Past Exhibitions : 2026
Composing Color:
Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
March 24 – July 5, 2026
Inspired by the cosmos, nature, and music, Alma Thomas (1891–1978) developed a form of abstraction that transcended established genres. Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas draws on the extensive holdings of the artist’s paintings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and offers an intimate view of Thomas’s evolving practice during her most prolific period, from 1959 to 1978.
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Beyond Boundaries: Three Decades of Contemporary Chinese Art at the Smart
March 29 – July 5, 2026
Beyond Boundaries foregrounds the University of Chicago’s pivotal role in studying and exhibiting contemporary Chinese art. Bringing together artworks acquired by the Museum over the last three decades, archival materials, as well as new work, the exhibition explores how artists navigate and challenge physical limitations across cultural, environmental, and political terrains.
Smart to the Core: Wise to Power
September 23, 2025 - July 5, 2026
Part I, September 23, 2025 - February 22, 2026
Part II, March 24, 2026 - July 5, 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.