Danielle Piloto, New World King (detail), 2024, oil painting Seeing Each Other: Portraits in Time and Place, opened last month at the Northern Illinois University Art Museum Galleries. The exhibition presents captivating portraiture offering personal insights that expose personality, emotion and even character.  The twenty-three exhibiting artists were selected from submissions to a national call, and by invitation. The work ranges from conceptual to hyperrealism, producing an intriguing variety of thought-provoking imagery.  Danielle Piloto’s image titled New World King created i ..read more

James Deeb, Wallflower, oil on board, 14 x 17" In 2014, I wrote the introduction for a catalog of work by Chicago Artist, James Deeb. The catalog, Masks & Other Stories: small works by James Deeb, highlighted a sampling of the artist’s intimate paintings, each produced with a heavy application of glistening oil paint. Although Deeb’s technique remains consistent and his imagery continues to be inspired by the mysteriously macabre, the artist is exploring new subjects and an expanded color palette. James Deeb’s artist statement lends insight into this most recent modification ..read more

EXPO CHICAGO 2024, is returning to Navy Pier from April 11th to 14th for its eleventh iteration. Expo will Showcase 170 of the world's outstanding galleries from 75 cities and 29 nations. The International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art will showcase the work of more than 3,000 artists and—as aways—host a wide range of diverse programming. This year's exposition will introduce specialized segments, including EXPOSURE—dedicated to solo and dual artist presentations from galleries in operation for less than a decade, PROFILE which highlights individual artist installations and t ..read more

Bradford Purse, Detail, “Pop-Up Balloon Safari at Failing Wildlife Monument”, oil on canvas Curating a group exhibition is always a challenge. Hours, days—even weeks—are spent viewing, re-viewing, and selecting work that tells an exceptional story with a visual throughline. Having curated more than a hundred exhibitions, I understand the process. Curators, Janice Meister, Claudia Craemer and Debbie Craemer embraced the challenge. Meister selected the wide range of art objects, and the Craemer sisters presented them exquisitely within the Tall Grass Gallery.  The works in thi ..read more

Frances Cox, Memory of Watching Plants, 32x32 in, oil on canvas A juried exhibition titled Memory, opened this week at the Christopher Art Gallery of Prairie State College. The exhibition, curated by Gallery Director Beth Shadur, includes a variety of work addressing the ideas of past experience and nostalgia.  The school’s gallery guide points out, “Our ability as humans to make and remember memories is what makes experiences rich and defining in our lives. Actually, all living beings have memory, and this is evident by the mysterious ways in which birds migrate successfully, our pets ..read more

Eddie Martinez, Untitled 2020 Detail, acrylic and oil on panel Last month, an exhibition titled 50 Paintings opened at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Co-curators Margaret Andera and Michelle Grabner selected 50 paintings—each produced by one of 50 different international artists over the past five years. The objective was to compile a collection of work that would represent current trends in painting today. As I explored the exhibition, I found myself searching for a common idea—a visual or conceptual throughline that defined this specific snapshot-in-time. With the understanding that no i ..read more

Bruno Surdo, "A Selfie, A Pink Unicorn, Paparazzi! What does it take to get noticed?" oil on canvas, detail When I first met Bruno Surdo, he was a professor of illustration and animation at The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. Back then, his reputation for flawlessly rendering the human form was common knowledge. Not until roughly 2014 did I have an opportunity to experience his massively complex figurative canvases which referenced his personal impressions of contemporary society. That exhibition was presented at the Ann Nathan gallery in Chicago. Since the closing of the iconic Ann Nat ..read more

Holly Wilson, Paper Wings: Fearless (detail), cast bronze with patina, 21 x 23 x 13”  EXPO CHICAGO 2023—The tenth anniversary edition of the International Exhibition of Contemporary Art—opened this weekend at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall. The event includes artwork from more than 170 of the most prominent international galleries—featuring work produced by thousands of fine artists currently working throughout the world. Countries represented at the 2023 exposition include: Argentina, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Iran, Ireland, Israel ..read more

EXPO CHICAGO—The International Exhibition of Contemporary Art—opened this weekend at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall. The show presents artwork from more than 140 of the most prominent international galleries—highlighting an array of fine art created by some three thousand artists. The event offers the opportunity to experience the fine art currently being produced around the globe, while revisiting some of the iconic artists from the past.   EXPO is substantial—seeming to fill every square foot of Festival Hall. I approached the exhibition in the same way I approach the first visit to a ..read more

Joyce Polance, Uprising, 2021, 30x36" I’ve been curating fine art exhibitions for roughly twenty-five years. During that period, I’ve worked with literally hundreds of artists. One of the most prolific and inspiring has been painter, Joyce Polance. I was thrilled to see that Polance's work was selected for exhibition by curator, Suzanne Gorgas of the Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery. Currently on (virtual) exhibition at the Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery of Joliet Junior College, is "Landscapes," a vehemently powerful exhibition of paintings by fine artist, Joyce Polance. The exhibitio ..read more