{"article":{"id":2316,"title":"Wright to Celebrate Chicago Legend Jason Pickleman with 'EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT'","excerpt":"","body":"

Via PR

1 SEPTEMBER 2023

Wright is honored to announce EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT: The Collection of Jason Pickleman, a September 14th auction celebrating the work and vision of beloved Chicago artist, designer, collector, and gallerist Jason Pickleman. Once described as \"a dancefloor mainstay of Chicago,\" Pickleman is recognized for his artistic vision, playful demeanor, and remarkable generosity, and this auction is a rare opportunity for art enthusiasts to immerse themselves in his creative world. 

 

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Amassing art since he was a teenager, Pickleman attended Boston University where he studied English literature—and met Leslie Bodenstein, who would become his partner in life and at JNL Graphic Design. The pair founded the studio in 1992, working from a decommissioned post office in Chicago's River North area and merging their art and design sensibilities with tremendous success. \"To live in Chicago is to encounter Jason Pickleman’s work,\" according to the Chicago Tribune, and local clients have included Millennium Park, Avec, Blackbird, Time Out Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority, Poetry Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, EXPO Chicago, and the Field Museum. Beyond the Windy City limits, JNL has worked with clients including the Prada Foundation and Skinny Pop Popcorn, for whom they designed Warhol-inspired packaging.

 

The space between commercial and contemporary art has been of the utmost importance to Pickleman, who has defined himself by his ability to move effortlessly through these worlds as both an artist and collector. Pickleman was among the creators featured in the 2007 exhibition Young Chicago at the Art Institute of Chicago, and his art now resides in the institution's permanent collection. His works have been shown at the Chicago Cultural Center, the Chicago Design Museum, Ken Saunders Gallery, and the Neon and Light Museum, among others. In 2021, he created a monumental sculpture for Sculpture Milwaukee and this celebrated work, Hand Heart (est. $30,000-50,000), leads EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT.

 

As testament to his unorthodox and open-hearted ethos as a collector, Pickleman opened his collection gallery Lawrence & Clark in 2015, named for the Chicago intersection where it stood. Here, Pickleman curated and installed works from his own collection, throwing open the doors to the public to be seen again (and again) by anybody who wanted to drop in. \"Much of the work in EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT would have been on exhibit at Lawrence & Clark,\" Pickleman says. \"When a collector buys a work of art, it usually gets sequestered away, and publicly seen again only very rarely. The gallery was a way of giving my collection a second public life.\"

 

Pickleman has long been an ardent supporter of rising talent in his chosen city, tirelessly making his own circuit between galleries, thesis exhibitions, and less formalized art spaces. Of his personal taste, Pickleman noted, \"I’m most interested in ambiguity and pieces that seem strange or awkward; living with them fuels my creativity.\" The works featured in this auction reflect Pickleman's eclectic tastes, ranging, for example, from a Gaetano Pesce Amazonia vase (est. $1,000-1,500) to Jenny Holzer's Inflammatory Essays (est. $1,500-2,000) to infamous self-taught Chicago artist Wesley Willis's World Trade Center drawing (est. $1,000-1,500).

 

\"I never thought much about the distinction between being an artist, designer, and an art collector,\" Pickleman says. \"Each role informed and reinforced the others.\" With trust in his own taste and an infinite commitment to showing up for Chicago's art communities, Pickleman has built a unique collection that reflects his endless curiosity and creativity. \"Jason has been a friend and colleague for many decades,\" says Richard Wright. \"He and Leslie designed my very first advertisement back in 1992. It is an honor to work with them both for this special auction.\" 

 

The full selection of works featured in EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT: The Collection of Jason Pickleman will be on view at Wright in Chicago from September 9th to 14th with gallery hours of 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. The auction will begin at 11 am central on Thursday, September 14th, and accommodates advanced bids, telephone bidding, and live online bidding. For further information, please reach out to press@wright20.com.

