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By CGN STAFF
Following is a list of events and exhibitions that should be on your cultural calendar for 2020. This list represents just a handful of notable shows coming to the Chicago area's museums. From international innovation on display to artistic fashion and two summer blockbusters, there will be a lot to see and talk about in 2020.
More exhibitions and events in galleries and museums throughout the region are added to the CGN calendar daily, and we will also offer seasonal previews throughout the year.
Please sign-up for our free newsletters to receive the latest news and events.
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Since the 1980s, Chinese contemporary artists have cultivated intimate relationships with their materials, establishing a framework of interpretation revolving around materiality. Their media ranges from plastic, water, and wood, to hair, gunpowder, and Coca-Cola. The exhibition features 45 monumental works.
Feb 7–May 3, 2020
Co-presented at the Smart Museum of Art and Wrightwood 659
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Duro Olowu, a Nigerian-born British designer, is internationally recognized for his womens wear label. Characterized by unique fabrics, evocative patterns, and impeccable construction, Olowu’s garments are informed by his international background and curator’s eye. Now Olowu focuses on Chicago’s public and private art collections, including works at the MCA, to curate a show that reimagines relationships between artists and objects.
Feb 29–May 3, 2020
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A commissioned 18-hole artist-designed golf course pays homage to the wildly popular 1988 exhibition Par Excellence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The fully playable course will be conceived and fabricated for the Elmhurst Art Museum by a new group of artists, designers, and architects.
May 9–Sept 13, 2020
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During Claude Monet’s lifetime, Chicago was the American city that most aggressively acquired his work. This exhibition is the first to explore Chicago’s pioneering connection to the great Impressionist artist. Among the more than 65 paintings—from the Art Institute’s holdings and Chicago-based collections—are beloved major works as well as rarely seen still lifes, figural scenes, seascapes, and landscapes.
May 10–Sept 7, 2020
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This presentation of the life and works of the artist Frida Kahlo will feature 26 original pieces on loan from the Dolores Olmedo Museum Collection, as well as an immersive historical exhibit that provides a framework of the life, circumstances and events that led to Kahlo becoming one of the most important painters of the 20th century and of our time.
Jun 1–Aug 31, 2020
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Saturday–Sunday, October 17–18; Saturday performance 1–2 p.m.
The Driehaus Museum
Murphy Auditorium, 50 E. Erie St., Chicago
Explore the historic Murphy Auditorium during the Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago weekend. The landmark, reopened after renovation in 2024, also hosts Hanna DiLorenzo’s Behind Closed Doors on Saturday. Entry is free without reservations; access does not include the museum’s exhibition galleries.
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Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Smart Museum of Art
5550 S. Greenwood Ave., Chicago
Exhibiting artist Nina Chanel Abney guides visitors in creating colorful self-portrait collages. A collaborative card-deck project extends the activities beyond the canvas, offering families a chance to explore identity and creativity together.
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Saturday–Sunday, October 17–18, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. each day
WING Studio
4883 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
Add printmaking to your Open House Chicago itinerary. WING Studio welcomes visitors for etching demonstrations on both days, offering a closer look at an art-making process inside a working studio in Lincoln Square.
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Saturday, October 17, 1–2:30 p.m.
Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park
Governors State University, University Park
Head outdoors with Jeff Stevenson for a tour of the South Collection, considering visiting artists’ installations alongside familiar works and their connections to the Earth. Admission is $10. Meet at the F Entrance, wear shoes for grass paths, and dress for the weather; parking is free.
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Saturday, October 17, 2–4 p.m.
Bert Green Fine Art
8 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 620, Chicago
This Saturday event highlights Kevin Blake’s solo exhibition, guest curated by Dan Cameron. Blake’s paintings scrutinize inherited ideas of masculinity, placing familiar social roles in unsettled situations and revealing vulnerability beneath the outward performance of confidence.
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Gallery Night: Friday, October 16, 5–9 p.m.; Gallery Day: Saturday, October 17, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; exhibition opens October 14
JK Art House
191 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Make a Wisconsin art outing part of the weekend. David Dunlop combines traditional translucent oil techniques with metal supports, producing paintings whose surfaces change with light and movement. The opening joins Milwaukee’s quarterly Gallery Night MKE, with a free John Michael Kohler Arts Center workshop also taking place in the gallery.
Also taking place is Treasured Postcards on Friday, October 16, 5–9 p.m. This is a John Michael Kohler Arts Center workshop at JK Art House. Inspired by Lenore Tawney’s correspondence, this free Gallery Night workshop invites participants to make small collage postcards from photographs, printed papers, and other materials. Stop into JK Art House’s Parlor to create an artwork that can travel through the mail.
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Gallery Night: Friday, October 16, 5–8 p.m.; Gallery Day: Saturday, October 17, 11 am. Exhibition on view through November 7
Kim Storage Gallery
207 E Buffalo St., Ste 404, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Out There is a two-person exhibition of new work by Hector Acuna and Andy Paczos. The title borrows the advice a teacher gave Paczos at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago: look out the window, \"there's lots of good stuff out there.\" He took it, and has painted Chicago from direct observation for three decades since. Acuna works the same way, returning to his Wisconsin sites across multiple plein air sessions and staging handmade props to paint in natural light. Both find their subjects by standing in front of them
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First Look: Friday, October 16, 5 p.m.; opening-night event at 6 p.m.; sale through October 24
The Art Center Highland Park
1957 Sheridan Rd., Highland Park
Rediscovered art finds new homes at The Art Center’s annual sale, with donated works selected and priced for accessible collecting. Opening-night tickets offer an early look; weekend hours are Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., and Sunday, noon–4 p.m. Entry is free October 19–24.
