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Society for Contemporary Art

Society for Contemporary Art The SCA was founded at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1940 to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the art of our time.

The Society for Contemporary Art (SCA) supports the Art Institute of Chicago by engaging the community in a dialogue about the art of our time and acquiring works that enrich the museum’s collection. Through its lectures and events, the Society has become one of the museum’s principle vehicles for exploring new and challenging art. Monthly SCA programs provide access to an exciting roster of leadi

ng national and international artists, dealers, critics, historians, and curators, as well as visits to distinguished private collections and major art centers within the United States and abroad. The Society has also made a tremendous impact on the museum’s collection of modern and contemporary art. On an annual basis, acquisition committee members review a carefully selected group of contemporary works and present them throughout the Art Institute’s galleries. The entire membership then votes to purchase one or more objects for the museum’s permanent collection. Over the years, the SCA has acquired more than 150 works of art by distinguished artists such as Emma Amos, Carl Andre, Lee Bontecou, Larry Clark, Tacita Dean, Nicole Eisenman, Leon Golub, Dan Graham, Maren Hassinger, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Guillermo Kuitca, Joan Mitchell, Jackson Po***ck, Paul Sharits, Lorna Simpson, James Turrell, Martin Wong, and Christopher Wool.

Operating as usual

Thank you to  for hosting our Members Happy Hour last night! And thanks to everyone who joined us for a glass or two of ...
12/15/2022

Thank you to for hosting our Members Happy Hour last night! And thanks to everyone who joined us for a glass or two of champagne and a viewing of Brian Calvin: Something or Other. Visit the exhibition through January 7th.

Thank you to  for the insightful conversation with  on Friday evening, and to everyone who joined us in Fullerton Hall f...
12/12/2022

Thank you to for the insightful conversation with on Friday evening, and to everyone who joined us in Fullerton Hall for this final program of the season!

If you haven’t seen Suzanne Jackson’s solo exhibition at the we recommend visiting before it closes on December 23.

Join us for Suzanne Jackson in conversation with Giampaolo Bianconi on December 9th in Fullerton Hall. This program is f...
12/01/2022

Join us for Suzanne Jackson in conversation with Giampaolo Bianconi on December 9th in Fullerton Hall. This program is free and open to the public. Register at the link in our bio.

works in Savannah, Georgia, where she has lived since 1996. Current exhibitions of her work include Listen' N Home, a solo exhibition of new work at the Arts Club of Chicago; Just Above Midtown: 1974 to the Present, the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and Joan Didion: What She Means, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.

joined the Art Institute of Chicago as Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art in October 2022. He was previously a curator at Museum Brandhorst, Munich, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

In a career spanning more than five decade Suzanne Jackson (b. 1944, St. Louis) has worked experimentally across genres including drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking, poetry, dance, theater and costume design. In her lyrical work from the 1960s and 70s, figures and recurring symbols are built up through multiple layers of acrylic wash on canvas, creating ethereal paintings in which any firm distinction between depicted elements is dissolved. Built up through layers of pure acrylic, Jackson’s recent “anti-canvases” are partially structured with netting, rods, and paper fragments, and strewn with cast-off color and other prosaic elements: peanut shells, bamboo, bells, loquat seeds, leather string. The artist’s handmade gestural impressions—pinching, crimping, and pleating—occur within a material transparency that lends each composition a uniquely lyrical and luminous dimensionality.

Thank you to the  for inviting our members for a viewing of Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s-1980s, ...
12/01/2022

Thank you to the for inviting our members for a viewing of Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s-1980s, and a special thanks to curator Corinne Granof for leading us on a private tour.

The exhibition remains on view through this Sunday. Visit the Block Museum’s website for information regarding hours and admission.

Thank you to Evelyn T. Wang  for the exciting new performance yesterday evening, and to all those who joined us for this...
11/15/2022

Thank you to Evelyn T. Wang for the exciting new performance yesterday evening, and to all those who joined us for this long-awaited event!

Our thanks also go to and for all their hard work on the production of this program!

We are pleased to have returned to Fullerton Hall this season, and are grateful to be able to offer in-person programming again this season.

For information on upcoming programs, visit the link in our bio.

Join us Friday, December 9th for an artist lecture by Suzanne Jackson. She will be joined in conversation by Giampaolo B...
11/11/2022

Join us Friday, December 9th for an artist lecture by Suzanne Jackson. She will be joined in conversation by Giampaolo Bianconi, Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, Art Institute of Chicago.

