Artistic, talented, defined. What more can I say about Fidel and his gallery?! Bravo!read more

The venue for the invitation only 4th Annual Children's Coat Drive and a Holiday Party with…read moreunmotivated entertainers and participants. Acrylic Paintings didn't motivate party momentum. A cliquish anti-social event disguised as a party. THE IT SPACE -- the back room. SEATING -- plenty but there is no one wall that you can endlessly stare. SPACE -- plenty, but the party attendees behaved like its a dive bar so they congregated at the bar area with NO drinks. FOOD -- embarrassing to take photos. Caterer is missing after 1.5 hours after so-called party started. DESSERT -- too sweet, significantly ordinary from www.asweetsgirl.com. You can easily bake it at home.

This is one of the liveliest stops on the monthly Second Fridays tour at the FIne Arts Building,…read moreboth artistically and socially--i.e., Barlow is a versatile and accomplished painter and collagist who welcomes everyone to his studio and freely pours out champagne for any visitor of legal age. His favorite landscape subjects seem to be the Michigan Dunes, the Wooded Island in Jackson Park, and Tuscany, which kind of makes sense if you don't stop to analyze it. He has two versions/visions of the Japanese garden in the park, one in charcoal and one in what looks like pastels and water color, both of which are as gorgeous as the place itself. (There were three but someone inconsiderately bought one.)

Director Israel Hernandez of Prospectus Gallery provides his artists and audience with hospitality…read moreand professionalism. On March 9, 2018 a free public reception will once again take place with a new exhibit of paintings and prints by Mark Nelson titled "Sounds of Painting," an array of works on the subject of music. These works express spontaneity, humor, seduction and personal memory through Nelson's use of the vibrant colors of his past, the parody of our times and the beauty of music. Mark Nelson has been a resident of Chicago since 1984 where he arrived from the Panama Canal Zone, Republic of Panama' to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work was shaped by his roots as an extranjero residing from adolescence into adulthood in a Latin American country where the "land divided and the world united."

This is a great small art gallery in pilsen. My gf and I have been here before and we stopped by…read moreagain this weekend now that we were in the pilsen neighborhood and also because we both love art. As stated again its a small gallery, and displays art from local latin and latin-american artists. Also admission is free! Exhibits change every few months so make sure you stop by to view whats new.

I was brought here for my niece's photography exhibit and Patrick, the owner, was kind enough to…read morehost 3 other girls for an afternoon of art and music with a string quartet. He donated his time and space, supporting budding young artist and our community. What an immense honor to be shown in the same space as established artists! From what I saw his collection was mostly american but please don't take my word. Have a look and chat with Patrick. It's an unexpected gem in the Glen. =)

Aaron Galleries is tops! Our school tech teacher has held annual showcases here hosted by the most…read moregracious welcoming and supportive owners. Prior to being invited I often wanted to find time to look at the art. This gallery is impressive-I really enjoyed the collections. Very diverse in artists as well as mediums. Worth a trip!

I have been to The Empty Corner for monthly drum circles, Christmas markets, and even volunteer…read moreopportunities! I appreciate how the one space can offer me a variety of things. I hadn't heard of The Empty Corner until one of my former fitness coaches told us we should patronize the art show he was a part of. The parking lot is a bit small, but it wasn't that big of a deal to park on the street before wrapping presents with the Good Neighbors Network. I recommended the space to my cousin for a family party because it has 2 bathrooms, no specific food attached to it, and a bar space! (I know they have a friend that is a bartender that could run it!) I do like that they offer a variety of classes, but the cookie class is out of my price range of what I would want to pay for my daughter and I to attend. For now, I will keep attending their markets, monthly drum circles, and volunteer opportunities!

Stopped in for the annual spring market. It is located off Arlington Heights Road on a…read more..corner... The spring market consisted of at most 10 artists. There was very little foot traffic, which is unfortunate for the artists. There was a nice selection of pottery , jewelry and baked goods.

We've been coming here at least once or twice a year for a while now and always enjoy the…read moreexperience. There is something for everyone to paint and the vibe here is so relaxed that you really can relax and enjoy the process. If it were closer, I'd totally have a birthday party for the girls here, but I don't think people would drive 30 miles in February to do it!!

