LINCOLN PARK — The newest exhibit at the DePaul Art Museum includes sculptures of Chicago architecture created from Ikea parts.
"The Common Citizenship of Forms," by Jeff Carter, a professor at the school, features reconstructions of the now-demolished Michael Reese Hospital campus created from ready-to-assemble Ikea components.
"It is a great group of objects related to Chicago's architectural history while simultaneously commenting on the current issue of consumerism," said Louise Lincoln, director of the DePaul Art Museum.
Carter, who is a professor in the school's department of Art Media and Design, is exploring the idea of whether mass-produced consumer goods can be "good" design and what is more socially useful: inexpensive products or artisanal production and jobs.
The exhibit opens Thursday with a talk by Carter from 5 to 7 p.m. The museum, 935 W. Fullerton Ave., will also feature an exhibit focusing on politically engaged art from the permanent collection when it reopens Thursday.
"Fires Will Burn" includes a wide range of pieces focusing on political expression of issues ranging from racial prejudice to opposition to war.
The show includes Diego Rivera's painting of the Mexican Revolution, John Wilson’s searing “Down by the Riverside,” a suite of etchings about slavery and Gerda Meyer Bernstein’s powerful installation of “The Justice Chair.”
“We are always excited when we can create an exhibition out of our own collection. In this case we have acquired some great things recently, through gift and purchase,” Lincoln said.
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