{"id":636095,"date":"2026-10-20T08:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/636095\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T08:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T08:18:23","slug":"prairie-adventurous-chicago-gallery-to-close-after-nearly-a-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/636095\/","title":{"rendered":"Prairie, Adventurous Chicago Gallery, to Close After Nearly a Decade"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tPrairie<\/a>, a Chicago gallery that helped put a range of cutting-edge artists on the path to success, will close after nine years.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe gallery announced its closure on Friday by revealing that its forthcoming exhibition, a group show called \u201cRetrospective,\u201d would be its final one. \u201cThis will be our last show,\u201d the gallery wrote <\/a>on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\n\tFounded in 2017 by Tim Mann and Jack Schneider as an artist-run space, the gallery had a name that referred to \u201cthe ecosystem that thrived in and around Chicago prior to the region\u2019s colonization and industrialization,\u201d per a description written for a prior edition of Chicago Exhibition Week. It sought to show art in a setting that was \u201cfree from the pressures of commercial viability.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tWhile many galleries have closed in response to the pressures of the art market, Schneider said Prairie\u2019s shuttering had little to do with money.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe were never a market-oriented space,\u201d Schneider said on Monday. \u201cI think an artist friend of ours, Mira Dayal, recently used the phrase \u2018commercially irreverent\u2019 to describe her practice, and I think that pretty perfectly describes our program and approach. We never expected to turn a profit, and we never did. We only ever, through occasional sales, fundraising, and occasional grants, raised just enough money to run the program itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe shuttering had been planned for a year, Mann added, calling the occasion \u201ca nice celebratory moment to close on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe gallery had a reputation for pinpointing noteworthy talents during the earliest stages of their careers.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsabelle Frances McGuire, whose beguiling sculptures of witches struck a chord at the recent Whitney Biennial<\/a>, had her first solo show ever with Prairie, in 2017. Andr\u00e9 Maga\u00f1a, a standout of the 2026 edition of MoMA PS1\u2019s Greater New York quinquennial<\/a>, had his second-ever one-person exhibition with Prairie, in 2019.<\/p>\n

\n\tKira Scerbin, Craig Jun Li, Max Guy, Katz Tepper, ASMA, ektor garcia, and Amina Ross also showed with the gallery.<\/p>\n

\n\tMann said that Priairie was founded in his and Schneider\u2019s studio with a tradition of edgy alternative spaces in mind. Drawing influence from Chicago outfits such as New Capital and Queer Thoughts (which later moved to New York and became influential there<\/a>), Prairie showcased a range of artists whose work might not have fit neatly into the commercial ecosystem. The relatively low cost of rent in Chicago helped, he added.<\/p>\n

\n\tSchneider said that he and Mann planned to continue their work together. \u201cWe want to do curatorial work, just outside the guise of an artist-run space,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n