Educator Taylor Allmon uses New York City’s built environment as a prism through which Chryssa’s dreams and discontents may be glimpsed. What of Chryssa’s relationship to America’s consumerist landscape can be discerned through her sculptures?
Taylor Allmon is a recent graduate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s BFAAHT program. She maintains a research-based painting practice in East Garfield Park.
Only 2 more weekends to see "Chryssa & New York!” This exhibition is on view until July 27, 2024.
Video by: Cody Schlabaugh
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
Giselle considers the charm of timed illumination within Chryssa’s 1966 neon work, Study for the Gates #2. Exposed resistor mechanisms alternate electrical currents to neon tubes—blinking on and off with controlled measure to produce anticipation in viewers.
Giselle Torres is an Educator at Wrightwood 659 as well as an art historian, writer, and artist. For the past four years she has been a facilitator of arts education to youth across the Chicago land area.
Only 3 more weeks to see "Chryssa & New York!” This exhibition is on view until July 27, 2024.
Video by: Cody Schlabaugh
Michelle reflects on Chryssa’s magnum opus, The Gates to Time Square, and the urban fragments from which she drew inspiration. Using industrial debris from sign graveyards, Chryssa transformed letters the known into the unknown.
Michelle Sutanto is an Educator at Wrightwood 659 as well as an interdisciplinary artist, art administrator, and art historian deeply engaged in navigating the thriving Art scene in Chicago, Illinois. Michelle received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Only 3 more weeks to see "Chryssa & New York!” This exhibition is on view until July 27, 2024.
Video by: Cody Schlabaugh
Tatiana discusses Chryssa's cast aluminum sculpture resembling discarded newspapers. If this sculpture can be interpreted as a relic of 1960s New York, what does it reflect about the cultural moment from which it was made?
Tatiana Sky is an Educator at Wrightwood 659 and an artist who primarily makes sculpture with ceramics, plaster, concrete and cast metal. Their work focuses on our relationship with natural environments and is informed by garden decor, architectural details, and folklore. They received their BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2020.
Only 5 more weeks to see "Chryssa & New York!” This exhibition is on view until July 27, 2024.
Video by: Cody Schlabaugh
Remembering Chryssa’s Lost Sculpture (Screening + Panel Discussion)
Jul 11
Doors open at 4:30 PM
Program starts at 6:00 PM
In partnership with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Wrightwood 659 revives Chryssa’s largest sculpture through the stories of the SOM staff who engineered the six-story neon installation at 33 W. Monroe Street in Chicago—the largest she would ever produce. Join us for the premiere of a short, 10-minute documentary discussing Chryssa’s lost monumental work, followed by a moderated Q&A with SOM’s Sonia Cooke, David Fleener, and Richard F. Tomlinson II.
Purchase tickets here - https://bit.ly/3W5YH68
Only 5 more weeks to see "Chryssa & New York!” This exhibition is on view until July 27, 2024.
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
We are proud to support the work of Chryssa, a queer, Greek, immigrant artist who rose to prominence in the 50s and 60s and dedicated her practice to deciphering the signs and symbols of New York’s Times Square. Neon bender matteline deVries-dilling describes Chryssa’s relationship to queerness, stating: “We don’t know that Chryssa ever used the word queer to describe herself, but I feel she occupied queer space in the broadest sense, in the way bell hooks talks about it: it wasn’t necessarily about who she was in a relationship with, but how she was relating to the culture around her.”
Pride Month is a time to celebrate and affirm the LGBTQ+ community, embracing diversity, love, and equality for all. It's a moment to stand together in solidarity, honoring the courage and resilience of those who have fought for acceptance and rights. By supporting the LGBTQ+ community, we advocate for a world where everyone can live authentically and without fear of discrimination. Let's continue to champion inclusivity and celebrate the unique contributions of every individual, ensuring that love always triumphs over prejudice. Happy Pride Month!
Detail shot of “Americanoom” by Chryssa. Image Credit - Daniel Eggert.
Only 5 more weeks to see "Chryssa & New York!” This exhibition is on view until July 27, 2024.
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
It’s Electric! A tour of Chryssa’s Neon Sculpture
Jun 29, 12 pm
In the commercial spectacle of 1960s New York, Chryssa captured the electric chaos of Times Square and bent it to her will, transforming discarded advertisement signs, cast metal, and pulsing neon into objects reflecting the “poetic vulgarity” of her new home. By the end of the decade, she was considered a leading figure of the light art movement. Wrightwood 659 Assistant Curator Ashley Janke guides guests through a selection of Chryssa’s most notable neon works—restored for “Chryssa & New York.”
Purchase tickets here - https://bit.ly/4cKcCUR
Only 5 more weeks to see "Chryssa & New York!” This exhibition is on view until July 27, 2024.
