{"article":{"id":10199,"title":"CGN's 2026 Culture List","excerpt":"","body":"



By CGN Staff


There will be a lot to see at home and on the road this year. Highlights for 2026 include a wealth of under-the-radar shows, anniversary celebrations, international art fairs, and shining moments for artists throughout the Midwest. The Obama Presidential Center will finally open, a famed local museum turns 50, and this fall visitors to the Art Institute will see an Impressionist in a new light.


There are also many shows yet to be announced in the galleries, and events are frequently added to chicagogallerynews.com


To stay up to date with galleries and museums in 2026 subscribe to CGN or purchase a copy of the print edition of our annual Arts Guide, out now.


Happy 2026!





• MoCP at 50: Collecting Through the Decades


Since opening in 1976 and initiating collecting in 1979, the Museum of Contemporary Photography has acquired over 18,000 objects by more than 2,000 artists and engaged in conversations across political, social, and cultural landscapes. To celebrate MoCP at 50 examines the evolving practice of building a dynamic collection. Together, these selections question and reflect on the role of cultural institutions in shaping the photographic canon.


Museum of Contemporary Photography

Jan 22–May 16, 2026 • mocp.org




• Edra Soto: The Place of Dwelling


Edra Soto alters and recontextualizes common functional objects—wrought-iron screens, plastic lawn furniture, and electric fans, ubiquitous in her native Puerto Rico—to create objects and environments that celebrate the voices of working-class communities. Soto’s installation, the place of dwelling, is commissioned for Kemper Museum’s tenth annual Atrium Project and invests the space with personal memories of her Catholic upbringing, a gesture that both questions methods of colonial indoctrination and celebrates sacred sites filled with signs and symbols offering guidance and direction.


Kemper Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO

January 30, 2026—January 2, 2027

kemperart.org




Left: Alex Chitty; right: Norman Teague.



• Chair-ish: Alex Chitty and Norman Teague


Chair-ish is an exhibition of Chicago-based artists Alex Chitty and Norman Teague. Working together for the first time, in this exhibition Chitty and Teague explore material, memory, and spatial dialogue through distinct yet complementary practices. While Chitty’s sculptural investigations often disrupt perception and gesture toward the poetic in the everyday, Teague’s work draws on vernacular design, cultural heritage, and the social histories embedded in form.


Cleve Carney Museum of Art

Jan 22–Apr 11, 2026 • theccma.org



Andrea Carlson, Red Exit, 2019, acrylic, ink, oil, gouache, watercolor, colored pencil, marker and graphite on paper, 10’ x 14’. Collection of Whitney Museum of Art



• Andrea Carlson: Endless Sunshine


Through a practice that combines intergenerational history, archival research, and the histories and theories of art and film, Andrea Carlson (b. 1979) creates incisive works of resistance and sovereignty that disempower colonial storytelling and practices of erasure. A descendant of the Grand Portage Ojibwe and Scandinavian settlers, Carlson centers an institutional critique and perspective that has been systematically excluded from or historically romanticized in narratives, practices, and presentations of American art.


Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAMSTL)

Mar 6 – Aug 9, 2026 • camstl.org




Orin Pinhassi, Truth Teller (detail), 2024. Steel, burlap, sand, polymer and rock. 93 x 30 x 24 in (236.2 x 76.2 x 60.9 cm). Photo by Elisabeth Bernstein. Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery.


• Oren Pinhassi


Artist Oren Pinhassi sculpts anthropomorphic forms at great scale that appeal to the senses and intellect at once. He brings to The Arts Club a series of figural/architectural works that occupy the gallery in an encompassing configuration, aiming to trigger the physical engagements of desire and fragility. Pinhassi’s towering or sprawling creatures draw upon such ordinary materials as sand, stone, or vinyl. In a process he has named “erotic construction,” Pinhassi uses sensual appeal, rough texture, suggestive pose, and intimate detail to press against the confines of a restrictive society.


Mar 31–Aug 8, 2026 • The Arts Club of Chicago • artsclubchicago.org




• RenBen: Maurizio Cattelan


Maurizio Cattelan will conceive and orchestrate The Renaissance Society’s RenBen 2026 during Chicago’s EXPO Art Week. RenBen is the institution’s annual artist-centered gala and most important fundraising event. Each edition invites a single artist to design every aspect of the evening, from the space and performances to the food and choreography.


The Renaissance Society

April 8, 2026 • renaissancesociety.org




• EXPO CHICAGO


Under the vaulted architecture of Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, and under the new leadership of Director Kate Sierzputowski and Curator Essence Harden, EXPO CHICAGO will bring together global galleries and unrivaled programming, alongside unforgettable events citywide.


Festival Hall, Navy Pier 

April 9–12, 2026 • expochicago.com




• The Opening of the Obama Center


The much anticipated opening of President Barack Obama's Obama Presidential Center in the heart of the South Side of Chicago will be a defining event in Chicago this spring. Bits and pieces about the opening, as well as the artists who have been commissioned to create various works and installations for the Center, have been arriving regularly leading up to the actual opening. The Center is touted to be a lively community hub, economic anchor, and beacon of democracy on the South Side, bolstering a great deal of the cultural nexus in the city for years to come.


Spring 2026

obama.org/presidential-center



Mary Cassatt, Sleepy Nicolle, c. 1900


• Mary Cassatt: After Impressionism


Marking the centennial of her death, Mary Cassatt: After Impressionism examines her paintings, pastels, and prints when she took her art making in new directions. In the prime years of her career—the late 1880s through the early 1900s—Cassatt explored the theme of mothers and caretakers with children, creating complex color prints, and undertaking a mural commission for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.


The Art Institute of Chicago

Sept 6, 2026–Jan 3, 2027 

artic.edu


#


View CGN's full calendar of art events, updated daily, here.

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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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