biggest shift has actually been consistency. Artists and audiences continue to care deeply about

creating and presenting art. Not only can they enlighten our learnings about issues such as systemic racism, but they have also shown us how attuned they are to whether our back of the

house is as ethical as the messages of the works of art on the walls and on our stage. Where there were differences, there were credibility gaps.

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PRITZKER DIRECTOR MADELEINE GRYNSZTEJN

CGN: So artists acted as a voice of consciousness and a kind of auditor? What happened behind the scenes? It was important for the MCA to listen and respond.

MG: Much of our work since COVID has been very important but relatively invisible. We have intentionally put a DEI lens on our institution. We launched our first fully bilingual major exhibition, “Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today.” It’s what Chicago should do, especially since we have a population that is 18% Spanish-speaking.

What we do administratively and systemically is part of what it means to be a good contemporary art museum. It’s not just how we show up on the outside; we are only as good as our people.

CGN: At the time of writing, MCA’s staff is at 40% BIPOC, which is a 5% increase over the last year.

MG: On the public side, since 2020, nearly 70% of our collection acquisitions have been by women-identified or BIPOC artists. We have actually been 50% women-represented in all of our programs since 2015. We are part of this new wave and generation of feminism that is starting to finally be able to make permanent–not cosmetic–material differences, changes that are a part of our daily practices and will continue to be.

This is the same with many of the MCA’s changes implemented during the pandemic. [Artists] have become much more attuned to wanting to be with institutions that reflect the learnings that we have all taken in. They want to support those institutions that want to change internally as well as externally. That’s the answer.

CGN: You noted that the MCA is acquiring women-identified and BIPOC artists’ work at 7 times the rate of any other museum in the country (according to the Burns Halperin report). This is happening in Chicago. What drives you to continue being invested in this city?

MG: What I’ve always said about Chicago is that it is a flash point and a flashlight. Which means that it’s a leader, and it is incumbent upon us to set the terms by which a great contemporary museum is defined.

Chicago is currently experiencing a Golden Age specifically for black art, on a par with the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. It’s also a Golden Age of what might be considered socially engaged art, which is one of the most important art movements since the 1990s. There is no other city that can boast the likes of Theaster Gates, the Rebuild Foundation, Emmanuel Pratt and the Sweet Water Foundation, Amanda Williams, Michael Rakowitz, Faheem Majeed and the Floating Museum, and so many others the world has

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INSTALLATION VIEW FROM “FORECAST FORM: ART IN THE CARIBBEAN DIASPORA, 1990S–TODAY.”

noticed. There is no other city that can boast a community of artists at that level of excellence. This community lives at the intersection of art, architecture and design. We really celebrate that.

CGN: Borrowing your flashlight metaphor here, what is something you want to illuminate for visitors returning to the MCA?

A welcome. There is no single word to capture the past 36 months. I guess there was the overused ‘unprecedented’ but there’s not really a word for what we all have gone through and are still emerging from. We are now seeing people coming back together ‘postCOVID’, and it is the most beautiful, heartwarming and important thing.

The MCA wants to reward our community’s courageous return with wonder. Our offering is to first make you curious, then facilitate that understanding, which naturally leads to bridging differences, and that naturally leads to change. And when you ask me that question, it really comes down to: we want to be the place that catalyzes art. I think that’s when it becomes an act

against the worst part of the last 36 months: the divisive black and white ideology structure we are actively against.

learn that it clears economic, geographic and ability hurdles in ways that the physical museum space does not. You always have to ask yourself, not only what extraordinary art offering will change people’s lives and hearts and minds, but what is an ethical way in which you execute that exhibition or program? Since COVID what we’ve learned is that it is an extraordinary, and much more welcome, way of working when you partner and collaborate with an institution on an exhibition like Nick Cave or a full day symposium in partnership with DEEM journal, a biannual print journal and online platform focused on design as social practice.

CGN: Looking back on 2022, for instance thinking back to Nick Cave and “Forothermore”, what were some of the challenges you faced then, even with some stunning programming? How did you overcome them?

MG: Well, I can speak to the challenge of maintaining pre-COVID level programming momentum and audience engagement. We continue to see the benefits of a museum that is as strong online as it is onsite, because we did

CGN: What have been some proud moments?

MG: Creating gorgeous exhibitions, like launching our first major bilingual exhibition with “Forecast Form” or making an extraordinary show by Chicago-based artist Nick Cave happen and see it travel to New York. Hosting an unbelievable performance festival called Chicago Performs. I’m also proud of how we do it – so often we do

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“CHICAGO IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A GOLDEN AGE SPECIFICALLY FOR BLACK ART, ON PAR WITH THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE OF THE 1920S.”
MARTON ROBINSON, LA CORONACIÓN DE LA NEGRITA (THE CORONATION OF LA NEGRITA), 2022, CHALKBOARD PAINT AND CHALK ON CANVAS, SIXTY PARTS. INSTALLATION VIEW. PHOTO: MICHAEL DAVID ROSE.

this in partnership with other organizations we are honored to work with and mutually elevate.

Our mindset has shifted very productively in the wake of the last 36 months. At the same time we have always been connected – as a contemporary art museum – to emergent thinking, doing and being.

Looking forward, our exhibition this summer is a retrospective of the great artist Gary Simmons curated by our Chief Curator René Morales and Assistant Curator Jadine Collingwood. It is gorgeous work and its subject matter focuses on those hidden histories, particularly around race, that permeate our culture and that we need to continue to talk about. The first survey show Simmons ever did as a young artist was at the MCA in the early ‘90s.

