September 19–October 11, 2025 at 400 N. Peoria
Over My Head: Encounters with Conceptual Art in a Flyover City, 1984–2015
Curated by Gareth Kaye and Iris Colburn
Presented by Gertie
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Opening weekend
September 19, 12–8pm
September 20, 10am–6pm
September 21, 10am–6pm
Regular hours
(September 22–October 11)
Mon–Thu, 2-7pm
Fri–Sun, 12-8pm
Dara Birnbaum
Gaylen Gerber
Wendy Jacob
Rashid Johnson
Tony Lewis
Martin Puryear
Kay Rosen
Rosemarie Trockel
Jordan Wolfson
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung
Organized on the occasion of Chicago Exhibition Weekend, Over My Head presents a fragment of Chicago’s oft-forgotten position as a nerve center for post-conceptual art. The works on view (or a version of them) were at some point exhibited, sold, or produced in Chicago between 1984 and 2015. Their inclusion here both recalls particular exhibitions and, more tangentially, the complex entanglements between artists, dealers, curators, critics, and collectors that come to shape how we know a place (and an artist’s work) in hindsight. Among the cohort of galleries and institutions whose programs laid the foundation for this recollection of Chicago are Donald Young, Rhona Hoffman, Feature, Robbin Lockett, Rowley Kennerk, Shane Campbell, Monique Meloche, Corbett vs. Dempsey, GRAY, the Art Institute of Chicago, the MCA Chicago, and the Renaissance Society.
This exhibition may be approached in two distinct, if not reciprocal, ways: as an assembly of discrete artworks relating to a distinct moment in an artist’s history with Chicago and as a chorus asynchronously inciting a contemporary conversation around time, place, and memory, which might remind us that forgetting can sometimes be an invitation to return.
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Rhona Hoffman and Donald Young enjoy their first full year of exhibitions at 215 & 212 W. Superior St. respectively
Young Hoffman Gallery, founded by the two in 1976, closed in 1983
Artist and curator Hudson opens Feature at 340 W. Huron St.
Hudson and Rhona Hoffman co-curate Invitational, an exhibition held between their two galleries
Martin Puryear: New Sculpture opens at Donald Young Gallery
Robbin Lockett Gallery opens at 703 N. Wells St
Donald Young Gallery opens at 325 W. Huron St. with Curated by David Salle / Installations and Sculpture, among the artists is Martin Puryear
Kay Rosen: Paintings opens at Feature
The Non-Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1985–???? opens at Feature, among the artists are Gaylen Gerber and Kay Rosen
Martin Puryear opens at Donald Young Gallery
Kay Rosen opens at Feature
Gaylen Gerber opens at Robbin Lockett
After closing its Chicago space in July, Feature opens on 84 Broome St., New York with Kay Rosen: The Ed Paintings as well as a group exhibition
Plus opens at Robbin Lockett, among the artists is Wendy Jacob
Mediate Knot, curated by Gaylen Gerber and Robbin Lockett, opens at Robbin Lockett
Problems with Rereading Rereading, curated by Jeanne Dunning and Hirsch Perlman, opens at Rhona Hoffman Gallery, among the artists are Gaylen Gerber and Kay Rosen
Rosemarie Trockel opens at Donald Young Gallery
Gaylen Gerber opens at Robbin Lockett Gallery
Get Well Soon opens at Robbin Lockett Gallery, among the artists is Wendy Jacob
Gaylen Gerber opens at Robbin Lockett Gallery
Dara Birnbaum's Tiananmen Square: Break-In Transmission opens at Rhona Hoffman Gallery
The Body opens at the Renaissance Society, among the artists is Wendy Jacob
Wendy Jacob's shunt opens at Robbin Lockett Gallery
Rosemarie Trockel opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Donald Young Gallery moves to Seattle and opens at 2107 Third Ave
Martin Puryear's Sculpture 1969–1989 opens at the Art Institute of Chicago
Gaylen Gerber opens at the Renaissance Society
Why Paint? opens at the Renaissance Society, among the artists is Kay Rosen
Dara Birnbaum's The Damnation of Faust opens at Rhona Hoffman Gallery
Kay Rosen opens at Rhona Hoffman Gallery
Robbin Lockett Gallery closes
Legend in My Living Room, curated by Terry R. Meyers opens at Rhona Hoffman Gallery, among the artists is Kay Rosen
Rhona Hoffman Gallery opens Paintings, among the artists are Gaylen Gerber and Kay Rosen
Kay Rosen: Home on the Range opens at the MCA Chicago, Elvis Elvis is installed as a mural on the museum’s exterior
The MCA Chicago opens to the public at 220 E. Chicago Ave, after moving from its original home at 237 E. Ontario St.
