The School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Spring BFA show

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Sullivan Gallery

33 South State Street, 7th floor, Chicago, IL

Young talent on display

Every year the senior undergraduate class from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) commandeers the largest gallery space located on campus for their thesis show, and every year it is a total riot. Running until April 1st with over 280 artists on view there is no rhyme or reason tying the work together. Instead it’s a sort of circus cum salon with all types of objects and all types of ideas packing the vast gallery space to capacity. The diversity of the work is what’s truly exhilarating with sophisticated displays of painting, drawing, photography, video, sculpture, installation, text and ever more indiscernible things.

Student work of this caliber is uncommon which is what makes the show so worth investigating. These are not artists who have been taught to be impressive for the sake of nothing, critical is what characterizes this work which is why despite the density of the show it still manages to feel light. Work is delicate and understated, impact without being crass and this is all due to the confidence of the artists have in themselves and their audience . Education cultivates a voice and the ability to make decisions sparingly according to the material and content and this show is definitely a victory for SAIC and it’s graduating class.

Work is not explicitly made for sale at this event but the name and contact information of the artists are made available with prices being negotiable upon request. For anyone who is interested what young artists are making, or what arts education looks like this show is:

Highly Recommended.

Ciar O’Mahony

E-mail, [email protected]

Date Reviewed: Friday March 18th 2016