CHICAGO
ART
EXHIBITS 2023

Expo Chicago

April 13 – 16, Navy Pier

​

Expo Chicago (The International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art) is a massive gathering of 170 leading international exhibitors from 36 countries held at Navy Pier. This year marks the tenth edition of the event which is a platform connecting international galleries with the region’s contemporary art community and collector base.

Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery

Until August 27, 2023, Field Museum

​

The cycle of life and questioning the great beyond has been a human obsession for eternity. The Field Museum is exploring perspectives on death through culture, science, and art. The carcass of a whale at the bottom of the ocean contributes to the cycle of life much like when a huge tree falls and regenerates into the soil. This exhibit offers a replica of a whale’s body on the ocean floor providing nutrients to fellow organisms. Ponder the meaning of it all.

Gio Swaby: Fresh Up

April 8 – July 3, 2023, Art Institute of Chicago

​

Gio Swaby’s textile-based practice explores the intersections of Blackness and womanhood. Her embroidered portraits begin by capturing her subjects in moments of empowerment. Swaby highlights the use of fashion — hair, clothing, jewelry — as a form of self-expression. Raised in the Bahamas by a seamstress mother, textiles were a natural draw for her expressions of beauty. The title of the show, Fresh Up, is a Bahamian saying used to compliment someone who is dressed well, stylish and confident.

Pompeii: The Exhibition

February 23 – September 4, Museum of Science and Industry

​

When Mount Vesuvius erupted over 1900 years ago, the ancient city of Pompeii was preserved in volcanic dust formed in the fiery catastrophe. Marvel at over 150 precious artifacts that show how people in the ancient city lived. Explore marble and bronze sculptures, jewelry, gladiator armor, weapons, coins, and full-body casts of the eruption’s victims. Multimedia experiences include a 4D eruption simulation and a holographic gladiator display.

Gary Simmons: Public Enemy

June 10 – October 1, Museum of Contemporary Art

​

Multidisciplinary artist Gary Simmons is a groundbreaking and influential artist who seeks to present questions of race, class, and gender identity in his art. Simmons exposes and analyzes the history of racism in the visual culture of the United States. Over the course of his multi-decade career, Simmons has drawn on popular genres such as hip-hop, horror, and science fiction to question the racist histories of sports, cinema, literature, music, architecture, and urbanism. This exhibit is considered the most in-depth presentation of Simmons’ complex and moving works of art.