
Kerry James Marshall, A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self, 1980. Steven and Deborah Lebowitz. Photo: Matthew Fried, © MCA Chicago.
It’s been a pretty weird year, but thankfully the art in Chicago has been pretty damn good. Here are Newcity Art ‘s Top 5 picks for 2016:
Top 5 Shows That Will Go Down in Chicago’s Art History
“Kerry James Marshall: Mastry” at the Museum of Contemporary Art
“Norman Lewis: Procession” at the Chicago Cultural Center
“Moholy-Nagy: Future Present” at the Art Institute of Chicago
“Present Standard” at the Chicago Cultural Center
“Barbara Rossi: Eye Owe You!” at the DePaul Art Museum
—(Elliot Reichert)
Top 5 Shows Newcity Didn’t Review
“Biennial: Chicago Statements” at the Elmhurst Art Museum
“Krista Franklin: Quest for The Marvelous” at the Chicago Cultural Center
“Lan Tuazon: Future Fossils” at Julius Caesar
“Danny Giles: Lyric” at Andrew Rafacz Gallery
Courttney Cooper at Western Exhibitions
—(Elliot Reichert)

Sanford Biggers. “Hat & Beard,” 2016. Glitter, tar, acrylic, oil stick, spray paint, assorted textiles, and screen printed fabric on antique quilts, 79 x 79 inches.
Top Five Commercial Gallery Shows
“Sanford Biggers: the pasts they brought with them” at Monique Meloche
Diane Simpson at Corbett vs. Dempsey
“Gabriela Salazar: Eye of Palm” at Efrain Lopez Gallery
“Harold Mendez: At night we walk in circles” at PATRON
“John Preus: The Relative Appetite of Hungry Ghosts” at Rhona Hoffman Gallery
—(Elliot Reichert)

Sabina Ott. Installation view of “who cares for the sky?” at Hyde Park Art Center, 2016. /Photo: Michael Soto.
Top Five Shows at Alternative or Nonprofit Art Spaces
“Sabina Ott: Who Cares for the Sky?” at the Hyde Park Art Center
“Sapphire” at Weinberg/Newton Gallery
“David Leggett: Black Drawls” at Gallery 400
“Iris Bernblum: Today is a New Day” at the Chicago Artists Coalition
“iDon’t” at Slow Gallery
—(Elliot Reichert)
Elliot Josephine Leila Reichert is a curator, critic and editor. She is the inaugural Curator of Contemporary Art at the Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University. She was formerly Curatorial Fellow at the Chicago Artists Coalition, Art Editor of Newcity and Assistant Curator at the Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University.