In August the MCA will open a show called “Entre Horizontes: Art and Activism Between Chicago and Puerto Rico” that examines the intersection between art and social justice movements between the Puerto Rican diaspora and Chicago.

CGN: It’s clear that no institution is an island. Ongoing public discussions about institutions call for critical review of the communities involved in their existence: Who can take part? Who is it serving? You’ve mentioned that some artists have recently returned to the MCA. They are actively a part of MCA’s history, present, and future. What can you tell us about the partnerships and collaborations?

MG: You’re so right. Another example I love is that the MCA gave Lorna Simpson her first survey show in 1992. Today she is one of our trustees, actively influencing the organizational direction of the museum.

We also did this wonderful exhibition with the DuSable Museum recently, a relationship that will continue. The MCA enters into such partnerships with humility. We try to always go about our work in the right way in Chicago, as a cultural and civic agent. Part of that responsibility is to remain internationally significant and cosmopolitan. [For example, we recently] negotiated the gift of a historic collection of installation art from the 1990s to the present from the collection of Dimitris Daskalopoulos, which we are co-owning with the Guggenheim in NYC.

Obviously this is not accomplished alone. We are in a moment when I believe the MCA is having a huge impact locally, nationally and internationally. And it’s thanks to a magnificent alignment between staff and board that is committed to fully manifesting this museum on behalf of its artists and its public.

We are here to welcome every person that comes in the door and to learn with and from them. Chicago is a full partner in MCA’s growth, in heart and mind.

WHERE ART MEETS FASHION: THE COLLECTION’S NEW COMMISSIONS

Two Chicago-based artists have been commissioned to create new works at THE COLLECTION: Where Art Meets Fashion, a multifaceted contemporary art program located in an unconventional setting: within Macerich’s Fashion Outlets of Chicago in suburban Rosemont, IL. On site are 19 permanent commissions as well as a rotating exhibition series. Other artists with work on site to date include Daniel Arsham, Derrick Adams, Matthew Hoffman, and more.

The program’s latest site-specific installation is a two-story abstract mural by Puerto Rican-American artist Candida Alvarez. “Much like clothes in the closet that we love and pull out to wear from time to time, ‘zip me up’ is a return to, and remix of, an earlier painting of a dahlia flower that lived on a Chicago rooftop,” said Alvarez. “This commission by Fashion Outlets was a wonderful opportunity to dive back into my own archive and remix this painting to give it a bold, evocative new life.”

A new rotating exhibition, featuring sculptural works by Puerto Rican artist Ivelisse Jiménez, is also now on view. “Fading Through Gradations” will fill THE COLLECTION’s three rotating exhibition cases through May 2023. Playing upon the experience of color and its afterimage as an element that produces constant change for our eyes, Jiménez’s works speak to the transformative space of process and the transitory merging of traces.

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ABOVE: ART BY CANDIDA ALVAREZ; RIGHT: ART BY IVELISSE JIMÉNEZ

ANTICIPATING A SEASON OF ART FIVE TO TALK TO

SPRING IS ONCE AGAIN THE SEASON OF THE VISUAL IN CHICAGO. KNOWING THAT ALL EYES WILL BE ON THIS YEAR’S ART FAIRS, MARKETS AND NOTABLE EXHIBITIONS, WE SPOKE TO FIVE ART COMMUNITY LEADERS ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE WORKING ON NOW AND LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT.

“As we approach our tenth anniversary edition, I am deeply proud of both our legacy, and the future of EXPO CHICAGO. Our annual exposition activates our great city in collaboration with, and in service of, our institutions, galleries, artists, and the broader cultural tourism and hospitality communities. Our core programs – /Dialogues, Curatorial Forum & Exchange, Override, In/Situ and In/Situ Outside – and the Directors Summit continue to grow, while providing opportunities for international artists and generating important discourse for the global arts community. I remain proud that we make an annual contribution to the global image of our diverse, innovative and vibrant city and that we generate direct support to Chicago’s civic and cultural ecosystems.”

EXPO CHICAGO runs April 13-16 at Navy Pier. expochicago.com

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PHOTO BY AUDIA

Sally Schwartz, Founder Randolph Street Market

“I can’t believe how much the West Loop has grown – especially at the West end and Fulton Market area, just since we had to shut down for the pandemic in 2020. Since we reopened Randolph Street Market last summer, so many new visitors are coming who have never been to an antique flea market before. Art is actually the top purchase now, next to vintage fashion. I think no matter the size of a city dwelling, these buyers want to adorn their walls.

We’re happy to give them a lot to choose from. What makes the Randolph Street Market so unique is the depth and quality of our vintage “pickers” who hit all the fanciest estate sales and flea markets throughout the U.S., plus dealers who bring global textiles and artifacts from France, Germany, Poland, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Columbia, Argentina, Guatemala, Turkey, Syria, Mexico and elsewhere.”

South Side Community Art Center

“The South Side Community Art Center’s (SSCAC) exhibition, “where the light corrupts your face,” features artists Andres L. Hernandez, Roland Knowlden, and Tonika Lewis Johnson and is curated by Lola Ogbara, SSCAC Exhibitions Manager and Curator. These incredible Spatial griots – historians and storytellers – invite you to consider how socio-economic and geographic oppressions impact the way we see (or don’t see) our environments. Hernandez uncovers embedded histories and systems of power within built and speculative landscapes to imagine these spaces otherwise. Lewis Johnson advocates for urban communities by documenting disparities among Chicago residents who live on opposite ends of the same streets across the city’s racial and economic divides. Knowlden critically deconstructs the elements of our urban fabric and its architectural histories to reassemble them as cartographic abstractions and imagined landscapes. Gwendolyn Brooks, a brilliant author, poet, and life-long resident of the historic Bronzeville, becomes the Mecca of these stories as this exhibition interrogates dilapidation, buried histories, and what it could mean to be Black in space.”

