CHICAGO (May 7, 2026) — Intuit Art Museum (IAM), recognized worldwide as one of the few institutions dedicated solely to championing the work of self-taught artists, officially opens Monumental: Sculpture by Dr. Charles Smith with IAM celebrating, a free opening celebration showcasing all four dynamic exhibitions now on view, Thursday, May 21, 5–7pm. Curators will be on hand for conversation and light refreshments served. This program is free and open to the public; advance registration is required, by visiting https://art.org/events/iam-celebrating. The recently reimagined Intuit Art Museum is located at 756 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. 

In addition to Monumental, museum guests are invited to explore current solo exhibitions by pioneering experimental artists Bill Brady and Marvin Young, along with an exhibition featuring recent gifts from the collection of Chicago art collector, curator and advocate Jan Petry. 

The new exhibition, Monumental: Sculpture by Dr. Charles Smith (on view through April 22, 2027), examines his expansive output of sculptures through the lens of ​“anti-monumentalism,” a contemporary art form designed to challenge, invert or reject the conventions of traditional monuments. Dr. Charles Smith (b. 1940) served as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, an experience that informed his artistic practice. Smith began sculpting monuments and memorials dedicated to the histories, cultural moments and portrayals of everyday life experienced by African Americans and Black people in America typically left out of historical narratives. 

His first sculpture was a memorial to his fallen Black Vietnam comrades in celebration of Black History Month, built in his Aurora, Ill., yard, where he lived from 1986 to 2000 and made more than 600 sculptures. It was here that he opened The African American Heritage Museum & Black Veterans Archive (AAHM & BVA) as part of his work. In 2000, Smith moved to Hammond, La., where he produced several hundred more works dedicated to honoring the lives and history of African Americans and members of his community. The subject matter of Smith’s work ranges widely from memorials dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina to the Underground Railroad and even to Chicago’s first Black postmaster, Henry McGee. Curated by IAM Assistant Curator Christina Stavros, Monumental: Sculpture by Dr. Charles Smith features pieces from the Museum’s collection alongside select loans, including several recently conserved works now on view for the first time in years. 

In addition to this Opening Celebration, Intuit Art Museum offers quarterly IAM Community Days inviting the public to the museum with interactive programming for the entire family to enjoy. The Spring IAM Community Day is Saturday, May 16, 11 am‑6 pm; museum admission and activities will be free of charge with no reservation needed.   

OTHER SPRING EXHIBITIONS: 

Impressions of a City: Drawings by Marvin Young

On view through August 23, 2026

Impressions of a City explores the complexities of daily life as experienced and remembered by artist Marvin Young (b. 1961), a lifelong Chicago South Side resident. He honors the memories of his childhood by portraying cityscapes filled with people and vehicles in motion using graphite, colored pencils, crayons, pens and markers. Subjects include vintage Chicago walk-ups, high-rises, city streets, taxis, classic cars, school buses and the city’s people. brownstones and high rises framed by bright skies and classic cars, taxi cabs, police officers and bustling city life. 

Young’s drawing take on a larger-than-life scale, exaggerating size and proportions, with subtle repetitions and fantasized elements of the ordinary: a bus with too many seats, buildings stacked on top of one another or, even, a sky featuring two suns. Young’s expansive cityscapes allow one to connect with and reflect upon his remembered and reimagined experiences that blend past and present. Young joined Arts of Life, a progressive art studio for adult artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in 2024. Also curated by IAM Assistant Curator Christina Stavros, the exhibition showcases Young’s vision and prolific practice.

Drawing with Metal: Sculpture by Bill Brady

On view through October 4, 2026

Drawing with Metal: Sculpture by Bill Brady is the largest solo exhibition of the artist’s work outside his native Pennsylvania. William ​“Bill” Brady, Jr. (b. 1943) learned metalsmithing from his father, which led him to his own creative practice primarily working with tin. He began by making replicas of early American objects, which he would sell at markets in New England and later, California. Growing tired of copying historical designs, he began making his own work in the 1960s. In the 1970s, he spent a decade in Santa Cruz, living in a surplus Navy bus, before returning to rural Pennsylvania, where he continues to live near his father’s forge at the family home. An avid draftsperson, Brady often references the drawings in his sketchbooks for inspiration: from ships, airplanes and spaceships to forms that evoke the human figure to abstract doodles and designs. His hanging mobiles and standing sculptures are invigorated with life and motion, adding whimsy to his elegant designs. The strong linear quality of his sculpture echoes his drawing practice – drawing with metal. Curated by IAM Chief Curator Alison Amick, the retrospective features more than 30 dynamic sculptures alongside images from Brady’s sketchbooks. 

