A Self-Guided Public Art Tour
As galleries and museums remain closed for the time being, we’ve been thinking of ways in which we can still view art in our community. We recently posted a blog about ways to view museum and gallery exhibitions through virtual tours online, but as the weather is getting nicer we want to highlight destinations in Chicago to view public art and sculpture. Many public artworks are situated within some of the City’s closed lakefront-adjacent parks--like Cloud Gate (The Bean), Crown Fountain, and Agora--so we compiled other works that you can enjoy throughout the City. Experienced as a self-guided tour, below are spots we would recommend that range from street art--literal art in the street--to sculpture by both world-renowned artists as well as local favorites. Of course, keep your distance and stay safe should you venture out.
Cole Pierce Mural in Rogers Park, 1270 W. Albion Ave.
Funded by Ward 49, Cole Pierce painted this 60’ x 11’ mural in the Rogers Park neighborhood at Albion and Lakewood. The colorful and gradient geometric mural was completed in 2016. Pierce’s use of geometry is informed by the Op Art movement of the late twentieth century, however he also confronts the movement’s errorless and measured precedent by implementing subtle imperfections.
Tony Tasset’s Snow Sculpture in West Town, 1613 W. Chicago Ave.
This prestigious Chicago-based conceptual artist often repurposes familiar objects. Located within a Chicago Public Library’s windows, Tasset’s sculpture is a realistic representation of a dirty Chicago snow pile. The sculpture is made of debris--like coffee cups and matchbooks--and reflects on the ugly and the beautiful. Hopefully this is the closest we get to seeing a snow pile in Chicago for a few months.
Jim Bachor’s Mosaic Potholes, Example in West Town at 815 N. Paulina ST.
In 2013, Chicago artist Jim Bachor began a series of work in response to the City’s overwhelming pothole problem. Bachor fills potholes with glass and marble mosaic tiles as an artful solution to the bumpy problem. What first started as a few small street mosaics outside of his home has now turned into a larger, city-wide project. His work occasionally gets paved over and lost, but this is one that can be found near our office in West Town.
Eduardo Kobra’s Mural of Vivian Maier at 1651 W. North Ave.
Renowned Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra donated his time and materials to realize a colorful portrait of Vivian Maier. Kobra’s mural celebrates Maier, the popular street photographer whose work was discovered after her passing in 2009. Kobra recreates a self-portrait Maier took with a camera looped around her neck. The tribute is located on the wall of a Wicker Park residence owned by a local art collecting family.
Alexander Calder’s Flamingo in Federal Plaza, 230 S. Dearborn St.
Flamingo was created by American artist Alexander Calder in 1973 and officially installed the following year. The vermilion red arching structure stands 53 feet tall and is located in Federal Plaza in front of the Kluczynski Federal Building. The signature color is also coined as “Calder red” and stands out against the backdrop of black office buildings designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Flamingo was the first work of art commissioned by the General Services Administration under the federal Percent for Art program, which allocates a percentage of a project's budget to public art.
Kerry James Marshall, 78 E. Washington St. (West side of the building)
In 2017, local artist and MacArthur Fellow, Kerry James Marshall painted this 132-foot by 100-foot mural "RUSH MORE" on the side of the Chicago Cultural Center on Garland Court, between Washington and Randolph Streets. The mural celebrates 20 women who have been influential to Chicago's arts and cultural community, from Oprah Winfrey to Goodman Theatre cofounder Cheryl Lynn Bruce.