Free & Open to the public.
Link in bio to register.

In a career spanning more than five decades, Jackson has worked experimentally across genres including drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking, poetry, dance, theater and costume design. In her lyrical work from the 1960s and 70s, figures and recurring symbols are built up through multiple layers of acrylic wash on canvas, creating ethereal paintings in which any firm distinction between depicted elements is dissolved.

Photo: Peter Frank Edwards
Suzanne Jackson at her home in Savannah, GA
T Magazine, The New York Times

Join us one week from tonight for a performance by Evelyn T. Wang. This performance is free and open to the public. Link...
11/07/2022

Join us one week from tonight for a performance by Evelyn T. Wang. This performance is free and open to the public. Link in bio to register.

In her classical drawings and paintings, as well as videos and performances, Evelyn Taocheng Wang (China, 1981, lives and works in Rotterdam) combines a straightforward and at times confrontational tone with emotional, poetic and often autobiographical undercurrents. Through her diverse practice, she addresses ostensible fixed notions of identity, culture and socioeconomic backgrounds. In the past years, Wang's main
interest has been in image presentation', researching different (art) histories of the body from a personal perspective. Her work emerges from an interest in what constitutes identity and how one's own body is culturally relative to and intertwined with-
autobiographical structures. Autobiographical experiences are mixed with fictional fabrications, appropriating texts from novels here with weaving cultures together.

The Society for Contemporary Art is pleased to introduce our new website. Visit through the link in our bio to access pr...
11/04/2022

The Society for Contemporary Art is pleased to introduce our new website. Visit through the link in our bio to access programs and events, learn about our history and impact, and join our membership. Connect with the artists, the curators, the educators, the collectors, the dealers & the curious. Expand your mind. Find your people.

Tonight we welcome Maren Hassinger (American, b. 1947) for our first Artist Talk of the Fall 2022 season.Hassinger has b...
10/24/2022

Tonight we welcome Maren Hassinger (American, b. 1947) for our first Artist Talk of the Fall 2022 season.

Hassinger has built an expansive practice that articulates the relationship between nature and humanity. Carefully choosing materials for their innate characteristics, Hassinger has explored the subject of movement, family, love, nature, environment, consumerism, identity, and race.

In 2019, the SCA acquired Interlock, an early wire-rope sculpture that visibly reflects the process of its production; Hassinger combines the found materials with industrially produced elements, revealing the tension between technology and nature.

We hope you will join us this evening at 6pm in Fullerton Hall for the artist’s talk!

The SCA kicked off this beautiful fall weekend with a Members Tour of "Citing Black Geographies" with Curator Romi Crawf...
10/22/2022

The SCA kicked off this beautiful fall weekend with a Members Tour of "Citing Black Geographies" with Curator Romi Crawford. Thank you to GRAY for hosting us!

To join us and learn more about SCA Membership, visit the link in our profile-- and
be sure to see this incredible exhibition before it closes in Chicago next Thursday, October 27.

Thank you to  for hosting our Members Happy Hour yesterday evening, and thanks to everyone who came out to join us for d...
10/13/2022

Thank you to for hosting our Members Happy Hour yesterday evening, and thanks to everyone who came out to join us for drinks and a viewing of James Krone’s solo exhibition A Promise of Happiness, on view now.

Join us Monday, October 24 at 6pm in Fullerton Hall for a lecture by artist Maren Hassinger. This program is free and op...
10/10/2022

Join us Monday, October 24 at 6pm in Fullerton Hall for a lecture by artist Maren Hassinger.

This program is free and open to the public. Register to attend at the link in our bio.

Maren Hassinger (American, born 1947) has built an expansive practice that articulates the relationship between nature and humanity. Carefully choosing materials for their innate characteristics, Hassinger has explored the subject of movement, family, love, nature, environment, consumerism, identity, and race.

Public Program Sponsored by Paul Rehder Salon

Thank you to all of our friends, supporters, and members who helped make this year’s Collectors Sale a success! We were ...
10/06/2022

Thank you to all of our friends, supporters, and members who helped make this year’s Collectors Sale a success! We were thrilled to be able to gather in person again this year for a beautiful evening of revelry and celebration at the Panorama Party on September 15. It was exhilarating to feel the energy and connection of our SCA community come together once again.

