GRADUATE STUDIES at SAIC

We are explorers. Meaning and making are inseparable. We are artists and scholars. We are Chicago. We make history. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either entity. Providing degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels, SAIC has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top graduate art programs in the nation, as well as by Columbia University's National Arts Journalism survey as the most influential art school in the United States. CONTACT US School of the Art Institute of Chicago GRADUATE ADMISSIONS OFFICE 36 South Wabash, Suite 1202 Chicago, IL 60603 Phone: [phone]; Toll free / 312.629.6100 Fax: [phone] Email: [email protected]

[saic-graduate-studies]

TONY TASSET’s Me and My Arrow at Kavi Gupta Gallery

Tony Tasset.  Arrow Painting 2015, Oil on aluminum panel, 42" x 66".  Courtesy of the Kavi Gupta website.  

Tony Tasset (MFA 1985) premieres a new body of work, an overwhelming grid of sixty-six Arrow Paintings alongside Arrow Sculptures, on March 18th at the Kavi Gupta Gallery.  The opening reception will be held on March 18th from 4-7pm at 219 N Elizabeth Street.   The show runs until April 23rd. 

From the press release: “Tasset has said his goal was to create a universal logo that expressed the contemporary environment of chronic evaluation—a graphic emblem of trending. Me And My Arrow coincides with the Chicago appearance of Tasset’s Artists Monument in Grant Park near Michigan and 9th. The egalitarian monolith is etched with the names of 392,485 artists and memorably debuted at the 2014 Whitney Biennial.”

[saic-graduate-studies]

BFA Show Now On View in the Sullivan Galleries

Edin Cook and Kaleigh Moynihan, All of the Things in this Entire Room, 2015, mixed media.  Courtesy of the SAIC website.  

More than 270 talented SAIC students completing undergraduate degrees this spring exhibit their innovative work. SAIC promotes crossing disciplines and challenging received assumptions, and the results of this approach are showcased in this exhibition. 

March 12–April 1, 2016 Sullivan Galleries, 33 S. State St., 7th floor

[saic-graduate-studies]

Don’t Hold On to Your Bones: Leonard Suryajaya at CAC

Leonard Suryajaya, Familial, 2016.  Courtesy of the CAC website.  

Bolt Resident Leonard Suryajaya will open a solo exhibition of his latest work at the Chicago Artists Coalitions (CAC) this March.  The opening reception for Don’t Hold On to Your Bones will be held on Friday March 4, from 6:00 - 9:00pm at CAC, 217 N Carpenter Street in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. 

Suryajaya (MFA Photography, 2015), a second generation Chinese Indonesian, explores a complex commingling of cultures often through deeply personal and richly patterned photography and video work.  

[saic-graduate-studies]

Alex Chitty at HPAC

Untitled image for new work by Alex Chitty, 2015. Photography courtesy of Kate Marmesh, D.V.M. Veterinarian

Currently on view now until April 3rd at the Hyde Park Arts Center is Alex Chitty’s one-woman exhibition Turning Spoons into Forks.   

A native of Miami, Florida, Chitty received her MFA from SAIC in 2008 and currently teaches in the departments of Printmedia and Sculpture.  She has observed: “It wouldn't take much to turn a spoon into a fork. You could cut away the center of the spoon bowl, and leave two prongs remaining. You could simply label it as a fork, or just use it in exactly the same way a fork is used. Is a spoon still a spoon if it is used like a fork?”

The Hyde Park Arts Center will host a reception for all exhibitions on view on Sunday, February 21st from 3pm-5pm.  It is located at 5020 S. Cornell Avenue in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.  

[saic-graduate-studies]

Dread Scott Public Lecture

Dread Scott, What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag? 1988; Silver gelatin print, US flag, book, pen, shelf, audience; 80 x 28 x 60 inches.  Courtesy of the artist’s website.