More info at sscartcenter.org

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Randolph St. Market returns May 27 and 28. randolphstreetmarket.com Monique Brinkman-Hill, Exec. Dir. PHOTO BY M. LINDSAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Karsten Lund, Curator The Renaissance Society

“Intermissions at the Renaissance Society is an ongoing series of new performances staged twice a year in our empty cathedral-like space in between exhibitions. For the tenth installment in the series—on April 22nd and 23rd—I’m excited to present a new installation by the artist Özgür Kar that pushes the boundaries of what qualifies as a performance. Özgür creates striking blackand-white animations that lean into the idea of live performance, but a bit uncannily, without human actors. His works are effectively deconstructed theater pieces and multipart soundscapes: figures isolated on their own video screens become performers in looping scenes that are both austere and emotion-filled, with existentialist overtones. He has developed his own memorable style, but familiar things echo around inside too: hints of early animated film, Saturday morning cartoons, experimental theatre in the vein Samuel Beckett, or danse macabre like in medieval drawings. For one weekend, visitors can wander around freely in Özgür’s installation or settle in like you’re watching a play.”

More info at renaissancesociety.org

“LVL3 just opened up a show celebrating our 13-year anniversary as an artist-run space. It’s a tradition of ours to bring back several artists we have exhibited over the years, and this year’s roster made all new work I couldn’t be more excited about.

At Arts of Life we have a small survey exhibition going on with INTUIT. Arts of Life will also be presenting work for the 2nd year in a row at EXPO CHICAGO. We are thrilled that one of our artists, Susan Pasowicz, is having her first solo show open up EXPO weekend at Ruschman Gallery.

I’m staying busy as usual with multiple projects, but everyone should save the date, as I am in the middle of planning Arts of Life’s annual Benefit auction and dance party that is not to be missed, May 5th, where we will be honoring the one and only Jason Pickleman.”

Neon Dreams Benefit Auction takes place May 5. More info at artsoflife.org

Vincent Uribe, Gallerist

and Arts of Life

More info lvl3official.com

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LVL3
PHOTO BY MEG T. NOE.

A DECADE IN: EXPO ART WEEK SPANS THE CITY

For EXPO CHICAGO’s keynote conversation on opening night, Chance the Rapper and artist Hank Willis Thomas will each look at recent public art projects and their community building potential. April 13. Navy Pier.

Michele Rizzo navigates the transformative power of contemporary techno music in HIGHER. xtn, his first-ever U.S. performance. April 14, 3pm. Navy Pier W. Terrace, Lower Lvl. Screenings, April 13-16, Booth #451

Derrick Adams’ Funtime Unicorn, April 13–June 25 at Navy Pier’s Polk Bros Park, is a continuation of Adams’ focus on play and leisure in the Black community. His nightly projections are also part of Art on theMART.

Art in Common presents Boil, Toil + Trouble, featuring work by over 50 artists examining water through the lens of magic, ritual, and the role of the ‘witch’, in contemporary art. April 12–23. 400 N. Peoria.

Kenny Schachter’s immersive installation combines text and images to create a forward-looking video covering history and popular culture, put through the blender of artificial intelligence. 150 N. Riverside. Apr 13–Jun 30.

EXPO CHICAGO marks its 10th anniversary this spring. Borne from the city’s multi-decade legacy of ground-breaking, internationally recognized art fairs, EXPO CHICAGO’s founder and President Tony Karman forged a new era a decade ago through his vision to return the fair to Navy Pier, where it all began, and carefully tend to the quality of the exhibitor list and curatorial programming. Since 2012 he has grown EXPO despite significant obstacles, fostering countless opportunities and securing EXPO’s reputation as an international, Chicago-based fair.

Hundreds of exhibitions, openings and more are planned. Many events are open to the public but some are for VIPs only. Please check dates and details in advance.

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EXPO ART WEEK runs April 10—16 EXPOCHICAGO.COM
Neo Chicago, presented by The Peninsula Chicago, features highlights from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection. The installation will be displayed throughout the hotel’s public space April 14 thru May. AMY SHERALD

“PUBLIC SCULPTURE RESPONDS TO THE DYNAMICS OF A COMMUNITY, OR OF THOSE IN IT, WHO HAVE A USE FOR SCULPTURE. IT IS THIS ASPECT OF USE, OF UTILITY, THAT GIVES PUBLIC SCULPTURE ITS VITAL AND LIVELY PLACE IN THE PUBLIC MIND.” - RICHARD HUNT

HARD AT WORK AT 87

RICHARD HUNT

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Encountering Richard Hunt’s monolithic sculptures around Chicago is much like running into an old friend, someone you recognize no matter how much time has passed. Hunt’s large-scale public works are out in the elements, soaring into the skyline. Each one signifies you’re in the presence of something distinctly from Chicago, with characteristics that mirror the city’s famed architecture – structures are imposing yet delicately rendered, sturdy but changeable, familiar as well as innovative, raw but refined. The artist’s vision plus hard work is manifested in wrought steel that is put on display to stand the test of time.