Five outstandingworks in this year's Collectors Sale, for yourconsideration! View and bid on these work byIgshaan Adams,...
09/23/2022

Five outstanding
works in this year's Collectors Sale, for your
consideration! View and bid on these work by
Igshaan Adams, Michelle Grabner, Tony Tasset, Judy Ledgerwood, and Beverly Fishman (along with 59 others!) on
Sothebys. Link in bio. DM for private in-person
viewing appointments.

Five outstandingphotographs in this year's Collectors Sale, for yourconsideration! View and bid on these work byErica De...
09/22/2022

Five outstanding
photographs in this year's Collectors Sale, for your
consideration! View and bid on these work by
Erica Deeman, Matt Saunders, Jessica LaBatte, Tim Hailand, Margarete Jakschik (along with 59 others!) on
Sothebys. Link in bio. DM for private in-person
viewing appointments.

Five outstandingsculptures in this year's Collectors Sale, for yourconsideration! View and bid on these work byRichard N...
09/21/2022

Five outstanding
sculptures in this year's Collectors Sale, for your
consideration! View and bid on these work by
Richard Nonas, Seung-taek Lee, Richard Hawkins, Brendan Fernandes, and Alex Chitty (along with 59 others!) on
Sothebys. Link in bio. DM for private in-person
viewing appointments.

Five outstanding works on paper in this year’s Collectors Sale, for your consideration! View and bid on these work by Ha...
09/20/2022

Five outstanding works on paper in this year’s Collectors Sale, for your consideration! View and bid on these work by Hannah Wilke, Rita Ackermann, Tim Gardner, Raul Guerrero, and Jeffrey Gibson (along with 59 others!) on Sothebys. Link in bio. DM for private in-person viewing appointments.

Five outstanding paintings in this year’s Collectors Sale, for your consideration! View and bid on these work by Ryan Su...
09/19/2022

Five outstanding paintings in this year’s Collectors Sale, for your consideration! View and bid on these work by Ryan Sullivan, Ilana Savdie, Caroline Kent, Kajahl, and Jon Rafman (along with 59 others!) on Sothebys. Link in bio. DM for private in-person viewing appointments.

Want to view all 64 works available in this year’s Collectors Sale in-person? DM us or email info@scaaic.org to book a p...
09/19/2022

Want to view all 64 works available in this year’s Collectors Sale in-person? DM us or email [email protected] to book a private viewing appointment, or visit Wright during our open hours!

And don’t forget to bid! Link in bio to view and bid on all lots on

We’re excited to be installing the Collectors Sale! The auction opens on  this Thursday. Register to bid now, and make s...
09/12/2022

We’re excited to be installing the Collectors Sale! The auction opens on this Thursday. Register to bid now, and make sure to stop in and see the lots in person. Swipe for viewing dates and times.

Our sincere thanks to the Artists, Donating Galleries and Private Collections, Individual Sponsors, and our Host Committ...
09/09/2022

Our sincere thanks to the Artists, Donating Galleries and Private Collections, Individual Sponsors, and our Host Committee for their generous support of this year’s Collectors Sale. We look forward to celebrating the opening of the auction with everyone on Thursday!

The SCA is pleased to be releasing a new closed series of five unique works by Tony Lewis.Tony Lewis (American, b. 1986)...
08/23/2022

The SCA is pleased to be releasing a new closed series of five unique works by Tony Lewis.

Tony Lewis (American, b. 1986)
Plunder, 2022
Graphite powder and rubber cement on paper
11x 15 inches
Closed series of five works
Each work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity

To preview and acquire the work, join us September 15th at the PANORAMA party. Tickets in bio.

The SCA is pleased to be releasing a new print by Christopher Wool. Christopher Wool (American, b.1955)Untitled, 2022Int...
08/16/2022

The SCA is pleased to be releasing a new print by Christopher Wool.

Christopher Wool (American, b.1955)
Untitled, 2022
Intaglio with relief on Arches En Tout Cas paper
15 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches
Edition of 40 with 15 APs
Courtesy of the artist

To preview and acquire the work, join us September 15th at the PANORAMA party. Tickets in bio.

