Exhibitions / Past Exhibitions

Seventy-eight exhibitions, fourteen years, one small gallery

From protest art and Permanent Collection surveys to textile installations and community workshops — browse the full run, including what's on view and coming up, or filter by year.

Installation view of Home Grown Vol. III, featuring natural pigments, dyes, and plant-based artwork

Home Grown Vol. III

July 11 – September 6, 2026

Details

Curated by Lauren Iacoponi

Midwest artists explore the entanglement of human and plant life through natural pigments, dyes, plant reliefs, and organic materials. West Gallery.

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Artwork from the exhibition It Will Destroy You

It Will Destroy You

February 13 – April 19, 2026

Details

Curated by Samiah Fulcher & Isaiah Lee

Contemporary artists examine the deconstruction of systems and structures governing our lives, working across painting, sculpture, installation, and video.

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Artwork from Ellen Lustig: Transformations

Ellen Lustig: Transformations

2026

Details

A career survey of drawing, painting, sculpture, and multimedia installation, blending Pop Surrealism with Chicago Imagist influences.

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UIMA gallery interior

Between Voice and Silence

May 1 – June 28, 2025

Details

Ukrainian and American artists explore empathy and humanity in times of crisis, honoring fallen Ukrainian poet Maksym Kryvtsov. West Gallery.

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Ceramic work from the exhibition Black Women and Clay

Black Women and Clay

September 20 – November 16, 2025

Details

Seven Black female ceramic artists from Chicago address underrepresentation in museums while celebrating identity, community, and social justice.

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Painting of a coral reef from the exhibition Lichen & Coral

Lichen & Coral: Algae Symbiosis on Land and Sea

2025

Details

Sandra Wilcoxon and Margot McMahon explore the symbiotic relationships between algae, lichen, and coral amid climate threats.

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Graphic for the exhibition Our Story Is One

Our Story Is One: Maryam Safajoo

2025

Details

Paintings documenting the persecution of Baha'is in Iran since the 1979 revolution, paired with artifacts from imprisoned Baha'is.

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Installation view of Immense Journeys, featuring sculptural paper and mixed media works inspired by nature

Immense Journeys: Art, Nature, Science and Beyond

January 13 – March 3, 2024

Details

Melissa Jay Craig, Lisa A. Frank, and Anne Hughes explore nature through sculptural hand-made paper, layered textile photography, and abstract mark-making.

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UIMA gallery interior

In Control

March 9 – May 5, 2024

Details

Curated by Adrienne Kochman

Katrina Majkut uses cross-stitch and embroidery to examine reproductive health, bodily autonomy, and women's wellness.

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Franklin McMahon protest-art drawing on display in Resist!: A Visual History of Protest

Resist!: A Visual History of Protest

December 17, 2022 – February 12, 2023

Details

Curated by Margot McMahon

Fifty years of protest art by Chicago artist Franklin McMahon, from WWII POW camps and the Emmett Till trial to Dr. King's marches and the Chicago Eight trial.

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Artwork from Aesthetics of Loss, an exhibition about grief and family loss

Aesthetics of Loss

February 18 – April 16, 2023

Details

Seven artists process family loss and grief through painting, printmaking, fiber, ceramics, photography, installation, and video.

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Geometric abstract painting by Art Kleinman, Structure and Chaos: A Delicate Balance

Art Kleinman: Structure and Chaos: A Delicate Balance

April 22 – June 18, 2023

Details

A five-decade retrospective of geometric abstraction balancing structure and chaos, curated by John Himmelfarb.

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Figurative painting by Yulia Gasio depicting family life in wartime Donbas, Ukraine

Yulia Gasio: Donbas, Ukraine 2014 till the Present

June 24 – August 20, 2023

Details

Figurative paintings documenting the artist's family in wartime eastern Ukraine.

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Gallery installation of Staff Picks from the Permanent Collection

Staff Picks from the Permanent Collection

February 18 – August 19, 2023

Details

Staff-selected highlights and recent acquisitions from UIMA's 1,200+ work permanent collection, including Archipenko, Hnizdovsky, and Milonadis.

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Textile artwork responding to poetry in the exhibition Threads

Threads

August 26 – October 22, 2023

Details

Curated by Olena Jennings, Adrienne Kochman, Ged Merino & Virlana Tkacz

Textile artists from Ukraine, the U.S., Colombia, and the Philippines respond to Ukrainian and English-language poetry.

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Landscape painting by Tom Torluemke from the exhibition Gravity

Gravity

August 19 – October 15, 2023

Details

Tom Torluemke pairs landscape paintings with pandemic-era portraits, each framed as a hand mirror inviting reflection.

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Gallery installation of Unbreakable, works by Ukrainian contemporary artists

Unbreakable

October 28 – December 30, 2023

Details

Curated by Khrystyna Berehovska, PhD

37 works by 23 Ukrainian contemporary artists on resistance and resilience amid war.

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Artwork responding to war from the exhibition Don't Close Your Eyes

Don't Close Your Eyes

October 21 – December 21, 2023

Details

Curated by Hanna Melnyczuk & Halyna Andrusenko

26 artists respond to war through documentary-style comics, meditative compositions, and abstraction.

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Mixed media artwork from the exhibition Naturally

Naturally

February 5 – April 3, 2022

Details

Judith Roston Freilich and Lilach Schrag explore forces of nature and mind through textiles and mixed media. West Gallery.

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Community-submitted protest art on display, Protest Art Exhibition 2022

Protest Art Exhibition 2022

March 13 – June 4, 2022

Details

A community open call for protest art responding to the war in Ukraine. East Gallery.

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Mixed media artwork from the exhibition Wanting It Both Ways

Wanting It Both Ways

April 9 – June 4, 2022

Details

Bill Conger, Tanya Hastings Gill, Mie Kongo, and Jennifer Mannebach explore fragments as fleeting, reimaginable moments in mixed media.

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Michel Andreenko: Revisited exhibition artwork

Michel Andreenko: Revisited

2022

Details

Further works by Michel Andreenko drawn from the permanent collection.

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Painting exploring domesticity from the exhibition At Home

At Home

October 8 – December 4, 2022

Details

Curated by Stano Grezdo & Linda Dorman

Four Chicago painters — Cindy Bernhard, Ellen Greene, Ann Toebbe, and Gwendolyn Zabicki — examine domesticity and the meaning of home.

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Abstract painting by Owen McHugh, from Owen McHugh and Abstraction in the Permanent Collection

Owen McHugh and Abstraction in the Permanent Collection

October 8 – December 4, 2022

Details

Curated by Christina Wyshnytzky

New abstract work by Owen McHugh alongside abstraction from the permanent collection.

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Poster for Children of War, artwork by Ukrainian refugee children

Children of War

December 17, 2022 – February 12, 2023

Details

Organized by Nataliia Pavliuk

Trauma-recovery artwork by Ukrainian refugee children, created through art therapy sessions in Lviv.

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Works Progress Administration era artwork from the Illinois State Museum collection

Work, People, Art: Selections from the WPA Collection of the Illinois State Museum

Opened June 19, 2021

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Konstantin Milonadis and Mychajlo Urban, from Lions: Founding Years of the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art

Lions: Founding Years of the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art

August 3 – September 30, 2018

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