Conoce a Chicago: Prospectus Art Gallery
By Elizabeth Reinhardt
El Niño y el Nube (After Amighetti) by Carlos Barberena
Chicago is home to world-class art museums, artists and galleries. All throughout la ciudad you can find galleries housing every form of art imaginable for you to peruse and purchase at your leisure. As part of the corporate creative world, PACO strives to connect with and draw from any inspiration that we can from the world around us to better serve our clients’ creative needs.
East Pilsen, a section of the Chicago Art District, is no exception. The District is home to around 30 creative sites at South Halsted and 18th Street that showcase art and artists from Chicago and todo el mundo. It is best known for its Second Fridays Gallery Night. Held the second Friday of each month, galleries from the area open their doors and invite people in to learn about the art and the artists being shown. Second Fridays is also a free admission event.
So, in our quest to “conocer a Chicago,” PACO hopped on the Pink Line and visited the Prospectus Art Gallery in East Pilsen. Starting the moment you step off the Pink line at 18th Street, you are greeted by the bright colors of the murals that decorate the walls of the train platform and the surrounding community.
Just a short bus ride or walk from the Pink Line, the gallery is located at 1210 West 18th Street and is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Prospectus opened in 1991 and has been serving as “a cultural center for Latin American and Contemporary art” ever since.
“My family and I wanted to create something positive to help enrich the area, particularly for the young people in the community,” Gallery Director Israel Hernandez said in an interview with Chicago Gallery News’ Laura Miller. “There are several schools near the gallery, so we always see a lot of younger people in the neighborhood and believe it’s important for them to have art and creativity in their lives.”
Prospectus hosts various exhibitions throughout the year. The current exhibit is by Nicaraguan artist and Chicago resident Carlos Barberena, titled “Paradise Lost.” The exhibition opened el 7 de julio and will be available through el 4 de agosto. It is a collection of woodcuts and linocuts, depicting images with an anti-consumerism undertone, many of which are plays off of famous pieces, such as the Mona Lisa and The Four Riders of the Apocalypse.
Mr. Hernandez’ most classic example of helping an unknown artist with his or her career is the 1996 photography exhibition of Harold Allen, who was a professor at The Art Institute of Chicago. At the time of the exhibition, Allen was 80 years old and had never sold a single piece of his work. During the exhibition, the Chicago Tribune’s art critic gave him a wonderful review and afterwards Allen sold multiple pieces of his work.
“Harold said to me, ‘You work miracles here,’ but I told him, ‘No, you work miracles with your camera,” said Mr. Hernandez. “We have the same process for every artist. It’s the work that sells itself.”
You can learn more about Mr. Hernandez and Prospectus at the “About” page of the gallery’s website.
Interested in art and looking to check out some of the great galleries and museums here in Chicago? Check out these links for just a sampling of what the city has to offer:
National Museum of Mexican Art (located around the corner from Prospectus)