Introducing SCA Editions, a new initiative featuring commissioned artwork editions by prominent artists, available exclu...
08/09/2022

Introducing SCA Editions, a new initiative featuring commissioned artwork editions by prominent artists, available exclusively through the Society for Contemporary Art. We’re thrilled to make exciting new works from Christopher Wool and Tony Lewis available for our inaugural release! To preview and be the first to acquire the Editions, join us September 15th at the PANORAMA Party. Tickets in bio!

Join us for an exclusive launch of the 2022 Collectors Sale on September 15th! Take in a stunning vista at this festive ...
08/04/2022

Join us for an exclusive launch of the 2022 Collectors Sale on September 15th!

Take in a stunning vista at this festive cocktail soirée set high above the city. Enjoy food, cocktails, performances, and art as we celebrate the opening of our 2022 Collectors Sale and the debut of SCA Editions.

Purchase Tickets at the link in our bio!

Special thanks to:

PRADA
SCA Collectors Sale Lead Sponsor

Sotheby’s
SCA Auction Sponsor

and our outstanding Host Committee!

For artist Paulina Olowska (born 1976), painting and performance are closely intertwined. View her latest piece, Naughty...
04/12/2022

For artist Paulina Olowska (born 1976), painting and performance are closely intertwined. View her latest piece, Naughty Nymphs in the Courtyard of the Favorites, on April 23 as part of Iterations, the Art Institute’s multiyear series of new performance commissions made possible through the generous support of the SCA.

More information on performance times, which are free with museum admission, can be found via the link in our bio.



Image: Paulina Olowska. Emmanuelle, 2020.

The SCA is proud to support the upcoming exhibition Igshaan Adams: Desire Lines at the Art Institute of Chicago opening ...
04/05/2022

The SCA is proud to support the upcoming exhibition Igshaan Adams: Desire Lines at the Art Institute of Chicago opening this Saturday, April 2 and on view in Galleries 182-184 through August 1, 2022.

Here’s a sneak peek of the exhibition’s catalogue, including a new visual essay by Igshaan Adams and commissioned texts by Lynne Cooke, Isaac Facio, Hendrik Folkerts, Josh Ginsburg, Imam Muhsin Hendricks, Eusebius McKaiser, Kathryn Smith, and Arnisa Zeqo, as well as two poems by Ocean Vuong.

For more information about our related member event with the exhibition’s curator Hendrik Folkerts and to learn about becoming an SCA member, please visit the link in our bio.
adams

Thank you to all who joined last night's engaging conversation with artist Cameron Rowland and curator Richard Birkett. ...
02/10/2022

Thank you to all who joined last night's engaging conversation with artist Cameron Rowland and curator Richard Birkett. A special thanks to Cameron, Richard, SAIC assistant professor Sampada Aranke, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Visiting Artists Program for their partnership.


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Comments

Thank you to for hosting our Members Happy Hour last night! And thanks to everyone who joined us for a glass or two of champagne and a viewing of Brian Calvin: Something or Other. Visit the exhibition through January 7th.
Thank you to for the insightful conversation with on Friday evening, and to everyone who joined us in Fullerton Hall for this final program of the season!

If you haven’t seen Suzanne Jackson’s solo exhibition at the we recommend visiting before it closes on December 23.
Join us for Suzanne Jackson in conversation with Giampaolo Bianconi on December 9th in Fullerton Hall. This program is free and open to the public. Register at the link in our bio.

works in Savannah, Georgia, where she has lived since 1996. Current exhibitions of her work include Listen' N Home, a solo exhibition of new work at the Arts Club of Chicago; Just Above Midtown: 1974 to the Present, the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and Joan Didion: What She Means, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.

joined the Art Institute of Chicago as Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art in October 2022. He was previously a curator at Museum Brandhorst, Munich, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

In a career spanning more than five decade Suzanne Jackson (b. 1944, St. Louis) has worked experimentally across genres including drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking, poetry, dance, theater and costume design. In her lyrical work from the 1960s and 70s, figures and recurring symbols are built up through multiple layers of acrylic wash on canvas, creating ethereal paintings in which any firm distinction between depicted elements is dissolved. Built up through layers of pure acrylic, Jackson’s recent “anti-canvases” are partially structured with netting, rods, and paper fragments, and strewn with cast-off color and other prosaic elements: peanut shells, bamboo, bells, loquat seeds, leather string. The artist’s handmade gestural impressions—pinching, crimping, and pleating—occur within a material transparency that lends each composition a uniquely lyrical and luminous dimensionality.
Thank you to the for inviting our members for a viewing of Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s-1980s, and a special thanks to curator Corinne Granof for leading us on a private tour.

