CHICAGO—The second city, the windy city, or simply chi-town. Whatever you call it, fall is the perfect time of year to visit this Midwestern gem before the infamously harsh winter sets in. Hugging the shore of Lake Michigan, and with ample parks and green areas including Millennium Park, which was updated in 2004 with a Gehry-designed amphitheater, Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain, and Anish Kapoor’s hugely popular and highly reflective Cloud Gate (2004–06), Chicago offers a mix of great restaurants, unique shops, and engaging artwork, often found in unexpected places.

In addition to being the birthplace of the Chicago Imagists movement and staking claim to outsiders like Henry Darger, Chicago fosters a large and diverse scene of commercial contemporary-art galleries, as well as a vibrant alternative gallery scene with projects popping up everywhere from apartments to garages to empty warehouses and storefronts. Chicago is a great place to stop by and sample everything it’s best known for, but it’s also worthwhile to take the path less traveled and search out pockets of artistic production off the beaten path.

Go:

SOFA (Sculpture Objects & Functional Art) Fair
WHAT: Started in 1994 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers with 58 exhibitors, the SOFA fair moved to its current location at Navy Pier in 1995. Now in its 16th year, with 68 dealers from 10 countries, the fair continues to be the place to be to see highly crafted objects of both decorative and fine arts.
WHEN: Nov. 6–8, 2009
WHERE: Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, 600 E. Grand Avenue
HIGHLIGHTS: This year is the inaugural year of SOLO at SOFA, which will install large-scale, immersive artworks throughout the fair. Returning will be the lecture series, with over 30 scheduled talks, and the always impressive onsite demonstrations in glassblowing and woodworking. The fair will offer five onsite exhibitions, including a tribute, “The Legacy Continues: Sam Maloof Woodworking,” with hand-crafted furniture designed by the late Maloof alongside works of artisans continuing his in his tradition, including Larry White, David Wade, and Mike Johnson.

Art Chicago and NEXT
WHAT: Founded in 1980, Art Chicago is one of America’s longest-running contemporary art fairs. After moving from Navy Pair to Grant Park in 2005, the fair gained its current residence when it was bought by the Merchandise Mart in 2006. In 2008 the NEXT Art Fair, which focuses on emerging artists, joined Art Chicago in the sprawling Mart.
WHEN: April 30 – May 3, 2010
WHERE: The Merchandise Mart, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza
HIGHLIGHTS: In 2010 the very successful “Partisan,” an exhibition of social and political art launched in 2008, will return. The exhibition will be organized by Mary Jane Jacob, the independent curator and executive director of exhibitions at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who also oversaw the 2009 edition, and will feature artwork selected from Art Chicago and NEXT exhibitors. Together the fairs will also present Converge Chicago Contemporary Curators Forum, taking place in the middle of the NEXT floor with an advisory committee including James Rondeau, Hamza Walker, Franklin Sirmans, Julie Rodriguez-Windholm, and Anthony Huberman. NEXT is also planning a gallery section called “The Spanish Edge,” with 10 young Spanish galleries and publications, and Goffo, which focuses on multiples, editions, artist books, prints, and handmade objects.

Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago
WHAT: Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, this elegant 264,000-square-foot addition to the Art Institute of Chicago, which opened in May, took 10 years from design to completion and cost $294 million. The wing houses the museum’s collections of modern European painting and sculpture, contemporary art, architecture and design, and photography.
WHEN: Mon.– Fri. 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursdays open until 8 pm. Weekends 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
WHERE: 111 South Michigan Avenue
HIGHLIGHTS: The fervor of anticipation for this new wing was eclipsed only by the city residents’ pride once it was completed. Artist Melanie Schiff describes her reaction to the new wing as something that makes her a little “choked up when she thinks about it,” and “proud of Chicago,” sentiments which are reflected by many locals. According to gallery owner Tony Wight, “The clever elegance of Renzo Piano’s architecture is the perfect complement to the Art Institute’s substantial holdings in modern and contemporary Art, providing James Rondeau a myriad of opportunities to flex his curatorial muscles.”