Expanding Visions: Spring 2026

Expanding Visions: Spring 2026

When: Wednesdays, 11:30 am–1:00 pm and 1:30–3:00 pm, April 15–June 10, 2026
All registrants will be assigned a time slot to limit group sizes.
Where: Private collections, artist studios, and exhibition spaces throughout Chicago and the suburbs
Price: $350 for full series of eight sessions

You MUST be a current member of Art Encounter to register.

We are currently taking full-series registrations only. Please email info@artencounter.org to be added to the waitlist for individual sessions.

Another season of our signature Expanding Visions program is here! Join Art Encounter's Artistic Director and Co-Founder Joanna Pinsky for behind-the-scenes access to art experiences you won't find anywhere else. Meet professional local artists in their studios to learn about their practices first-hand, visit collectors in their homes to view their artworks and hear about their journeys as patrons of the arts, and dive deep into outstanding exhibitions at unique galleries as well as premier Chicago museums. We'll engage in active dialogue with our hosts and each other, opening our minds to new ideas and possibilities.

Work by self-taught artist Bill Brady, whose exhibition we will see at the Intuit Art Museum

Work by Gennady Troshkov from the collection of Jan Devlin

Janet Devlin and Mel Theobald, Artists and Collectors | April 15
Our spring series opens with two Chicago apartments owned by two companions. In Jan Devlin’s home, discover walls filled with art including works by Gennady Troshkov, Margaret Klimek Phillips, Annalee Hultgren, Oscar Romero, Annegret Reichmann, Barbara Crain, Tony Phillips, and Sophia Pichinos, as well as her own work. In addition to being a painter and a photographer, Mel Theobald worked with the Russian Ministry of Culture to promote art and artists after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His diverse collection includes paintings and sculptures by Russian artists; prints by George Bellows, Honoré Daumier, and Philip Pearlstein; paintings by numerous Chicago artists; Japanese block prints; Yoruba Ibeji sculptures; and his own paintings and photographs.

Joseph Taylor, Artist and Illustrator | April 22
Meet an artist who has transformed his Evanston home to create a Prairie-style interior filled with his artworks. Joe thrives on exploring different artistic processes including printmaking, plein air painting, and mosaics, and his works range from portraits to cityscapes imbued with light and color. Find out how he balances his personal art practice with his work as a commercial illustrator, which includes digital vector art and beautiful posters for major corporations.

Victoria Granacki, Collector | May 6
Feast your eyes on over 125 artworks in a private collection that features Chicago’s Hairy Who members and associates. In her historic Wrigleyville graystone home, writer Vicki Granacki will share her personal history as the daughter of an artist and tell us about her work preserving historic buildings. We’ll also learn about how Vicki and her late husband, Lee Wesley, pursued their passion to collect art. Enjoy the mix of architectural history and lively contemporary artworks of significant works by significant Chicago Imagists including Ray Yoshida, Don Baum, Jim Nutt, Karl Wirsum, Suellen Rocca, and Ed Paschke, as well as artists following in their footsteps such as Phyllis Bramson, Joanne Carson, Robert Lostutter, Jim Lutes, and Hollis Sigler.

Work by Phyllis Bramson, left, and Joanne Carson, right, in Victoria Granacki's home

Lilach Schrag, Artist | May 13
Journey into large and small mixed-media works that combine traditional and natural materials in the Highland Park home and studio of Israeli-born Lilach Schrag. Exploring myths and legends that feature transformative encounters, the artist produces work both indoors and outdoors including paintings, fabric drawings, installations, photographs, and videos. We’ll discuss how the visual and physical complexity of her work affects us emotionally, and Lilach will talk about her unique artistic processes and the way her work connects to her female and Jewish identities.

Cleveland Dean, Artist | May 20
Encounter an artist in his Streeterville home and studio who prefers working with prosaic materials to create sculptures and abstract paintings in all sizes. Cleveland uses “anything I get my hands on,” including metal, cardboard, tile, netting, and rope. He is drawn to working in the color black, which he considers “very undervalued.” These choices emphasize a variety of textures and reflective surfaces that produce visual tension with conversations between the actual physicality of the materials and the viewers’ emotional associations.

Intuit Art Museum | May 27
Today, we are thrilled to explore the recently-renovated and expanded Intuit Art Museum, a premier museum for self-taught artists who work outside of the mainstream due to societal, economic, or geographic barriers. The art begins on the building’s exterior with artist Bob Faust’s lively decorations incorporating images from the museum’s collection. In addition to Intuit’s collection, which includes a reproduction of the room where Henry Darger lived and worked, several special exhibitions are on view. We will discuss Drawing with Metal, a large retrospective of Philadelphia artist Bill Brady’s dynamic sculptures and sketchbooks created over five decades.

Gwen Yen Chiu, Artist | June 3
Discover a young Taiwanese American artist who explores her sense of home, belonging, and identity in the Asian diaspora. Producing airy metal sculptures, Gwen brings her background in traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting into her contemporary creations. At her Humboldt Park Studio, we’ll learn about Gwen’s process–which features fabricated and cast metal at its core–as well as her work as a fabricator for other artists. Gwen has produced many small-scale works along with several large outdoor pieces. Her 12 ft. welded aluminum sculpture Thought Vortex was awarded the Chicago Sculpture Exhibit’s Richard Hunt Award in 2021.

Mary Stowell, Collector | June 10
You will not want to miss this visit to a stunning Winnetka home and garden with an extraordinary contemporary art collection. We will see work by internationally-renowned artists including large-scale works by Elizabeth Murray, Kara Walker, and Kerry James Marshall; an installation by the edgy Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn; elegant work by Miyoko Ito and Nicholas Africanos; and work by Chicago Imagists, including two Roger Brown paintings, an Ed Paschke painting, and an entire room full of works by Karl Wirsum. Mary has renovated the entire home, which formerly belonged to a major collector of abstract expressionism.