Widewalls
By Elena Martinique 

EXPO CHICAGO 2018, the International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, enters its seventh year as a leading international art fair. Returning to Navy Pier ’s Festival Hall in Chicago this September.

This year, the fair will bring together 135 leading international exhibitors presented alongside one of the highest quality platforms for global contemporary art and culture. Its diverse programming will include /Dialogues, IN/SITU, IN/SITU Outside, EXPO VIDEO, the Curatorial Forum, the Art Critics Forum, Special Exhibitions, EXPO Sound and OVERRIDE | A Billboard Project.

In addition, there will be the first-ever interview marathontitled Creative Chicago, hosted by Hans Ulrich Obrist and presented by the Chicago Humanities Festival. A first-ever in the US, the program is funded by The Terra Foundation for American Art’s year-long initiative Art Design Chicago, and in alignment with EXPO CHICAGO at Navy Pier.

Under the leadership of President and Director Tony Karman, EXPO CHICAGO 2018 continues to draw upon the city’s rich history as a vibrant international cultural destination, while highlighting the region’s contemporary arts community and inspiring its collector base.

The Exhibitors of EXPO CHICAGO 2018

This year’s edition of EXPO CHICAGO will welcome 135 leading international exhibitors, including strong returning galleries and notable first-time additions representing 27 countries and 63 cities from around the world.

Highlights of the program include Gavin Brown’s enterprise from New York and Rome; Carbon12 from Dubai, first-ever gallery to participate from the UAE, with solo presentation of Sara Rahbar; Daniel Faria Gallery from Toronto, featuring Douglas Coupland and Kristine Moran; GALLERY HYUNDAI from Seoul; Instituto de Visión from Bogotá, first ever participating gallery from Colombia, featuring Nicolas Consuegra and Marlon de Azambuja; Kalfayan Galleries from Athens, Thessaloniki; Martos Gallery from New York, with solo presentation of recent New York Artadia awardee Jessica Vaughn; Mendes Wood DM from São Paulo, Brussels and New York, with a solo presentation of Brazilian artist Paulo Nazareth; Nahmad Projects from London, focusing on the work of Dutch-American artist Jan Frank; PKM Gallery from Seoul; Stuart Shave / Modern Art from London; Galerie Barbara Thumm from Berlin, with solo presentation of Teresa Burga; and Yares Art from New York, Palm Springs and Santa Fe, featuring seminal artists from the Color Field school.

Among returning galleries to EXPO CHICAGO are BorzoGallery from Amsterdam and GRIMM from Amsterdam, New York, presenting a solo exhibition of historical works by Dutch artist Ger van Elk; Rena Bransten Gallery from San Francisco and Stephen Daiter Gallery from Chicago, with a solo presentation of MacArthur Fellow Dawoud Bey; Ceysson & Bénétière from Paris, Saint-Étienne, Luxembourg and New York; Richard Gray Gallery from Chicago and New York; Edwynn Houk Gallery from New York, Zürich; Paul Kasmin Gallery from New York; David Lewis Gallery from New York, with historic works by Thornton Dial and Mary Beth Edelson; Perrotin from New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai, among others.

In addition to the showcase of leading international galleries, EXPO CHICAGO 2018 will feature various sections including EXPOSURE, dedicated to solo and two artist presentations by galleries eight years and younger, curated by Creative Time Executive Director Justine Ludwig; PROFILE, highlighting single-artist installations and focused thematic exhibitions by established international galleries; Editions + Books, featuring artist books, editions, and multiples; and Special Exhibitions, highlighting curated booths by non-profit organizations.

The Program of EXPO CHICAGO

Alongside the gallery program, EXPO CHICAGO 2018 will present IN/SITU, EXPO VIDEOand EXPOSURE programs.

Curated by Pablo León de la Barra, Curator at large, Latin America, IN/SITU features large-scale, suspended sculptures and site-specific works installed within the expansive, vaulted architecture of Navy Pier’s Festival Hall.

Curated by Anna Gritz, KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin Curator, EXPO VIDEO features a dynamic, curated screening program for film, video and new media works by artists represented by 2018 exhibitors.

Curated by Justine Ludwig for the second year, Deputy Director/Chief Curator at Dallas Contemporary, the EXPOSURE section will be installed on the main floor of the exposition, featuring solo and two-artist presentations represented by galleries eight years and younger.

As part of the /Dialogues programming presented in partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, EXPO CHICAGO will present continuous programming open to all visitors throughout each day of the fair, providing multiple opportunities to attend provocative artistic discourse. The program will bring together leading international artists, curators, scholars and arts professionals, presenting some of the most engaging, thought-provoking discussions in modern and contemporary art.

Highlights of the EXPO CHICAGO program include conversations with artists Dawoud Bey on the Underground Railroad, Iván Navarro on Institutional Structures of Power, Sean Raspet on Immersion and the Senses, Dr. Daniel Berger on the ART+Positive Archives, Panel on the U.S. Pavilion Dimensions of Citizenship at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, and Select Book Signings with Leading Publishers. Additional /Dialogues programming includes the Symposium Present Histories with Performance by Brendan Fernandes, Torkwase Dyson and Kay Rosen on the Feminist History of Alternative Spaces, Theaster Gates on the Johnson Publishing Archives, Founding Member of AfriCOBRA Gerald Williams with the Terra Foundation for American Art’s Initiative Art Design Chicago, and Exchange by Northern Trust: An Interactive Conversation Around the Art of Collecting to Feature Leading Art Market Professionals.

Practical Information

EXPO CHICAGO 2018 will take place at Navy Pier ’s Festival Hall in Chicago from September 27th until September 30th, 2018. The vernissage with a benefit for the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, presented by the MCA Women’s Board will be held on Thursday, September 27th, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The doors of the fair will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

The price of the One-Day Pass will be $20, the Three-Day Pass will be $30, while a Guided Tour + One-Day Pass will be $20.