Exhibitions
JOIN US
The Smart Museum of Art is currently closed for installation from July 14th - September 22nd. Please join us this fall for our upcoming exhibitions Theaster Gates: Unto Thee and Smart to the Core: Wise to Power, opening September 23rd.
Theaster Gates: Unto Thee
September 23, 2025 - February 22, 2026
A self-designated “keeper of objects,” the artist Theaster Gates investigates the value of things and their potential to hold layered meanings. He has been dedicated to investing in the care of these objects as a way to nurture stories and voices—often Black stories and voices—largely overlooked by history or institutional structures. This is Gates's first solo museum exhibition in his hometown of Chicago.
Smart to the Core: Wise to Power
September 23, 2025 - July 26, 2026
Part I, September 23, 2025 - February 15, 2026
Part II, March 24, 2026 - July 26, 2026
Why and how do people form political communities? How does political society organize our economic lives - and vice versa? And how as individuals do we navigate society? Smart to the Core: Wise to Power examines these questions by integrating visual art with foundational texts of modern social and political thought spanning over three centuries.
Sculpture Garden
Vera and A. D. Elden Sculpture Garden
The outdoor sculpture garden features work by Scott Burton, Jene Highstein, Richard Hunt, Arnaldo Pomodoro, and Richard Serra.