The Best of the MCA in 2014: Critic’s Edition
James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator Michael Darling
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicagoblog intro
2014 has come to close and it’s time for some reflection on the past year, and of course, end-of-year lists. The critics and writers from Chicago and beyond have weighed in and we’re sharing their selections here, but we will also share our audience’s picks in a later post.
top moments
—Chicagoan of the Year, Chicago Tribune
UNBOUND: CONTEMPORARY ART AFTER FRIDA KAHLO
—Exceptional Art Exhibitions of 2014, Chicagoist
ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE, ARGUENDO
—Christopher Borelli's “Favorite Things of 2014,” Chicago Tribune
Images
Elevator Repair Service, Arguendo
Photo: Joan Marcus
Participants at Family Day, Apr 12, 2014
Photo: Joshua Longbrake © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Isa Genzken: Retrospective, MCA Chicago, Apr 12–Aug 3, 2014
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Shirin Neshat, Turbulent, 1998. Black-and-white video installation. Dimensions variable. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Susan and Lewis Manilow, 2000.22 © 1998 Shirin Neshat
© MCA Chicago
MCA Talk: William Pope.L, Apr 17, 2014
Photo: Meghan Wingert © MCA Chicago
Installation view, William J. O’Brien, MCA Chicago, Jan 25–May 18, 2014
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Stan Shellabarger & Dutes Miller, Untitled (Crochet, Basel, Switzerland), 2008. Archival ink-jet print. Edition of 5, aside from 1 artist's proof. 50 x 30 in. (127 x 76.2 cm) Courtesy of the artists and Western Exhibitions, Chicago
Rosas danst Rosas
Photo: Herman Sorgeloostop moment cont’d
MCA-featured artists, exhibitions, performances, and programs all garnered notable mentions in Newcity's “Top 5 of Everything 2014”:
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMORARY ART, ESPECIALLY DURING FAMILY DAY
—Top 5 Places that Aren’t Explicitly Tot-Oriented but Will in Fact Make Your Half-Pint Feel Right at Home
—Top 5 Bricolage Exhibitions
—Top 5 Confrontations of the Male Gaze and Ugly Patriarchy
WU TSANG, MISHIMA IN MEXICO & SHIRIN NESHAT, TURBULENT
—Top 5 Video Artworks Shown in Major Museums
—Top 5 Gratifying Talks and Performances I Made It To
—Top 5 Artworks as Activism
—Top 5 Drawing Shows
—Top 5 Subversively Conceptual Crafters
—Top 5 Sweater Weather Artists
—Top 5 Dance Venues of 2014