The 9 Best Booths at Expo Chicago: From Dazzling Peacocks to New ‘Vogue’ Covers Honoring Black and Indigenous Women Activists

The view of Expo Chicago 2022 from above.
MAXIMILÍANO DURÓN/ARTNEWS

After almost two and half years without staging an iteration of its annual art fair, Expo Chicago has returned to the city’s Navy Pier in its new early April dates. The fair is the successor Art Chicago, which Tony Karman relaunched in 2012 as Expo. The new spring dates is around when Art Chicago used to take place—time and space have come full circle. The exhibition opened to VIPs on Thursday at noon with more than 140 exhibitors.

“The exposition is deeply rooted in the cultural ecosystem of Chicago, and we benefit greatly from its generous and collaborative spirit,” Karman said in a statement at the end of the first day. “The city has galvanized for a vibrant, robust week that has catalyzed lasting and meaningful connections that provide uplift to the artists, galleries, and institutions of Chicago, the greater Midwest, and beyond.”

Below is a look at some of the best booths at the Chicago fair, which runs through Sunday, April 10.

Chelsea Culprit at Revolver Galería

Installation view of works by Chelsea Culprit.
Photo : Sarah Belmont for ARTnews

In the Profile section, reserved for focused thematic exhibitions, Revolver Galería plays oracle. The booth spotlights three colorful life-size Plexiglas cut-outs by Chelsea Culprit. On either side of this triptych are two charcoals compositions on canvas. All five works feature Sibyls, prophetesses from Greek mythology uttering predictions often in a state of trance. Their sensual curves and contortions allude to the artist’s past career as a stripper and the fact that the answers we are looking for are sometimes hidden deep within our body and soul. In times when fake news spread like wildfire, when Instagram feeds trend “versus reality,” the former dancer sets us on a path to the truth.