Curator: Danni O’Brien
Opening Reception: Friday, June 5, 2026, 5-8 pm
The body has always been contested territory. Legislated, pathologized, fetishized, disciplined—the body and its desires have rarely been left in peace, let alone in the control of the people who inhabit them.
Melanie P. Brown: Driving My Meat Machine: Flight Fantasies
Opening Reception: Friday, July 10th, 5-8pm
Exhibition dates: July 10 – 31, 2026
Artist talk: Saturday, July 18th, 3-4pm
Melanie P. Brown has a long standing practice of painting in direct response to sound, music, and motion. Since 2020 her process has centered on live and recorded sound, her gestures and movements while painting, and video of birds and her own body in motion. Preparing extensive palettes and integrating pastel and charcoal, she translates rhythm, texture, and spatial perception into layered compositions.
Ruti Modlin : Saltwater Lullabies
Opening Reception: Friday, July 10th, 5-8pm
Artist talk: Saturday, July 11th, 1-2pm
Exhibition dates: July 10 – 31, 2026
"Saltwater Lullabies" gathers my new body of work, born out of memories of a fluid childhood. What began as a lullaby of waves evolved into a chorus of deeply human witnessed experiences. Raised in port cities across different continents & on merchant ships under the watch of my father, a sea captain, I grew up between horizons & cultures, rocked by the same salt wind.
Audrey Yang: Sanctuary As Method
Opening Reception: Friday, July 10th, 5-8pm
Exhibition dates: July 10 – 31, 2026
Artist talk: Friday, July 31th, 4-5pm
“Sanctuary As Method” offers artmaking as refuge for “throwaway” materials—snack wrappers, used kitchen gloves, old bedsheets, dryer lint—and turbulent emotions—anger, disappointment, grief, fear. These are precious evidence and accumulation of every day that we are alive. Processing these over weeks, months, and years—through repeated acts of sewing, folding, painting, soaking, dyeing, shredding, reassembling—yields continuous transformation that cannot be defined or controlled long-term.
Apply Now! ARC Gallery is pleased to announce a fully funded thanks to a grant from the Athena Foundation, open call for three Solo Exhibitions for September 2026. Application Deadline: Saturday, June 20 at 10:00 pm CST.
A.R.C. Gallery proudly awards fully funded Solo Exhibitions to multiple artists each year. These exhibitions made possible by a generous grant from the Athena Foundation in support of making solo show opportunities accessible to a broader audience. Visual artists of all disciplines, ages and geographic locations are encouraged to apply. The artists are selected by the A.R.C. cooperative based on the quality of their work and commitment to their practice.
Members
ARC GALLERY & EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION, SINCE 1973.
ARC Gallery is an internationally recognized exhibition space that has been an integral part of the Chicago art scene since its inception in 1973. Founded during the women’s movement as an alternative to the mainstream gallery system, ARC is one of the longest running art spaces of its kind in the country. As a non-profit, woman artist-run cooperative, ARC continues its feminist tradition by providing exhibition opportunities for professional and emerging artists working in all media based on excellence of artwork, without discrimination toward ethnicity, race, gender, age, class, religious, sexual or political orientation.
Gallery Hours:
Thursday & Friday: 2 – 6 pm
Saturday & Sunday: 12 – 4 pm