If a picture is worth a thousand words, personal paintings, playful paper dolls, and political prints prove artists from the 18th century to today have always had a lot to say.
Inspired by the activism of art historian, critic and curator Lucy Lippard, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presents From the Center: Looking at Lucy Lippard (Aug. 26, 2026-July 11, 2027). Set to hang in the three-story stairwell galleries, the show is divided into three parts: Form & Feminism; The Art Worker as Activist; and Site, Land, Place.
Currently, the Museum‘s Atrium Project series features the work of Chicago artist Celeste Rapone (through June 2027) which focuses on the need for nostalgia amid 21st century anxieties. The installation includes her 2025 painting Sideline (After Ben Shahn) which echoes Ben Shahn’s painting Men on a Bench (1940) that depicts life during the Great Depression.
The Driehaus Museum confirms comedy is timeless with Ink & Outrage: 18th Century Satirical Prints in London & Dublin (through Sep. 13). With more than 100 original cartoons from the Georgian era, the exhibition displays the graphic art of British satirists including James Gillray (1765-1815) and Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827)
“Caricature is the intellectual vehicle that speaks truth to power in the fastest, funniest, and most piercing way possible,” says Silvia Beltrametti who curated the show with William Laffan. “We hope visitors see the trajectory from these early forms of satire to the present day, and the importance of satire as a public forum for debate and connection,” adds the Museum’s executive director Lisa M. Key.
As such the Driehaus Museum welcomes The New Yorker caricaturist Tom Bachtell and The Onion writers Mike Gillis and Rob Knoll to discuss Jester’s Privilege: The Role of Satire with The Onion and The New Yorker (Aug. 6). Moderated by Colin Barr of the University of Notre Dame, the panelists will talk about the cultural impact of satire. Meanwhile, the related exhibition Conceived in Liberty: Cartoons, Caricatures, and Illustrations in the Wartime US, 1812-1918 can be viewed at Newberry Library (through Sep.19).
As part of the national initiative Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, Intuit Art Museum presents Cutting and Pasting a World: The Paper Craft of Henry Darger (through Jan. 31, 2027). Curated by art historian and College of Charleston Associate Professor Dr. Mary Trent, the exhibition explores how Chicago-based artist Henry Darger (1892-1973) may have been inspired by turn-of-the-century paper dolls and scrapbooks.
“Intuit continues to break new ground, providing audiences with fresh insights into the influences on and processes involved in Henry Darger’s artmaking,” explains the Museum’s president Debra Kerr. “The mysteries surrounding Darger and his art continue to engage and inspire fans of self-taught art from around the world.”
Next month, Hyde Park Art Center will open its doors to reveal the work of Master of Fine Art grads from Columbia College Chicago, Northwestern University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, The University of Chicago, and The University of Illinois at Chicago.
The Center‘s Ground Floor exhibition (Aug. 9-Nov. 1) includes select pieces by Lamia Abukhadra, Gabby Banks, Claire Burke Dain, Laurel Hauge, Susan Jablonski, Renee Royale, Kiana Shahnia, Nanako Wagley, and Emma Difani who notes, “While graduate school was a period of tremendous growth, it was also a bit of a bubble. This is an exciting opportunity to build relationships outside of the academic setting in a place for art-as-lived that celebrates artists of all ages and stages.”