Vernissage, EXPO CHICAGO’S opening night benefit for MCA

The MCA Women’s Board hosted EXPO CHICAGO’s Opening Night Benefit, Vernissage, at Navy Pier April 13. This opening night event benefited the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago.

A vast crowd of the city’s business, civic and cultural leaders, as well as artists, collectors and art professionals filled Navy Pier’s Festival Hall Thursday night for a special preview of artwork from more than 170 of the world’s leading galleries from 36 countries and 90 cities.

The celebration began with a Patron Reception at 5 p.m. in the Northern Trust Anchor Lounge on the 300 level of Navy Pier. The reception featured refreshments by some of Chicago’s top restaurants and food providers. Director of EXPO CHICAGO Tony Karman opened the general reception by thanking the crowd for their incredible support for the tenth edition of the exposition.

Karman welcomed to the stage MCA Chicago’s Pritzker Director Madeleine Grynsztejn; Northern Trust Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Grady; Chance the Rapper, and Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson. A celebratory toast opened the 2023 EXPO CHICAGO exhibition.

A few of this year’s leading galleries include Gallery 1957, Cristea Roberts Gallery, Luis De Jesus, and Michael Werner Gallery. First-time exhibitors at the fair include Casas Riegner of Bogotá, Eric Firestone Gallery of New York and East Hampton, Kohn Gallery of Los Angeles, and Almine Rech, which has locations in New York, Paris, Brussels, London, and Shanghai.

Chicago has proudly hosted a global contemporary and modern art exposition for nearly forty years and is the site of the first international art fair in the Americas. EXPO CHICAGO has become a staple in the Chicago arts community, drawing art enthusiasts from all over the world to experience the best in contemporary and modern art. (expochicago.com)