3 minute read
City Arts
ANDY WARHOL, LIZ #3, 1963, FLOWERS, 1964, AND SELF-PORTRAIT, 1966
It’s always a treatto see an iconic Warhol in person, and now there’s even more opportunity to do so in the Windy City. In December,The Art Institute of Chicago reopened its galleries of contemporary art, unveiling the largest gi in its 136-year history: a donation from Chicago collectors Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson comprising 44 paintings, sculptures, and photographs by major artists. These new additions chart the course of the most adventurous art movements since the 1950s, beginning with the work of Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Cy Twombly, who forged a path from Abstract Expressionism toward Pop Art. Pop itself is represented by Roy Lichtenstein canvases and landmark pieces from Andy Warhol, including two self-portraits. Advance ticket purchase required; reserve at sales.artic.edu/admissions. 111 S. Michigan Avenue; 312-443-3600.
In response toa tumultuous 19 months, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art—the museum for marginalized outsider artists—opens a timely exhibition on trauma, hardship, and resilience. On show are sandstone sculptures by Mr. Imagination, who changed his name from Gregory Warmack following spiritual visions experienced a er a coma caused by a neighborhood shooting; ber sculptures by Judith Scott, who was institutionalized and isolated for most of her life; and artist-musician Lonnie Holley’s kinetically charged, wire-framed found-object sculptures. Also accompanying the exhibition are banners and quilts from the Social Justice Sewing Academy. Many were made during the organization’s Remembrance Project workshops, which honor lives lost by police brutality, gang violence, hate crimes, and other forms of community violence. The banners are then given to activist groups for public display: solidarity in the form of memorial. Advance, timed-entry tickets required; reserve on Tock. 756 N. Milwaukee Avenue; 312-624-9487.
MR. IMAGINATION (GREGORY WARMACK), UNTITLED,MONDAY MR. IMAGINATION (GREGORY WARMACK), UNTITLED, N.D., CARVED SANDSTONE, 14 ½” X 9” X 11 ½”
“Surface is Only a Material Vehicle for Spirit”
Curated by sculptor Kennedy Yanko,“Surface” atKavi Gupta brings together works by eight voices in the eld of contemporary abstraction, including a new site-speci c installation by Brooklyn-based Katie Bell, whose whimsical architectural arrangements make use of cast-o building product remnants. Other highlights: vibrant pieces by multimedia artist Monica Rezman, who describes her work as a dance between painting and sculpture, and ceramics from Jessica Stoller, who uses clay and the grotesque as vehicles to explore idealized femininity. Admission by appointment. Floor 2, 219 N. Elizabeth Street; 312-432-0708.
MONICA REZMAN, THE SUN CLOSED, 2021, AND SUMMER SUN, 2021, BOTH CANVAS, CARDBOARD, AND ACRYLIC
In our media-saturated world,what stories remain untold? Using images, lights, and mirrors, Chilean-born conceptual artist, architect, and lmmaker Alfredo Jaar and theMuseum of Contemporary Art Chicago ask viewers to acknowledge under-recognized subjects: Ethiopian refugees amid the Eastern Sudan crisis and remarkable but overlooked women including human rights lawyer Shada Nasser and author/activist Nawal El Saadawi. Renowned for his six-year-long Rwanda Project (about the 1994 Rwandan genocide) andThe Cloud, a 2015 performance project on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border, Jaar consistently addresses injustices with nuance and compassion. This exhibit features a selection of key works that span 30 years. Open 10AM–5PM daily, except Monday (closed) and Tuesday (10AM–9PM), in the fourth- oor Cohen and Stone Family Galleries. 220 E. Chicago Avenue; 312-280-2660.
