<\/p>\n Green Room Newsletter<\/p>\n You\u2019re subscribed!<\/b><\/p>\n Please check your inbox for your confirmation.<\/p>\n Stay ahead of what\u2019s hitting Chicago stages, galleries, museums and more with Green Room, WBEZ\u2019s weekly arts & culture newsletter!<\/p>\n Sorry, there was an error registering your email.<\/p>\n Many local gallerists and art collectors said 2026 feels like the year attendees will truly feel the \u201cFrieze effect\u201d on the art fair. For starters, it has new leadership. Sierzputowski is successor to EXPO Chicago founder Tony Karman, who stepped down from his role<\/a> as director last May. He founded the contemporary and modern art fair in 2012 and launched it as a descendant of Art Chicago, a fair that ran from 1980 to 2011.<\/p>\n The floor has also been \u201crefined,\u201d said Sierzputowski. The fair made a \u201ccontroversial\u201d decision to cut out booths from not-for-profit groups this year, resulting in fewer exhibitors, explains longtime Chicago gallerist and art dealer Monique Meloche, who sits on EXPO\u2019s selection committee. That means that groups like the Chicago Artists Coalition<\/a> aren\u2019t exhibiting this year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Director Kate Sierzputowski is successor to EXPO Chicago founder Tony Karman, who stepped down from his role as director last May.<\/p>\n Some insiders hope the new floorplan and fewer galleries will result in more engagement between audiences and galleries and artists, representing such art-forward cities as Paris, London and Tokyo, but also Seoul and Busan in South Korea; Lagos, Nigeria; Taipei, Taiwan and Nassau, Bahamas.<\/p>\n So far, disruptions in international artist travel due to visa issues haven\u2019t surfaced, said EXPO Chicago leadership. But art has always responded to the moment, said EXPO Chicago\u2019s curator Essence Harden.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s resolved by the fair,\u201d Harden said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it is, but it does allow for, hopefully, another way of relating and being with each other. It\u2019s still art and people still make it and it\u2019s still one of the most essential human qualities of our species.\u201d<\/p>\n What to expect from EXPO Chicago 2026<\/p>\n As in previous years, EXPO Chicago will set up inside Navy Pier\u2019s Festival Hall through curated sections. \u201cFocus\u201d highlights emerging artists. \u201cProfile\u201d features projects from international galleries like 47 Canal<\/a> and Mat\u00e9ria<\/a>.<\/p>\n At EXPO itself, expect a good mix of blue-chip galleries and mid-career artist galleries, as well as a solid Chicago footprint.The talk series Dialogues<\/a> is back again. One highlight will be an April 10 panel featuring SAIC fashion professor Nick Cave,<\/a> whose work is currently on exhibition at the Smithsonian. Artists Devin T. Mays and Miriam Stoney join a discussion moderated by Gertie\u2019s director of curatorial affairs, Garteth Thomas Kaye, on April 12 on Chicago\u2019s connection to Vienna, Austria. Spoiler: It\u2019s not just hot dogs that came about as a result of collaboration between the two.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nick Cave will speak on April 10 as part of the talk series Dialogues. <\/p>\n Anthony Vazquez\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n On April 9, Aliza Nisenbaum<\/a>, who was commissioned to work on a mural for the Obama Presidential Center<\/a>, will appear on a panel alongside other artists tapped to create work for the new center.<\/p>\n About a dozen Chicago galleries will be featured, too. Document in West Town will showcase works from local and international artists<\/a>, from a dye sublimation print by French-Caribbean artist Julien Creuzet<\/a>, to an archival pigment print, \u201cComing to the Commons 4,\u201d by University of Chicago professor Laura Letinsky.<\/p>\n GRAY Chicago<\/a> will bring work from the artist Torkwase Dyson<\/a> to the EXPO Chicago floor, said Valerie Carberry, GRAY\u2019s president and CEO. The gallery will also be featured in a special section curated by the Obama Presidential Center.<\/p>\n What\u2019s new this year?<\/b><\/p>\n Even though it does not open to the public until Juneteenth, the Obama Presidential Center will offer a preview of its collection through \u201cEvolution\u201d and \u201cEmbodiment,\u201d two exhibitions curated by Dr. Louise Bernard, founding director of the center and the Obama Foundation\u2019s vice president.<\/p>\n Materials will be sourced from the soon-to-be-open museum\u2019s art commissions, alongside models of the presidential center. Bernard said partnering with EXPO helps bridge the gap between the construction of the campus and the forward-looking vision behind it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really think about that idea of humanism and the role of empathy and how we are all connected,\u201d Bernard said.