Millions of people glimpse Hunt’s sculptures regularly when arriving at and departing from Midway Airport. Additional commissions have been installed on the campuses of the University of Chicago, Divinity School and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), as well as on the rooftop of the Art Institute of Chicago. Many have become landmarks in their own right. The creator of these magnificent sculptures has been hard at work since 1955. He isn’t slowing down. There is still more to imagine and to make real.

Hunt has said about his work, “Public sculpture responds to the dynamics of a community, or of those in it, who have a use for sculpture. It is this aspect of use, of utility, that gives public sculpture its vital and lively place in the public mind.” He has contributed a great deal to Chicago and its legacy of public art. Other cities and towns around the country each bring a little bit of Chicago to their own community when a Hunt sculpture is installed.

When we sat down this winter, inside his Lincoln Park studio that was once a transit power station, the stage was set for an industrial fireside chat about his nearly 70-year career. Warming up beside a space heater – like the ones used for outdoor cafes – in our periphery a massive steel bird manages to materialize from the pages of an open book. Titled “Book Bird,” he explains, the work will join the long list of Hunt’s sculptures in Chicago when it is installed in a courtyard reading space at the Obama Presidential Center, slated to open in 2025. “Book Bird” illuminates how reading and learning allow readers to enter new places and fly free. The work was the first commissioned piece of art for the Obama Center.

Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said, “Mr. Hunt’s personal story and creative vision embodies the uplifting experience visitors will find at the Center. Having known Richard most of my life, we are so proud to honor his work here.”

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ABOVE: RICHARD HUNT, LIGHT OF TRUTH: IDA B. WELLS NATIONAL MONUMENT, UNVEILED IN 2021 IN BRONZEVILLE, CHICAGO. HISTORYFAR, CC BY-SA 4.0 OPPOSITE PAGE: PORTRAIT OF RICHARD HUNT BY SANDRO MILLER.

Born and raised in Chicago, Hunt says he was greatly influenced by his mother, an artist and librarian, and he spent much of his childhood enjoying museums and opera performances, fostering his passion for the arts. “I grew up with my parents on the Southside, near Woodlawn and Englewood,” Hunt notes. “When I was around 13 I would go down to the Junior school, as they called it, of the Art Institute on Saturday to take classes.” He was soon captivated by sculpture, even building his own bedroom art studio where he could sculpt with clay long before he discovered wax and soldered wires, and eventually sheet metal and found objects like automative scrap that he could transform into abstract magic.

Hunt went on to pursue an Art Education degree at the Art Institute, and it was here as a student that he began his groundbreaking career. While he undoubtedly found his love for art in Chicago and received his formal education there, the decision to remain in his hometown, despite the pull of the art world nucleus forming in New York in the 1960s, did not come without sacrifices. Hunt reflects, “I investigated the possibilities I had, or ‘should have

had’ in New York. Along with friends of mine in art school we asked ourselves, ‘What would we have in New York that we don’t have here?’ I ultimately decided not to move there.” Instead, he was successful taking his works on paper, prints and sculpture to local exhibitions and Chicago galleries. Eventually Hunt says he was interested in gallery representation in New York, and he notes he still travels there, but it’s clear that his life, work and artistic inspiration has thrived in Chicago.

Hunt is currently represented by Kavi Gupta Gallery. His work has been exhibited in more than 100 solo shows around the country, and he has received numerous distinctions and accolades, including being the first African-American artist to have a major solo exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The impressive breadth of Hunt’s work is not just the result of a very long career but also a remarkably prolific work ethic and a seemingly endless well of material. In Hunt’s studio, paging through catalogs of his work I come across a photograph of a young Hunt, climbing a mountainhigh pile of scrap metal in Lincoln Park where General Iron’s metal shredding and recycling facilty once was. Hunt’s cavernous studio houses similar maze-

like collections of metal, with deadends stacked with metallic sheets, inroads leading to maquettes, tools, papers filled with notes. It is both an archive and treasure trove.

Recently, approximately 50 of his monumental works (a dent in his 130 and growing oeuvre) went on view at KANEKO in Omaha, Nebraska. Hunt explains that with such a vast number of works to his name, each piece comes with a unique set of challenges: one needs a larger base, another needs to be sanded smooth, and yet another must be engineered to hang on a wall. Today, at 87, Hunt continues to meet artistic challenges and work on a range of notable commissions, following variable paths to creating art. He tells me that no matter what a certain piece may require individually, a strict timeline to delivery or space to develop organically, each one becomes what it is intended to be. Hunt explains “I tend to have several things in some stage of development, and others that move forward in a chain. Art is something that starts to grow until it reaches maturity. It just becomes what it is.” Much like a career that started with clay sculptures in a bedroom art studio, Hunt has become the artist he was meant to be.

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RICHARD HUNT AT WORK IN HIS LINCOLN PARK STUDIO. PHOTO COURTESY RICHARD HUNT STUDIO.

A HALF CENTURY OF FEMINIST ART LEADERSHIP ARC GALLERY AT 50

It is no small thing to make a gallery last for five decades, and this year ARC Gallery & Educational Foundation is turning 50. To celebrate the history of one of the country’s oldest co-ops of its kind ARC has a fall exhibition planned as well as opportunities to invite the art community and the general public to ensure its next 50 years.

ARC was first opened in 1973 at 226 E. Ontario, across from the original location of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Today it is based in the vibrant West Town neighborhood. In the ‘70s, amidst a climate of ending sexism and conformity, ARC provided a professional exhibition space for women artists who were left out of the mainstream art scene and the commercial gallery system. Women across the country were compelled to overtly challenge the dominance of men in the art world, and in society, through art. The gallery, still operated as a cooperative nonprofit run by its women-led membership, continues to maintain strong links with its legacy of feminist art leadership through the cultivation an inclusive and welcoming space for exhibitions, workshops, and discussion. Via the women-run space, ARC exhibits work by artists of all genders.

