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Denise Joseph is an advertising exec with an eye towards art. With 10+ years experience in the advertising industry promoting and launching brands, Denise’s role as an advocate of the creative process and defender of great work to her clients has prepared her to do the same for the passion she holds for the arts. Ads-to-Art covers reviews, critiques and general musings observed while out and about in the Chicago art scene and other cities traveled. A recent graduate from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2016) with her M.A in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism, Denise would like to connect artists with those interested in learning about and collecting art. Want to start a conversation? Simply email [email protected] Featured work: Markus Linnenbrink, EVERYTHINGIOWNALIVE (2011)

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In an unexpected pairing between traditional and novel, this week’s pop up gallery at the Governor’s Mansion proved the power of art in transforming a space. Artists were asked to respond to the interior décor and external views surrounding the iconic landmark. This contemporary twist prompted a newfound appreciation for the past, and the now. A portion of proceeds from works sold will benefit the Governor’s Residence Preservation Fund allowing educational programming and tours of the residence to continue for years to come. Thrilled to do my small part - having left with a work by @sarahwinklerart and a handshake with Governor Polis. #popupgallery #art #curating #contemporaryart #denver #boettchermansion 👏@kcontemporaryart for curating a memorable show 👏 (at Colorado Governor's Mansion) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByvtxdZFzaQ/?igshid=1ho9u4nw5z1x0

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Ephemeral works in the truest sense. These artists worked all weekend as participants of the @denverchalkartfestival to bring their chalk art creations to life only for a rain storm to wash them away come Sunday afternoon. The crowds certainly enjoyed them while they lasted! @denverchalkartfestival #publicart #chalkart #outdoorart #artists #denverartists #artistsofinstagram #ephemeralart (at Denver, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByRN0qhlcGf/?igshid=4csk6dwaatu

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The Tadao Ando designed space, Wrightwood 659, sits rather unsuspecting in the heart of Lincoln Park. Opened last October, the space is dedicated to exhibitions focused on architecture and socially engaged art. 🌎 The current exhibition, “Dimensions of Citizenship” was first viewed at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, the United States’ contribution. 🌍 These thought-provoking works interrogate and amplify the environmental, emotional and physical impacts of citizenship today at local, national, global and even cosmic levels. 🌏 Pictured here is “Citizen” a work by Amanda Williams + Andres L. Hernandez in collaboration with Shani Crowe. An apparatus bound together by thousands of braided ropes, you’re left considering - is this a space shuttle to escape the uncertainty of citizenship, a hot air balloon to gain greater perspective or a shelter for refuge? Open until April 27 with free admission. @wrightwood659 @awstudioart @crowezilla #andreslhernandez #tadaoando #art #exhibition #citizenship #migrationcrisis #globalmigration #chicago #adstoart (at Wrightwood 659) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvZJTzzlSza/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wj5rywo4rx23

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Artist Jaclyn Mednicov’s interest in connecting the past to the present involves marking a moment in time, and presenting us with a trace or glimmer of a life that once was - her process documents a variety of plant and animal life, as well as human markings (words, gestures) she discovers. In her recent work, Mednicov is experimenting with the notion of a screen or skin standing in as a representative of the object’s former self - through this process of “shredding,” the object is at once preserved and rejuvenated. #chicago #foundobjects #curator #adstoart @jmednicov (at Chicago, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvFtBkMF_gY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=114sqjzpqighw

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Zach Buchner’s art works push the boundary of what we might categorize as traditional painting. Distinct in their shape, size, color and use of material, Buchner assumes the role of architect, sculpture, painter and draftsman - these geometric abstractions are often born out of his sketches on graph paper as there is a necessary and absolute precision required before adjoining the acoustic foam and hand crafted acrylic boxes. The acrylic forms act as shadow boxes within the works, prompting the viewer to peer curiously at the etched memory foam that has been encased underneath, a relic of sorts. When you consider the sound waves that have been absorbed and reverberated by these works - you’re made to wonder, if only these walls could talk. @zacharybuchner @practise_practise #studiovisit #art #artist #artwork #sculpture #painting #minimalism #abstraction #chicago #adstoart (at Practise) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bue6cZflAbb/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rhob1uqdyq0t

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So glad I was able to visit Laura Ball's exhibition “Chimera" at @dbsgallery before it came down earlier this week. These intricate and highly detailed watercolors are based in the mythology of the Chimera, a creature made whole by the sum of it parts. Composed by more than one animal, it’s inherently made up of strengths and weaknesses. There is a dependency depicted in the work, in how these creatures grow out of one another. Much like life, we are certainly the sum of our parts, and find growth where one part ends - another begins. A special thanks to gallerist David Smith for the tour of the show 🙌@lauraballnet #artgallery #art #gallery #denver #chimera #adstoart (at David B. Smith Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtrTFoLluhl/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=3usq1n26c4b2

