Sculpture in Chicago: The Next Generation, a selection of up-and-coming Chicago-area sculptors, is held in conjunction with Sculpture 17: The 17th International Sculpture Conference. The range of media employed by these artists reflects a breaking down and opening up of the field of sculpture. Video, light projections, and computer-generated work are all represented, as well as installations and more traditional forms of sculpture. Including a wide range of work from a diverse group of sculptors, this exhibit begs the question: Is there a new sculptural aesthetic in Chicago? Instead of proposing a succinct thesis on what constitutes sculpture in Chicago, this exhibit opens up a discourse on new sculptural issues.

Since 1960 the International Sculpture Conferences have earned a reputation for excellence in addressing pertinent topics related to the process and philosophies of sculpture. The conference offers artists, curators, educators, writers, technicians, and collectors an opportunity to have a voice in the dialogue that often becomes a point of reference for the sculpture field. Gallery 400 ’s exhibition is unique among the events in the city surrounding Sculpture 17, as it is the only gallery concentrating exclusively on Chicago sculptors.

Sculpture 17 centers around three days of keynote addresses, panel discussions, and individual presentations by dynamic leaders in the field of sculpture. Technical demonstrations, films on sculpture, networking sessions, a gallery walk, a slide registry, evening social events, tours of local sites of interest and three days of pre-conference technical workshops supplemented the main program. In addition, a trade show of over forty exhibitors who cater to the needs of the sculpture community is open to conference participants at the conference headquarters. Mayor Richard M. Daley serves as chair of the Sculpture 17 Chicago Host Planning Committee, a working committee of over forty sculptors and representatives from the many diverse Chicago-area cultural institutions and organizations. Committee members include representatives from the Art Institute of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and the Chicago Artists Coalition, among others.

John Arndt, Brett Bloom, Stephanie Brooks, Fred Bruney, M. W. Burns, Gary Cannone, CAR, Patrick Collier, Megan Cump, Robert Jake Jacobs, Paul Kass, D'nell Larson, Tom McDonald, Patrick McGee, Carlos Melian, Adelheid Mers, Lisa Norton, Michael Piazza, Joel Ross, Mindy Rose Schwartz, Mike Slatterly, Margaret Walsh, Barbara Wiesen, Charles Wiesen, Rob Weingart, and Sarah Whipple

Sculpture in Chicago: The Next Generation is held in conjunction with the 17th International Sculpture Center Conference hosted by the International Sculpture Center. The exhibition is made possible by the School of Art and Design, the College of Architecture and the Arts, and is supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.