The Art Institute of Chicago

09/13/2021

COMING SOON—Barbara Kruger

Combining images with provocative text, American artist Barbara Kruger's iconic work exposes and undermines the power dynamics of identity, desire, and consumerism—opening September 19 at the Art Institute.

LEARN MORE—https://bit.ly/3tDv4Jo

COMING SOON—Barbara Kruger

Combining images with provocative text, American artist Barbara Kruger's iconic work exposes and undermines the power dynamics of identity, desire, and consumerism—opening September 19 at the Art Institute.

LEARN MORE—https://bit.ly/3tDv4Jo

09/12/2021

The Phenomenon of Elaine | The Art Institute of Chicago

Thousands of people lined up to see Toby Edward Rosenthal's painting "Elaine" when it was displayed in San Francisco in 1875. And then it was stolen. Explore the Elaine craze that gripped the city—and learn how they cracked the case of the missing painting.

Thousands of people lined up to see the painting Elaine when it was displayed in San Francisco in 1875.

09/10/2021

In 1886 Vincent van Gogh left his native Holland and settled in Paris, where his beloved brother Theo was a dealer in paintings. Van Gogh created at least twenty-four self-portraits during his two-year stay in the energetic French capital.

This early example is modest in size and was painted on prepared artist’s board rather than canvas. Its densely dabbed brushwork, which became a hallmark of Van Gogh’s style, reflects the artist’s response to Georges Seurat’s revolutionary pointillist technique in "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884." But what was for Seurat a method based on the cool objectivity of science became in Van Gogh’s hands an intense emotional language.

The surface of the painting dances with particles of color—intense greens, blues, reds, and oranges. Dominating this dazzling array of staccato dots and dashes are the artist’s deep green eyes and the intensity of their gaze. “I prefer painting people’s eyes to cathedrals,” Van Gogh once wrote to Theo. “However solemn and imposing the latter may be—a human soul, be it that of a poor streetwalker, is more interesting to me.” From Paris, Van Gogh traveled to the southern town of Arles for fifteen months. At the time of his death, in 1890, he had actively pursued his art for only five years.

See this powerful 1887 self-portrait among 9 paintings by Vincent van Gogh now on view at the Art Institute.

In 1886 Vincent van Gogh left his native Holland and settled in Paris, where his beloved brother Theo was a dealer in paintings. Van Gogh created at least twenty-four self-portraits during his two-year stay in the energetic French capital.

This early example is modest in size and was painted on prepared artist’s board rather than canvas. Its densely dabbed brushwork, which became a hallmark of Van Gogh’s style, reflects the artist’s response to Georges Seurat’s revolutionary pointillist technique in "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884." But what was for Seurat a method based on the cool objectivity of science became in Van Gogh’s hands an intense emotional language.

The surface of the painting dances with particles of color—intense greens, blues, reds, and oranges. Dominating this dazzling array of staccato dots and dashes are the artist’s deep green eyes and the intensity of their gaze. “I prefer painting people’s eyes to cathedrals,” Van Gogh once wrote to Theo. “However solemn and imposing the latter may be—a human soul, be it that of a poor streetwalker, is more interesting to me.” From Paris, Van Gogh traveled to the southern town of Arles for fifteen months. At the time of his death, in 1890, he had actively pursued his art for only five years.

See this powerful 1887 self-portrait among 9 paintings by Vincent van Gogh now on view at the Art Institute.

09/09/2021

For more than a decade, Mimi Cherono Ng’ok has worked to understand how natural environments and human subjects coexist and evolve together.

In the exhibition "Mimi Cherono Ng’ok: Closer to the Earth, Closer to My Own Body," the Kenyan artist presents photographs and a debut film, all as part of an ongoing inquiry into the rich and diverse botanical cultures of the tropics.

EXPLORE—https://bit.ly/3yRbM4f

09/08/2021

Kyoto–based artist Ibe Kyoko pioneered the use of a textured paper made with gampi—a kind of Japanese shrub—in contemporary art. She researched ancient methods and extant works of art to arrive at her unique process of mixing mineral pigments in with gampi fibers.

The calligraphy fragments set into the paper that constitutes this work are pieces of manuscript books from the late Edo to Meiji period (about 1850–1868) that she either purchased from antique dealers or were in her family.

See "Galaxy (Fugetsudoten; 風月同天)" (2014) by Ibe Kyoko on view in Gallery 106.

Kyoto–based artist Ibe Kyoko pioneered the use of a textured paper made with gampi—a kind of Japanese shrub—in contemporary art. She researched ancient methods and extant works of art to arrive at her unique process of mixing mineral pigments in with gampi fibers.

The calligraphy fragments set into the paper that constitutes this work are pieces of manuscript books from the late Edo to Meiji period (about 1850–1868) that she either purchased from antique dealers or were in her family.

See "Galaxy (Fugetsudoten; 風月同天)" (2014) by Ibe Kyoko on view in Gallery 106.