Dread Scott (BFA 1989) will be returning to SAIC to give a lecture sponsored by SAIC’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.  The year Scott graduated from SAIC the entire US senate repudiated his piece What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag? with George Bush, Sr calling it “disgraceful.”  

In the intervening decades Scott has continued to make work that impels viewers to question societal norms, values, and assumptions.  Help us welcome him back to SAIC for a lively conversation about his life and work.       

Monday, February 15, 6:00–8:00 p.m. MacLean Ballroom, 112 S. Michigan Ave.

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Tom Kalin: Distinguished Alumni Lecture

Tom Kalin, Savage Grace (still), 2007.  Courtesy of the SAIC website.  

Tom Kalin (MFA 1987) is returning to SAIC to deliver a Distinguished Alumni Lecture.  His will be the inaugural lecture for the the spring season of SAIC’s Visiting Artist Program lecture series.  

From the SAIC website: 

Kalin “is known for narrative features, installations, and short experimental films and videos. His first feature, Swoon, was awarded the Caligari Prize in Berlin, Fipresci Prize in Stockholm, Best Cinematography at Sundance, and the Open Palm at the Gotham Awards. Savage Grace, starring Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne, premiered in Cannes and screened at Sundance, London, and Tribeca, among many other places. Savage Grace was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and named one of the top 10 films of 2008 by Artforumand Paper. Fashion designer Geoffrey Beene commissioned Kalin to write and directGeoffrey Beene 30, a lyrical narrative film commemorating his 30th anniversary. The cast includes Marcia Gay Harden, Claire Danes, and Viveca Lindfors.

In 2015 Kalin and frequent collaborator Doveman (musician Thomas Bartlett) collaborated on a gallery show at Participant, Inc., New York and at Dublin's National Concert Hall for Blood and The Moon, an evening of film, music, and performance celebrating the work of William Butler Yeats. Kalin produced the films I Shot Andy Warhol and Go Fish, and was a writer for Cindy Sherman's Office Killer. He has twice been included in the Whitney Biennial, is a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow, and his work is in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and Museum of Modern Art, New York. Kalin was a founding member of the AIDS activist collective Gran Fury, known for its provocative public art projects which exhibited in the Venice Biennale, and had a major survey of its work in 2012.”

This will be a free event, open to the general public, on Wednesday, February 10, 6:00pm in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Rubloff Auditorium: 230 S. Columbus Dr.  

Kalin will also introduce his 1992 film Swoon on February 11 at the Gene Siskel Film Center as part of Radiant Visions: Media Art from SAIC, 1965–Now.

[saic-graduate-studies]

Old School with Monster Roster!

Seymour Rosofsky, Patient in Dentist’s Chair, 1961.  Courtesy of the website of the Smart Museum of Art. 

The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago is opening the first major exhibition to explore the history and influence of Monster Roster, a postwar art movement in Chicago which established what was to become Chicago’s first distinctive artistic style.  Small wonder then that group counted among their number many students and graduates of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago!  This exhibition is testament to the central role that SAIC has played in the history of Chicago art-making.  Additionally, It is evidence of the possibility that what is happening today at SAIC could be of significant art historical interest to future generations. 

The exhibition is called Monster Roster: Existentialist Art in Postwar Chicago, and it runs February 11 - June 12, 2016.   The opening reception will take place from 7-9pm on Wednesday, February 10th at the museum, located at 5550 S. Greenwood Ave on the University of Chicago campus.

Come learn about an important moment in SAIC history by engaging with the work of the following artists:

Robert Barnes (BFA 1956) Don Baum (Studied at SAIC, 1943) Fred Berger (Studied at SAIC, early 40s) Cosmo Campoli (BFA 1950) George Cohen (BFA 1946) Dominick Di Meo  Leon Golub (BFA 1949, MFA 1950, HON 1982)  Theodore Halkin (BFA 1949) June Leaf  Arthur Lerner (BFA 1951, MFA 1952)  Irving Petlin (BFA 1956)  Seymour Rosofsky (Studied 1942-1943, BFA 1950) Franz Schulze (BFA 1949, MFA 1950) Nancy Spero (BFA 1949, HON 1991) Evelyn Statsinger (BFA 1949) H.C. Westermann (BFA 1954) 

[saic-graduate-studies]

Radiant Visions: Media Art from SAIC, 1965–Now

Katie Torn, Sill from Breathe Deep, 2014. Courtesy of the SAIC website.  

