Art on theMART today announced the two acclaimed artists featured in its 2023 programming. Brooklyn-based multi-disciplinary artist Derrick Adams will present a commissioned piece for Art on theMART as a part of spring programming for 2023. Joining him will be Korean artist Dr. Yiyun Kang, whose projection will premiere as a part of the fall 2023 lineup. Additional plans for 2023 include the launch of a guest curator program: a platform for digital curators to commission artists and contribute to Art on theMART’s curatorial vision for 2024.
Derrick Adams, a Baltimore-born, New York-based artist, identifies his practice as a fearless inquiry into Black life to emphasize a narrative that champions humanity and wholeness. Rooted in deconstructivism, Adams’ acclaimed work is multi-disciplinary spanning painting, collage, sculpture, performance, and video. Adams has chosen to study the influence of pop culture and self-image through the Black lens, leading him to question and reflect on the Black American experience through art history, consumerism, and iconography. Most recently, Adams assembled a multi-media installation titled “Packaged Black” at The Henry Gallery in Seattle in collaboration with Barbara Earl Thomas, which explored their shared dialogue on Black identity, practices and cultural resistance.
Dr. Yiyun Kang, a veteran in the field of projection mapping and immersive art, has hosted exhibitions at numerous art institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum and Seoul Museum of Art, and has participated in international events such as the Venice Architecture Biennale and the Shenzhen New Media Art Festival. Working at the intersection of art, sound and technology, Kang’s projection mapping installations create kinetic environments for audiences to explore. She is perhaps best known for her 2021 solo exhibition at PKM Gallery in South Korea titled Anthropause, which explored the finite nature of humanity and the rapid depletion of Earth’s resources in the form of an animated digital projection.
Adams is presented in partnership with Rhona Hoffman Gallery. Dr. Kang is presented in partnership with Superblue Gallery.
“We look forward to sharing what renowned Derrick Adams has in store for spring 2023,” said Cynthia Noble, executive director of Art on theMART. “And Yiyun Kang’s impressive oeuvre of digital projection mapping artworks made her a natural choice to be featured on Art on theMART. It is truly exciting to connect with such a powerful voice from Seoul. Art on theMART’s fifth anniversary is shaping up to be one of our best years yet.”
In addition to the two featured artists announced today, Art on theMART will also establish a guest curator initiative where specialists in digital art will be selected to join Art on theMART for a 15-month period, commissioning new artists and bringing new voices and curatorial insights to Art on theMART. Art on theMART’s curatorial advisory board will select candidates who will work on assembling programs for 2024.
“Our guest curator program will not only build upon Art on theMART’s curatorial vision and programming through new global perspectives, but will also bolster an under-served field,” said Noble.
Art on theMART is free and can best be experienced from the jetty section of the Chicago Riverwalk on Wacker Drive between Wells Street and Franklin Street, where accompanying audio can be experienced. Fall programming is on view every night at 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. through Nov. 18, 2022. Winter programming premieres the evening of Nov. 19 with the new start times of 7:30 and 8 p.m. and will be on view nightly through Dec. 30. For more information, visit artonthemart.com or follow #ArtontheMART.
About Art on theMART
Art on theMART, presented in partnership with Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), is the largest permanent digital art projection in the world, projecting contemporary artwork across the 2.5-acre river-façade of theMART. This expansive permanent piece of public art continues Chicago’s legacy of providing both residents and visitors with exceptional art that is both free and accessible to all. Projections are visible to the public from Wacker Drive and along the Chicago Riverwalk.
The program content rotates seasonally and is selected with the assistance and expertise of the Curatorial Advisory Board. The City of Chicago and theMART work in partnership to manage and curate the projected artwork over the course of a 30-year agreement. Privately funded by Vornado Realty Trust, owner of theMART, Art on theMART marks the first time a projection of its size and scope is completely dedicated to digital art with no branding, sponsorship credits or messaging. The permanent projection system illuminates theMART with 34 state-of-the-art projectors totaling almost one million lumens.
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About theMART
theMART (formerly The Merchandise Mart), located in the center of the sought-after River North submarket, is interwoven into the fabric of Chicago as an innovator in business, technology, culture, art, media and more. As the largest privately owned commercial building in the United States, it is also one of the world’s leading commercial buildings, wholesale design centers and the preeminent international business location in Chicago. Encompassing 4.2 million gross square feet, theMART spans two city blocks, rises 25 stories, and is visited by an average of 30,000 people each business day and nearly 10 million people annually. Offering continuous innovation and creativity from leading manufacturers and design forward showrooms, theMART serves as the home to Chicago's most creative and technologically innovative companies including Motorola Mobility, 1871, Yelp, PayPal and MATTER, as well as Fortune 500 companies ConAgra Brands, Allstate, Medline Industries, Beam Suntory and Grainger. For more information, visit themart.com.