Inside Chicago’s Burgeoning Art Scene
While the city’s exhilarating art week may be over, there are still plenty of shows to see that are worth traveling for
For one week each September, Chicago’s art world turns up the volume. This year’s Chicago Exhibition Week, presented by Gertie, a Chicago cultural agency, ran from September 14 to 20 and filled the Windy City with a slew of buzzworthy openings, exhibition walkthroughs, talks, and performances. It spanned galleries and institutions from West Town to Pilsen to Hyde Park, with free museum admission for anyone who completed the week’s map.
The week is the public face of a much larger mission in Chicago. “Gertie exists to strengthen Chicago’s art ecosystem from within, connecting artists, galleries, collectors, and neighborhoods so the work being made here gets the support and visibility it deserves,” says Gertie founder Abby Pucker. “Chicago Exhibition Week is when we amplify that work on a global stage, bringing the full force of our press, partnerships, and storytelling to show the world what Chicago’s artists and spaces are building.”
Managing director Chanelle Lacy adds: “At Gertie, we believe Chicago’s art ecosystem thrives when we create opportunities for connection, exchange, and discovery, both within our city and far beyond it.” Through Gertie’s tiered membership, they fund the exhibition program and free public programming at the physical space, while cultivating a broader community of collectors and patrons in Chicago. “We’re passionate about creating experiences that demystify the art world and make contemporary art more inviting to those without existing connections, while maintaining the ambition, rigor, and curiosity that make engaging with art so rewarding.”
The curated experiences are a special highlight. The travel experiences from Reykjavík, Mexico City, and Paris to destinations across the United States, including Marfa, Texas, and Detroit, Michigan, extend this work beyond Chicago. “These journeys connect our creative community with artists, collectors, and cultural voices around the world, fostering lasting relationships and unexpected conversations that reach beyond traditional institutional settings. By creating space for these exchanges, we bring new perspectives and opportunities back to Chicago while sharing the city’s creative energy with the wider world.”
Most importantly, Chicago Exhibition Week reflects a commitment to cultivating a connected, vibrant art ecosystem. “The week brings together the people and spaces shaping Chicago’s cultural landscape, creating opportunities for discovery and collaboration while affirming the city’s place in a broader global art conversation.”
While the week may be over, there are still plenty of shows to see that are worth traveling for:
“Jaume Plensa: Beyond Silence” | GRAY
Two 28-foot carved-wood reliefs, Beyond Silence (Julia) and Beyond Silence (Maria), anchor the artist’s tenth solo show with the gallery, joined by vertical cast iron and granite sculptures and intimate bronzes. The sheer scale is extraordinary, as the reliefs stretch across the gallery walls. Through December 19
“Tiphanie Kim Mall: Brothers” | Good Weather
A solo show by the Berlin-based, Swiss-raised artist, whose work spans photography and video. He often turns the camera on her own life, blurring the line between public and private. Through November 21
“Gordon Cheung: Consensual Halluci/nation” | Kavi Gupta
In his first solo show with the gallery, Cheung explores themes of technology, global finance, colonial history, and the systems of collective belief that hold them together. He works with stock listings from the Financial Times, crushing the newspaper into dense forms that recall scholar’s rocks. Through November 21
“Mernet Larsen: Situational Awareness” | The Arts Club of Chicago
The show brings together paintings from more than 60 years of Larsen’s career. Her figures resemble geometric solids, placed in tilting, mismatched spaces, with everyday life as the subject. Through December 18
“Mary Cassatt: After Impressionism” | Art Institute of Chicago
The museum’s first major exhibition of Mary Cassatt in more than 25 years marks the centennial of her death. It focuses on the late 1880s to early 1900s, when she broke from the Impressionists to experiment, and includes iconic works like The Child’s Bath and her color prints inspired by Japanese woodcuts. Through January 3