{"id":932442,"date":"2026-07-13T17:38:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T17:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/932442\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T17:38:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T17:38:23","slug":"the-unreal-world-chicago-reader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/932442\/","title":{"rendered":"The unreal world – Chicago Reader"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret we live in a world full of simulations\u2014a teeming ecosystem of Disneylands, AI influencers, and Kylie Jenner x Meta glasses content. In such a jungle, it feels impossible to experience art in a way that isn\u2019t an endless rehearsal of its own disappearance. Blessedly, there are artists valiantly working to preserve the seductive power of art in the face of a total lack of truth, including Chicago-based painter Kate Hefferan and Milwaukee-based sculptor Brit Krohmer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hefferan\u2019s paintings, particularly the smallest of them, are immensely compelling. The gauzy compositions demonstrate clear attention to the painted surface and make visible the unreliability of photographic representation, like Gerhard Richter\u2019s blurred works did six decades ago. But unlike Richter, they portray their own oneiric worlds so convincingly that they\u2019re instantly nostalgic, as if replaying something we all experienced before waking this morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The just-over-A4-size How to leave (2026) presents a bundle of loose notes, the top sheet reading \u201cPut some of my mom\u2019s ashes in with me.\u201d Its crop and cloudiness intimate that we\u2019re glancing down at the scattered contents of a console just after rubbing our eyes, and its tragic scrawled directive is so specific and tender a wish it seems essential. Yet the blur and the narrative also make us aware of the artist\u2019s power of suggestion\u2014the painting is the stunning surface and the staged spectacle.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Krohmer\u2019s metallic Thrushplate (2026), a flat wall-mounted fiberglass sculpture perforated by eight circular holes, could be an enlarged paleolithic adze or a discarded part of some industrial production apparatus. The thrumming of both possibilities is palpable, but neither requires its original referent. Instead, the work derives power from its ability to conjure competing fictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shroud the slip the surface the stain,\u201d the title of the pair\u2019s duo show at LVL3, points directly at what Hefferan and Krohmer\u2019s art does so potently: heighten our appreciation of the strange power of appearances. Hefferan\u2019s hazy compositions and Krohmer\u2019s pseudo-relics simulate real worlds that never really existed, and need not to. It doesn\u2019t matter if they\u2019re true\u2014it only matters if they can enchant us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shroud the slip the surface the stain\u201d<\/strong>
Through 8\/16: Sun 1\u20134 PM or by appointment, LVL3<\/a>, 1542 N. Milwaukee, 3rd fl.<\/p>\n

Reader Recommends: ARTS & CULTURE<\/p>\n

What’s now and what’s next in visual arts, architecture, literature, and more.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Speaking\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tRetired police officer Rasul T. Freelain fills in the missing narrative in the 2014 killing of Sheila von Wiese-Mack.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tJuly 8, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tA group show at Elise Seigenthaler Gallery offers a conceptual take on soccer.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tJuly 3, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Magic\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tAt the Elmhurst Art Museum, illusionist Jeanette Andrews hides everything in plain sight.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tJuly 2, 2026July 2, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Put\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tExplore Wisconsin\u2019s grottoes\u2014immersive built environments made by self-taught artists.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tJuly 1, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"At\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe number 13 is a container for fear, hope, and faith.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tJune 26, 2026June 26, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tLush textile works from Krystle Lemonias hold personal and political histories.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tJune 23, 2026June 23, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s no secret we live in a world full of simulations\u2014a teeming ecosystem of Disneylands, AI influencers, and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":932443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818,4289,376023,77591],"class_list":["post-932442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-chicago","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-listings","tag-lvl3","tag-reader-recommended"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116913892106379781","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932442","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=932442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/932443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=932442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=932442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=932442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}