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
“Chryssa’s enchantment with the grime of Times Square was somewhat left-handed this way, alive to its beauty but not entirely romantic. She recognized in it the vulgarity of America, and took that as a kind of freedom…” -The New York Times
Read the full article here - https://nyti.ms/3VeibDS
"Chryssa & New York" is on view from May 3 to July 27, 2024.
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
“Chryssa exhibit a vivid reminder of all-but-forgotten Greek artist and her impact on 20th century American art.” -Chicago Sun Times
Read the full article here - https://bit.ly/3XbUZbU
"Chryssa & New York" is on view from May 3 to July 27, 2024.
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
"Some sixty years after her breakout solo shows in 1961 at the Betty Parsons Gallery and the Guggenheim Museum, the pioneering artist Chryssa is finally back in the public eye.” -The Brooklyn Rail
Read the full article here - https://bit.ly/3VerFPk
"Chryssa & New York" is on view from May 3 to July 27, 2024.
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
From Signs to Symbols: Chryssa’s Mechanical Manipulations with Christine Mehring, Mark Pascale, and Anne Rorimer�
Thursday, May 30
Doors open at 4:30 pm
Program starts at 6 pm
Throughout her prolific career, Chryssa used textual forms to explore the possibilities of light, structure, and mechanical processes. This panel discussion features esteemed curators and art historians in what promises to be an important and fun conversation deciphering Chryssa’s approach to textual abstraction and her desire to embody the machine.
Register for the program here - https://bit.ly/4bzDKps
"Chryssa & New York" is on view from May 3 to July 27, 2024.
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
Photo credit - Daniel Eggert
"Chryssa & New York" is officially open! Reserve your tickets for a unique opportunity to see Chryssa’s groundbreaking sculptures.
“Responding to the architecture, the advertising, and the street signage, Chryssa drew striking connections between ancient cultures and blinking neon—a medium that she put to profoundly good use in her work.” -The New Yorker
"Chryssa & New York" is on view from May 3 to July 27, 2024.
Get your tickets here - https://bit.ly/2RwW1eC
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
Image Credits -
Chryssa, Classified, 1960. © Εstate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Courtesy Irene Panagopoulos Collection
Chryssa, Projection #2, 1960. © Εstate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Image courtesy Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C
Chryssa, Americanoom, 1963. © Εstate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Image courtesy Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami. Photo: Oriol Tarridas
“Unlike the mythical protagonist of American action painting, Chryssa begins not with a blank canvas or a metaphysical void but with a concrete fragment of the material world.” -Artforum
Read the full article on Artforum here - https://bit.ly/3Wf5DhG
"Chryssa & New York" is on view from May 3 to July 27, 2024.
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
Video Credit - The Menil Collection. "Chryssa & New York.” Youtube, uploaded by The Menil Collection, Nov. 10, 2023.
Chryssa & New York Tickets on Sale
Tickets are now on sale for "Chryssa & New York." Pathbreaking in its use of signage, text, and neon, her vastly underrecognized body of work bridges Pop, Conceptual, and Minimalist ideas of art making. Don't miss this rare chance to see the full breadth of the artist's dynamic oeuvre, including a selection of her most influential works, such as “The Gates to Times Square,” restored for view.
"Chryssa & New York" is on view from May 3 to July 27, 2024.
Purchase tickets here - https://bit.ly/2RwW1eC
This exhibition is co-organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Menil Collection, Houston, in collaboration with Alphawood Foundation at Wrightwood 659, Chicago.
Credits:
Image 1 - Chryssa, Classified, 1960. © Εstate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Courtesy Irene Panagopoulos Collection
Image 2 - Chryssa, Projection #2, 1960. © Εstate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Image courtesy Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C
Image 3 - Chryssa, Americanoom, 1963. © Εstate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Image courtesy Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami. Photo: Oriol Tarridas
Image 4 - Chryssa, Newspaper No. 3, 1961. © Εstate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Courtesy the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Image 5 - Chryssa, Automat, 1971. © Εstate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens. Courtesy Abrams Family Collection. Photo: Bill Jacobson Studio, New York, courtesy Dia Art Foundation
Image 6 - Chryssa, Study on Light, 1962. © Εstate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Image © The Menil Collection, Houston. Photo: Caroline Philippone
Image 7 - Chryssa, The Gates to Times Square, 1964-66. Buffalo AKG Art Museum. © Estate of Chryssa, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Photo: Bill Jacobson Studio, New York, courtesy Dia Art Foundation
We are thrilled to announce that Wrightwood 659 has been voted Best Art Gallery in the Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago 2023 Awards! First and foremost, we would like to thank all of YOU. We wouldn’t have received this honor without you. Whether you have visited the gallery, nominated us for this award, voted for us, or supported us in any way, we greatly appreciate every single one of you.
Congratulations to all of the nominees. You are all an inspiration to the art community. Keep up the amazing work!
