2026 marks the 25th anniversary of Madron Gallery. Madron’s scholarship driven programming creates exhibitions and publications that champion the work of significant, yet often lesser-known artists in the history of art.
With an interest in Jewish and Chicago artists, Madron’s inventory of 19th and 20th century paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and prints—displayed en suite in our gallery alongside curated exhibitions of both historical and contemporary artists—illuminates artistic connections across decades.
Exhibition essays and publications from the in-house Madron Press are available online.
Free parking available.
Image: Installation view of \"Conversations in Abstraction\" at Madron Gallery Fall of 2025. Image courtesy of Madron Gallery.
","type":"EventCategory","state":"published","slug":"exhibitions","created_at":"2018-10-22 18:54:41.176231","updated_at":"2018-10-22 18:54:41.176231","excerpt":"","is_timeless":true,"organization_id":943,"highlighted":true,"opening_starts_at":"2025-11-06 17:30:00","opening_ends_at":"2025-11-06 20:30:00","searchable":"'-1967':33B '-1974':66B '-1977':61B '-1986':40B '144':211B '1881/86/88-1961':51B '1882':32B '1892':65B '1896':60B '1908':43B '1911':39B '1912':24B '1952':203B '1977':56B '2002':44B '2025':205B '23':132B '54':209B 'abstract':3A,6B,76B,88B,106B,164B,181B 'acryl':206B 'alongsid':173B 'also':187B 'america':166B 'anoth':198B 'apart':193B 'appeal':16B 'art':23B 'artist':26B,86B,146B 'artwork':157B,172B,190B 'b':55B,202B 'b.1952':70B 'b.1981':29B 'b.1986':47B 'b.1996':36B 'back':112B 'barrier':97B 'boling':28B 'bring':81B 'bruce':68B,200B 'burlick':31B 'centuri':144B 'cervant':35B 'charl':62B 'clear':11B 'coard':38B 'collect':156B 'color':116B 'communic':93B 'composit':126B 'concern':19B 'connect':125B 'contemporari':83B,171B 'convers':1A,74B 'core':105B 'creat':90B,191B 'creation':147B 'd':49B 'david':30B 'decad':192B 'deeper':122B 'design':127B 'develop':183B 'dialogu':130B 'direct':13B 'discov':121B 'display':135B 'earli':161B 'examin':179B 'exhibit':25B,79B,168B 'explor':162B,188B 'five':151B 'flamingo':204B 'form':8B 'friebert':42B 'galleri':72B 'geographi':100B 'gerald':37B 'graham':50B 'green':63B 'griffin':46B 'group':78B 'histor':85B,169B 'imag':199B 'inch':212B 'invit':107B 'john':48B 'johnson':54B 'joseph':41B 'kandinski':18B 'layer':114B 'line':117B 'linen':208B 'madron':71B,153B 'mari':45B 'marisol':34B 'marker':138B 'maya':53B 'mean':123B 'michell':27B 'one':197B 'paint':89B,133B 'past':150B 'peel':111B 'present':73B 'produc':158B 'relev':195B 'remain':194B 'schwartz':59B 'serv':136B 'shape':118B 'shaw':64B 'span':140B 'spark':129B 'spiritu':21B 'staci':52B 'textur':120B 'theori':102B 'thorn':69B,201B 'time':99B,185B 'togeth':82B 'transcend':95B 'viewer':109B 'visual':92B 'wassili':17B 'whose':87B 'william':57B 'x':210B 'year':152B","thumbnail":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1763141224/krqje9kpfrj4oqa0szam.jpg","calendar":null,"carousel":false,"event_body":"The more abstract is form, the more clear and direct is its appeal.”
— Wassily Kandinsky, Concerning the Spiritual in Art, 1912
Exhibiting Artists : Michelle Bolinger (b.1981), David Burlick (1882-1967), Marisol Cervantes ( b.1996), Gerald Coarding (1911-1986), Joseph Friebert (1908 – 2002), Mary Griffin (b.1986), John D. Graham (1881/86/88-1961), Stacie Maya Johnson (b. 1977), William S. Schwartz (1896-1977), Charles Green Shaw (1892-1974), and Bruce Thorn (b.1952).
Madron Gallery presents Conversations in Abstraction, a group exhibition that brings together contemporary and historical artists whose abstract paintings create a visual communication that transcends the barriers of time, geography, and theory. At its core, abstraction invites the viewer to peel back the layers of color, line, shape, and texture, discovering deeper meaning and connection—compositions designed to spark dialogue. The 23 paintings on display serve as markers that span more than a century of artistic creation. Over the past five years, Madron has been collecting artworks produced during the early exploration of abstraction in America. By exhibiting historical and contemporary artworks alongside each other, we not only examine how abstraction has developed over time but also explore how artworks created decades apart remain relevant to one another.
Image: Bruce Thorn (b. 1952), Flamingo, 2025, acrylic on linen, 54 x 144 inches.