 

VIEW AUCTION

 

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Jason Pickleman,  Hand Heart

 

 

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113  JASON PICKLEMAN
A Parallel American 1; A Parallel American 2 (two works)

 

 

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307  JASON PICKLEMAN
Hourglass (from the Icons series) (two works)

 

 

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134  JASON PICKLEMAN
Arrows (six works)

 

 

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215  JASON PICKLEMAN
Metal Typeball

 

 

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304  GAETANO PESCE
Amazonia vase and Gaetano Pesce: Le Temps des Questions (book)

 

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292  BEN FOCH
Newport Beach #10

 

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135  JUDY LEDGERWOOD
Untitled #22

 

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184  CHRISTOPHER PRINZ
Wrinkled Bench (Raw Yellow Iridescent)

 

 

 

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By CGN STAFF


Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center will reopen its Skokie location on November 11, 2026, following a renovation that expands visitor spaces, updates its core Holocaust exhibition and adds a new reflection gallery. The reopening is timed to coincide with Veterans Day. Active military personnel, veterans and their families will receive free admission that day.


The project includes a redesigned Lillian & Larry Goodman Auditorium and Gallery, an enlarged lobby in the Shapiro Family Foundation Welcome Center, and a refreshed Resilience Hall with an expanded stage for presentations and public programs.


Updates to the Zev & Shifra Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition include additional material on the roots of antisemitism, the story of Chicago resident Leo Edelman, and the experiences of other groups targeted by the Nazis. A new reflection gallery, accessible from the exhibition, offers visitors a quiet space during and after their visit.


“Every visitor’s experience now begins differently and runs deeper,” said Kelley Szany, the Museum’s senior vice president of education and exhibitions. “The new welcome center sets the tone from the moment people arrive, the enhanced core Holocaust exhibition brings the history and the voices of survivors into sharper focus, and our new auditorium gives us a place to gather, listen, and talk about what it means for our communities today.”


Existing attractions, including the virtual reality theater, the interactive Survivor Stories Experience holographic theater, the Take A Stand Center and the Voices of Genocide Exhibition, will remain part of the Museum’s offerings.


Following the reopening, Blacklist: The Hollywood Red Scare will open November 15 in the special exhibition gallery. Created by and on loan from Jewish Museum Milwaukee, the exhibition examines the intersections of politics, antisemitism, freedom of speech and national security during the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s. It will remain on view through March 2027.


The Museum’s satellite location in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, Experience360, will remain open through December 31, 2026. The downtown space opened during the Skokie renovation to provide continued access to the Museum’s immersive exhibitions.


For information and ticket reservations, visit ilholocaustmuseum.org.


Image: Museum exterior. Photo by David Seide/Definedspace.com

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By GINNY VAN ALYEA


SOFA Chicago, the longtime fair devoted to sculpture, objects, functional art and collectible design, will return to the city October 28–31, 2027, as part of Chicago Art Fair at THE MART, which opened its inaugural edition last night.


Founded in Chicago in 1994, SOFA became a popular fixture on the city’s fall arts calendar. For much of its history, collectors and visitors gathered at Navy Pier to discover works in glass, ceramics, wood, metal and fiber, alongside sculpture and design. Its focus on materials and craftsmanship gave the fair a distinct identity and cultivated a devoted audience.


The announcement comes as the inaugural Chicago Art Fair gets underway at THE MART. The new fair opened with a preview on October 7 and continues through October 10, presenting modern and contemporary art. Tim von Gal, CEO and producer of SOFA Chicago and CEO of Intersect Art and Design, was in Chicago this week for the occasion.

Organizers describe the 2027 collaboration as two distinct but complementary presentations under one roof, with SOFA’s focus on three-dimensional art and design alongside Chicago Art Fair’s broader offerings.


