SAIC Galleries to Exhibit Two Fall Shows: LeRoy Neiman: A Keen Observer of Style and Style is the Body Thinking

CHICAGO—This fall, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) will present two major parallel exhibitions at SAIC Galleries: LeRoy Neiman: A Keen Observer of Style and Style is the Body Thinking. These concurrent exhibitions speak to the continued resonance of the body as a critical presence, conveyor, and social marker of identity within culture. Both exhibitions will open on August 31; A Keen Observer of Style will close on November 21, and Style is the Body Thinking will close on December 5.

LeRoy Neiman: A Keen Observer of Style was organized by the Kent State University Museum in collaboration with the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation and focuses on Neiman’s (SAIC 1946–50, HON 2006) striking fashion illustrations. Curated by Sara Hume, the exhibition explores how this lesser-known work influenced his lifelong interest in capturing the clothing, gesture, and style of his subjects. A Keen Observer of Style unites 85 illustrations spanning Neiman’s early work in retail and commercial illustration in Chicago and his sketches and studies throughout the ensuing decades, showcasing themes such as masculinity, celebrity, and the formal elements of gesture, line, and color. Neiman attended SAIC from 1946 to 1950 and taught figure drawing and fashion illustration at SAIC for the following decade. He received an honorary degree in 2006, and his work is in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and others.

"LeRoy Neiman’s legacy is woven into the fabric of SAIC, where he both studied and taught," said SAIC President Jiseon Lee Isbara. "This exhibition is a beautiful homecoming that shows us how his early mastery of fashion illustration and human gesture laid the groundwork for his extraordinary career."

Style is the Body Thinking is a group exhibition of international artists curated by SAIC Crown Family Professor in Painting and Drawing Michelle Grabner that further explores iterations of style, portraiture, and figuration in contemporary art. It examines the social and aesthetic affordances of style and figuration from the 1960s to the present, addressing style’s relationship to identity, power, labor, resistance, taste, the body, technology, and affect. It features the work of more than 50 artists across disciplines, including SAIC alumni Elijah Burgher (Post-Bacc 2002, MFA 2004), Ed Paschke (BFA 1961, MFA 1970, HON 1990), Aliza Nisenbaum (BFA 2001, MFA 2005), Christina Ramberg (BFA 1968, MFA 1973), and Saya Woolfalk (MFA 2004).

"This exhibition considers style not as surface articulation, but as embodied thought,” said Grabner. “Across six decades, the artists in this exhibition use the figure to make visible the ways art, history, power, and attitude are performed and lived through the body and in the artistic imagination."

SAIC Galleries, located at 33 East Washington Street, is free and open to the public Monday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. A state-issued ID is required for entry. Visit saic.edu/exhibitions/saic-galleries to learn more.

Artists Participating in Style is the Body Thinking
Benny Andrews (BFA 1958), Diane Arbus, Vanessa Beecroft, Kelly Beeman, Dawoud Bey, Amoako Boafo, Elijah Burgher (Post-Bacc 2002, MFA 2004), Bill and Stephanie Sick Professor of Fashion, Body and Garment Nick Cave, Nik Cho (MFA 2024), Paul D’Amato, Angela Dufresne, Jeanne Dunning (MFA 1985), Mari Eastman (MFA 1996), Hossein Fatemi, Nan Goldin, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Rodney Graham, Maïmouna Guerresi, Sheila Held, Sky Hopinka, Peter Hujar, Michelle Im, Ayana V. Jackson, Brad Kahlhamer, Deborah Kass, Jose Lerma, Yvette Mayorga (MFA 2016), Patric McCoy, Shimon Minamikawa, Marilyn Minter, LeRoy Neiman (SAIC 1946–50, HON 2006), Aliza Nisenbaum (BFA 2001, MFA 2005), Lorraine O’Grady, Julian Opie, Tony Oursler, Martin Parr, Ed Paschke (BFA 1961, MFA 1970, HON 1990), Ebony G. Patterson, Brianna Perry (MFA 2024), Jason Pickleman, Professor, Adj. Cheryl Pope (BFA 2003, MDes 2010), Robert Pruitt, Christina Ramberg (BFA 1968, MFA 1973), Collier Schorr, Chloe Seibert (BFA 2011), Tschabalala Self, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Cindy Sherman, Cauleen Smith, Dylan Spaysky, Tony Tasset (MFA 1985), Jake Troyli, Tristan Unrau, Gillian Wearing, Karl Wirsum (BFA 1961, HON 2016), and Saya Woolfalk (MFA 2004). 

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For 160 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts program ranked number two among art and design colleges by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world, and adults, teens, and kids in our Continuing Studies classes have the opportunity to explore their creative sides, build portfolios, and advance their skills. Notable alumni and faculty include Georgia O’Keeffe, Nick Cave, David Sedaris, Cynthia Rowley, Michelle Grabner, Richard Hunt, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Jeff Koons.