09/07/2021

The most eminent member of a family of Venetian artists, Francesco Guardi was an 18th-century landscape painter renowned for his lively city views (called 'vedute') and fanciful depictions of architecture (called 'capricci'). Guardi rarely painted gardens, but here he created a luxurious green space scintillating with natural light, fresh air, and a sense of leisure. Elegant couples stroll through the perfectly manicured hedges while a ballgame takes place in the distance. A single black gondola slides across the simmering lagoon at left, a nod to Guardi’s affinity for Venetian waterscapes.

See "The Garden of Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo" among other works by Francesco Guardi now on view in Gallery 217.

The most eminent member of a family of Venetian artists, Francesco Guardi was an 18th-century landscape painter renowned for his lively city views (called 'vedute') and fanciful depictions of architecture (called 'capricci'). Guardi rarely painted gardens, but here he created a luxurious green space scintillating with natural light, fresh air, and a sense of leisure. Elegant couples stroll through the perfectly manicured hedges while a ballgame takes place in the distance. A single black gondola slides across the simmering lagoon at left, a nod to Guardi’s affinity for Venetian waterscapes.

See "The Garden of Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo" among other works by Francesco Guardi now on view in Gallery 217.

09/06/2021

Shana Tovah to those celebrating Rosh Hashanah this evening! We wish everyone a Happy New Year and sweeter days ahead.

Image: Charles Demuth. Still Life Apples and Green Glass, 1925. Olivia Shaler Swan Memorial Collection.

Shana Tovah to those celebrating Rosh Hashanah this evening! We wish everyone a Happy New Year and sweeter days ahead.

Image: Charles Demuth. Still Life Apples and Green Glass, 1925. Olivia Shaler Swan Memorial Collection.

09/04/2021

"Bisa Butler: Portraits" closes this Monday! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and shared their visit. We loved seeing the many amazing responses to Bisa Butler's work, including this one from @uknowbrooklyn who came to see her grandmother depicted in "The Tea" (2017).

Instagram repost: @uknowbrooklyn

You hid from the camera your whole life now look at u in the art institute in Chicago lmao I would have loved to have rolled🦽 your 101 year old self up to see this and tease u lol but it’s cool I’ll snap a couple of Picts of it and I’ll see u later mudear❤️
(She’s the one in the middle)
Artist: @bisabutler
Swipe👈🏼

09/03/2021

In 1962 at the age of 71, Joseph E. Yoakum reported having a dream that inspired him to draw. Thereafter the retired veteran began a daily practice and over the next 10 years produced some 2,000 works.

Explore his idiosyncratic and poetic vision in the exhibition "Joseph E. Yoakum: What I Saw."

LEARN MORE—https://bit.ly/3zq7YIH

09/02/2021

Air as Sustenance: Four Artworks That Celebrate Breath | The Art Institute of Chicago

Where there is breath, there is life. And because there is life, there is hope. Four writers select artworks from four continents in an exploration of the essential act of taking in air.

The idea for an article on breath in art came before COVID.

09/01/2021

NEW ACQUISITION—Rebeca Gualinga, a Canelos-Quichua artist, created this vessel in 1986 as a statement of protest rather than a utilitarian jar meant to store things. A few years earlier, members of her community, Puyo, began raising their fists and proclaiming, "ama llulla, ama shua, ama quilla" (don't lie, don't steal, don't be lazy), which they believed was a greeting people used in the late Inca Empire. Gualinga's three sons were revolutionaries, and she made this jar with three faces to symbolize their defiance of the Ecuadorian government.

See this new addition to the museum's collection on view in Gallery 136.

08/31/2021

TOMORROW at 5:00 (CDT)—Virtual Conversation: Richard Hunt—Scholar’s Rock or Stone of Hope or Love of Bronze

Join the legendary Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt for a conversation celebrating the exhibition "Richard Hunt: Scholar’s Rock or Stone of Hope or Love of Bronze" and the artist's decades-long career as one of the leading sculptors of our time. Free with registration.

REGISTER—https://bit.ly/3DvPYyr

Hunt is joined by Ann Goldstein, deputy director and chair and curator of Modern and Contemporary Art; and Jordan Carter, associate curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

TOMORROW at 5:00 (CDT)—Virtual Conversation: Richard Hunt—Scholar’s Rock or Stone of Hope or Love of Bronze

Join the legendary Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt for a conversation celebrating the exhibition "Richard Hunt: Scholar’s Rock or Stone of Hope or Love of Bronze" and the artist's decades-long career as one of the leading sculptors of our time. Free with registration.

REGISTER—https://bit.ly/3DvPYyr

Hunt is joined by Ann Goldstein, deputy director and chair and curator of Modern and Contemporary Art; and Jordan Carter, associate curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

08/30/2021

NOW ON VIEW—The Tiffany Window

Made over 100 years ago at Tiffany Studios, the monumental Hartwell Memorial Window, standing 26 feet high by 18 feet wide, is a pinnacle achievement in the medium of stained glass.

TICKETS—https://bit.ly/37oZVPt

Advance tickets are required. Masks are required for all visitors, in accordance with the city of Chicago’s indoor mask advisory. Visit our website for more information.

NOW ON VIEW—The Tiffany Window

Made over 100 years ago at Tiffany Studios, the monumental Hartwell Memorial Window, standing 26 feet high by 18 feet wide, is a pinnacle achievement in the medium of stained glass.

