EXCHANGE BY NORTHERN TRUST: AN INTERACTIVE CONVERSATION AROUND THE ART OF COLLECTING

Exchange by Northern Trust: An Interactive Conversation Around the Art of Collecting is a series that presents panels on the contemporary art market and its current trends. For the 2024 edition of EXPO CHICAGO, the Exchange Stage hosted four panels on the contemporary art market and current trends including supporting artists legacies and how to build a meaningful collection.

CONDITION REPORT | THE LEGACY OF SCOTT BURTON 

Panelists | Gordon Hall (Artist, DOCUMENT), Jess Wilcox (Independent Curator), Jeremy Johnston (Darling Green). Introduced by Brayton Alley (Regional Manager of Wealth Strategies Group, Wealth Management | Central Region) 

This dialogue focuses on the work of artist Scott Burton (1939–1989) and his engagement with performance in the public sphere through his ambitious sculptural installations made in the 1980s. Burton developed a signature sculptural and performative grammar that focused on public life, body language, and human interactions within the built environment. This insistence on the primacy of everyday life has, to some extent, left his public installations vulnerable and subject to misreading. The removal and alteration of several of Burton’s public commissions constitutes a significant loss, especially when considering parallels between the AIDS crisis and the erasure of these monumental works which are viewed as significant LGBTQ landmarks. Curator Jess Wilcox joins the conversation to discuss the upcoming exhibition at the Pulitzer Art Foundation, Scott Burton, opening Fall 2024.

PRACTICES IN SELF-TAUGHT ART  

Panelists | Ashley Duchossois Joyce (Collector), Dr. David Walega (Collector), Deb Kerr (President & CEO, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art), Rudy Aronoff (Vice President Chicago Office, Heritage Auctions). Moderated by Annalise Flynn (Independent Curator). Introduced by Juan Alonso (Chief Banking Officer, Wealth Management | East Region) 

Deb Kerr, President and CEO of Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, collectors Ashley Duchossois Joyce and Dr. David Welega, and Vice President of Heritage Auctions Rudy Aronoff in conversation about best practices for collecting outsider, self-taught, and vernacular art. Duchossiois and her partner, Mike Joyce, are members of Intuit committed to building a collection of self-taught artists. Featured in their collection are esteemed outsider artists Henry Darger, Lee Godie, Bill Traylor, and William L. Hawkins, among many more. Dr. David Walega has been collecting outsider and contemporary art and supporting living artists for nearly 30 years, an interest that began with universal outsider art. Aronoff specializes in prints from historic Chicago art movements and will provide a secondary-market perspective on collecting self-taught art. The panel is moderated by Annalise Flynn, an independent curator and arts administrator based in Wisconsin whose research centers artist-built environments and the vernacular landscape. 

Presented in partnership with Heritage Auctions. 

THE GUARDIANS OF ART | DEALING, COLLECTING, AND STEWARDING PRINTS

Panelists | Dani Levinas (Collector, Author - The Guardians of Art: Conversations with Major Collectors), David Cleaton-Roberts (Director, Cristea Roberts Gallery), Monica Brown (Vice President, Head of Department, Prints and Multiples, Freeman’s | Hindman). Moderated by Phil Sanders (Master Printer). Introduced by Dennise Pentecostes (Banking Relationship Advisor, Wealth Management)

Dani Levinas, former chair of The Phillips Collection’s board, prominent collector, and champion of Latin American modern and contemporary art, in a discussion on print collecting practices alongside David Cleaton-Roberts, formerly the Vice President of International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) and the current director of Cristea Roberts, a leading international contemporary art gallery dedicated to publishing, cataloguing, exhibiting and dealing in original prints and works on paper by its roster of over 30 important international artists and artists’ estates. Monica Brown, the vice president and department lead of prints and multiples at Freeman’s | Hindman, a legacy auction house based in Chicago will give her perspective on the current market of prints both locally and nationally. The conversation is moderated by master printer Phil Sanders.

Presented in partnership with Freeman’s | Hindman. 

With deep sadness we report that collector Dani Levinas, one of the panelists featured in this year’s program, passed away since this recording was made. EXPO CHICAGO is grateful for his contribution and support for our programs. 

BUILDING A CHICAGO-BASED COLLECTION

Panelists | Yesomi Umolu (Arts Leader, Independent Curator) and Anita Blanchard (Collector). Introduced by Marguerite H. Griffin (Director, Philanthropic Advisory Services)

Collector Anita Blanchard and Yesomi Umolu, arts leader and independent curator, in a discussion on relationship-based collecting and Chicago’s influence. Richard  Hunt, Theaster Gates, Kerry James Marshall, Amanda Williams, Shani Crowe, and Dawoud Bey are among the beloved Chicagoans Blanchard situates in her collection. Together, Blanchard and Umolu (recent Director of Curatorial Affairs and Public Practice at Serpentine in London) discuss legacies of Black cultural production and institution building in Chicago, addressing the rich history of support that exists between artists and their patrons, and the lesser-known artists and cultural producers that have shaped the city.   

HERITAGE WINE TASTINGS

During the 2024 edition of EXPO CHICAGO, Heritage Auctions hosted two focused wine tastings that explored the evolution of a vintage with celebrated sommelier and James Beard Award finalist, Michael Madrigale, Director of Rare Wine at Heritage Auctions.