21c MUSEUM HOTEL CHICAGO

Raeleen Kao describes her work as an overgrown refuge that reaches out and folds her up within the safety of looming nest-like bodies. These chimeric manifestations were born to ward off the solitude of trauma, to take possession of pain, and demonstrate that the monsters we cultivate can be protectors too. Her work is simultaneously an act of mourning and an analysis of women’s body politics stemming from outdated puritanical literature, mythology, folktales, and buttoned-up Victorian superstitions, which contemporary society obtusely clings to.

On view in Gallery 3 is a trio of Kao’s work illuminating her practice as a printmaker and includes a site-specific installation of Vital Signs, composed of printed etchings, hand-cut paper, and wax.

Natalie Clare is a Chicago-based painter who practices her craft as (sub)urban warrior, creating murals in public and private spaces in cities across the U.S. Describing the inspiration behind the work she painted at 21c Chicago, the artist says: “Horsepower is a mural depicting horses in a slightly abstracted way. Horses are powerful animals at the peak of athleticism and strength in the animal kingdom. The animal/human connection is very strong and nature also produces endorphins, as does physical activity. The crossover is cerebral and meant to brighten the space and bring that same feeling that interacting with nature and animals does in an urban environment removed from those things.” Learn more here.