- Inez Suen
Art: Inez’s Chicago Art Week Picks
We are excited about the art world descending on Chicago this September. There are so many great events and activities all around town. Here are some of our favorites!! <3
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
THE SHIP OF TOLERANCE OPENING RECEPTION
6:00–8:00pm | Polk Bros. Park
The Ilya & Emilia Kabakov Foundation presents The Ship of Tolerance, a dual public art installation and program in Polk Bros. Park at Navy Pier’s entrance. The mission of The Ship of Tolerance is to educate and connect youth from different continents, cultures, and identities through the language of art.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
Samson Young: Silver Moon or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me? | Opening Reception 7:00–9:00pm | Smart Museum of Art
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
10:00 - 2:00 | Chicago Athletic Association
NADA is pleased to announce the first edition of the Chicago Invitational. The new contemporary art fair will take place throughout three floors of the iconic Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, with a curated selection of galleries in the hotel’s historic Stagg Court and Tank spaces, and a takeover of 13 hotel rooms on the fourth floor.
3:00-4:00pm | Suzanne Lovell Inc.
Join us for a tour of Suzanne Lovell’s private collection featuring a range of contemporary artworks in all media, with an emphasis on contemporary ceramics. Artists and designers represented include Marina Abramovic, Studio Job, Haas Brothers, Kiki Smith, Sam Moyer, Shannon Bool and Simone Leigh. Tour will depart from Lovell’s studio loft space located in River North, entrance on the 2nd Floor.
5:30–7:00pm Performance
7:00–8:00pm Reception | Chicago Symphony Center
In conjunction with his first U.S. museum exhibition, artist Samson Young and curator Orianna Cacchione will host an evening of conversation punctuated by musical performances at Chicago’s Symphony Center. Featuring a program of works drawn from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, this performance explores varying concepts of social progress and utopia. Presented in partnership with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, EXPO CHICAGO, and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago.
INAUGURATION & GRAND OPENING
8:00–11:00pm Grand Opening | Mariane Ibrahim Gallery
Mariane Ibrahim Gallery is pleased to invite you to the grand opening of the gallery’s Chicago space. Join them for a celebration of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres alongside the private preview of Take Me to the Water, a solo exhibition of new works by Ayana V. Jackson.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
9:00–11:30am | The Arts Club of Chicago
Join The Arts Club of Chicago Executive Director Janine Mileaf for a private tour of the exhibition Abraham Cruzvillegas: The Ballad of Etc. Sponsored by AXA Art Americas Corporation.
Review the back of your VIP card for timed entry information.
VERNISSAGE
6:00–9:00pm | EXPO CHICAGO
The Women’s Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago invites you to Vernissage, the opening night benefit for EXPO CHICAGO. While enjoying one of the most highly anticipated events of the fall art season, get an exclusive first look at artworks from leading international galleries.
PATRON RECEPTION
5:00–7:00pm | VIP Collectors Lounge
An exclusive part of Vernissage, this ticketed event brings Chicago’s favorite restaurants together for a chance to sample the finest cuisine from top chefs while celebrating the opening of EXPO CHICAGO.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
10:00am | Richard H. Driehaus Museum
Installed within the restored Gilded Age mansion, the inaugural exhibition in the Driehaus Museum’s new contemporary art series, A Tale of Today, focuses on the work of Yinka Shonibare CBE, an artist who draws on history, politics, and fashion influences to explore and critique our understanding of the past with equal doses of humor, irony, and theatrics throughout the museum’s renowned period rooms and decorative arts collection.
TOUR OF IN/SITU WITH PROGRAM CURATOR JACOB FABRICIUS
1:00pm | East Information Desk, EXPO CHICAGO
2019 guest curator and Kunsthal Aarhus Artistic Director Jacob Fabricius will lead a private tour of this year’s IN/SITU program, featuring large-scale sculptures, new media, and site-specific works installed throughout Navy Pier’s Festival Hall.
CHARTWELL INSURANCE EMERGING COLLECTORS TOUR
2:00pm | East Information Desk, EXPO CHICAGO
Led by a leading art advisor, this private tour welcomes EXPO CHICAGO guests looking to start a collection with works in the $15,000 range.
TOUR OF EXPOSURE WITH PROGRAM CURATOR NAIMA J. KEITH
3:00pm | East Information Desk, EXPO CHICAGO
Join Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Vice President of Education and Public Programs and Artistic Director of Prospect.5 Naima J. Keith for a private tour of EXPOSURE, a curated component of the exposition dedicated to emerging galleries eight years and younger.
TRUE NORTH: CANADA RECEPTION & TOUR
3:00–5:00pm | VIP Event Space
Cocktail reception followed by private tours of the exposition led by Curatorial Exchange participants and hosted by the Consulate General of Canada in Chicago. Special presentation and book signing of The Art of Diplomacy with former US ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, and co-author Vicki Heyman.
6:30–9:00pm | The Peninsula Chicago
Special exhibition entitled, REVERB. The exhibition features work by James Nares, Iván Navarro, and Naama Tsabar, whose practices explore movement, sound, and electricity, engaging with the rhythm and structure of the urban environment.
7:00–9:00pm | Kavi Gupta, 219 N Elizabeth St.
Solo exhibitions, Jeffrey Gibson: CAN YOU FEEL IT and Kennedy Yanko: HANNAH. After-party to follow opening reception. RSVP required.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
9:00–11:00am | Gray Warehouse
Private brunch and viewing of the solo exhibition of Hard-Edge Abstraction painter Leon Polk Smith, which focuses on the artist’s 1960s Constellations series of shaped canvases.
3:30-4:30 | The Chicago Public Library - Chinatown Branch
6:30 | Private Collectors dinner for Artist, Gordon Cheung
Join Inez Suen of IS Creative Agency at The Chicago Public Library, Chinatown branch to welcome London based artist, @gordoncheung and take an in depth look at the inspirations and motivations behind his artworks in his solo exhibition at the EXPO Chicago.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
9:00–11:00am | Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Breakfast in the Commons followed by a special viewing of Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech”, the first museum exhibition devoted to the work of the genre-bending artist and designer.
11:00am | Stony Island Arts Bank
Founded and led by artist Theaster Gates, the Stony Island Arts Bank is a hybrid gallery, library, and cultural center that serves as a platform to preserve, access, and reimagine archival collections of black history and culture. Tour the collection, featuring Frankie Knuckles’ personal vinyl collection, Ed Williams’ collection of 4,000 objects of “negrobilia,” and more than 60,000 glass lantern slides acquired from the University of Chicago.