The exhibition remains on view through this Sunday. Visit the Block Museum’s website for information regarding hours and admission.
Thank you to Evelyn T. Wang for the exciting new performance yesterday evening, and to all those who joined us for this long-awaited event!

Our thanks also go to and for all their hard work on the production of this program!

We are pleased to have returned to Fullerton Hall this season, and are grateful to be able to offer in-person programming again this season.

For information on upcoming programs, visit the link in our bio.
Join us Friday, December 9th for an artist lecture by Suzanne Jackson. She will be joined in conversation by Giampaolo Bianconi, Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, Art Institute of Chicago.

Free & Open to the public.
Link in bio to register.

In a career spanning more than five decades, Jackson has worked experimentally across genres including drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking, poetry, dance, theater and costume design. In her lyrical work from the 1960s and 70s, figures and recurring symbols are built up through multiple layers of acrylic wash on canvas, creating ethereal paintings in which any firm distinction between depicted elements is dissolved.

Photo: Peter Frank Edwards
Suzanne Jackson at her home in Savannah, GA
T Magazine, The New York Times
Join us one week from tonight for a performance by Evelyn T. Wang. This performance is free and open to the public. Link in bio to register.

In her classical drawings and paintings, as well as videos and performances, Evelyn Taocheng Wang (China, 1981, lives and works in Rotterdam) combines a straightforward and at times confrontational tone with emotional, poetic and often autobiographical undercurrents. Through her diverse practice, she addresses ostensible fixed notions of identity, culture and socioeconomic backgrounds. In the past years, Wang's main
interest has been in image presentation', researching different (art) histories of the body from a personal perspective. Her work emerges from an interest in what constitutes identity and how one's own body is culturally relative to and intertwined with-
autobiographical structures. Autobiographical experiences are mixed with fictional fabrications, appropriating texts from novels here with weaving cultures together.

The Society for Contemporary Art is pleased to introduce our new website. Visit through the link in our bio to access programs and events, learn about our history and impact, and join our membership. Connect with the artists, the curators, the educators, the collectors, the dealers & the curious. Expand your mind. Find your people.
Tonight we welcome Maren Hassinger (American, b. 1947) for our first Artist Talk of the Fall 2022 season.

Hassinger has built an expansive practice that articulates the relationship between nature and humanity. Carefully choosing materials for their innate characteristics, Hassinger has explored the subject of movement, family, love, nature, environment, consumerism, identity, and race.

In 2019, the SCA acquired Interlock, an early wire-rope sculpture that visibly reflects the process of its production; Hassinger combines the found materials with industrially produced elements, revealing the tension between technology and nature.

We hope you will join us this evening at 6pm in Fullerton Hall for the artist’s talk!
The SCA kicked off this beautiful fall weekend with a Members Tour of "Citing Black Geographies" with Curator Romi Crawford. Thank you to GRAY for hosting us!

To join us and learn more about SCA Membership, visit the link in our profile-- and
be sure to see this incredible exhibition before it closes in Chicago next Thursday, October 27.
Thank you to for hosting our Members Happy Hour yesterday evening, and thanks to everyone who came out to join us for drinks and a viewing of James Krone’s solo exhibition A Promise of Happiness, on view now.
Join us Monday, October 24 at 6pm in Fullerton Hall for a lecture by artist Maren Hassinger.

This program is free and open to the public. Register to attend at the link in our bio.

Maren Hassinger (American, born 1947) has built an expansive practice that articulates the relationship between nature and humanity. Carefully choosing materials for their innate characteristics, Hassinger has explored the subject of movement, family, love, nature, environment, consumerism, identity, and race.

Public Program Sponsored by Paul Rehder Salon
Thank you to all of our friends, supporters, and members who helped make this year’s Collectors Sale a success! We were thrilled to be able to gather in person again this year for a beautiful evening of revelry and celebration at the Panorama Party on September 15. It was exhilarating to feel the energy and connection of our SCA community come together once again.
Five outstanding
works in this year's Collectors Sale, for your
consideration! View and bid on these work by
Igshaan Adams, Michelle Grabner, Tony Tasset, Judy Ledgerwood, and Beverly Fishman (along with 59 others!) on
Sothebys. Link in bio. DM for private in-person
viewing appointments.
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