The Jeff Koons exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art opened on Saturday, which means more from the man who created the museum’s well-known “Pink Panther” sculpture. The modern-art-loving public is crazy for Koons, who throughout his decades-long career has been revered both for his large-scale kitsch art and his theories on the significance of the contemporary art “experience.” So kudos to the MCA for assembling the first U.S. survey of Koons's work in over 15 years. more ›

The work by Arik Levy, Paris-based modern artist currently exhibiting at Wright in West Town, appears to be from another universe. He explains that in his Absent Nature installation "every facet of these elements represents the absence of nature and the work appears as if from an alternative civilization." We stopped by the opening last Friday to see for ourselves. more ›

If you are a big fan of Gigio's Pizza, then you are in luck. They're running a promotion right now where saving 20 menus will earn you $5 off an order. MenuPages attempted to look into the small print of the promotion, but was seemingly unable to get anyone from Gigio's to pick up the phone. If you want to spend $400+ dollars to save $5, now you know how. Alternatively, as suggested by Adam... more ›

Artist Benny Andrews died of cancer on Friday in his New York home. Andrews, who served in the air force, used his G.I. bill to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has permanent collections in the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Hirshbom Museum in Washington, D.C. more ›

We like highlights, we like getting them, doing them and giving them. There’s a ton of cool stuff going on this week, check out the quick highlights, and let us know which author is going to get your attention. First off, it’s the closing night party for the Literary Gangs. They’ll finish up with a finale including Andy Ross and Jonathan Messinger. You can see the Literary Gangs on Tues., May 16th, 6:30PM, at the... more ›

The Ukrainian Museum of Modern Art is displaying a small but important collection of work capturing a sea change of Eastern European democracy. Artists Respond: Ukrainian Art and The Orange Revolution receives its U.S. premiere at this unassuming building in the heart of the Ukrainian Village via The Center for Contemporary Art, Kyiv, Ukraine. As reports of fraud surfaced during the 2004 Ukrainian election, supporters of opposition candidate Victor Yushenko took to the streets to... more ›

Chicago is the gifted child of the architecture world who can’t just settle for being top of its high school class. Recent developments at the Art Institute of Chicago, the worldwide praise for Millennium Park and the perennial success of the City’s Great Spaces and Places weekend make us feel like proud parents sending Junior to the university. Breaking ground on its new north wing, the Art Institute is embarking on the most significant expansion in its history. By 2009, the current building will connect to a majestic set of 21st century pavilions housing new space for modern and contemporary art, photography, temporary exhibits and architectural art. Helping make this vision a reality is newly hired architecture curator Joseph Rosa, who’s been wooed away from a similar post at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
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You wouldn’t think blogging takes up all that much of your day but it does. Mostly because any time spent on the Internet eventually devolves into time spent reading stuff like this or playing with crap like this. But suffice it to say time gets away from us on occasion, which then causes us to miss a first-run film here and there. And we hate that. Luckily, we can catch the ones we miss as part of the University of Chicago’s Doc Films program, which just announced its winter quarter slate of second-run and classic films. more ›