Photo Credits -
Photo 1 - Installation view of Kongkee: Warring States Cyberpunk, at Wrightwood 659, 2023, © 2023 Alphawood Exhibitions LLC, Chicago. Courtesy: Alphawood Exhibitions LLC, Chicago. Photo: Michael Tropea
Photos 2 - Installation view of Shahidul Alam: Singed But Not Burnt, at Wrightwood 659, 2023, © 2023 Alphawood Exhibitions LLC, Chicago. Courtesy: Alphawood Exhibitions LLC, Chicago. Photo: Michael Tropea
Photo 3 - Installation view of Patric McCoy: Take My Picture, at Wrightwood 659, 2023, © 2023 Alphawood Exhibitions LLC, Chicago. Courtesy: Alphawood Exhibitions LLC, Chicago. Photo: Michael Tropea
Photo 4 - Installation views of Saya Woolfalk’s Landscape of Anticipation 2.0, 2021, in “Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art,” at Wrightwood 659, 2023, © 2023 Alphawood Exhibitions LLC, Chicago. Courtesy: Alphawood Exhibitions LLC, Chicago. Photos by Daniel Eggert.
Roma Object Chat
Educator Roma Linares reflects on bio-hacking, or do-it-yourself biology, through a transfeminist lens in "Root Picker" by Rian Ciela Hammond. This Object Chat expands on the themes and issues in “Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art.”
Roma (@awildroomba) has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Chicago with a minor in Media Arts & Design. They are a first-year educator with Wrightwood 659 with an interest in art and arts conservation.
Our Object Chat series highlights the unique insight and perspective of our fantastic Educator team on artwork and ideas featured in our exhibitions. Always ready to engage in conversation, provide context, and answer questions in the gallery, Educators set Wrightwood 659 apart as a welcoming space for learning and engagement.
The final day to see “Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art” is Saturday, January 27, from 10 am to 5 pm.
Video by Cody Schlabaugh.
Video excerpts from “Root Picker” by Rian Ciela Hammond.
Final Weekend
This Saturday is your final chance to see “Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art!” You don’t want to miss out, so get your tickets today!
We are open Saturday, January 27, from 10 am to 5 pm.
We also have two other fascinating exhibitions you’ll want to see while you’re here: “Tadao Ando: Spontaneous Sketches” and “Daniel Goldstein: The Marks We Leave Behind.”
Click here to get tickets - https://bit.ly/2RwW1eC
Credits:
“Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art” is organized by Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Albright-Knox Art Museum, Buffalo
Photos by Daniel Eggert.
Taylor Object Chat
Educator Taylor Allmon discusses digital colonialism as explored in Moreshin Allahyari’s “Material Speculation: Isis” in this Object Chat on “Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art.”
Taylor (@tissongo) is a fourth-year BFA student at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with focus in painting and art history. She is a returning educator, and initially joined Wrightwood 659 as an artist for Rirkrit Tiravanija’s “(who’s afraid of red, yellow, and green.)”
Our Object Chat series highlights the unique insight and perspective of our fantastic Educator team on artwork and ideas featured in our exhibitions. Always ready to engage in conversation, provide context, and answer questions in the gallery, Educators set Wrightwood 659 apart as a welcoming space for learning and engagement.
Video by Cody Schlabaugh.
Rex Object Chat
Educator Rex Cassidy considers questions of consciousness and identity raised by Stephanie Dinkin’s “Conversations with Bina48: 7, 6, 5, 2” in this Object Chat on “Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art.”
Rex (@morsrex) is an artist and cultural professional. Rex is a new addition to our education team and holds an MA in Art Education from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. They currently teach at SAE Institute Chicago, National Louis University and in K-12 schools across Chicago under the Race, Equity, Arts and Cultural History (REACH) Grant.
Our Object Chat series highlights the unique insight and perspective of our fantastic Educator team on artwork and ideas featured in our exhibitions. Always ready to engage in conversation, provide context, and answer questions in the gallery, Educators set Wrightwood 659 apart as a welcoming space for learning and engagement.
Video by Cody Schlabaugh.
Video excerpts from “Conversations with Bina48: 7, 6, 5, 2” by Stephanie Dinkins.
Educator Jan Simonds discusses Tadao Ando’s approach to concrete in his architectural practice in this Object Chat on “Tadao Ando: Spontaneous Sketches.”
Jan (@janvsim) obtained his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and maintains an art practice in drawing. He has worked at Wrightwood 659 for the past four exhibition seasons, initially drawing for Rirkrit Tiravanija’s “(who’s afraid of red, yellow, and green).” His work was recently exhibited in his first solo exhibition, at Turley Gallery in Hudson, NY.
Our Object Chat series highlights the unique insight and perspective of our fantastic Educator team on artwork and ideas featured in our exhibitions. Always ready to engage in conversation, provide context, and answer questions in the gallery, Educators set Wrightwood 659 apart as a welcoming space for learning and engagement.
Video by Cody Schlabaugh.
Additional photographs courtesy of Daniel Whittaker and Jeff Goldberg.
