Chicago City Wire

The Art Institute of Chicago has opened a new special collection rotation titled Critical Fabulation, on view until January 4, 2026. The exhibition is organized by Simone Leigh, an internationally recognized contemporary artist originally from Chicago, in collaboration with the museum’s curators.

Critical Fabulation brings together works from the museum’s African, American, and European art collections. The installation aims to highlight connections between objects that are not typically displayed together due to the museum’s usual organization by chronology, geography, and media. This approach often makes it difficult for visitors to see relationships among objects from different parts of the world or time periods.

Paulina Pobocha, chair and curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, said: “It has been a privilege to work with Simone Leigh and together begin to consider the many ways we can complicate the stories we share with our audiences. Bringing together works from across the museum in one presentation enables new, unconventional, or overlooked narratives to surface. The conversations between these objects, in turn, may spark conversations among visitors, encouraging renewed engagement with familiar artworks and altogether novel discoveries.”

The exhibition features 34 pieces from various parts of the museum’s collection. These include paintings and sculptures from artists such as Constantin Brancusi and Pablo Picasso as well as Eva Hesse, Betye Saar, and Steve McQueen. Among them is Martinique—a sculpture created by Leigh using stoneware and porcelain.

Simone Leigh curated Critical Fabulation alongside Paulina Pobocha.