Summer Blog Series: Visit Summer Art Exhibits Across the USA, Part 2: Chicago

With Independence Day celebrations behind us, summer is in full swing. This is a big month for vacations and travel, and I hope that you’ll heed my advice to be sure to visit art exhibits no matter where your travels take you, from Antwerp to Anchorage to Australia and anywhere in between.

In the first part of my summer blog series I gave some advice about current exhibits taking place in New York City. In this post, I’d like to share some suggestions for those who’ll be visiting Chicago this summer. Whether you’re visiting Chicago as a tourist (maybe watching The Bear got you in the mood for a culinary tour of the city) or work travel is bringing you there, you’ll find that Chicago is a hot art city.

Be sure to check out the Georgia O’Keefe exhibit, My New Yorks, at Art Institute of Chicago, running until September 22, 2024. This exhibit is likely to surprise and delight fans of Georgia O’Keefe who think of her as a painter of flowers and the Southwest. In fact, she turned her inquiring artistic eye on her surroundings wherever she was, including in New York City almost 100 years ago. O’Keefe’s landscapes and cityscapes are striking! This exhibit will greatly add to your appreciation and understanding of this artist.

One of the most famous landmarks in Chicago is itself a work of art: Cloud Gate (commonly known by its nickname “The Bean”), a public art sculpture by Anish Kapoor. This sculpture is located in Millenium Park, and reopened in June after a lengthy refurbishment. This sculpture is not only beautiful and endlessly photo-worthy, it’s an incredible feat of engineering.

Chicago is full of world-class museums that teem with art. You could also catch current exhibits such as Descending the Staircase at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and The Art of Our Storytellers at The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center.

I wish you happy, art-filled travels, wherever you may be headed this month!