February is SAIC Media Art month at the Gene Siskel Film Center.  All month long the Siskel will be presenting the media art of SAIC grads from 1965 to the present day.  

The series features “nearly 50 artists and a breathtaking range of techniques and ideas, showcasing the pioneering and influential work of SAIC alumni.” 

Presented in collaboration with SAIC’s department of Film, Video, New Media, & Animation, the next installation is titled Identities and takes place on Monday, February 8, 6:00pm at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N State Street, Chicago.  

Identities will screen the work of: 

Jennifer Reeder (MFA 1996) Mindy Faber (MFA Art and Technology, 1985) Dara Greenwald (MFA Writing, 2003) Jessica Bardsley (MFA Film, Video, New Media, Animation 2011, MA Visual Critical Studies, 2012) Oli Rodriguez (MFA Film, Video, New Media, Animation, 2009) Byron Grush (MFA 1967) Katie Torn (MFA 2012)  Tatsu Aoki (BFA 1983, MFA 1985)

[saic-graduate-studies]

2nd Floor Rear is Here

2nd Floor Rear, the annual weekend-long DIY arts festival is upon us this weekend, February 7th and 8th, with a host of events across the city from Logan Square to Pilsen.  

Chock-full of SAIC students and grads, be sure to check the schedule for the specifics, here.

This is 2nd Floor Rear’s 5th anniversary and to celebrate they are collectively pondering the inclusivity and exclusiveness of built spaces.  So come along for the reveries of places and spaces in Avondale, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, and Wicker Park on Saturday AND Pilsen and Little Village on Sunday.  

[saic-graduate-studies]

Present Standard Now On View at the Chicago Cultural Center

Chris Silva, Remix, 2016.  Image courtesy of the artist’s website.

Recently opened and running through April 24, the exhibition Present Standard at the Chicago Cultural Center features 25 Latino artists with Chicago (and SAIC!) connections.  Co-curated by Edra Soto (MFA 2000) and Josue Pellot, the exhibition features the following artists: 

Alberto Aguilar (MFA 2001) Candida Alvarez (Professor, Painting & Drawing)  Luis Miguel Bendaña (BFA 2012)  
Paola Cabal (Professor, Painting & Drawing)  
Juan Angel Chavez
  Mariano Chavez (MFA 2005, Painting & Drawing)  
Alejandro Figueredo Díaz-Perera 
Dianna Frid (MFA 2003, Fiber and Material Studies)  
Diana Gabriel 
Maria Gaspar (Professor, Contemporary Practices)  
Melissa Leandro (BFA 2012, MFA 2014, Fiber and Material Studies) José Lerma (Professor, Painting and Drawing)  
Ivan LOZANO (MFA 2011)  
Jorge Lucero (BFA 2000)  
Victoria Martinez Harold Mendez 
Sofia Moreno (MFA)  
Nora Nieves (MFA 2010, Fiber and Material Studies)  
Josue Pellot 
Maddie Reyna (MFA 2013)  
Luis Romero (MFA 2001)  
Luis Sahagun  
Chris Silva  
Edra Soto (MFA 2000)  Rafael E. Vera (MFA 2002) 

Present Standard is a free exhibition!  Check it out at 78 E Washington St, Chicago.  The Cultural Center is open morning to evening every day!    

[saic-graduate-studies]

Monique Meloche Gallery Opens Sanford Biggers’ First Solo Show in Chicago

Sanford Biggers, Untitled, 2014.  Courtesy of Monique Meloche Website.  

