The ecosystem of art in Chicago runs strong and deep. That’s my takeaway after working on this year’s edition of Art 50, which included meeting nearly everyone on the list. Institutions both large and small are on the upswing, both in terms of leadership and creativity. Galleries, established as well as a heady group of newcomers, are expanding the market in terms of scale and scope, and the two major Chicago-based auction houses have undergone dramatic transitions, aiming to play not only on a regional stage but also nationally.
And then there are the collectors. We’ve expanded that group, too, to reflect their dual roles as supporters of the institutions we rely upon, but also as patrons of the artists themselves. I personally met with most of the collectors and wrote their profiles, and am amazed at the passion and curiosity they still have for art, even decades and decades after they began to collect, that the friendships they have with artists often seem more important to them than the work itself, and how much collecting art is a shared passion for couples (usually in long marriages). When talking about their connections to art, they often complete each other’s sentences. And that’s not nothing. (Brian Hieggelke)
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View the full press feature at art.newcity.com