Art

Viewed as haunts of the elite, art galleries aren’t the kinds of places you’d associate with advocacy and activism.  But Hope: A Prelude, an exhibition featuring the work of conservation photographer Cristina Mittermeier at Hilton Contemporary’s River North gallery, shows how extraordinary beauty and environmental consciousness can merge to outstanding effect.  Like most galleries, Hilton …

River North Gallery Uses Exceptional Art to Offer Pleasure and Move the Mind Read More »

Nicole Eisenman: What Happened has been surprising and captivating visitors to the Museum of Contemporary Art since it arrived in early April.  Judging from attendance at the show on a recent Wednesday afternoon, word’s gotten out about how strongly her art resonates. Intended to prepare you for what you’ll see in the exhibition, a short …

Art and Life’s Authenticity Merge in MCA’s Outstanding Nicole Eisenman Exhibition Read More »

The seed of greatness often shows itself early. Given the right environment and care, it grows to capture the imagination of the globe.  The gifts of Georgia O’Keeffe, an artist best known for her magnificent paintings of the Southwest, bones and flowers, were recognized while she was very young.  Encouraged by the support she received …

Georgia O’Keeffe’s Genius Shines Again in the Art Institute’s “My New Yorks” Read More »

For full impact, viewing art will always be a “live, up-close and personal” kind of activity.  Pictures just don’t offer the benefit of scale and dimension to permit wholesale appreciation of the images and objects artists create.  Not to mention their limitations in translating attributes that take in the tactile like texture and finish.  Without …

Wrightwood 659’s Chryssa & New York Revives Neglected Greatness Read More »

The desire to embellish or accentuate the body with jewelry extends deep into our ancestral past.  According to a 2021 article by Sarah Cascone in ArtNet, archeologists discovered the world’s oldest jewelry in Morocco dating from 142,000 to 150,000 years ago.  The set of 33 sea shell beads were found at the mouth of a …

Driehaus Museum’s New Exhibit Awash in Rare and Precious Jewelry with a Chicago Pedigree Read More »

Two arts institutions housed under the same roof in Washington DC have complementary missions.  One tells the story of America by focusing on the “people who shape the nation’s history, development and culture”.   The other shares the stories of our nation through arts and craft. Together, the collections of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) and …

Using Art to Relive History in the Nation’s Capitol Read More »

Art can make you greedy.  That reminder came while walking through Faith Ringgold:  American People, an outstanding exhibition now in its closing weeks at the Museum of Contemporary Art.  Dynamic, bold and unflinching; much of it is an unabashed declaration of personal and collective racial truth.  An artist of many dimensions, Ringgold’s creative voice can …

Faith Ringgold Retrospective at MCA: The Convergence of Good Trouble and Great Art Read More »

A newly opened two-part exhibit at the Elmhurst Art Museum looks into how profoundly one art form can impact and influence another.  A Love Supreme:  Norman Teague, chronicles how John Coltrane’s 1964 jazz masterpiece has and continues to inspire pioneering Chicago designer and educator, Norman Teague.  A Love Supreme:  McCormick House Reimagined expands the dialogue …

Elmhurst Art Museum’s Jazz Drenched Exhibition Splendidly Unveils How Arts Converge Read More »

Art’s ability to jolt the imagination and defy assumptions makes it almost as captivating as nature in its splendor and variety.  A new exhibit at the Art Institute highlights how true that statement is. Radical Clay:  Contemporary Women Artists from Japan charts new territory in how much ceramics, as an artistic medium, has evolved.  Remove …

The Celestial Beauty of Radical Clay Read More »

If you’re functioning fully in a society that depends on the speed, convenience and pervasiveness of digitized communication, it’s likely you’ve made peace with some of its costs.  Engaging with social media subjects us to unsolicited market-based scrutiny.  Shopping for anything online, no matter how mundane, turns consumers into bundles of exploitable data. We shrug …

Reckoning with the Impact of Technology through Art Read More »