Emerge Selections 2017
Featured images
Installation view, Emerge Selections 2017, MCA Chicago, Apr 29–May 21, 2017. Work shown: Pedro Reyes, Violoncello, 2014. Instrument made from destroyed weapons
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Emerge Selections 2017, MCA Chicago, Apr 29–May 21, 2017. Work shown: Federico Herrero, Cactus Landscape, 2017. Oil and acrylic spray paint on canvas
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Emerge Selections 2017, MCA Chicago, Apr 29–May 21, 2017. Work shown: Jill Magid, Evidence Locker, 2004. Six-part mixed-media installation
Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA ChicagoAbout
Every year, Emerge—a group of donors who support the museum’s acquisition and education programs—selects and collectively funds the purchase of a work by an artist not currently represented in the MCA’s collection. This year, in collaboration with the MCA curatorial team, Emerge members proposed works by Federico Herrero (Costa Rica), Jill Magid (United States), and Pedro Reyes (Mexico) for consideration.
The artists respond to pressing concerns rooted in the places where they work. Moreover, they all shift our perspective on dire situations: Reyes by making musical instruments out of weapons, Herrero by transforming downtrodden cityscapes with shape and color, and Magid by turning the eye of a surveillance camera back on itself.
Emerge members cast their final vote in late April to determine which of these artworks will be the next addition to our collection.