ARC is the only surviving, not-for-profit, women’s cooperative gallery in the Midwest and has exhibited the work of over 6,000 unique artists from around the globe. Exhibition opportunities for innovative and emerging artists exist today to an extent unheard of for women 50 years ago. ARC’s current and ongoing commitment gives exposure and support to countless artists through mentoring and by donating exhibition space to underserved regardless of gender-identity to help subsidize the costs of solo exhibitions.

To publicly celebrate ARC Gallery will mount a 50th Anniversary Exhibition showcasing artwork from past and present gallery members. Current exhibition dates to plan for are September 28-October 21, 2023, with an opening during West Town Art Walk on September 29. Exhibiting artists will lead discussions at a special reception and speak about their art and the impact that ARC has had on their career and life. ARC also plans to host a lecture led by art historian Johanna Gardner-Huggert on the past 50 years of feminist art. Additionally there will be a panel of representatives from several female-run spaces and art historians discussing the future of feminist art titled “The Next 50.” Dates are still to be determined as of press time, so please check arcgallery.org and CGN’s calendar for updates.

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 53
PICTURED: THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF ARC GALLERY WERE DALIA ALEKNA, JAN ARNOW, GERDA MEYER BERNSTEIN, JUDY LERNER BRICE, ELLEN FERAR, IMFRIEDE HOGAN LAGERKVIST, MAXINE LOWE, MARY MIN, KAY ROSEN, CIVIA ROSENBERG GINA ROSENBLUM, SARA SKOLNIK ROSENBLUTH, LAUREL ROSS, MYRA TOTH, AND MONIKA WULFERS. IMAGE FROM THE 2ND ANNUAL MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION.

THE ART DEALER AS COLLECTOR AND CONNECTOR WILLIAM LIEBERMAN

When I spent an afternoon this winter with William Lieberman, owner of Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, it was not to discuss his role as an art dealer. Instead, it was to see his personal collection, which he had recently installed in his new Streeterville condo overlooking Lake Michigan.

Lieberman had just moved from a house in East Ukrainian Village and was eager to highlight hundreds of

works in a fresh setting. Taking in the abundantly-filled walls, I asked him how he chose the art that he lives with, knowing that every day at the gallery he strives to build other people’s collections. Lieberman shared that he began to collect art while studying studio pottery at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At first, Lieberman did what artists often do with their peers: he traded art. Trading helped him meet other artists, get to know their work, refine his own practice and, of course, learn to nego-

tiate. After moving back to Chicago, he continued to develop both his pottery and trading skills in Northeastern Illinois University’s ceramic studio. Art collecting is a highly personal pursuit, undertaken with as much emotional as financial investment. Collectors can spend years acquiring and curating their collections which hold personal meaning as well as reflect their particular tastes. Some may have significant cultural and historic value, and provide a window to the evolution of artistic movements.

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PICTURED: LEFT: JIM LUTES (ON WALL), DEBORAH BUTTERFIELD; CENTER: DAN RAMIREZ, ROXY PAINE, BRUCE NAUMAN; RIGHT: SUSANNE DOREMUS. PHOTOS BY TOM VAN EYNDE

In Lieberman’s case, he grew up surrounded by art. While he was a college student, his mother Roberta Lieberman, together with Robert Zolla, opened a contemporary gallery in 1976 that specialized in paintings, drawings and sculpture. Three years later, while still intent on becoming a professional potter, he began working part-time at the gallery.

By the 1980s, Lieberman worked at the gallery full time, although some of his compensation came in the form of art. His mother and Zolla would have him pick a piece, pay the artist

as much as if it had sold, and forgo the gallery’s portion. Not only did this practice support individual artists, it also allowed Lieberman to start his collection and refine his own eye. Later, he began to make yearly trips to New York, where he stayed with artists, fed himself on the gallery’s $25 per diem, and “pounded the pavement” as he went to studios, galleries and museums.

Gradually, Lieberman built a personal, thoughtful and carefully acquired collection. It would not, however, last very long. On April 1, 1989, he stored

his entire collection at the gallery while he moved from one apartment to another. On April 15, the building on Huron Street, housing Z/L and many other galleries, burned to the ground. Though works by artists such as Susanne Doremus, David Nash and Michael Nakoneczny could never be replaced, some offered pieces to Lieberman to begin a new collection. With insurance money that he received, Lieberman bought a 1,400-square foot house in 1990 and, as he recalls, “I started to buy a lot of art. Nothing too expensive but I started over.”

Hanging works vertically, salon style, he quickly filled his home. He commissioned Paul Coffey to paint a mural on the 35-foot high atrium over the dining area. The six-month project used Rand McNally map color schemes to depict an ambiguous location in Ireland. The mural even incorporated the atrium skylight. Over time, Lieberman’s home became an inviting artistic destination, serving as a bridge between white exhibition walls and a residential setting. “I brought people to see how I lived in East Ukrainian Village,” he explains, “and they liked the environment that I created.” As his life at work and at home continued to meld, he hosted dinners to promote gallery artists like Deborah Butterfield, John Buck, Josh Garber and Jay Strommen. A few times, says Lieberman, he had as many as 50 guests, with four Weber grills going in the backyard and people enjoying their meal in every room of the house.

