Dear Fellow Art Lovers,

I am excited to announce that we are combining Art Chicago and NEXT to present Next Art Chicago | 2012: An International Fair of Contemporary Art, merging our two related but previously distinct contemporary art fairs into one smart and cohesive show.

Next Art Chicago will present exciting emerging artists alongside more established figures and modern masters, affording a lively dialogue between generations of artists and providing our visitors with an overview of the many currents in contemporary art. The fair will take place on the spacious and flexible 7th Floor of the iconic Merchandise Mart from April 27 to 29, 2012, with an Opening Preview on the evening of April 26.

Next Art Chicago will be a tightly-curated selection of 120 of the most interesting galleries from around the world and will make Chicago the place to view and purchase compelling and significant art being made today and in the past sixty years. We are launching a number of exciting new initiatives designed to broaden the scope and diversity of the art available; engage the most important artists, collectors, and galleries from Chicago and beyond; and enhance our visitors’ and our participating galleries’ experiences.

Since I joined Art Chicago as the director this past summer, our energetic team has been thoughtfully and creatively shaping the 2012 edition of the renowned art fairs. We have made changes to the structure of the fair and our programming in order to build a high-quality, sustainable show for the City, the arts community, and the times. Our new efforts include this monthly newsletter, which will highlight these changes as well as upcoming art events throughout the city. We invite you to submit programs of interest for inclusion in future newsletters to info@nextartchicago.com.

All of us at Next Art Chicago are committed to working with you to ensure the success of our new fair and to create a dynamic and unforgettable cultural event for the City of Chicago. Thank you very much for your interest and your support.
 

SEPT. events:

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Saturday, September 10
6:30 - Midnight
TROMPE L'OEIL

Annual Gala and Auction to benefit The Renaissance Society. The gala evening will include cocktails, a seated dinner, and live and silent auctions of cutting edge work by more than 60 artists furthering current practices in the visual arts.
BUY TICKETS >>>

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Tuesday, September 13
6 pm
Museum of Contemporary Art
12 x 12 Artist Talk: Dan Gunn

Hear first-hand from Dan Gunn, the Chicago-based artists featured in the MCA's UBS 12 x 12: New Artists/New Works exhibition series and gain insight into how his abstract objects simultaneously inhabit the realms of painting and sculpture.
MORE INFO >>>

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Wednesday, September 14
6-7 pm
The Art Institute of Chicago
Society for Contemporary Art: Albert Oehlen

The New Yorker has described Albert Oehlen as "the most resourceful abstract painter alive." He continually challenges conventions of abstract painting by approaching each work with its own set of questions and problems.
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Thursday, September 15
6-7:30 pm
Chicago Cultural Center
Artists At Work Forum

Cooperatives. Collectives. Apartment galleries. Nonprofits. Opportunities abound for artists to exhibit their art despite the decline of commercial galleries. Learn firsthand career strategies from leaders in utilizing and providing alternatives to the for-profit gallery system.
MORE INFO >>>

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Saturday, September 17
The Art Institute of Chicago
Exhibition Opening: Bertrand Goldberg: Architecture of Invention

Bertrand Goldberg's dramatic sculptural forms and innovative engineering have long been recognized as seminal contributions to the built environment of Chicago, most notably his groundbreaking design for Marina City (1959-1967). This exhibition, the first comprehensive retrospective of the architect's work, positions Goldberg's career within a broad historical framework that extends from his experimental origins at the Bauhaus to his visionary plans for the postwar American city.
MORE INFO >>>

Thursday, September 22
6-9 pm
The Art Institute of Chicago
Snap: The Fourth Photography Benefit Gala

A benefit celebration of the exhibition
Avant-Garde Art in Everyday Life.
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Friday, September 23
Chicago Architecture Foundation
Exhibition Opening: Design on the Edge: Chicago Architects Reimagine Neighborhoods

Atrium Gallery, 224 South Michigan Avenue
This exhibition asks leading creative thinkers to tackle challenges facing the city's communities. The exhibition features visionary plans devised by Darryl Crosby, Sarah Dunn and Martin Felsen, Jeanne Gang, Doug Garofalo with Xavier Vendrell, Patricia Natke, John Ronan, and Ross Wimer. Their cutting-edge concepts for seven neighborhoods inspire Chicagoans to imagine a more connected, vibrant, and livable city.
MORE INFO >>>

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Saturday, September 25-25
Hyde Park Jazz Festival

The free and expanded 5th annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival celebrates jazz's great legacy and bright future on Chicago's South Side. More than 150 of Chicago's most talented jazz musicians will perform in 13 creative and unexpected, indoor and outdoor arts and cultural venues on the University of Chicago campus and throughout the Hyde Park neighborhood, along Chicago's Culture Coast.
MORE INFO >>>

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Monday, September 26
6 pm
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Visiting Artists Program: Type A

SAIC Columbus Auditorium, 280 S. Columbus Dr.
Type A is a collaboration between Adam Ames and Andrew Bordwin. Working together since 1998, Type A create videos, video installations, photography, sculptures, and drawings that deal with issues of masculinity, territory, competition, and collaboration in contemporary society.
MORE INFO >>>

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Thursday, September 29
5:30 pm
The Smart Museum
Exhibition Opening: Vision and Communism

In captivating images of survival and suffering, the postwar artist and designer Viktor Koretsky (1909-1998) articulated a Communist vision of the world utterly unlike that of conventional propaganda. Designed to create an emotional connection between Soviet citizens and others around the globe, Koretsky's posters heralded the multiculturalism of Benetton and MTV, while offering a dynamic alternative to the West's sleek consumerism.
MORE INFO>>>