This fall, feminist perspectives, generally, and women artists, particularly, take over the Chicago arts scene. It wasn’t planned by the city, a museum conglomerate or even one of the local academies; it just worked out that way. That’s grass roots, baby.
“Jessica Stockholder: Door Hinges,” “ASSISTED” and “Rose’s Inclination”: In previous projects, Stockholder has used brilliant, blocky swaths of paint to marshal old sofas and lamps, refrigerator doors, aisles of plastic housewares, sidewalk grates, shipping containers and even a city intersection into a dynamic whirlwind zippy enough to knock your socks off. The results feels happy, ruthless and generous all at once. At Kavi Gupta, her new sculptures will act as “Assists” for work by 16 other artists, including Polly Apfelbaum and Sol Lewitt; at the Smart, she’ll wallop the prim lobby, bursting out into the garden and beyond. September 12-January 16, Kavi Gupta, 219 Elizabeth St., 312-432-0708, www.kavigupta.com; September 12-July 2, Smart Museum of Art, 5550 S.
“Irena Haiduk: Seductive Exacting Realism”: Under a title that threatens to create its own terrifying movement, of which she may be
the first member, Haiduk presents a song sung by two hired voices. The original duet was an interview the artist recorded with Srda
Popovic, a winningly handsome Serbian political activist and consultant who titled his TED talk “How to topple a dictator.” Will the
tune be danceable? Certainly it’ll be catchy. Watch out. September 10-October 8, The Renaissance Society, 5811 S. Ellis Ave., 773-
702-8670, www.renaissancesociety.org