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Artist Gwendolyn Zabicki taps into the fascinating function of mirrors and windows as portals to our thoughts. During yesterday’s studio visit, Zabicki shared how these objects assume an invisible role in our every day environments, that is, until a dark shadow or bright white is casted to capture our attention. It is in that fleeting moment that we can feel our thoughts passing through us – they have a voice. Zabicki’s recent body of work explores these moments, even seeks to extend them through playfully disorienting the viewer and asking them to take pause - Is that a mirror? A window? A reflection of a window in a mirror? Perfectly summed up by Zabicki, learning to paint is about learning to see. @gwendolynz #studiovisit #artist #chicago #art #adstoart (at Chicago, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs0m3RkF0Db/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18tdheroou9np

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Sensing a brief pause in the action of Hanapepe Art Night, artist Camille Izumi takes a moment to coat one of her works with a finishing varnish. • Every Friday, the Hanapepe Art Night brings this sleepy coastal town to life. Participating galleries showcase the work of local artists as well as those from “the mainland.” With such a heavy reliance on the support of tourism, simple yet personal touches are put into place to introduce visitors to the artists - a short bio and photograph accompanies each body of work on display. A community endeavor and celebration, the Hanapepe Art Night brings together artists, musicians, clothing and jewelry designers, as well as eateries featuring local favorites like the famed Hawaiian shaved ice. #artwalk #opengallery #artgallery #artists #gallery #kauai #hawaii @brightsidegallery @camille_izumi (at Hanapepe, Hawaii) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsTvqwmFNhS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=lo2n8s50nmro

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Like many art school graduates, the desire to exhibit work was a common goal that eventually led 6 SAIC grads to band under the name - the “Hairy Who?” The current exhibition on view @artinstitutechi focuses on the six group exhibitions that occurred between 1966 - 1969 across Chicago, San Francisco and Washington DC. Each artist possessed a unique graphic (painting) style that drew inspiration from comics, advertising, ephemera and other pop and cultural influences of the time (ranging from politics to war violence to sexuality). The imaginative and colorful figures, objects and storylines illustrated throughout this body of work border a digital aesthetic, one that seemingly foreshadowed the Internet Revolution and, perhaps, is why the work continues to resonate amongst contemporary audiences. This is a must see exhibit - check out before it closes on 1/6/19. #hairywho #artinstituteofchicago #saic #art #artexhibition #artgallery #museum #chicago . 1. Jim Nutt 2. Suellen Rocca 3. Art Green 4. Gladys Nilsson 5. Karl Wirsum 6. Jim Falconer 7 -10. Sources of ephemera (at The Art Institute of Chicago) https://www.instagram.com/p/Br_RNIUFA3S/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=veah7eexvjvv

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Glasner Studio remains as one of the few remaining “in situ” examples of work by 19th century Chicago-based artist, Edgar Miller. As with many of his projects, each wall, staircase, nook and cranny offered Miller a blank canvas. His interpretation of the ‘Creation of Art’ is featured at the top of this photo reel: the sun brings light to everything, lightening and thunder allude to the violence of creation, and a rainbow represents the quietude of inspiration. Depicted further down, are the 5 muses of art as imagined by Miller: depicted dance, music, drama, visual art, and architecture. Each piece was individually casted in concrete, mounted, and then painted and plastered. The genius of Miller was in his unique ability to create across multiple media such as painted stained glass, wood and sculpture. No detail was too small for Miller. To learn more about Edgar Miller, contact @edgarmillerart. Much remains to be discovered about the prolific life and work of this important Chicago artist. #art #chicago #artiststudio #glasnerstudio #arttour #edgarmiller #artist #sculpture #woodwork (at Edgar Miller Legacy) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrMTf_ClP48/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rxrrrl4vonln

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Hosted by @artdesignchicago, yesterday’s Near North Design Day was a day of exploration inspired by Chicago’s iconic designs, designers and artists. My day started with a clay print making workshop hosted by @artonsedgwick, which drew inspiration from 20th century artist Edgar Miller’s hand carvings, paintings and interior home designs. Next stop, open studio visits at Sedwick Studio. Other than the red door marking its entrance, this incredible industrial space maintains a rather inconspicuous presence amongst CTA riders boarding the train, just above. What was once a Commonwealth Edison electrical substation built to service the train now serves as the studio space to sculptors like John Adduci. Outfitted with cranes and a bounty of welding tools, the space lends to the sculptural experiments and large scale works imagined and created by Adduci. Finally, a panel discussion on the Chicago History Museum's "Modern by Design” exhibit completed my day of design. Streamline Moderne, an aerodynamic style that embodied long horizontals and nautical motifs, took the US consumer by storm in the 1930s, but lasted well into the 1950s. Examples include the Burlington Zephyr train car, Sunbeam kitchen appliances and the Radio Flyer Streak-O-Lite wagon. The exhibit highlights the Chicago-based designers and engineers that played a transformative role in appealing to the consumer through products that excited and delighted them, beyond their utilitarian purpose. These advances served as demonstrations of progress, a welcomed distraction during the Great Depression. Programming for Art Design Chicago extends through the end of the year, and more information can be found at artdesignchicago.org #artdesignchicago #chicago #artist #artiststudio #studiovisit #johnadduci #johnbannon #sunnyhan #tedsittingcrowgarner #design #streamlinemoderne #edgarmiller @edgarmillerart (at Art Design Chicago) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqDNJHTFp08/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1f1h4bdb29nkv

