1. Luke Aleckson and Matt McAuliffe at The Suburban

125 N. Harvey Ave.
Sunday 2-4 PM.

2. Book Release Party: Composition 2 / Color Studies at  Center for Book & Paper Arts

Book of works by Tom Burtonwood

1104 S. Wabash, 2nd Fl.
Friday 5-8 PM

3. Tape: A Celebration at Chicago Art Department

Work by Chris Silva, Chuck Przybyl, Teppei Katori, Lisa Chiodini, Frederic Moffet, Todd Frugia, Clifford Novey, Jason Frohlichstein, Timothy Olson, Edyta Stepien, Agnieszka Kulon, Mark Salach, Dandee Petr, Benjamin Thorp, Martin Rille, and Nat Soti.

1932 S. Halsted St. #100
Friday 6-10 PM.

4. Dominion at Eel Space

Work by Amy Babinec, Jessica Taylor Caponigro, and Neal Vandenbergh.

1906 S Throop St #2F
Saturday 6-9 PM.

5. Inaugural Exhibition Opening at Fulton Market Gallery

Group exhibition of gallery artists.

310 N. Peoria St.
Friday 6-10 p.m.

1. The Chicago Project IV at Catherine Edelman Gallery

Work by Matt Austin, Justyna Badach, Jeremy Bolen, Dan Bradica, Troy Flinn, Lenny Gilmore, Wm. Bradley Johnson, Nate Mathews, Bill O’Donnell, TJ Proechel, Charlie Simokaitis and Shane Welch.

Catherine Edelman Gallery is located at 300 W. Superior St. Reception is Friday from 5-8pm.

2. Animality at DOVA Temporary Gallery

Work by Marius Aleksa, Theresa Ganz, Sara Garth, David Giordano, Jacqueline Hendrickson, Samantha Jones, Stacee Kalmanovsky, Melanie Kassel, Jessie Mott, Jasmine Neal, Elle Opitz, Hannah Pae, Valentina Solano, Cassandra Troyan, Jan Verwoert, Erik Wenzel and May Yeung.

DOVA Temporary Gallery is located at 5228 S. Harper Ave. Reception is Friday from 5-7:30pm.

3. Keepin’ it Real at HungryMan Gallery

Work by Petra Cortright, Thomson Dryjanski, Derek Frech and Bob Myaing, Aaron Graham, and Mac Katter.

HungryMan Gallery is located at 2135 N Rockwell St. Reception is Friday from 7-10pm.

4. Ethridge, Jakschik, Wood at Shane Campbell Gallery (Chicago)

Work by Roe Ethridge, Margarete Jakschik and Jonas Wood.

Shane Campbell Gallery (Chicago) is located at 673 N Milwaukee Ave. Reception is Saturday 6-8pm.

5. Au Plein Air at The Suburban

Work by Simon Ingram and Doug Melini.

The Suburban is located at 125 N. Harvey Ave. Reception is Sunday from 2-4pm.

1. The Swimsuit Edition: A Visceral Body at Swimming Pool Project Space

Curated by Lisa Majer.

Swimming Pool Project Space is located at 120 N Green St #5E. Reception is Friday from 7-10pm.

2. Duncan Anderson at Firecat Projects

Allegorical sculptures.

Firecat Projects is located at 2124 N. Damen Ave. Reception is Friday from 7-9pm.

3. New Art From New Orleans at Western Exhibitions

Work by Stephen Collier, Brian Guidry, and Rachel Jones.

Western Exhibitions is located at 119 N. Peoria St., suite 2A. Reception is Friday from 5-8pm.

4. 100 Foot Ride at Happy Collaborationists Exhibition Space

Work by Alexander Stewart.

Happy Collaborationists Exhibition Space is located at 1254 N. Noble St. Reception is Saturday from 6-10pm.

5. Ruth Root and Miranda Lichtenstein at The Suburban

New works out in Oak Park.

The Suburban is located at 125 N Harvey Ave. Reception is Sunday from 2-4pm.