Following these dinners, clients often bought or commissioned art, though Lieberman emphasizes that he never sells pieces from his personal collection. Lieberman actually found his current condo thanks to a client relationship that emerged from gatherings in the East Ukrainian Village house. When collector Anne Finkelman learned that a unit in her building was up for sale, she passed the tip along to Lieberman who made a swift decision to buy it.

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 55
PICTURED AT LEFT: TOP AND BOTTOM: ENRIQUE CHAGOYA, MIDDLE, LEFT: LORA FOSBERG, RIGHT: ROBERT ARENSON

The move from a house to a condo meant leaving behind site-specific and other large-scale pieces. However, the new space is more than twice as big (3,000 square feet) and many works have found a new pride of place. Collector and friend Arlene Richman gifted Claes Oldenburg’s Bat Spinning at the Speed of Light, published by Landfall Press, to William for his 60th birthday. Oldenburg’s 100-ft. tall sculpture has graced Chicago’s skyline since 1977 and, given William’s love of softball and baseball, Richman says she delights in seeing this print now prominently displayed.

Liberman does not have lot of furniture in his new home yet, and the clutter from living in one place for years hasn’t taken hold, but the presence of so many vibrant works of art imbues the condo with a lived-in feel. The placement of several sculptures of varying scale also add levels of dimension, including two by Butterfield, one cast bronze and the other

welded copper, indicative of Lieberman and Butterfield’s 45 years of working together.

A row of painted Artforum covers by artist Conrad Bakker, bordering a doorway, speaks to Brian Gillham’s role in finding just the right place for each work of art in Lieberman’s collection as well as in the gallery. At home he applied his signature skill of bringing order to chaos, singlehandedly rehanging the entire collection. Gillham has worked for Z/L since 2004. “Brian didn’t guess,” says Lieberman when asked about the Artforum covers and other groupings. Discerning ties between concepts – from Herman Aguirre’s paintings to Jay Strommen’s ceramics – and taping out arrangements on the floor, Gillham placed works without disrupting the charm and affection that they generate as a whole.

Lieberman has already begun to plan for the future, as Nathan Kemler, Director of Galleries and Collections

at Grand Valley State University, points out. “William works endlessly to maximize the role of art in our lives and has enabled us to acquire an incredible contemporary collection to share with our community.” Among many contributions to his alma mater, Lieberman has promised GVSU – which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2014 –the gift of his ceramic vessels, platters, teapots and sculpture.

Often after decades of buying art, a collector slows down. So far, Lieberman has not taken his foot off the pedal and doesn’t want to part with anything that gives him so much comfort and joy. Recently, he says that he’s been prompted to buy more. “It diversifies my collection as well as ensuring that it has a higher level of museum quality. And as far as my relationships with artists, it helps that I continue to invest and believe in their work. It’s my life.”

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PICTURED: LEFT WALL, TOP: CONRAD BAKKER, MIDDLE: VERNON FISHER, LOWER RIGHT: ED PASCHKE, ROGER BROWN; MIDDLE WALL, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CLAES OLDENBURG, XIAOZE XIE, LORA FOSBERG, DONALD MCFAYDEN, JOHN BUCK; RIGHT: JANE HAMMOND

LIBERMAN IS PICTURED IN A ROOM IN HIS NEW HOME WITH THE FOLLOWING WORKS:

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 57
LEFT: LESLIE WU, TOP; JIM LUTES, BOTTOM; ABOVE CERAMICS: HERBERT MURRIE, LEFT; DAVID LOZANO, RIGHT; CERAMICS BY WILLIAM LIEBERMAN, BOTTOM: GLENN WEXLER ABOVE: LEFT: STEPHEN DE STAEBLER, JIM NUTT, DAVID KROLL, ERNESTO NETO; MIDDLE: XIAOZE XIE; RIGHT: BOTH WORKS BY JIM LUTES

SEEKING ART ACROSS THE LAKE SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

Southwest Michigan is a scenic and creative destination just a short drive from Chicago’s city limits but refreshingly a world away. On the other side of Lake Michigan, the area is known for charming small towns and beautiful beaches. Its unique art scene offers some stellar exhibitions and dynamic institutions.

New Buffalo, over the border from Michigan City (which is in Indiana), is a historic Lake Michigan beach town that has seen rapid development in recent years as many Chicagoans opt to use the freedom of remote work, or retirement, as an excuse to spend more time in Michigan, just 70 miles from Chicago’s downtown. Plans are in the works for Kavi Gupta to open a gallery outpost in summer 2024, just a mile from the late artist Roger Brown’s home and studio. The River

Pavilion and Guest House, built in 1977 with Brown’s partner George Veronda, now hosts a year-round residency for students of the School of the Art Institute.

East of New Buffalo is the town of Three Oaks, a “picker’s” dream for sourcing vintage finds and antiques. Several galleries are located here as well. Arbor3arts opened in 2020 and celebrates contemporary female artists creating afford able art and working in a range of mediums. Many have Chicago connections, from Jessica Tampas to Janis Kanter and Maggie Meiners Next door is Trilogy Antiques; across the street is Judy Ferrara Gallery.

Travel north along the lakefront through Union Pier, Lakeside, Harbert and Sawyer along the Red Arrow Highway where many side trips and diversons beckon. Judith Racht has long led the way for serious art in the area; her eponymous gallery’s focus has been on Outsider Art for years. Local Color Gallery, housed in a converted barn in Union Pier, has featured local artists since the ‘80s.

