Interview: Cheech Marin Is a Chicano Progressosaurus
Though Cheech Marin first found fame while partnering with Tommy Chong to create some of the most iconic counterculture comedy of all time, stoner humor won’t be the main focus […]
Review: New Exhibition at Hyde Park Art Center Introduces Fresh Interpretations on Ageless Themes
Talking about how we process the world and our place in it through the visual arts rather than the spoken word can lead to some curious places. The people, things and […]
Review: The Art Institute’s Painting His World Offers a Thoughtful, Lush Look at Gustave Caillebotte’s Work and Influence
For the entirety of my life, growing up in Oak Park and visiting the Art Institute of Chicago first on school field trips and then as an adult whose favorite […]
Review: Troubadour with a Brush— the Rory McEwen Exhibit at the Driehaus Museum
I knew of Rory McEwen as a singer of Scottish balladry and topical songs. But I never knew he was a highly respected botanical artist—until now. Presented in association with […]
Review: Design Museum Recreates Classic Great Ideas Series With New Voices and Expanded Focus
The Design Museum of Chicago has reached back into design history for a landmark advertising campaign developed by a Chicago corporation; the curators have recreated it as a modern-day exhibit […]
Feature: Outdoor Art on the Mart and at the Morton Arboretum
It’s outdoor art season in Chicagoland, finally, and two venues are bringing the bright, bold colors to our blooming prairie. Architecture and design firm Perkins&Will, in partnership with Chicago’s Department […]
Feature: Fish from Sea to Page—The Shedd Aquarium and Gould’s Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan
Two nights ago I finished reading the marvelous and peculiar 2001 novel—Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish—by Australian author Richard Flanagan. In his pages of colorful prose, […]
Review: The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity 1869–1939 Fulfills an Ambitious Goal at Wrightwood 659
In the new exhibit at Wrightwood 659, curators Jonathan D. Katz and Johnny Willis have realized the full version of an ambitious goal. To create an art exhibition that recognizes and […]
Review: Arts Club Exhibit Shows How Lebanese Artist Huguette Caland Walked a Tightrope as Woman and Artist
Review by Mitchell Oldham. Flying under the radar for much of her long and extraordinary career, Lebanese artist Huguette Caland’s daring interpretations of life as she saw it are beginning […]
Feature: Cherry Trees Are Blooming in Jackson Park at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
Article written by Mitchell Oldham. In our nation’s capital, the annual cherry blossom bloom along the Tidal Basin makes Spring one of the most highly anticipated times of the year […]
Review: Art Institute’s New Korea Gallery Examines the Country’s Long Historical Timeline of Art and Artists
Review by Mitchell Oldham. In a long pocket of space between the Art Institute’s Japanese and Chinese galleries, a brand-new exquisite new addition opened last fall. Supported by the National […]
Review: At the Art Institute, Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris Examines a Pivotal Moment in Mexican Artist’s Career
The Art Institute’s new Frida Kahlo exhibit aims to illuminate her connection with Mary Reynolds, an American expatriate artist and bookbinder who encountered Kahlo in Paris at a pivotal point […]