Life is an Art: The Collection of Jan Petry

On view through March 21, 2027

Life is an Art: The Collection of Jan Petry features some 35 objects that were recently donated to the Museum by the late, long-time IAM board member Janet (“Jan”) Petry (1939–1924). Her collection includes paintings, drawings and sculptures by major figures in American self-taught art, such as Emery Blagdon, James Castle, Ulysses Davis, Charles Dellschau, William Hawkins and Martín Ramírez. She actively collected artists who were residents at Gugging, a studio serving artists with disabilities in Austria. In addition to donating her personal collection, Petry helped form the vision of IAM through her long tenure as Exhibitions Committee Chair, involvement in the Collections & Acquisitions Committee, and role as Board Chair. As Capital Campaign co-chair, Petry actively supported the renovation, expansion and rebranding of the Museum. This exhibition, curated by IAM Chief Curator Alison Amick, is on view in the named Jan Petry Gallery and tells the story of Petry’s collection. 

NEW DATE FOR HENRY DARGER EXHIBITION

Cutting and Pasting a World: The Paper Craft of Henry Darger

*New opening date: June 18, 2026, through January 31, 2027

IAM joins in the celebration of the 250^th anniversary celebration of American craft, Handwork 2026, organized by Craft in America, with an exhibition exploring the connection between Henry Darger’s art and traditional American paper crafts. Drawing on research by guest curator and art historian Dr. Mary Trent (College of Charleston), the exhibition illustrates how the turn-of-the-century practices of making paper dolls and paper dollhouse scrapbooks may have influenced Darger’s evolution as an artist and maker. 

By showcasing both finished artworks and original source materials, the exhibition demonstrates how Darger adapted these humble pastimes into sophisticated methods for constructing large-scale, mixed-media narratives. The exhibition provides context for these crafts within the early 20th-century movement to instill middle-class American ​“taste” in a burgeoning immigrant population. Likely exposed to these practices within social welfare institutions as a child, Darger ultimately subverted them—transforming decorative domestic crafts into a profound and complex commentary on the vulnerabilities of marginalized children.

About the new Intuit Art Museum

Intuit Art Museum is recognized worldwide as one of the few institutions dedicated solely to championing the work of self-taught artists. Following a major $11 million renovation and expansion of its current facility—completed in May of 2025—Intuit has dramatically updated its exhibition, programming and learning spaces for the showcase and study of self-taught art, defined as work made by artists who often work outside the mainstream and have developed a serious artistic practice. Some artists may have faced societal, economic or geographic barriers to pursuing extensive training in the arts.

Now encompassing three floors over 18,000 square feet, Intuit offers dramatically enhanced spaces that welcome its guests, including five exhibition galleries; a dedicated learning studio; a flexible community gathering space to host performances, lectures and activities; a revamped gift store featuring an array of unique, fun and artist-made products; and a reimagined Henry Darger Room and interpretive exhibition, showcasing the art and life of the iconic Chicago artist over the span of two floors. Intuit’s staff is especially proud of the physical upgrades to accommodate all guests, including a new passenger elevator, interior staircases, and an accessible and welcoming entryway.  

Founded in 1991 as a nonprofit, Intuit is a premier museum of self-taught art. Intuit champions the diverse voices of self-taught art, welcoming both new and familiar audiences. Intuit Art Museum is open 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and until 8 p.m. on third Thursdays. Admission is $20, or free for members, those 24 and younger, and those unable to pay. 

For more information, please visit www.art.org

Media contacts:

Beth Silverman/Katy O’Malley

The Silverman Group, Inc.

Beth@silvermangroupchicago.com / Katy@silvermangroupchicago.com

312.560.4783