Their Business is Your Business

By Justin Sondak in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 13, 2007 4:30PM

The largest art gallery event in Chicago that doesn’t involve Navy Pier or the Merchandise Mart, Vision 12 kicks off tonight with more than 30 gallery openings in River North and River West. New shows, plenty of group shows, run the gamut from university final projects to more established portfolios.

The two week celebration of gallery goodness is presented by the Art Dealers Association of Chicago, who have, appropriately enough, chosen “the business of Art” as this year’s theme. (“Yay for us!!!”) Next Tuesday’s “Straight Talk” panel will guide would-be art buyers towards smart investing. “Dealer Ethics” will be discussed on July 25 and a “Puppet Performance Showcase,” a demonstration with much less relevance to the business theme, is on July 26. Two galleries lead special discussions of current exhibitions—FLATFILEgalleries (July 17) and Carrie Secrist Gallery (July 24), whose Surrender to Beauty is one of the smartest and most gorgeous collections we’ve seen this year.

Doors open tonight at 6pm and shuttle service between Superior and Franklin and Peoria and Washington begins at 6:30. Free to look, free to ride, free to nosh and sip.

Vision 12 runs July 13-28 at various locations. Schedules and more information at the CADA website.