Because I have a four and three quarters year old daughter, I was intrigued by the email I received from The Suburban announcing a one-day only “Holiday Experience” for kids and grownups alike. We were invited to come and Sit On A Polar Bear’s Lap. The event was billed as “a project by Diego Leclery,” a well-known Chicago artist who also co-runs the alternative space Julius Caesar.

Since The Polar Bear looms large in our house (my husband runs the endangered species program of a national environmental group) I thought, what the hell, I’ll bring my daughter and check it out. It couldn’t be any creepier than Santa Claus, could it? (Since we’re Jewish, my child has never had the terrifying privilege of being forced to sit on Santa’s lap whilst bored teens in elf costumes took her picture). But since I wasn’t sure what to expect, I kept it vague and told my daughter we were going to do “this polar bear thing” during the afternoon and left it at that. A part of me was worried that the project–whatever form it took–would feel cynical in some way, and though I’m all for overturning fake holiday cheer in appropriate contexts, I didn’t want my kid to be the butt of the joke. But this Polar Bear was nothing like that at all.

In fact this Polar Bear…I’m not (too) embarrassed to admit that this Polar Bear was truly magical. At least he was for my daughter. She couldn’t get enough of the huge, cuddly fellow and I literally had to drag her out of the room so that other kids (and adults) could have their turn sitting on his lap. She got in line to visit the Polar Bear three separate times.

“Is the Polar Bear a machine?” she kept asking me. “No,” I said – “he is a living creature. Can’t you tell by the way he was hugging you?”

“So it was alive?” she asked. “Yes,” I responded, “he was alive. I’m pretty sure it was a he anyway.”

“But how did a Polar Bear come all the way from the North Pole?”

“Well,” I said, thinking fast — because she already knows Santa isn’t real and I kinda wanted to give her something — “well, this is a special kind of Polar Bear. That’s why he’s here. He is different from other Polar Bears.”

“Yes, mama…he is sooo kind! If he was a different Polar Bear he would probably try to kill me.”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

For me, the Polar Bear brought a number of things to mind–from Temple Grandin’s “squeeze machine” to the culture of fear that the media has built around children and adults and physical expressions of affection, to the fact that environmental groups crafting media campaigns are forced to rely on a few highly photogenic “charismatic critters”–like the Polar Bear–in order to get the general public to care about environmental issues like species decimation and global warming.

But for my daughter, the Polar Bear wasn’t conceptual or referential. It was real, and it made her so happy. So thank you Polar Bear. That was a really sweet thing you did.

I am so tired. Regardless, here are the picks…

1. Big Sky at 65Grand - 

Work by Jerome Acks.

65Grand is located at 1369 W. Grand Ave. Reception is Friday (tonight) from 7-10pm. 

2. YOU ARE LOOKING AT ART ABOUT LOOKING AT ART at Noble and Superior Projects - 

Work by Joseph Grigely, Eric Fleischauer, Jason Lazarus, and Anonymous.

Noble and Superior Projects is located at 1418 W Superior St, 2R. Reception is Friday (tonight) from 6-10pm. 

3. New Work at Monique Meloche Gallery - 

Work by Justin Cooper, Robert Davis/Michael Langlois, Jason Middlebrook, Karen Reimer, Joel Ross, and Carrie Schneider.

Monique Meloche Gallery is located at 2154 W. Division St. Reception is Saturday from 4-7pm. 

4. Double Exposure (House Portrait Number 1.) & Rise over Run at What It Is - 

Work by Katya Grokhovsky, Mara Baker and Rafael E. Vera.

What It Is is located at 1155 S Lyman Ave in Oak Park. Reception is Saturday from 5-9pm. 

5. Ethan Breckenridge / Sean Dack at The Suburban - 

Work by, you guessed it, Ethan Breckenridge and Sean Dack.

The Suburban is located at 125 N Harvey Ave in Oak Park. Reception is Sunday from 2-4pm.