The Chicago-based artist opens her first solo museum show. more ›

A cool, rainy weekend is the ideal time to head to the Museum of Contemporary Art and take in David Hartt’s Stray Light before it closes tomorrow. more ›

The MCA will name its theater after donors Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson. more ›

Late this Saturday night, after they complete their second weekend concert at the MCA Stage, members of the Grammy Award-winning new-music group eighth blackbird will be joined by 40-odd area musicians to perform Terry Riley's seminal In C. more ›

In the second of two interviews on the subject of animated GIFs, we talk with local artists who are producing a 16mm film composed entirely of animated GIFs, twohundredfiftysixcolors. more ›

In the first of two parts, we spoke with GIF enthusiasts Christopher Smith and Jake Myers of TAGTEAM about their upcoming March 20 show with twohundredfiftysixcolors at the Museum of Contemporary Art. more ›

The MCA's Culture Catalysts looks at the work of Gordon Matta-Clark, Three Walls hosts a discussion on public space, and other art events. more ›

The Art Institute and DePaul Art Museum close shows, while the Arts Club and I Am Logan Square Gallery open them. more ›

There are new openings this week at the Art Institute, Catherine Edelman Gallery, as well as lots of events worth checking out. more ›

The Art Institute and Field Museum open new shows, and other arts news. more ›

The Museum of Contemporary Art opens two new shows this week, and other arts news. more ›

Affordable ideas and specials around Chicago for Valentine’s Day. more ›

The Renaissance Society, Museum of Contemporary Photography and Rhona Hoffman Gallery hold openings, among other art news. more ›

Chicago museums and galleries close several shows today and hold openings throughout the week. more ›

The Museum of Contemporary Art’s 12 x 12 series comes to a close this month with Ann Toebbe’s trio of “cut-paper paintings” (don’t worry: there will still be a dedicated space for Chicago artists). The paintings are made up of thousands of hand-painted pieces of paper, all of which Toebbe meticulously pieces together to form a scene from other women’s memories. more ›

Free tickets for this year's Chicago Dancing Festival will be available next tuesday. more ›

Okay, so it's not even March yet, but the major spring-summer museum exhibits are already on view. Here are a few we think you won't want to miss: more ›

The Museum of Contemporary Art recently opened Jim Nutt: Coming Into Character, an exhibit that moves easily between haunting and hilarious with its vivid portraits of imaginary women. Nutt is a Chicago artist and founding member of the surrealist group the Hairy Who, which exhibited at the Hyde Park Art Center in the late 1960s. Although it includes nearly half a century of Nutt’s work, the MCA exhibit is more of a focused retrospective, most of it portraits of imagined women over a period of about 20 years. more ›

We’ve mentioned this Museum of Contemporary Art exhibit before, but finally got a chance to check it out this weekend. And we’re sorry we waited this long. Vito Acconci, the artist who created the exhibit’s Convertible Clam Shelter, puts the exhibit’s philosophy succinctly: “A piece should be inhabitable, used by people the way they use other things in their everyday life…” Taking up the two galleries on the main floor, Without You I’m Nothing: Art and Audience explores the relationship between art and artist with provocative works from the permanent collection. Some of the art is physically interactive (like a pre-fab-style compartment you can walk through), and some of it invites more contemplative engagement. Each work’s label sets the boundaries, inviting you to walk through it or climb inside it or move it around. We’re so accustomed to museums’ hands-off policies that we actually had to walk around the gallery a couple times before we got comfortable enough to dig in, and we noticed other visitors who were just as tentative about touching/walking on/traipsing through some of the art. We love how the MCA is challenging our ingrained beliefs that art is something to be viewed, not experienced. more ›

Infographics! The kids love 'em! And so do we, obviously, since we brought you "Is It Food" earlier today and follow up with this "Man, Chicago Used To Be Bigger, Didn't It" population chart from the Museum of Contemporary Art. We stumbled across this last week and thought we'd bring it to you today - click through for the full sized version. more ›

Nothing says happy holidays like too much time stuck inside with the family. Besides, the next week or two will bring an end to a lot of great exhibits around town, so consider this your last chance to get out and see some fantastic shows we’ve mentioned before. Get your family out of the house, see great art, maintain family togetherness. Win-win-win. more ›

Whether you love spending time with your family or need to get them out of the house (or both), today’s a great day to take (or send) your out-of-town visitors to one of Chicago’s museums. There are some great exhibits showing, so skip Black Friday and work off your tryptophan hangover with some culture. While we think the crowds will be a lot more pleasant at the Art Institute than the mall, this is a busy day for museums, so plan accordingly. more ›

Our relationship with art might not quite be symbiotic, but we sure do like it. Here are three exhibits we think you can't (or shouldn't) live without this week at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Tony Wight Gallery. more ›

The "First Fridays" events at the Museum of Contemporary Art are usually themed affairs that also double as one of the more popular meet markets in town. more ›

The air is getting crisper, the leaves are turning, and the fall art scene is kicking into gear. Here’s a few contemporary exhibits we think you won’t want to miss: more ›

Last week we brought you some not-to-be-missed museum exhibits that are closing this week. This week we’re rounding up a few exhibits that are kicking off the fall season. Rest up over Labor Day weekend and then add these to your calendar: more ›

We hate to admit it, but the unofficial end of summer is nearly upon us. Since this will be the last weekend before Labor Day, we wanted to give you a heads up to the many art exhibits that will be closing in the next two weeks around town. We know it's hard to think about heading indoors when the weather is this beautiful, but we think you won't want to miss some of these: more ›

It's your last chance to catch the Magical Musical Showcase at the MCA's Tuesday evening events more ›

First off, we should tell you that we’re more familiar with Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” than Mary Shelley’s original novel. Or the Boris Karloff movie. Or any other version, really. (Our apologies to the Chicagoist Literary and Film Offices if they’re ashamed of us in any way.) The point is: We fully accept that The Hypocrites’ Frankenstein may have included references that went right over our heads. That being said: Prior knowledge and research certainly enrich the audience’s experience, but they shouldn’t be required. Throughout this entire show, we couldn’t shake the feeling that we had missed something. It was a frustrating 70 minutes. more ›

The online wine community and retailer Bottlenotes is holding its first wine and food tasting at the Museum of Contemporary Art Friday from 7-10 p.m. The event, called "Around the World in 80 Sips," will feature wines from, well, all over: Old World, New World, North and South America, Israel and Lebanon. Those wines will be paired with cheeses provided from Artisanal Premium Cheese. more ›