The exhibition Winter Experiment, which celebrated SAIC’s 150th anniversary by featuring a range of sixteen late 20th and early 21st century SAIC alumni, closed on Saturday, January 30.  One of the artists included, Sanford Biggers (MFA 1999), will be the focus of the gallery’s upcoming exhibition, the pasts they brought with them, which opens on Thursday, February 11. 

Biggers, who is a TED Fellow for 2016, will be on hand for the opening reception: 5:00 - 7:30pm on February 11.     

From the Gallery Website: “On a large, horizontal, mounted quilt painting, collaged material buckles underneath Biggers’s abstracted motifs. With an emphasis placed on materiality, form, collage, and influences ranging from Miriam Schapiro to Frank Stella, the pasts they brought with them will feature this new series of transmogrified quilts alongside bronzed, deconstructed sculptures sourced from street vendors on 125th Street in Harlem. Narrative video works act as accompaniment to each of the sculptures, further elucidating the process Biggers’ figurines undergo.”

This will be Biggers’ first solo exhibition in Chicago. 

The Monique Meloche Gallery which has been a staunch supporter of SAIC artists over the last decade and a half is located at  2154 W. Division in Chicago.  Meloche herself is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute, as are all of her gallery staff!     

[saic-graduate-studies]

Mitsu Salmon Performs TSUCHI at High Concept Labs

Image courtesy of the event Facebook page.  

High Concept Labs Sponsored Artist Mitsu Salmon (MFA 2014) presents her multidisciplinary solo dance piece 'Tsuchi' on July 16th at High Concept Labs.

“Tsuchi' draws from Salmon’s grandfather’s experience growing up in Hawaii as a Japanese-American, and then as an American GI in Japan. The work explores questions of family and modernization through Butoh, Nihon Buyo (Japanese folk dance), contemporary dance, and everyday movements with music and text. Nihon Buyo and Butoh are heavily influenced by farming and a connection with the earth. Similarly, 'Tsuchi' examines earth and roots as connected to the body, heritage, and place.” The work is a collaboration between Salmon, sound artist Alyssa Moxley (MFA Sound 2014), accordionist Ryotaro and musician Kevin Carey.

Thurs, July 16, 2015 7 PM / $10 High Concept Labs Studio A 2233 S Throop St, Chicago, IL

Studio A is located on the 4th floor of Mana Contemporary Chicago. Enter the building through the glass doors on the east side of the building; ample and free parking is available.

[saic-graduate-studies]

Tony Lewis at Shane Campbell South Loop

Tony Lewis, uncredited image from the exhibition website. 

Opening Saturday July 11, 1-3pm and running through August 29, artist Tony Lewis (MFA 2012) will be exhibiting work in an exhibition entitled Pall at Shane Campbell Gallery South Loop.   

The South Loop Gallery is located at:  2021 S WABASH AVE, CHICAGO.  

[saic-graduate-studies]

WHEREVER at LVL3

Image courtesy of LVL3 website 

LVL3 and CHGO DSGN are excited to co-present WHEREVER, a group exhibition celebrating contemporary Chicago designers and their expansive influence.  

The show takes place at LVL3, 1542 N. Milwaukee Ave, 3rd Floor, Chicago and runs from July 11 through August 16.  Opening reception is Saturday, July 11 at 6pm.  LVL3 is directed by Vincent Uribe (BFA + BAVCS)

This exhibition explores “That pesky space between art and design.”

It was in Chicago “that the (commercial) artist emerged from the back rooms of the nation’s premier printers. Typographers, illustrators, layout artists, photographers, retouchers, linoleum cutters lived within proximity of the press rooms, and as a result their works were distributed everywhere the Chicago rail system stretched.