Art in Chicago 1945–1995, curated by Lynne Warren, opens at the MCA Chicago, among the artists are Gaylen Gerber, Kay Rosen and Martin Puryear
Gaylen Gerber’s Backdrop is exhibited in cooperation with David Robbins as part of Locked Groove, a house party DJ set organized by Doozer Collaborative
Donald Young Gallery returns to Chicago and opens on 933 W. Washington Blvd
Monique Meloche opens her debut exhibition out of her townhouse in Ukrainian Village
moniquemeloche opens to the public at 951 W. Fulton Market
Rhona Hoffman Gallery moves to 118 N. Peoria St.
Shane and Julie Campbell open Shane Campbell Gallery out of their home in Oak Park
Rashid Johnson: The Rise and Fall of a Proper Negro opens at moniquemeloche
Corbett vs. Dempsey opens on North Ashland Ave above Dusty Groove record store
Gaylen Gerber opens at Donald Young Gallery
Rashid Johnson: Stay Black and Die opens at moniquemeloche
Martin Puryear opens at Donald Young Gallery
Shane Campbell Gallery moves to 637 N. Milwaukee Ave
Rowley Kennerk Gallery opens at 119 N. Peoria St. with The Subtlety of ＿＿＿ The Fortitude of ＿＿＿, among the artists is Jordan Wolfson
Jordan Wolfson: Perfect Lover opens at Rowley Kennerk Gallery
Gaylen Gerber opens at Rowley Kennerk Gallery
Rosemarie Trockel's Favorite Things opens at Donald Young Gallery, the exhibition includes the collages Dutch Door, She is Dead 4, and Something of Tomorrow
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung's She-male Guitar Solo opens at Rowley Kennerk Gallery
Point Vierge – A Summer Exhibition opens at Rowley Kennerk Gallery, among the artists are Gaylen Gerber, Jordan Wolfson and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung
Rashid Johnson: The New Escapist Promised Land Garden and Recreation Center opens at moniquemeloche
Rashid Johnson: Cosmic Slops opens at GRAY
Gaylen Gerber opens at Rowley Kennerk Gallery
The Modern Wing opens at the Art Institute, Gaylen Gerber’s Backdrop is included in Contemporary Photography from the Permanent Collection
moniquemeloche moves to 2154 W. Division St.
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung's Laziest Girl in Town opens at Rowley Kennerk Gallery
Rowley Kennerk Gallery closes
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung's Negative Joy opens at Corbett vs. Dempsey
In the Spirit of Robert Walser: Rosemarie Trockel opens at Donald Young Gallery
Rashid Johnson: Message to Our Folks opens at the MCA
Tony Lewis's Nine Drawings for Charles opens at Shane Campbell Gallery
Donald Young Gallery closes
Chicago Conceptual Abstraction, 1986–1995, curated by Lynne Warren, opens at the MCA Chicago
Gaylen Gerber opens at the MCA Chicago
Rashid Johnson's Remembering D.B. Cooper opens at moniquemeloche as part of the gallery’s ‘on the wall’ series
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung's Violet Fogs Azure Snot opens at Corbett vs. Dempsey
Whitney Biennial opens, curated by Michelle Grabner, Stuart Comer, and Anthony Elms, among the artists are Tony Lewis, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, and Gaylen Gerber
Feature Inc. closes
Retreat, curated by Theaster Gates, opens at GRAY, among the artists is Tony Lewis
Kay Rosen's LOL opens at moniquemeloche as part of the gallery’s ‘on the wall’ series
Tony Lewis's Pall opens following Shane Campbell Gallery’s move to 2021 S. Wabash Ave, the exhibition included his floor drawing Untitled 5 (2015)
Martin Puryear: Multiple Dimensions opens at the Art Institute of Chicago
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung's Jennifer Jason Leigh opens at Corbett vs. Dempsey
GRAY opens their new exhibition space at 2044 W. Carroll Ave
Tony Lewis's Howling opens at Shane Campbell Gallery
moniquemeloche moves to 451 N. Paulina St
Corbett vs. Dempsey moves to 2156 W. Fulton St.
Shane Campbell Gallery closes
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung's Flim Flam opens at Corbett vs. Dempsey
Rhona Hoffman Gallery closes