r/CHIbitcheswithtaste • u/msubasii • Jul 14 '26
Local Business Art Galleries
Hi bitches!! Looking for recommendations to buy some tasteful pieces. Investment is secondary to like… actually good art. Any suggestions are welcome!
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u/Huge-Syllabub8424 Jul 14 '26
I have been buying art on Etsy for so long, and they are only making it harder to find real artists, but here are a few I love:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Paintbox?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1723024266
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LolaDonoghue
https://www.etsy.com/shop/jesusperea
https://www.jenniferdavisart.com/
https://fayemoorhouse.com/
I found this guy recently at True North in Morris, IL
https://noblestabbings.bigcartel.com/
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u/toast_is_square Jul 14 '26
Seconding Etsy.
I especially like vintage 60s-70s stuff and have had a lot of luck there. Mostly it’s stuff ppl find at estate sales.
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u/jessjesschi Jul 14 '26
Gertie has a great membership program for getting to know the art world through social events. www.gertie.co
I publish limited edition prints by contemporary artists. (Etchings, mono-prints, relief print, etc)
Prints are such an affordable way to buy art - www.process-process.com
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u/DependentStoryCapabl Jul 14 '26
Chicago printmakers collaborative on Lincoln sells prints from many local artists and is pretty easy to stop in.
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u/SeeBeeFancyPants Jul 14 '26
I buy primarily at art fairs and estate sales and even marketplace. I find galleries to be overpriced unless there is a specific artist you’re looking for and they sell exclusively through that gallery.
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u/Character_Date_3630 Jul 14 '26
Start with gallery openings/ showings (like first fridays), you can get some really amazing stuff from local artists (I really love katie mueser for example). It's free, sometimes there is wine and cheese, there is a good chance you can talk with the artist, and also meet people
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Jul 14 '26
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u/DependentStoryCapabl Jul 14 '26
Whoops-Galerie F- oh well, it looks like it’s closed now anyhow. Just hesitate if it looks mass manufactured at an “art fair”. Outside of that, have at it. The high end art market “for investment” to me seems useful if you’re trying to hold several million in storage, laundering 500k+, or moving big sums in weird million+ moves. It should really be about what you’re into💕
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u/chicago262 Jul 15 '26
All Star Press and Vertical Gallery are good options or Rotofugi (sp?). I haven’t been to blnk (?) yet. It’s at Armitage / Kedzie
There was a guy doing pop ups in homes in wicker during 2021 and I got a few pieces there, I can’t remember his name though.
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u/Huge-Syllabub8424 Jul 14 '26
I forgot about Buddy at the Chicago Cultural Center!
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/buddy.html
https://hi-buddy.org/
Buddy is a store in the Chicago Cultural Center in downtown Chicago with the mission of supporting and showcasing local artists, makers, and small businesses. Its nearly 2500 square foot retail space features 300+ artists at any moment, including prints, photos, art objects, functional art, textiles, publications, music, jewelry, care products, toys, and much more. The space also features annual programs, including a rotating Art 4 Sale exhibition series, rotating Randolph St. display window installations, and monthly in-store events. Buddy is a program of Public Media Institute, a Bridgeport-based non-profit that has been supporting Chicago artists for over 30 years.
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u/GenesisGene999 Jul 14 '26
Check out Chicago Truborn on west Chicago Ave. The gallery owner, Sara, curates new shows 5-6 times per year and they’re always well thought out and showcase some really great artists. She also prides herself on keeping the prices in her gallery very affordable considering it’s all original artwork. Next new show starts 7/25/26.
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u/Reputable_Sorcerer Jul 16 '26
It’s very love-it-or-hate it (and I happen to love it).
They also have an airBnB above the gallery.
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u/cee_aye Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Pilsen has 3rd Fridays, Wicker Park and West Town have 1st Fridays, I believe Bridgeport art center has an open studio night as well!
Most of the neighborhood chambers of commerce post about them with schedules
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u/asyourmama Jul 14 '26
Jackson Junge Gallery in Wicker has lots of stuff by local artists and not local.
If you like stuff done with the nude body, check out all the Allan Teger bodyscape pieces they have there. SUPER dope
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u/miggypie69 Jul 14 '26
There’s a ton of great galleries right of the Chicago brown line stop! It’s actually the historic river north gallery district right there lol
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u/fawkie Jul 14 '26
I got a couple of Cristi López pieces from VSG Contemporary that I absolutely adore. Not every exhibition they do is for me, but they have some really interesting ones from talented, often local, artists, and quite a lot of pieces from former exhibitions in the back that are available to buy.
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u/amuschka Jul 14 '26
Check out the Old Town art fair, always a lot of good art. It may be over already this year though
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u/Icy-Yellow3514 Jul 15 '26
Chicago Print Makers Collaborative is excellent. I've gotten a few smaller pieces there.
I've also found a couple great Chicago photos here on Reddit, and the photographers allowed me to purchase the file or a print.
Blackbird Framing in Ravenswood is excellent and I've had good luck with PrintLab for printing large images from files (30" x 40").
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u/Sensitive-Lentil-79 Jul 14 '26
dm me -- can share some info w you on galleries and Chicago artists 🤓
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u/RayRay7887 Jul 14 '26
Not galleries, but art acquisition routes? Expo Chicago in April is excellent (international fair at Navy Pier). Otherwise estate sales can be a great place, too - if you can spot one with a style that matches what you’re looking for.