Laurie Simmons at the MCA: Big Camera / Little Camera on View Through May 5th
A lot of things come to mind when one looks at the work of Laurie Simmons: isolation, scale, gender, and the modern myths that surround us. From empty domestic spaces […]
Ten Great Things We Saw at IH+HS 2019
Last month’s International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago at McCormick Place is an annual tradition for us at Third Coast. Every year it’s been in Chicago (since 1928), it’s […]
New York Museums: Frida Kahlo at the Brooklyn Museum—Obsession With Self-Image; Plus MAD
The Brooklyn Museum is a grand art museum housed in an 1893 building designed by McKim, Mead and White. You enter the museum, not through its 19th century Beaux Arts […]
The Whole World a Bauhaus Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Iconic German and Chicago Design School
Furniture. Textiles. Toys. Home goods. Buildings. Photography. Theater design. Typography and graphic design. It’s hard to exaggerate how much the visual design that surrounds us is influenced by the work of […]
African American Design Exhibit Explores Confluence of Design Talent With Politics and Commerce
African American designers’ contributions to Chicago’s design history are on display through March 3 at the Chicago Cultural Center. The exhibition is particularly interesting because it explores the confluence of […]
Review: Design Museum of Chicago Brings Chicago’s Bicycling History to Light
The Design Museum of Chicago recently brought a brand new exhibit to the Loop in an all new location. And this time around, the pop-up experience they’ve created at Expo […]
Energy Efficient Architecture in Chicago and the World Shared in Peter Land Retrospective
British-born architect Peter Land has taught at Harvard and here in Chicago for over four decades at the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, which recently hosted […]
Grilles Are Aglow at 2018 Chicago Auto Show
This year’s Auto Show rolls into its annual Chicago digs at McCormick Place — from sports cars to SUVs, the event is chocked with nearly 1,000 cars on display, boasting […]
Joysticks and Lightsabers: A Personal History with Star Wars Games
When the The Last Jedi was announced at the end of 2016, I thought I was pretty much done with Star Wars. I liked The Force Awakens well enough, but […]
Pioneers of German Graphic Design Shows Links to Chicago’s Graphic Design History
Pioneers of German Graphic Design by Jens Müller is a deep dive into the early history of graphic design and demonstrates why Germany (and Austria and Switzerland) are so important […]
Lead VSA Designer Dana Arnett Talks Dynamics and Art of Design
Meet Dana Arnett who is vice chairperson and founding partner of VSA Partners which started more than 30 years ago as a three-person design firm that included Arnett’s mentor, Robert […]
The Arts Club of Chicago: The Balance of Private Space and Public Engagement
The Arts Club of Chicago, tucked unassumingly on the corner of Ontario and St. Clair in Streeterville, may be one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated exhibition spaces in the […]