{"article":{"id":10365,"title":"CGN Art Preview: January 2026","excerpt":"","body":"

CGN adds to its calendar of art events daily, and there is no shortage of new exhibitions, openings, art fairs, talks and family art events to explore. We have put together a preview of what is coming up the rest of this month. Even though it's winter and we are looking to stay in and cozy, there is plenty to see and enjoy throughout the city.


Events happen throughout the city as well as in the suburbs and within a day's drive. Whether you have an hour after work or you are looking for a weekend road trip, take a look and do a little planning in order to take a step into the world of art. Everyone is welcome!


Highlights are organized by event type. Dates vary and are subject to change.


– Ginny

CGN Publisher



• Exhibitions



Housewarming


On view as of January 9, 2026


Elise Seigenthaler Gallery


“Housewarming” marks the inaugural exhibition at Elise Seigenthaler Gallery, with works by Amira Diaw, Rebekka Federle, Ava Peterson, and Olivia Porter.




Leah Ke Yi Zheng: Change


Thru Apr 12, 2026


The Renaissance Society


Leah Ke Yi Zheng’s upcoming exhibition presents a complete series of 64 paintings based on the hexagrams of the  I Ching (Book of Changes), a foundational text in Chinese philosophy that offers insights into the changing nature of existence. Each painting reflects on a hexagram not through literal representation, but through an evolving visual language shaped by abstraction, intuition, and the interplay of light and material. As she works with silk and hand-built hardwood stretchers, in continual difference, the exhibition becomes a meditation on change itself: how it is read, made visible, and experienced through painting.

Zheng’s practice brings together traditional Chinese materialities and conceptual art methodologies to explore transformation, multiplicity, and the logic of variation.



MoCP at 50: Collecting Through the Decades


Jan 22, 2026 - May 16, 2026


Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP)


Since opening in 1976 and initiating collecting in 1979, MoCP has acquired over 18,000 objects by more than 2,000 artists, representing a broad scope of aesthetics, technologies, and processes. The variety of artworks collected has allowed the museum to engage in conversations across political, social, and cultural landscapes.


To celebrate this milestone, MoCP at Fifty examines the evolving practice of building a dynamic collection, presenting a range of objects, from the rarely exhibited to newly acquired works. Together, these selections question and reflect on the role cultural institutions play in shaping the photographic canon. Each of the museum’s five galleries represents a decade of collecting, beginning with the most recent acquisitions (2016-2026) in the first gallery, then moving backwards through time.




The 92nd Exhibition of Visual Artist Members


Jan 23, 2026 - Mar 7, 2026


The Arts Club of Chicago


The Arts Club’s Exhibition of Visual Artist Members is a beloved tradition that brings great pride and prestige to the institution and its membership. Following an inaugural exhibition of paintings by John Singer Sargent in 1916, the second exhibition ever mounted at The Arts Club was of work by our members. Although its structure has changed over the past century, the goal of the exhibition remains the same: to celebrate and showcase the creative efforts of our artist members across a range of media, styles, genres, and forms.


To continue The Arts Club’s tradition of showcasing a current and dynamic representation of our members’ practices, participants are asked to submit works completed within the past two years. Some of the artists members are participating in this exhibition for the first time; others have participated for several decades.




Living with Modernism: Kelli Connell


Jan 24, 2026 - Apr 27, 2026


Elmhurst Art Museum


Presenting two series by the Chicago-based artist, Connell’s nationally traveling exhibition Pictures for Charis responds to the iconic photographs of Highland Park-born artist Edward Weston through a queer, feminist lens. Her second major body of work—Double Life—explores the evolution of intimate relationships shaped by the changing nature of identity over time, and features new commissions responding to the architecture of the Mies van der Rohe-designed McCormick House. The exhibition marks the largest presentation of Connell’s work in Chicago, placing queerness, power structures, and shifting ecologies in the twenty-first century in conversation with two giants of modernism.




• Special Events




MLK Day 2026: Chaos or Community?


