We’ve been treated to many months of stunning art spectacles on the 2.5-acre river façade of the Merchandise Mart since they returned earlier in 2023 for the spring program which celebrated ART on THE MART’s 5th anniversary with a new commission by internationally renowned artist Derrick Adams.
From June through September, the summer program featured a mesmerizing set of projections by Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project before the recent fall projections by Dr. Yiyun Kang and Charles Atlas spotlighted humanity’s environmental crisis and the power of AI technologies.
Now the “largest permanent digital art projection in the world” has begun showing some sensational new shows for its winter program titled ‘Season of Light‘.
Running from Thursday, November 16 through Saturday, December 30, the new winter program celebrates “the emerging and established talent coming from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), a beloved Chicago institution that is internationally regarded as one of the top art and design schools in the world.”
The first of these is a new commission by SAIC alumni Yorgo Alexopoulos who is known for immersive moving image works while the second is a collection of 13 unique projections titled “Analog” which have been made under the direction of Professors Jan Tichy, Judd Morrisey, and Austen Brown.
According to the ART on THE MART program, “Yorgo Alexopoulos is best known for immersive video installations and mixed-media sculptures that fuse his own paintings, drawings, photographs, and digitally created assets.
The new time-based digital animation commission for ART on THE MART, “Out of the Sea Came Eternity” takes viewers on a journey through a series of distinct visual chapters that explore our collective connection to nature, myth, and magic.
“As we reflect on the last five years of experimentation and collaboration at ART on THE MART, we’re gratified to formally recognize the ongoing support from and talent born out of the SAIC, my own alma mater, with these site-specific commissions,” said Cynthia Noble, Executive Director of Art on The MART. “Alexopolous is a veteran in the moving image field, and we look forward to sharing his work alongside the next generation of aspiring artists.”
Attracting thousands to the Riverwalk and Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago every week ART on THE MART provides a public platform for local artists, national artists, and international artists with work ranging from schools to renowned exhibitions and everything in between.
The 30-minute shows will run nightly starting at 7:30 pm and 8 pm through Saturday, December 30th. The best places to view the projections are from the jetty section of the Chicago Riverwalk between Wells and Franklin Streets.
More information can be found at artonthemart.com/programming.
[Featured image courtesy of ART on THE MART]