TOP 5 LISTS for 2013

Guest Post by Britton Bertran

I didn’t get out to see a lot art in Chicago this year as I was too happily busy being a Dad to the best little boy in the world.  Nonetheless, here are some lists of what I did see, what I didn’t, some predictions and some things I’m anticipating.  I know we all have a love/hate with these kinds of lists, but this should be pretty easy to digest.  Click on those links.

Exhibitions I saw:

1. Amalia Pica at the MCA
2. Fragment: Sampling the Modern at the Elmhurst Art Museum
3. Wendy White at Andrew Rafacz
4. Andrew Holmquist at Carrie Secrist Gallery
5. David Salle: Ghost Paintings at The Arts Club of Chicago

Best Spaces:

1. Queer Thoughts
2. Roots & Culture
3. Western Exhibitions
4. LVL3
5. PLHK

“Emerging” artists:

1. Matthew Schlagbaum
2. Kate Ruggeri
3. Allison Wade
4. Alice Tippit
5. Danny Giles

WTF moments:

1. Vivian Maier
2. EXPO Chicago
3. AIC’s Modern Wing’s closed 3^rd floor
4. The Way of the Shovel at the MCA
5. Chicago Sculpture International’s Sculpture on the Boulevards

Exhibitions/Events I didn’t see:

1. RH Quaytman at the Renaissance Society
2. Medium Cool
3. Steve McQueen at the AIC
4. Matt Nichols at Corbett vs. Dempsey
5. Mike Andrews at The Suburban

Anticipating in 2014:

1. The Whitney Biennial
2. William J. O’Brien at the MCA
3. Christopher Wool at the AIC
4. Christopher Williams at the AIC
5. A new permanent space for Threewalls

2014 Predictions:

1. The Whitney Biennial fails in the eyes of critics
2. A major commercial gallery in Chicago will close, another will open
3. A storied institution will lose it’s curator
4. A galvanizing work of public art will really piss people off
5. A better year than 2013

HAPPY 2014!

Bio: Britton Bertran ran 40000 from 2005 to 2008. He currently is an Instructor at SAIC in the Arts Administration and Policy department and the Educational Programs Manager at Urban Gateways. An occasional guest-curator, he has organized exhibitions for the Hyde Park Art Center, the Loyola Museum of Art and several galleries. You can find him trying to be less cranky about the art world on twitter @br_tton.