The immensley impressive Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Gardens in Grand Rapids is conveniently right off of I-96. The welcome center’s mezmerizing figurative marble walls were sculpted by world reknown artist Jaume Plensa (pictured at left). The sculpture park, inside and out, amazed at each turn. Nina Akamu’s large

The Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph is a hub for contemporary art, showcasing a range of exhibitions, workshops, and events. They host the lively Art Fair on the Bluff each July. KAC also publishes an online Sculpture Map featuring public art throughout St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Two soaring sculptures by Richard Hunt, who has a studio nearby, greet visitors to KAC.

Saugatuck and Douglas are popular all year long, in part because there are so many galleries and creative opportunities. Through its affiliation with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the more than 100 year-old Ox-Bow offers one and two-week credit and non-credit courses for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students. The Saugatuck Center for the Arts focuses on contemporary art that engages with social and cultural issues. And on the “Art Coast of Michigan” in Douglas J. Petter Galleries blends wine with art, featuring a collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, jewelry, and glass plus boutique wines, artisan cheeses, and hand-poured chocolates in the onsite wine bar and shop.

Many Chicago-based artists have ties to the area, such as Michael Hedges, whose colorful painting fills out the Lower Peninsula of Michigan pictured on this page. Candida Alvarez opened a studio in Baroda, MI during the pandemic. And Anna Kunz has a home/studio in Buchanan.

scale bronze horse from 1998 was as captivating as the history behind the commission. Additional sculptures by Deborah Butterfield, Roxy Paine, Keith Haring, and many others invite visitors to wander the grounds and enjoy fabulous, accessible works meant to be enjoyed in all seasons and by everyone who visits.

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GRAND RAPIDS PAINTING BY MICHAEL HEDGES, WHOSE STUDIO IS IN LAKESIDE, MI KALAMAZOO S. HAVEN BENTON HARBOR / ST. JOSEPH SAWYER / HARBERT LAKESIDE UNION PIER NEW BUFFALO THREE OAKS PHOTO BY CGN

PRESERVING ART FROM THE AFRICAN DIASPORA DIASPORAL RHYTHMS

When art collector Patric McCoy spoke with CGN 10 years ago, he shared the story of how a collecting group based on the South Side of Chicago had started a decade prior. Diasporal Rhythms, he explained, represented a different concept of collecting in Chicago, “Our organization is charged with how to redefine the term ‘collector.’ In America it has this meaning of being wealthy, private, academic - having the magic ability to know the future value of something. That’s what the majority of people in this country believe. We’re saying none of that has to be true. Particularly in our community on the South Side, we have to be the first voices.”

This year Diasporal Rhythms is marking 20 years of exhibiting and preserving art from the African Diaspora for the people of Chicago, and they have plans to celebrate in a big way.

Founded in 2003 Diasporal Rhythms is the result of a spirited panel discussion at the South Side Art Center’s Collector’s Forum regarding the need to expand the appreciation of contemporary art to include the artists of the African Diaspora. Founders McCoy, Daniel Parker, Carol Briggs and Joan Crisler saw a need to create more equitable opportunities and a space for Black artists to showcase their art and access

further opportunities. In the years since Diasporal Rhythms has consistently worked to provide programs and opportunities that amplify the voices of Black artists and collectors, all while providing a platform for art enthusiasts of all levels to engage learn, and network.

Kate Lorenz, the former Executive Director of Hyde Park Arts Center sums up 20 years of impact in Chicago:

“Diasporal Rhythms has helped create a deep, vast, and authentic network of reciprocal support and admiration between artists and the community that defies categorization. As mainstream arts organizations and philanthropic organizations are called on to address racial justice and embrace community as part of their mission and work going forward, there is much to learn from Diasporal Rhythms.”

Diasporal Rhythms will present Perspective 2023 at Navy Pier to commemorate their anniversary. Perspective occurs yearly but this year’s edition will specifically honor and celebrate 20 years. It will run from October 6, 2023–January 31, 2024. An auction fundraiser is planned for October 15 & 23, and an Intimate Spaces Home Tour for October 7 & 8.

Tickets and details are at diasporalrhythms.com

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DIASPORAL RHYTHMS HOME TOUR GUESTS ON A VISIT TO COLLECTOR AND DIASPORAL RHYTHMS CO-FOUNDER PATRIC MCCOY’S SOUTH SIDE HOME.

SUBURBAN SPOTLIGHT

SKOKIE

In downtown Skokie, north of Chicago but still on the city’s CTA, (northern) Western Exhibitions is Western Exhibitions’ second location. Its primary space is on Chicago Ave. in West Town. The Skokie space will have around five specially curated exhibitions a year featuring works by artists from the gallery’s 20-year history. The second exhibition at the space to date, on view through May 6, features work by married artist collaborators Miller & Shellabarger, who use self-portraiture, laborious material processes, and considered craftsman ship to meditate on love and death.

The gallery is one half of a renovated single-floor bow truss building that is also part store –occupied by the also-newly opened Who Modern, a midcentury modern-focused vintage source co-run by Donald Schmaltz, formerly of auction houses Toomey & Co. and HINDMAN, and art collector Zach Williams, who owns the building. Who Modern offers rare and unusual decorative objects, furniture, and art from the mid-20th C. to today, featuring iconic designs by Ettore Sottsass,

Angelo Mangiarotti, Enzo Mari, Poul, Kjaerholm and Hans Wegner, shown alongside contemporary designers. Williams says he will add modern and outsider art to the mix as well. By sharing the building, the two spaces complement each other’s offerings and can draw from the mix of visitors who come for art as well as vintage design.