TICKETS—https://bit.ly/37oZVPt

Advance tickets are required. Masks are required for all visitors, in accordance with the city of Chicago’s indoor mask advisory. Visit our website for more information.

08/30/2021

CLOSING MONDAY—"Bisa Butler: Portraits"

Don't miss your chance to see these stunning portrait quilts that reimagine and celebrate narratives of Black life.

TICKETS—https://bit.ly/3xrbeBj

Advance tickets are required. Masks are required for all visitors, in accordance with the city of Chicago’s indoor mask advisory. Visit our website for more information.

08/29/2021

Our director of product design discusses a process that often culminates in seeing beautiful details from artworks in the hands of people walking down the street.

Learn just how much goes into deciding which products to develop for the museum’s stores—in the article "Creating Products (and Memories) for the Museum Shop."

LEARN MORE—https://bit.ly/3zroiII

08/28/2021

The son of a music teacher and himself a trained violinist, Paul Klee shared with many artists the idea that sound could be a key to producing new forms of visual abstraction. He was interested in the temporal, emotional, and sonic character of music and the ways that these might be translated into images.

Produced in 1930 while Klee was an instructor at the German art school the Bauhaus, "Sunset" demonstrates the artist’s engagement with principles of rhythm. Linear structures, forms, and tonal values are orchestrated into a measured, vibrating composition, with the resulting picture balancing stillness and movement, shallowness, and depth. This relates to Klee's larger project of looking to music to produce an art that "does not reproduce the visible, but makes visible."

See four works by Paul Klee on view in Gallery 393.

The son of a music teacher and himself a trained violinist, Paul Klee shared with many artists the idea that sound could be a key to producing new forms of visual abstraction. He was interested in the temporal, emotional, and sonic character of music and the ways that these might be translated into images.

Produced in 1930 while Klee was an instructor at the German art school the Bauhaus, "Sunset" demonstrates the artist’s engagement with principles of rhythm. Linear structures, forms, and tonal values are orchestrated into a measured, vibrating composition, with the resulting picture balancing stillness and movement, shallowness, and depth. This relates to Klee's larger project of looking to music to produce an art that "does not reproduce the visible, but makes visible."

See four works by Paul Klee on view in Gallery 393.

08/27/2021

For decades painter Jack Whitten explored the possibilities of abstraction and its relation to the photographed, or instantaneously recorded, moment.

Around 1970 Whitten began painting in layers, each of which captures a step of the work’s making: “Whatever happens on the plane of my paintings has to take place instantly and has to catch and freeze something.”

For “Khee II” (1978), from his formative ‘Greek Alphabet’ series, Whitten laid the canvas over a number of shaped objects and then prepared it with gesso and pigment, finally raking it with tools he calls “developers” (these tools range from combs to large, hand-rigged mechanisms). The result is an embossed, striated surface that appears as if lit from within—a glowing evocative abstract painting that is also a layer-by-layer document of its own making.

See Jack Whitten’s “Khee II” on view in Gallery 297.

For decades painter Jack Whitten explored the possibilities of abstraction and its relation to the photographed, or instantaneously recorded, moment.

Around 1970 Whitten began painting in layers, each of which captures a step of the work’s making: “Whatever happens on the plane of my paintings has to take place instantly and has to catch and freeze something.”

For “Khee II” (1978), from his formative ‘Greek Alphabet’ series, Whitten laid the canvas over a number of shaped objects and then prepared it with gesso and pigment, finally raking it with tools he calls “developers” (these tools range from combs to large, hand-rigged mechanisms). The result is an embossed, striated surface that appears as if lit from within—a glowing evocative abstract painting that is also a layer-by-layer document of its own making.

See Jack Whitten’s “Khee II” on view in Gallery 297.

08/26/2021

Bisa Butler: The Shared Gifts of Influence | The Art Institute of Chicago

Considering Bisa Butler's work alongside that of her forerunners and contemporaries—both in the exhibition "Bisa Butler: Portraits" and throughout the museum—illustrates that artistic vision often develops within a community of artists who wholeheartedly respect and inspire each other.

Discover the artists who have influenced and continue to inspire Bisa Butler—not only because of their work and distinct vision but due to their unrelenting perseverance and passion.

Resilience and persistence—these are traits Bisa Butler emphasizes when contemplating the artists who have most inspired her: artists such as Loïs Mailou Jones and Alma Thomas, as well as Amy Sherald.

08/25/2021

CLOSING SOON—"Cosmoscapes: Ink Paintings by Tai Xiangzhou"

The monochromatic ink paintings of Chinese artist and scholar Tai Xiangzhou bridge the gulf between ancient traditions and contemporary artistic practice. Combining elements of Chinese philosophy with modern astronomy, the acclaimed artist creates landscapes in the realist style of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and semiabstract expanses of rocks and clouds floating in extraterrestrial worlds. Tai’s extraordinary paintings are not only visual but also visionary, leading the viewer into imaginary realms and inspiring wonder toward the unknown universe.

Closing September 20—http://bit.ly/3eqzFZI