Top 5 Trends of 2014 Casts of body parts Cultural appropriation Parenting Bricolage Glam —Matt Morris
Top 5 Controversies Joe Scanlan’s Donelle Woolford Terry Dowd’s art handlers struggling to unionize George Lucas’ proposed Museum of Narrative Art on the lakeshore David Bowie at the MCA rather than a more appropriate venue Hebru Brantley’s Tuskegee Airmen sculptures vandalized —Matt Morris
Top 5 Solo Exhibitions at the Art Institute that Kicked Ass This Year Christopher Williams Lucy McKenzie Ethel Stein René Magritte Sarah Charlesworth —Matt Morris
Top 5 Exhibitions in Alternative Galleries Gordon Hall at Night Club Tony Greene at Iceberg Projects Sebastian Black and India Donaldson at Queer Thoughts Doug Ischar at peregrineprogram Edra Soto at Lloyd Dobler —Matt Morris
Top 5 Photo Shows of the Year Susan Aurinko and Tammy Kohl, Takohl Gallery Sandra Binion, University Club of Chicago Elizabeth Ernst, Catherine Edelman Gallery Adam Holtzman, Alibi Fine Art Andre Kertesz, Stephen Daiter Gallery —Michael Weinstein
Top 5 Confrontations of the Male Gaze and Ugly Patriarchy Lise Baggesen’s “Mothernism” book and traveling tent installation Anne Collier’s photographs at the Museum of Contemporary Art Claire Arctander’s video work at Flat Space Chloe Seibert’s concrete faces and odalisque at Courtney Blades Barbara DeGenevieve’s oeuvre left behind after her untimely passing this year —Matt Morris
Top 5 Projects Demonstrating that Black Lives Matter Hank Willis Thomas’ public art project “Bench Marks” through Monique Meloche Mickalene Thomas at Kavi Gupta Deana Lawson at Rhona Hoffman How to Make A Hood at the Arts Incubator Paul Mpagi Sepuya’s residency at the Hyde Park Art Center —Matt Morris
Top 5 Overused Art Jargon Networks Contingency Body without organs Atemporal Social Formalism —Matt Morris
Top 5 Favorite Things for a Young Art Critic to Say to Even Younger Artists Casual mention of email correspondence with Important Art People. Requisition thoughts on show; revel in explanation still chitinous with art school hermetic. “Review? Send a show listing to my editor.” “Yes, of course I know gallery owners.” Disabuse them of the notion that their favorite artist doesn’t use assistants. —B. David Zarley
Top 5 Video Artworks Shown in Major Museums Isaac Julien’s “The Long Road to Mazatlàn” at the Art Institute of Chicago Wangechi Mutu’s “The End of eating Everything” at the Block Museum of Art Wu Tsang’s “Mishima in Mexico” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Lucy McKenzie’s “The Girl Who Followed Marple” at the Art Institute of Chicago Shirin Neshat’s “Turbulent” at the Museum of Contemporary Art —Matt Morris
Top 5 Bricolage exhibitions Isa Genzken at the Museum of Contemporary Art Josef Strau at the Renaissance Society Sabina Ott at the Chicago Cultural Center Claire Ashley and Cameron Harvey at O’Connor Art Gallery, Dominican University, Forest Park Laura Davis at the Elmhurst Museum of Art —Matt Morris
Top 5 New Gallery Projects Ordinary Projects Sector 2337 Kitchen Space Hidden Dog Regards, —Matt Morris
Top 5 Art and Fashion Mash Ups Lindsey Whittle’s #sageexperience at SAIC Diane Simpson’s sculptures (at Corbett vs. Dempsey and Monique Meloche) Clare E. Rojas’ dresses accompanying paintings at Kavi Gupta Vincent Tiley’s club kid body suits at elee.mosynary gallery BucketFeet’s artist-designed footwear —Matt Morris
Top 5 Painting Coups Michelle Grabner’s floor of the Whitney Biennial Magalie Guérin at Corbett vs. Dempsey Judy Ledgerwood at the Graham Foundation New Image Painting at Shane Campbell Gallery David Schutter at Rhona Hoffman Gallery —Matt Morris