“Chicago has always been an extraordinary home for SOFA and a city with a deep appreciation for art, craft, architecture and design,” said von Gal in the announcement. “Joining the Chicago Art Fair at THE MART gives us the opportunity to build upon that legacy while creating an exciting new experience for collectors and exhibitors alike.”

Eric Smith, owner of Chicago Art Fair and CEO of Redwood Art Group, said the addition would broaden the fair’s scope while preserving SOFA’s identity.


“SOFA has a remarkable legacy and a distinct identity, and its return adds an important new dimension to the fair while reinforcing Chicago’s position as a destination for collectors, galleries and art lovers from around the world,” Smith said.


For those who remember SOFA as an annual opportunity to encounter ambitious work in craft and design, the return will be welcome news. The participating galleries and programming, still to be announced, will provide a fuller picture of how that legacy will take shape in its new setting.


SOFA Chicago is produced by Intersect Art and Design, which also organizes annual art and design fairs in Aspen and Palm Springs.


Additional details about exhibitors, partnerships and tickets are expected in the coming months.


Visit chicagoartfair.com for updates.

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The artist Richard Hunt



By CGN Staff


Pigment International has dedicated Black Fine Art Month 2026 to Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt (1935–2023), recognizing his contributions to American art and his lifelong connection to the city.


As part of the month’s programming, the organization will host Pigmented: Chicago to the World — A Black Fine Art Convening on October 23 at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts. Partners include the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation, Adler University, CAI Designs, Chicago Public Art Group, Chicago Sculpture Exhibit and Diasporal Rhythms.


Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Hunt developed an internationally recognized practice while continuing to live and work in his hometown. His welded metal sculptures brought together abstract forms, references to the natural world and an enduring interest in freedom and social justice.


Hunt identified attending Emmett Till’s funeral in 1955 as a turning point in his artistic life. Till had lived just two blocks from Hunt’s home. Decades later, Hunt’s public commissions would honor figures including Martin Luther King Jr., Mary McLeod Bethune, Jesse Owens and Ida B. Wells, while also addressing the Middle Passage and the Great Migration.

In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Hunt to the National Council on the Arts, where he became its first African American member. In 1971, at age 35, he became the first African American sculptor to receive a retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. His career encompassed more than 150 solo exhibitions and more than 160 public art installations.


Richard Hunt with artist Chris Devins, who recently completed a mural honoring the sculptor in Hyde Park. Photo courtesy of Chris Devins.


Recent projects in Chicago offer new ways to encounter Hunt’s work and history. This fall, the Logan Center opened the Hunt, a café honoring the artist. Created and designed by Little Black Pearl founder and executive director Monica Haslip, the space incorporates two Hunt sculptures, African art, archival materials and photographs by Sandro Miller.

In Hyde Park, artist Chris Devins and historian Michelle Duster have brought a mural of Hunt to 1515–19 E. 54th Street. The portrait is based on photographs Devins took in Hunt’s studio before the sculptor’s death.


“Richard Hunt was a giant in the arts world and people need to see what he looked like and be inspired by his legacy,” Devins said.


Pigment International’s dedication also reflects its own relationship with Hunt. The organization featured him in its magazine in 2020, and he welcomed its Black Fine Art Month programming into his studio in October 2021.


#


Two events take place this month:


Pigment International at SPECTRUM Chicago Art Fair


October 7–10, 2026.

Chicago Merchandise Mart, seventh floor, booth #3091.

Wednesday, October 7, 5–8 pm, with a champagne toast in the booth and an artist meet-and-greet.

Thursday, October 8, 6-8pm with Diasporal Rhythms

Featured artists: Jesse Howard, Howard Simmons, Edo, Candace Hunter, Sura DuPart and Max Sansing.

Additional events are taking place during the fair


Chicago to the World: A Black Fine Art Month Convening

Presented by Pigment International as part of Black Fine Art Month, which the organization has dedicated this year to Richard Hunt.

Friday, October 23, 2026, 11:30 am–5 pm.

Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.


Details at pigmentintl.com



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