Best of 2016: Art Edition

'Lion' by Courtney Timmerman. Photo by Stephanie Lenchard Warren. This year’s annual SOFA expo at Navy Pier was booming with color and texture. Featuring artists and designers from all over the world, the show included an array of works in painting, sculpture, drawing, jewelry, and other intriguing art objects. From chairs, to installations, things you hang to things you sit in, the works were dynamic, insightful, innovative, and thought-provoking. The resulting conglomerate offered a show that viewers could relate to and interact with. Read 3CR’s coverage here.         Best Small Gallery Exhibit: The Modern Chair Wilshire Medical Office Side Chair by Rudolph Schindler. Photo courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Chair exhibit featured a small room filled with innovation. Its tiny gallery hosted an array of ingeniously engineered chair models that stepped material use and design into the modern world. Read 3CR’s coverage here.           Best Retrospective Art Exhibit: Future-Present, Moholy-Nagy 'A 19' by László Moholy-Nagy. Photo courtesy of Bild-Kunst Bonn/Artists Rights Society. László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946) was an artist who created an incredible range of works throughout his lifetime. From photography, to film, to sculpture, to clever combinations of multiple mediums, Moholy-Nagy left a legacy of visual and cultural relevance. Displayed this past year at the Art Institute was a major retrospective honoring his life works. Read 3CR’s coverage here.         Best Examination of a Current Issue: Art AIDS America Chicago 'Eternal Lovers' by Tino Rodriguez. Photo courtesy of the artist. Located at the Alpawood Gallery, Art AIDS America Chicago explores the impact of the AIDS crisis on American art and culture. The exhibition just opened this December runs until April, carrying us into 2017 with a reminder of the relevance of the current AIDS issue. Learn more about the new exhibit in 3CR’s recent article.         Stay up to date on art events in 2017 with Chicago Arts and Culture coverage from Third Coast Review. Here's to a vibrant 2017!