Top 5 Chicago Art Web Projects Inside\Within Sandcastle Gallerista Contemporary Art Daily Painter Steven Husby’s many tumblrs —Matt Morris
Top 5 Gratifying Talks and Performances I Made It To William Pope.L’s barn yard animal panel “The Diversity Talk” at the MCA Precious Davis’ “Transgender History, Drag, and Transformation of Self” at SAIC Rashayla Marie Brown’s a capella megaphone performance at Terrain’s “Queen Bee” Liam Gillick at University of Chicago Val Jeanty and Douglas Kearney’s “Freedom of Shadow: A Tribute to Terry Adkins” at the Poetry Foundation —Matt Morris
Top 5 Floral Art Projects Morgan Manduley at Yautepec in the Chicago Artists Coalition’s EDITION fair Aron Gent at Devening Projects Dana Degiulio at Night Club Stephen Eichhorn at Johalla Projects Joshua Kent’s “The flowers of the field are free” —Matt Morris
Top 5 Curtains as Artworks Greg Ito’s “ease, breeze, beauty” at Hills Esthetic Center Latham Zearfoss’ “Preserve” at Iceberg Projects Corkey Sinks and Jamie Steele’s “Black Cauliflower” at Roots & Culture Wolfie E. Rawk’s Walking Dead montage in the windows of the Chicago Artists Coalition Columbia College’s Glass Curtain Gallery makeover —Matt Morris
Top 5 Artworks as Activism Maria Gaspar’s documentaries, research and conceptual projects about Cook County Jail and Little Village Laurie Jo Reynolds and Tamms Year Ten’s protests of Tamms C-MAX prison Michael Rakowitz’s engagements with Iraqi culture and American mis/conceptions Chances Dances’ inclusive parties, programming and funding opportunities for queer, trans*, and artists of color Theaster Gates mobilizing and revitalizing South Side communities, fostering growth for black artists and connecting spend-happy art economies with focused, localized social change —Matt Morris
Top 5 Art Spaces in Tiny Places Meg Duguid’s Clutch Gallery Lovey Town (technically based in Madison, Wisconsin) Loo (the gallery inside the bathroom at Slow, the alt space in Pilsen) The Thorne Collection of miniature interiors at the Art Institute Jesse Malmed’s Trunk Show —Matt Morris
Top 5 Drawing Shows Margaret Lee’s “Sometimes Maybe” at the Green Gallery, Oak Park Ryan M Pfeiffer + Rebecca Walz’s “Rebis Rebus” at peregrineprogram Nate Young’s “Diagrams with My Father” at Richard Gray and Valerie Carberry Lilli Carré’s moving drawing “The Negotiation” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Caroline Carlsmith’s graphite on limestone slab in “Archipelago” at the Block Museum of Art —Matt Morris
Top 5 Subversively Conceptual Crafters William J. O’Brien Mindy Rose Schwartz Victoria Martinez Sarah Beth Woods Chris Edwards —Matt Morris
Top 5 Sweater Weather Artists Mike Andrews Samantha Bittman Sam Jaffe Miller & Shellabarger (particularly their Pink Tube project) Karolina Gnatowski —Matt Morris
Top 5 Saints in Chicago “Saint Alicia” Florrick, Julianna Margulies’ protagonist on CBS’ Chicago-set “The Good Wife” Florine Stettheimer’s painting at the Art Institute that pays homage to Gertrude Stein’s “Four Saints in Three Acts” Hip-hop artist Saint Millie The edgy runway fashions imitated by clothier ALLSAINTS on Mag Mile A quiet year for the street gang the Almighty Saints —Matt Morris
Top 5 Chicago Decorative Painters Lina Caro Studio Ken Wilson, Kawcuts Studio Molly Cranch Diane Ponder, Living Room Projects Lydia Cash Studio —Michael Workman
Top 5 Chicago Alt/DIY Art Salons Handsome Squid Tritriangle Floor Length & Tux Dollhouse DIY Antena —Michael Workman
Top 5 Chicago Artists Print Presses Spudnik Press Dan Estep & Jessica Rosenbaum, Flooding Factory Ryan Duggan, Drug Factory Press We Are Fatherless Tandem Felix —Michael Workman
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