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Friday, October 16, 5–8 p.m.; artist conversation 5–6:30 p.m.; performances begin at 6:30 p.m.
Research House for Asian Art
3217 S. Morgan St., Chicago
The Becoming Words reception brings calligraphy to life through performances by Hekiun Oda and Bahman Panahi. Panahi joins musician Kerry Leung for Musicalligraphy, while Oda demonstrates his distinctive practice. Food reflecting both artists’ cultures accompanies the evening. Admission is $40, plus the ticket service fee.
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Opening: Friday, October 16, 6–9 p.m.; on view through November 20
Forum 301
301 W. Ohio St., Chicago
Fashion becomes a meeting point for architecture, sculpture, and performance in this group exhibition. The participating artists examine how clothing shapes bodily presence, from protection and concealment to exaggeration and transformation, and how we construct the space we occupy.
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Friday, October 16, 7–10 p.m.
Bridgeport Art Center
1200 W. 35th St., Chicago
Explore studios and three gallery presentations: Decadence Deux, presented by Pigment International and September Gray Fine Art; Art Connection: Past Meets Present, from ArtConnectED; and Robert Lipton’s Una Vuelta a Mis Raices. The free evening offers opportunities to encounter artists and their work throughout the building.
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Friday, October 16, 7–10 p.m.
Bridgeport Artist Community
Multiple neighborhood locations in Bridgeport, Chicago
Extend your Third Friday visit beyond a single building. The Bridgeport Artist Community’s route connects more than 45 galleries, studios, shops, and cultural spaces. Use the linked neighborhood map to plan stops, and check individual venues for their evening hours.
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Opening: Friday, October 16, 7–9 p.m.; on view through October 2027
Polish Museum of America
984 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
A major exhibition revisits Stanisław Szukalski’s complex legacy through sculpture, drawing, prints, and photography. Organized with the POLONIKA Institute, it examines his imaginative mythmaking and contested ideas. Opening admission is $25; a Saturday discussion at 1 p.m. is $20, or $40 for both programs.
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Auction: Wednesday, October 14, 10 a.m. Central / 11 a.m. Eastern
Rago and Wright
online bidding
A midweek auction offers another way to engage with art. Rago and Wright’s current Curated: CALDER sale brings the artist’s work to the auction block, with bidding available online. See the current auction catalog for lots and registration.
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Auction: October 14–15, 10 a.m. Central each day
Freeman’s
1550 W. Carroll Ave., Chicago
Freeman’s two-day sale spans English and Continental furnishings, decorative objects, and sculpture. Collections from across the country, including Barrington Hills, contribute to a selection ranging from clocks and tapestries to Minton porcelain.
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October 14–16
Smart Museum of Art
University of Chicago | Hyde Park
What happens to religious objects when they enter museum collections? Keynotes, panels, and roundtable conversations consider their changing meanings and histories in this multi-day symposium. Consult the program for individual session times and locations.
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Wednesday, October 14, 3:30–5 p.m.
Block Museum of Art
40 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston
Northwestern Athletics’ Ava Earl and Associate Provost Michelle Manno consider Cara Romero’s photograph Amber Morningstar through the lens of women in sports and self-representation. The conversation connects art with identity, teamwork, and the power to shape one’s own image.
Coffee and tea begin at 3 p.m.
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October 15–November 15; opening reception Friday, October 16, 5–8 p.m.
Heritage Museum of Asian Art and Seldon Institute
Exhibition at Research House for Asian Art, 3217 S. Morgan St., Chicago
Japanese calligrapher Hekiun Oda and Iranian artist Bahman Panahi bring different traditions into conversation, moving from written language toward gesture, abstraction, and sound. The exhibition opens Thursday, followed by Friday’s live performance program and a free artist-led tour Saturday, October 17, 1–3 p.m.
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Opening: Thursday, October 15, 5:30–8:30 p.m.; on view through December 18
Madron Gallery
1000 W. North Ave., 3rd Floor, Chicago
Madron marks its 25th anniversary with twenty-five works by twenty-five artists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The free opening joins the fifth annual Lincoln Park Art Night, making it a lively evening to explore Madron, Leslie Wolfe Gallery, gallery 1871, Art City, and Art on Sedgwick.
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Opening: Thursday, October 15, 6–8 p.m.; artist remarks at 6:30 p.m.; on view through November 20
Kavanagh Gallery, Fine Line Creative Arts Center
37W570 Bolcum Rd., St. Charles
Brian Lathan’s brightly colored prints explore the uneasy relationship between escape and self-care. Figures shelter smaller versions of themselves inside exposed headspaces, inviting viewers to consider the habits and interior worlds that sustain us. Meet the artist at the free opening reception.
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