“Confessing a Feeling” by Ray Borchers, as featured in her solo exhibition “Coasting on None.” Courtesy of the artist.

This two-week listing brings new work (literal and metaphorical), old traditions, and a timeless television classic.

“Coasting on None,” Ray Borchers (BFA 2001), The Dime, July 8, 2022 – August, 2022

“Coasting on None,” the latest exhibition of paintings by Ray Borcher provides colorful vibes for the summer season. Expect large canvases with larger colors — in the vibrant “Confessing a Feeling,” layers a saint, a specter, and flailing limbs bolstered with punchy primaries. These new works draw from that of artist Tony Fitzpatrick, also the owner of The Dime gallery. “Tony has been a major influence on my work, going back twenty years when I was a young scrapper who felt like a total outsider at The Art Institute of Chicago,” Borcher said. See the show July 8 until August, closing TBD.

“New Work,” SAIC Galleries, June 23, 2022 – July 23, 2022

The academic year is over for most, but by no means does summer mean a pause for SAIC exhibitions. The bluntly titled “New Work” highlights exactly that, bringing together original work from more than a dozen graduate and undergraduate SAIC students. Per the press release: “The works examine the dualities of individual and collective spaces and experiences through ritual, history, technology, and environment.”  Find it at the SAIC Galleries on 33 E. Washington St.

“Sweeping Red Tone (all in the break)” by Jennie C. Jones, as featured in her solo exhibition “Nocturnes.” Courtesy of the artist.

“Nocturnes,” Jennie C. Jones (BFA 1991), PATRON Gallery, June 4, 2022 – July 16, 2022

Musicality meets minimalism with the works of Jennie C. Jones. Her latest exhibition of paintings, “Nocturnes,” derives its title both from the nighttime atmosphere of the term, but also from the word’s musical lineage of compositions inspired by the darkness (you’ll recognize Frédéric Chopin’s “Nocturne No. 2” in precisely two notes). The show is not one to sleep on — its gestural, monochromatic works invite a close look, like peering through the dark, to unearth their mechanics. A close listen is also warranted — in lieu of standard canvases, Jones repurposes sound panels, traditionally used to quiet a space but here used as a visual and auditory element. 

“Forothermore” at MCA Chicago. Photo by Nathan Keay, courtesy of MCA Chicago.

“Nick Cave: Forothermore,” Museum of Contemporary Art, May 14 – Oct. 2, 2022

Longtime Chicagoan and occasional SAIC faculty member Nick Cave receives his first survey exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago this summer. Cave, not to be confused with the musician of the same name, and his vivid, maximalist works will fill the museum’s fourth-floor Griffin Galleries. On tap: sprawling installations of colorful suspended metal, elaborate costumes or “soundsuits, immersive films and more. 

“Cezanne,” Art Institute of Chicago, May 15 – Sept. 5, 2022

Amidst the Art Institute’s perennial art offerings comes a rather once-in-a-while occasion with the arrival of “Cezanne,” the museum’s comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the titular Impressionist. Paul Cezanne’s sprawling oeuvre of painterly still lifes and landscapes takes over the Regenstein Hall, compiling more than one hundred works by the artist in his first stateside retrospective in 25 years (and the AIC’s first Cezanne-centric undertaking in 70). While a premium exhibition for the general public, SAIC community members can get in for free during regular museum hours.

EDITOR’S WILDCARD: “Columbo,” streaming on Peacock

Just one more thing…  If franchises, multi-verse this, cross-over that, the state of the world at large, et cetera, have left you feeling like used bubblegum on hot pavement, then do I have the viewing recommendation for you! “Columbo,” the classic investigative procedural starring the late Peter Falk, offers simplified viewing without dumbing down its twisting plots. The show follows Lieutenant Columbo of the Los Angeles Police Department, where he solves the crimes of the city’s elite. The catch: each feature-length episode lays out exactly who the killer is (a role regularly filled by the likes of John Cassavetes and Jack Cassidy), how they did it and why at the very beginning, giving the viewer all of the information from the start. It is then up to the gruff detective to work backwards, unraveling “perfect” crimes as he goes. A must-watch for fans of Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” (Johnson is a self-professed Columbo super-fan, and Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc is functionally a himbo Columbo).