<\/p>\n The Obama Center display includes a collaboration between Regen Projects and Anton Kern Gallery, based in Los Angeles and New York City, that will feature 13 of Nisenbaum\u2019s oil and watercolor paintings<\/a> to warm audiences up for her big mural reveal.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re studies or different things that relate to the mural that [Nisenbaum] made,\u201d said Shaun Regen, of Regen Projects. \u201cIt\u2019s like a love letter to learning, to reading, to literature, to the humanities and also to Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yvette Mayorga\u2019s work will be on display at Chicago gallerist and art dealer Monique Meloche\u2019s booth at EXPO.<\/p>\n Local artists to keep an eye on<\/p>\n Art fairs are all about sales, and EXPO will offer plenty of works on offer. Here are names of local artists to watch that popped up in interviews with exhibiting gallerists and local art collectors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Laura Letinsky is a Canadian-born photographer and sculptor best known for her decaying still lifes. Her work will be on display at EXPO.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Laura Letinsky<\/p>\n Tips for aspiring art collectors<\/b><\/p>\n Publicist Beth Heller and her husband have been collecting art together for more than 25 years. She said aspiring art collectors should look out for galleries that offer payment plans for artwork, to avoid fronting the full price of work.<\/p>\n Aron Gent, of Document, said that attendees shouldn\u2019t stop at EXPO: If they find a gallery or artist they like at the art fair, he encourages them to visit the gallery for themselves.\u201cA lot of people will come to town from the suburbs or surrounding area and go to EXPO \u2026 but not really go and explore,\u201d Gent said. \u201cYou really need to invest in your curiosity with contemporary art and go to these physical brick-and-mortar spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n Meloche recommends checking out the \u201cFocus\u201d section first, where typical exhibitions include art from younger, up-and-coming artists and galleries at more attainable prices.<\/p>\n Tommy Reyes, owner of Gallery19 and long-time EXPO attendee, recommends looking for galleries selling prints of artwork that are usually cheaper than buying the real thing.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t think of it as an investment,\u201d Reyes adds. \u201cThink: Do you love it? If there is a connection, then that piece is meant for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond EXPO Chicago <\/b><\/p>\n Plenty happens in Chicago outside of Navy Pier in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n Seven minutes from Navy Pier, a new art fair called <\/b>Neighbors<\/a> is operating as a satellite to EXPO from April 8 to 12. Founded by arts patron Mirka Serrato, the fair will take place inside a historic apartment in the Gold Coast. London\u2019s Harleson High Street and Chicago\u2019s Shanghai Seminary are participating.<\/p>\n Barely Fair,<\/a> an artist-run fair happening in McKinley Park, kicks off April 3 and runs through the 19th. The fair will present 24 global and local exhibitors, including Galerie Noah Klink from Berlin, Ortega y Gasset Projects in Brooklyn, and Chicago\u2019s own Hans Goodrich.<\/p>\n Citywide, several ancillary events and installations will pop up, including \u201cOVERRIDE,\u201d which will feature artworks on digital billboards and informational panels on bus stops and street signs through April 19. Featured Chicagoans include Aim\u00e9e Beaubien and Hattie Lee Mendoza.<\/p>\n For fairgoers looking for opportunities to mix and mingle in neighborhoods, South Side Night is set to take place in Hyde Park, Bronzeville and the nearby areas on April 7, while Art After Hours on April 10 features extended hours and programming at several exhibiting Chicago galleries. Some, such as Les Enluminures<\/a>, are hosting a show on rare Medieval manuscripts at their Downtown space.<\/p>\n And in the West Loop, Intuit Art Museum is hosting a dance party on April 10 at City Hall Events (838 W. Kinzie St.). Tickets are $75 per person.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicago\u2019s largest art event, EXPO Chicago, is returning to Navy Pier April 9-12. And while this year\u2019s fair…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":702436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818],"class_list":{"0":"post-702435","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-illinois"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116341935289326505","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"GR-wordmark-RGB-DKgreen-Newsletter.png\"](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/0aa6a6b\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1051x651+0+0\/resize\/840x520!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F71%2Ff5%2F2243263a48c7a1d6e81fedce4f15%2Fgr-wordmark-rgb-dkgreen-newsletter.png\")
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