“… a lot of very intelligent people are very uncomfortable talking about art because they don’t have much background in it. I think that the kind of training that (Art Encounter) gives people- ways to enter into the experience of looking and trusting one’s own thoughts- is invaluable to everyone involved: artists and audience alike.”
Julia Katz, Host Artist, Expanding Visions Fall 2008 program
Don’t miss the opportunity to visit these world renowned artists. Crane has had a major impact on the world of photography. She works in many formats and materials including sequential imagery, intimate platinum prints, large Polaroids, silver gelatin prints, and precise digital imagery. In the collections of the Art Institute and M.O.M.A., she has had six retrospective exhibitions, more than 75 one-person exhibitions. Her husband, John Miller, a painter for 60 years, brings his deep understanding of color, line, and form to prints composed on the computer. He assembles his subjects, taken from daily life, into layered compositions. Space is limited. Sign up for the series to guarantee a place.
Explore a significant collection of German Expressionist art in a beautiful North Shore home. The collectors, who have donated a room and collection of prints to the Milwaukee Art Museum, built an addition on to their home to properly care for their print collection. The Specks also collect contemporary Neo-Expressionist works by the major international artists. Among the works you will see are large scale paintings by Georg Baselitz and Rainer Fetting, works by Israeli artist Aseph Ben Menahem and Mexican artist Augustin Portillo.
Learn about art conservation and see a demonstration with a leading conservator in her beautiful Ravenswood studio. Berry has worked on 15th and 16th century Dutch, German, Spanish, English and French paintings as well on Surrealism from the Bergman collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, and served as the Painting Conservator for the Union League Club of Chicago. Her experience ranges from Renaissance to Abstract Expressionist painting to a restoration Chinese wall painting project in Western China. Her clients include national and international arts institutions and private collectors.
Discover a collection of contemporary works in a lovely Evanston apartment building, listed on the National Historic Register. We’ll see several works including large scale pieces by Nadine’s brother-in law- the renowned painter Robert Natkin, watercolors and a large screen by Judith Dolnick, abstractions by Keiko Hara, etchings by Chagall and Villon, as well as work by Mark Toby and Lee Godie. The collectors also have framed Mola cloths and other fabric pieces.
You won’t want to miss this large and stimulating collection of contemporary art in all media including paintings, prints, drawings, photography and sculpture in a 1909 Kenwood home. The collectors have very contemporary cutting edge works by international artists including Roxy Paine, Fred Tomaselli, Jeanne Dunning, George Stoll and Abigail Lane, Kota Ezawa and Mel Bochner as well as a collection of lively Pop art prints and multiples including work by Lichtenstein, Wesselman, Warhol and Wesley.
See how their strong interest in mid-century furniture and design is incorporated into their living space.
Meet a fascinating artist in her Logan Square home and studio. Ani creates unusual jewelry and weavings that combine elements from her origins in Turkey to school and life experiences in Geneva, Switzerland and Chicago. Ani Ashfar Jewelry has sold in some of the most exclusive stores in the world such as Harrods of London and The Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It has been featured in Time Out Chicago and fashion magazines. We will also see her collection of art that includes Richard Hull, Robert Barnes and Philip Hanson.
Take advantage of a special discount for our group.
Enjoy an eclectic collection in a vivid North Shore home, situated on an acre of land, where every room is painted a different color. Ellen began collecting art early in her career when she worked as a psychologist for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was surrounded by art. Over the years the collection has grown. Now empty nesters, Ellen is making her own art mosaics. The collection, recently featured in Sheridan Road, includes work by Pop artists Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring and James Rizzi, cartoonist Al Hirschfeld as well as works by Giacometti, Morris Louis and a collection of masks.
Friendship Day- Bring a guest new to Art Encounter at no charge.
Take this opportunity to visit the stunning home and collection of Sotheby’s Midwest Senior Vice President and his partner in the former headquarters for Montgomery Ward and Co., newly designed by Minoru Yamasaki. Their exciting living space, featured on interior designer Michael Richman’s website, adheres to the building’s 1970s design theme. The art collection fills the space with color and energy from younger, up and coming, to established artists, working in a variety of media from sculpture to photography. We’ll see a bench and ceramic installation by Theaster Gates, a new Mel Bochner, a seminal photograph by Izima Kaoru, beeswax cups by George Stoll and more.
Meet four interesting artists producing art in a building that attracts artists from all over the world. We’ll begin with Jui Desai whose hard edged mysterious colorful abstractions, miniatures and drawings refer to her native India. Painter Jim Parenti will show us his unique figure paintings that bring a very contemporary approach to Cubism. Anthony Bowers combines hard edge and painterly areas to create multiple viewpoints within his works. British artist Fraser Taylor has exhibited his fiber works, sculptures, prints and paintings in numerous international shows.
