AAPI Heritage Month 2023: Miyoko Ito
Let’s recognize a true original in Chicago abstract painting to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month: Miyoko Ito. There were two strains in painting that characterized th ...
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Curator's Corner
Gems of the Month: Contemporary Japanese Tea Bowls
This month’s gems are contemporary artworks that serve the ages-old Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu or sado). Tea drinking was first introduced in Japan during the Nara period (710–794) aft ...
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Curator's Corner
May Day Artist Birthday: Cecilia Beaux
The American Renaissance was a period when more American artists traveled to Europe in order to enrich their artistic vision. They brought back such styles as Impressionism, Dark Impressionism, B ...
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Curator's Corner
Spring Green from Gary Hume
In my ongoing celebration of spring, I’m featuring British artist Gary Hume. His Spring Angels series of eight screenprints sets just the right tone with their vibrant colors. In some of the pri ...
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Curator's Corner
A Young Wheat Plant for Spring: Hamada Shōji
As an avid learner of the thousands of years of Japanese ceramic arts history, I am always excited to contemplate an artist’s work that I had never studied carefully before. Shōji Hama ...
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Curator's Corner
Celebrating Spring with Color: Eliot Clark
As anyone can probably guess when reading this blog, I’m a big enthusiast of American Impressionism. There are just so many unique personal versions of the style, it’s hard for me to ...
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Curator's Corner
World Landscape Architecture Month: Ginkakuji Temple
Landscape architects around the world make works of art out of the natural environment. Every culture has aesthetics that guide this work. In the case of traditional dry gardens in Japan, Zen Buddhist ...
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Curator's Corner
Disabilities Awareness Month: Paul Klee
It’s always awful when someone is diagnosed with a debilitating condition, especially when it comes on the heels of having your art publicly declared “degenerate” because of abstract ...
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Curator's Corner
Women's History Month: Lucy Ashjian
In the first half of the 1900s, there were numerous pioneering women documentary photographers who defined the genre. This was particularly true during the Great Depression (1929–1940), the seve ...
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Curator's Corner
Disability Awareness Month: Pearl Blauvelt
March became National Disability Awareness Month in 1987. Let’s recognize this important national observance with artist Pearl Blauvelt, whose unique vision demonstrates how enriching the w ...
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