GLENCOE

Anne Loucks Gallery at the corner of Green Bay Rd. and Park Ave. in Glencoe opened in 2001 and specializes in contemporary American painting, photography and works on paper by emerging and mid-career artists in a range of styles and mediums, most notably abstract art and rural landscapes. Many, but not all, gallery artists come from the surrounding suburbs.

Down the same block is Alan Koppel Gallery’s second location, which brings bring modern and contemporary masterworks as well as furniture and design to the North Shore. Koppel has long been in River North on Dearborn St. Recent North Shore exhibitions have included Diane Arbus: A Secret about a Secret, and The Photography of Vivian Maier.

FOR MORE SUBURBAN ART SPACES VISIT CHICAGOGALLERYNEWS.COM/DISTRICTS/ SUBURBS-MIDWEST

60 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 SKOKIE AND GLENCOE
THERE IS AS MUCH ART TO SEE IN THE SUBURBS SURROUNDING CHICAGO AS IN THE CITY THESE DAYS.
MILLER & SHELLABARGER INSTALLED AT (NORTHERN) WESTERN EXHIBITIONS WHO MODERN MADELINE DENARO, ANNE LOUCKS GALLERY

SPRING ‘23 AT AUCTION

BONHAMS BONHAMS.COM

Bonhams’ global network of auction houses is dedicated to its local market relationships and a commitment to the complete collecting category that welcomes all price points. Bonhams presents over 15 auctions annually and is currently accepting consignments in all collecting categories.

Natalie Waechter is Midwest Dir. • 773–267–3300

HINDMAN HINDMANAUCTIONS.COM

Hindman was formed through the merger of two premier auction houses, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers (est. 1982) and Cowan’s Auctions (est. 1995). Hindman marked 40 years in 2022 and is headquartered in Chicago with 15 additional locations serving clients coast to coast. They recently opened a New York City showroom.

Hindman’s Post War & Contemporary and Prints & Multiples auctions take place April 19 and 20 in Chicago and online. • 312–280–1212

TOOMEY & CO. AUCTIONEERS TOOMEYCO.COM

With a focus on the midwestern origins of Prairie School architecture, Toomey & Co. is a leading purveyor of fine art and design, from the Arts & Crafts movement and early art pottery to modern and contemporary art. In fall 2022 Toomey & Co. relocated to a West Loop space with Wright.

On April 19th, Toomey will offer a Fine Art auction with over 250 lots spanning the late 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries. Notable artists include David Mann, Salvador Dalí, Wesley Willis, Lee Godie, and others.

• 312–563–0020

SOTHEBY’S SOTHEBYS.COM

HERITAGE AUCTIONS HA.COM

Heritage Auctions is the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. On Friday, April 14, 5–8pm during EXPO CHICAGO’s Art After Hours HA is hosting a gallery walk and Modern & Contemporary Auction Preview Reception, including works by Basquiat, Deborah Butterfield, Roller Wilson, Alexander Calder and more. The auction takes place May 18, 2023.

Roberta Kramer Head of Office in Chicago • 312–260–7200

Established in 1744, Sotheby’s is the world’s largest marketplace and perhaps best-recognized name in the world when it comes to auctions. Today, Sotheby’s hosts over 600 auctions annually.

This April in New York watch for VICTORIAM, a special two-part curated collection of sports artifact, Led by Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals Game 2 Air Jordan XIIIs, multiple auctions for the Wolf Family Collection, and in London a dedicated Banksy auction

Gary Metzner, Head of Office in Chicago • 312–475–7913

WRIGHT WRIGHT20.COM

Richard Wright founded Wright auction house in 2000. Today, centrally located in Chicago’s West Loop, it is the industry’s leading auction house specializing in 20th century art and design. They also offer Wright Now, an inventory of art and design available for direct purchase. On April 20 Wright’s 20|21 Art: The Chicago Edition auction will take place. Previews run April 13 – 20.

• 312–563–0020

CGN | Spring / Summer 2023 | 61 SOLD!
GEORGE RODRIGUE (1944-2013) SUMMER COMES EVERY YEAR, 1998 ACRYLIC ON CANVAS EST. $20,000-$30,000. VIA HERITAGE AUCTIONS.
VIEW CGN’S AUCTION LISTINGS AND SCHEDULES ONLINE AT CHICAGOGALLERYNEWS.COM/ AUCTIONS WRIGHT
PART OF WRIGHT’S 20|21 ART: THE CHICAGO EDITION, APRIL 2023

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GROUPS / ASSOCIATIONS

CHICAGO SCULPTURE EXHIBIT • CHICAGOSCULPTUREEXHIBIT.ORG

CHICAGO SCULPTURE INTERNATIONAL • CHICAGOSCULPTURE.ORG

RIVER NORTH DESIGN DISTRICT • RIVERNORTHDESIGNDISTRICT.COM

DETAILS ON CHICAGOGALLERYNEWS.COM/ART-SERVICES

Beyond the galleries, scores of arts industry professionals offer a variety of services for collectors and members of the industry.

Here we list businesses and professionals who, according to their specialty, provide valuable, expertise for a range of art and collection needs, such as:

– Managing an existing collection – Selling on the secondary market – Appraising, advising and insuring

Handling, packaging, installing, transporting, framing or repairing art in your collection

62 | CGN | Spring / Summer 2023
PICTURED: PROFESSIONALS FROM CALLAHAN ART & ASSOCIATES INSTALLING A WORK BY FRANK STELLA
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