Today’s Chicago designers are no longer making their marks with the tools of the trade locally, they remain internet close WHEREVER.”   --Rick Valicenti  

The exhibition features the following artists:

Yuna Baek (BFA emphasis Designed Objects 2013) 

Adi Goodrich (BFA emphasis Painting and Drawing 2009)

James T. Green 

Emily Haasch (BFA Visual Communication Design 2013)

Andy Hall  (MFA 2000, current faculty) 

Clay Hickson (BFA Printmaking 2010) 

Cody Hudson 

Ania Jaworska 

Quinn Keaveney (BFA Visual Communication Design 2013)

Chad Kouri

Jason Pickleman 

John Pobojewski 

Alexa Viscius 

Bryce Wilner 

[saic-graduate-studies]

Radiance at Woman Made Gallery

Jessica Fu, Natural Light, 20x30in, Photo. Courtesy of the exhibition website. 

The exhibition Radiance opens July 10 at Woman Made Gallery and runs through August 20.  Radiance focuses on contemporary approaches and investigations into light in the broadest sense.  It will explore light as allegorical and metaphorical subject matter.  

The exhibition includes work from more than twenty participants, including the following SAIC-trained artists: 

Madeleine Bailey (MFA Painting and Drawing 2009)

Jessica Fu (MFA Fiber and Material Studies 2015) 

Anna Kunz (BFA 1991) 

Bobbie Meier (MFA Fiber and Material Studies 2011) 

Mike Nudelman (MFA Painting and Drawing 2009) 

Carly Ries (MFA Photography 2015) 

Allie Stone (BFA emphasis Fiber and Material Studies 2012) 

The gallery is located at 685 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago. The opening reception takes place on July 10, from 6 to 8pm

On view simultaneously in the lower level galleries is Aesthetics of Wellness, curated by Woman Made’s Executive Director Sydney Stoudmire.

[saic-graduate-studies]

Summer Exhibition at Richard Gray curated by SAIC Alumni

John Stezaker, Tabula Rasa XIII, 2006.

The Summer Exhibition at Chicago’s Richard Gray Gallery, entitled Body Building, opened to the public on July 6 and runs through August 14. 

Body Building exhibition examines relationships between the human body and the urban architectural environment. The group show draws on works from as early as 1917 to show recurring ways that artists use the built environment to interpret the human form, and how the body in turn becomes a lens for architecture.

The exhibition is curated by Gan Uyeda and Raven Munsell, both 2014 graduates from SAIC’s dual degree program in Art History and Arts Administration and Policy.  

The show features the following artists: 

José de Rivera

Malia Jensen 

Alex Katz

David Klamen

Ellen Lanyon 

Jim Lutes (MFA 1982) 

Robert Nickle 

Judith Rothschild

John Stezaker

John Storrs 

Richard Gray Gallery is located at 875 North Michigan Avenue Suite 3800, Chicago. 

[saic-graduate-studies]

Swinging Mind, Unfolded Senses opens at SUGS LNC

Jacqueline Weaver, Performance Sketch 1 (paint) from Borders Project, 2015. Courtesy of the artist’s website.

Swinging Mind, Unfolded Senses showcases artists from SAIC’s Low Residency MFA Program, now in its second summer.  If you are in Chicago do not miss this exciting group of international artists who call Chicago home for six weeks every summer.

Opening Reception: Friday, July 10, 4:00-5:30pm Location: LeRoy Neiman Center, Student Union Galleries, 37 South Wabash Avenue

Prompted by the novel Marius the Epicurean: His Sensations and Ideas (1885) by Walter Pater, this summer six artists from the MFA Low Residency program will explore sensations in relation to artistic process.  Each work in the MFA Low Residency Summer Exhibition is an intimate experience that uses the senses as a method of research.  The artists show how perception of materials and textures can reinterpret personal experience in time, space, and memory.  

Participating Artists: 

Mohamad Kanaan

Sandrine Schaefer

Jacqueline Weaver 

Caroline Wright

Kate Watson-Wallace 

Carly Zufelt 

Works juried by: 

Naomi Beckwith and Faheem Majeed  

The exhibition runs through July 24th.