For an out of the way pottery painting spot, Art Füzd certainly delivered! The staff were friendly,…read morewith the one main room employee going out of his way to attend to my partner's birthday party with such kind, excellent service. The lady at the kiln was so cheerful and sweet, too. Admittedly the prices feel steep, but honestly, the service and quality are so good, with a huge selection of under $20 options, that it kind of balances itself out. I booked the party space a week in advance for $25 and they provided all the tableware, lighters, and knives for cutting the birthday cake, so no worries if you forgot anything! All of the paints are lined up on several shelves opposite the register. There were easily 30+ paint options with textures/speckles, matte, and two-tone. For adults, I found it hilarious that they have 420-friendly selections and some funny pieces to paint. Stop by if you're curious about an art-fueled adventure.

This is a very small museum run by a part-time (maybe 2 part-time?) curator set up in the Bartlett…read morecity hall. So it's a delightful surprise if you are, say, there to pay your water bill, but it's not really a museum. That said, the display on Prohibition with a section on root beer for the kiddies sounded interesting. It is very specific to the town - lots of "here is a piece from this old building that was torn down" or "here is china from an old restaurant" and there is limited room for signage - several items needed to be looked up in a 3 ring binder. That said, information on dances being held above a local bar that required reinforcing the ceiling/floor ("it's a 4 post wedding" meant lots of attendees) was quite interesting, and I was charmed by the display on a local poet, which had printouts of her cinnamon snap cookie recipe (haven't tried it yet). In addition to the main display, there are display windows along the hallway to the bathrooms , and a small plaque by the water fountain noting that Bartlett holds the world record for number of people blowing a train whistle at one time. While you're in the building, walk over to the hallway to the police station and check out a small grouping of memorabilia for the town's sister city in Taiwan.

Bartlett is so fortunate to have such a wonderful museum. The Director does a wonderful job. She…read moreposts information on Facebook. Plus, she holds informational session, which I hope will resume when allowed to.

Yes. Very good. I do like this. It is small and far from the maddening crowd. I would recommend…read morethis.

My friend and I traveled up to Chicago from Indianapolis for the sole purpose of seeing "Van Gogh's…read moreBedrooms", an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago that explores a set of paintings with significance to the artist. The collection brings together all three versions of "The Bedroom" for the first time in North America. The first version was painted in 1888 just after moving into his "Yellow House" in Arles, France, but when its integrity was threatened due to water damage, he made a second version while at an asylum in Saint-Remy in 1889. He painted the third, a smaller version, just a couple weeks later for his mother and sister. Although the paintings appear at first glance to be identical, there are subtle differences in each, which the exhibit details at length with a video illustration, a video explaining the science behind figuring out the order the versions were painted, and a living model of the bedroom that inspired Van Gogh. Perhaps it's the fact I live in a small city that isn't able to bring exhibits of this quality, but I was blown away by the sheer volume of Van Gogh works on display - 36 total - and it presented much more than just the bedrooms. It includes earlier works of cottages, bird nests, books, boots, and items depicting the theme of a sense of home throughout the artist's life. It also includes his earliest surviving self-portrait and depictions of the asylum he was at. We paid $7 for the audio tour, which is a great supplement to the exhibit and good for works throughout the entire museum. You are allowed to take photographs, but no flash. Pro-tip: purchase admission tickets ($25 for out-of-towners) and tickets for the exhibit (an extra $5) online in advance. I'd estimate there were 400 people waiting in the cold just to buy tickets. We were high-fiving each other for our well-planned ways (my friends don't call me The Event Planner for nothing!) - dipping right around the line - then we got to the line for the exhibit. The posted signs based on our position indicated we started around a 75 minute wait, but it actually only took about 30 minutes to get in, which is still pretty packed so introverts, claustrophobes, and those who generally hate people should prepare for that. We went on a Saturday morning during peak time so you might consider going during the week if that's an option for you. We also took a bit of time afterward to explore the rest of the museum, which has a number of well-known works and artists on display - American Gothic, Nighthawks, several by Andy Warhol, several by Picasso, Dali, an entire room of Monet, Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte, several by Jackson Pollack, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's At the Moulin Rouge, which has particular significance for us. Three months earlier, we went to an exhibit at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris called the "Splendors and Misery of Prostitution", which had this painting on display and was also presented on all of the marketing materials for the exhibit. We weren't allowed at that exhibit to photograph any of the paintings so we felt like we had a small victory in being able to photograph it here.