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Artist, sculptor, designer, muralist and visionary, the contributions of Edgar Miller to Chicago at the turn of the 20th century are countless and deserve careful study and celebrated attention. A special thank you to Lauren Drapola, preservationist and design historian, for sharing her recent research at @artdesignchicago event which highlighted how the artistic trends, study and exchange taking place at the Beaux Arts in Paris came to directly influence the work of Miller and his contemporaries, here in Chicago. Most notably was the 'Streets of Paris’ concession that Miller art directed for the 1933 World’s Fair (A Century of Progress) in which he brought to life a micro version of Paris, complete with cafés, shops, live drawing classes and, even, burlesque shows. Fun fact - Lake Michigan ‘stood in’ as the Seine, complementing a promenade that was constructed as part of the Streets of Paris simulation. @laurendrapala @edgarmillerart @depaulartmuseum #chicago #art #arttalk #museum #artgallery #edgarmiller #edgarmillerlegacy (at DePaul Art Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bosnj2rhVa6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1g5uyzl2g31f5

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As a child, Yayoi Kusama experienced hallucinations - bright flashes of light, multiplied as dots across her vision. The extreme repetition of dots or “infinity nets” recalled from these hallucinations would become characteristic of her life’s work and would assume many iterations over the years, from sculpture and painting to immersive one-room “experiences” that swallow up the body. Kusama could not have planned for the popular reaction from our Instagram culture, but after a fifty-plus year career, she certainly deserves the recognition from each and every snap! One of the rooms from Kusama’s “Infinity Mirror” series can be viewed at @wndrmuseum in Chicago thru the end of the month. @yayoikusamas #yayoikusama #art #artist #artexhibition #artgallery #wondermuseum #chicago #infinitymirrors #immersiveart @degrootfineart (at wndr museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/BofpJhDhxxH/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1v1qgb2qjmq5w

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David Hockney on view through November 21 @richardgraygallery This ‘photo drawing’ explores Hockney’s interest in photographic and technological processes, and the exceptional task of capturing the elapse of time when using a static medium. The scene is a depiction from Hockney’s Los Angeles studio, and the activity that has taken place over the course of time. #art #artgallery #artexhibition #photography #arttechnology #painting #davidhockney #chicago #richardgraywarehouse (at Richard Gray Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoRzJbuhMNX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1fhguz2hnmctn

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“Forever Bicycles” (2014) by artist Ai Weiwei features over 1200 bicycles in reference to the role of the bicycle Weiwei observed during his childhood in China as both a key form of transportation and status symbol to those fortunate enough to possess one. The influence of Marcel Duchamp’s “readymades” is apparent in Weiwei’s work as the artist renders these every day objects into a single, towering sculpture that considers what it means to enjoy the freedom of movement, or conversely, the limitation (as so often considered in Weiwei’s work regarding the refugee crisis). “Forever Bicycles” has experienced several formations during installations in other countries, Taiwan, England and Canada. The work was installed at its present location in Austin, TX in 2017 and is on long-term loan to @contemporaryatx #aiweiwei #publicart #art #texas #austin #bike @aiww

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A prime example of “ads to art” being put into practice, in the exhibition "Unbranded: A Century of White Women 1915-2015” artist Hank Willis Thomas explores the role of the white female body in advertising and product branding during the stated time frame. By removing the product brand names and other contextual clues, Thomas leaves the viewer to be confronted with the problematic role of gender and notions of beauty, desire and domesticity underpinning these ads - at the time, intentional strategies for appealing to the female purchaser. Despite efforts taken by some of today’s leading fashion, beauty and athletic brands, such as Aerie #AerieREAL, Dove #mybeautymysay and Nike #betterforit, to portray the realness of women and promote positive body image, more work remains in combating these imposed ideals. The marketer in me couldn’t help but go on a bit of a scavenger hunt for some of the original ads. Can you guess which brands are being featured before swiping left? On view at the Block Museum (on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus) thru August 5th. #art #artexhibition #artgallery #museum #hankwillisthomas #advertising #branding @nublockmuseum (at Block Museum)

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A prime example of “ads to art” being put into practice, in the exhibition "Unbranded: A Century of White Women 1915-2015” artist Hank Willis Thomas explores the role of the white female body in advertising and product branding during the stated time frame. By removing the product brand names and other contextual clues, Thomas leaves the viewer to be confronted with the problematic role of gender and notions of beauty, desire and domesticity underpinning these ads - at the time, intentional strategies for appealing to the female purchaser. Despite efforts taken by some of today’s leading fashion, beauty and athletic brands, such as Aerie #AerieREAL, Dove #mybeautymysay and Nike #betterforit, to portray the realness of women and promote positive body image, more work remains in combating these imposed ideals. The marketer in me couldn’t help but go on a bit of a scavenger hunt for some of the original ads. Can you guess which brands are being featured before swiping left? On view at the Block Museum (on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus) thru August 5th. #art #artexhibition #artgallery #museum #hankwillisthomas #advertising #branding @nublockmuseum (at Block Museum)