Monday, Jan 19, 2026 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM


Hyde Park Art Center


HPAC proudly presents a free public Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration MLK DAY 2026: CHAOS OR COMMUNITY on Monday, January 19, from 11 AM – 4 PM at 5020 South Cornell Avenue. Eclectic programming for all ages blends live music, thought-provoking film, artmaking, and meditation, to highlight art as a vessel for collective memory, liberation, and joy, while reflecting on Dr. King’s profound impact on social justice and cultural movements. Registration is recommended at HydeParkArt.org




Winter NewberryFest


Saturday, Jan 24, 2026 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM


Newberry Library


The Newberry will hold an event on Saturday, January 24, designed to help both new and returning visitors learn more about the independent research library in Chicago’s Gold Coast. “Winter NewberryFest” is an open house-style event that will lean into the library’s extensive collection of maps, dating from the 1500s through present. 




Chicago Museum Member Swap Weekend


Jan 29, 2026 - Feb 1, 2026


Chicago’s first Museum Member Swap Weekend takes place during the last weekend of January. Members of the following museums can visit 11 other museums around the city with a single member card free of charge. 


Participating institutions include:




• CGN News




2026: The CGN Arts Guide Turns Ten


Ten years of CGN Arts Guides. Artists from left: Carlos Rolon, Scott Reeder, Judy Ledgerwood, Bethany Collins, Tony Tasset, Andrew Holmquist, Amanda Williams, Christina Ramberg, Jonathan Higgins, Diego Marcon





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This weekend's art plans can take you across Chicago, into the far suburbs, and north to Wisconsin.


The Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago opens doors to distinctive spaces, while family activities and an outdoor sculpture tour offer more ways to spend time with art.


Here is a look at what’s on this Saturday and Sunday. Follow the event links for any registration details and updates, and keep an eye on CGN’s calendar as more details are added.


– CGN




Open House Chicago at the Driehaus Museum

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.




Family Day: Proud to Be Me

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.




Open House Chicago: Etching Demonstrations

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.




Guided Tour of theNate with Director and Curator Jeff Stevenson

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.




Kevin Blake: Sundowning

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.




*


View the full CGN Calendar here


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This week’s art plans can take you across Chicago, into the suburbs, and north to Wisconsin. Bridgeport is busy with Third Friday festivities and Milwaukee’s quarterly Gallery Night MKE is back. New exhibitions, live calligraphy, and an art sale round out Friday’s choices.


Here is a look at what’s ahead on Friday. Follow the event links for registration and updates, and keep an eye on CGN’s calendar as more details are added.


– CGN




Between Reflection and Revelation: David Dunlop’s Material Alchemy

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.




Out There

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




Recycled 2026

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.




Calligraphy Performance

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.




Structure in Stature

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.




Open Studios Third Friday at the Bridgeport Art Center

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.




Bridgeport Third Friday Art Walk

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.




Szukalski. The Mythshaper / Szukalski. Rzeźbiarz mitu

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.




*


View the full CGN Calendar here

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October 14 and 15","excerpt":null,"body":"

This week’s art plans can take you across Chicago, into the suburbs, and north to Wisconsin. Auctions and museum conversations lead into Lincoln Park Art Night on Thursday, followed by Bridgeport’s Third Friday festivities and Milwaukee’s quarterly Gallery Night MKE. New exhibitions, live calligraphy, and an art sale round out Friday’s choices. Over the weekend, the Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago opens doors to distinctive spaces, while family activities and an outdoor sculpture tour offer more ways to spend time with art.


Here is a date-by-date look at what’s ahead. Follow the event links for registration and updates, and keep an eye on CGN’s calendar as more details are added.


– CGN




Curated: CALDER

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.




European Furniture & Decorative Arts

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.




Symposium: Religion, Art, and Provenance in Museums

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.




Art and Women in Sports: Looking at Amber Morningstar

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.




Becoming Words: A Joint Calligraphy Exhibition

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.



The Fine Art of [Madron Gallery]

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.




Wander and Wallow: Must We Dwell — Brian Lathan

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.


*


View the full CGN Calendar here



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