Current Exhibition
Goldilocks Moment
Jan. 9 - Feb 7, 2026
Featured Artists:
Anthony Adcock
dado
Marco G. Ferrari
Hannah Givler
Maymay Jumsai
Stacee Kalmanovsky
Paul G. Somers
Jay Wolke
Goldilocks Moment is a playful yet contemplative exhibition that explores themes in the popular childhood fairy tale, such as when things are "just right." Those times come in a variety of forms. How do we find that moment? How do we keep that moment? What do we do when we lose it? The story changes when the Bears come home and disruption occurs. But who is the intruder in this story?
There is a concept in the field of astronomy called the Goldilocks zone, which is the exact distance from the sun where human life is possible. The artists are interested in the Goldilocks Moment as functional folklore and how the concept gets adopted by economists, scientists, and culture makers to describe a kind of moment, the right moment to leave, the moment to stay, the moment of creation, the moment of equilibrium, the “just right” state of being.
The artists are a collective of mostly University of Chicago graduates who have collaborated for many years. They have presented their work in unique spaces including the loading dock of a contemporary art museum and a friend’s garage as a drive-through exhibit during covid. Working together for them is an endeavor of joy that represents a Goldilocks Moment.
Each of the artists bring these larger questions into a personal realm that they explore through a variety of media. The artists use photos, film, sculptures, painting and performance to consider ideas such as cultural change, how images can illuminate qualities of common experiences, and one’s comfort and identity in society. They realize that even the practice of creating can bring Goldilocks Moments. As one of the artists put it, In the field, my Goldilocks Moment is when I am so much in the moment of making an image, that I can forget having made it or ever having been there.
The artists in this exhibition are Anthony Adcock, dado, Marco G. Ferrari, Hannah Givler, Maymay Jumsai, Stacee Kalmanovsky, Paul G. Somers, and Jay Wolke.
The Goldilocks Moment opens at SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art on Friday, January 9 from 5-8 p.m. The Reception for the show will be on Friday, January 16 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
There will be an Artist Talk on Saturday, January 31 from 2-3:30 pm, where a panel of several of the artists will be interviewed by Molly O’Donnell.
SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art is located at 1527 N. Ashland Ave. Regular hours are Fridays 5-7 p.m., Saturdays from 12-4 p.m., and by appointment by calling Laura Botwinick at 773.513.4436 or emailing Lkbotwinick@gmail.com.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Jack Poker
Beneath an Economy of Sky
Feb 20 - March 21, 2026
Opening Reception:
Friday, Feb 20, 6-9 pm
Previous Exhibitions
Michael J. Miller
A Measure of Time
Oct. 17 - Dec. 6, 2025
Sharon Bladholm
Monica J. Brown
Mirentxu Ganzarain
Laleh Motlagh
Jack Poker
In the Gallery Annex:
Selected Large Works by SoNa Gallery Artists
Map Without Territory
Industry of the Ordinary
2025 Summer Residency Exhibition
Sep. 6 - Sep. 27, 2025
Opening Reception:
Sat. Sep. 6, 5-8 pm
Artist Walkthrough:
Sat., Sep. 13, 5-7 pm
Conversation with Adam Brooks and Mat Wilson, Industry of the Ordinary:
Fri., Sep. 19, 6-7:30 pm, in conjunction with CXW25
Map Without Territory - Exhibition Description
The Industry of the Ordinary 2025 Residency exhibition takes inspiration from Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation (1981), in which he famously claims that the map eventually “precedes the territory.” In his analysis, representations, images, and systems of signs begin to shape reality itself rather than merely reflecting it.
Today, this condition extends far beyond the political sphere. Across cultures and communities, layers of media imagery, advertising, and digital self-presentation shape how people imagine identity, faith, belonging, and even personal memory. Social class distinctions, religious narratives, and the psychology of desire are increasingly filtered through signs and symbols that often obscure the realities they claim to reveal.
At the same time, political narratives frequently illustrate this phenomenon. During conflict, satellite images, viral videos, and government briefings circulate globally, creating a version of events consumed through the screen. The experiences of those on the ground are overshadowed by the curated, symbol-laden storylines shaping international opinion. A map of conflict bearing little sign of the lives it consumes.
Within the context of the Residency, this theme becomes a framework for exploring how art can address a world where the symbolic overtakes the real—where what we see, share, and believe may be shaped more by representation than lived experience. The work considers what it means to search for meaning, authenticity, and self-understanding across a terrain defined by disconnection.
Artists:
Pruthvish Vikas Dangat
Taylor Ekern
Helen Harrison
Abby Haskins
Zeynep Karahasan
Koki Kin
Harry Yechan Lee
Anya Lomachenko
Akemi Nomo
De Pan
Autumn Pease
Olivia Sharkey
Elyxir Van Kampen
Ila Waller
Mexiuan Wang
Alan Emerson Hicks
Better World
Jun. 6 - Jul. 12, 2025
Artist Talk:
Sat., July 5, 2-3 pm
Closing Reception:
Sat., July 12, 2-4 pm
Kermit Berg
Apr. 11 - May 17, 2025
Article 1: Human Dignity Shall Be Inviolable
Pinar Aral and
Mirentxu Ganzarain: Unearthing
Feb. 1 - Mar. 22, 2025
Artist Talk, Sat., March 8, 2-3 pm
Poetry/Storytelling Event, Sat., March 15, 2-3 pm
Group Show: Lightness and Being
Nov. 8, 2024 - Jan. 11, 2025
Closing Reception, Sat., Jan 11, 2-4 pm
How do we maintain serenity and peace within when forces outside of us are ambiguous and even tumultuous? How do we feel joy, share love, work, and create in times of uncertainty? What does it mean to “be” when we may feel apprehension about the future. This group show, SoNa Chicago’s first open call for artists, explores how artists interpret and express the idea of lightness and being. The artists selected for the show reflect on time, memories, and what lies ahead. They convey their wonderment at life, nature, spirituality, and our connections to each other. Light streams through the sky, through glass, or from an object. Lightness is interpreted through form, color, and texture. Silence, stillness, and meditation on spaces is conveyed in some of the artwork. Other artists reflect on hardship and how to move through it. The artists make statements with their work that are profoundly positive, and generative. They connect to nature, humanity, and creativity as forces that fill us and can impact society. Questions of what it means to be and how lightness can imbue our consciousness and senses are explored through various media.
Exhibiting Artists:
Pinar Aral, Sharon Bladholm, Monica J. Brown, reisling dong, Alan Emerson Hicks, Robert Fields, Mirentxu Ganzarain, Glen Gauthier, Markus Giolas, Fletcher Hayes, Anne Hughes, Ethan Hutchinson, Natalie Jackson, Damien James, Kathleen King, Pauline Kochanski, Loralyn Kumlin, Kim Laurel, Beatriz Ledesma, Antwane Lee, Michael Miller, Rosalina Perez, Corinne Peterson, Diane Ponder, Renee Robbins, Tom Robinson, Julian Sarria, Nicholas Sistler, Paul Gerard Somers, Eve Sopala, Gerardo Villarreal, Kathy Weaver, Glenn Wexler
Sept 6 - Oct 26, 2024
Nicholas Sistler: TORQUE
May 31 - Jul. 20, 2024
Laleh Motlagh: Entanglement
SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art Gallery features new works by Laleh Motlagh
SoNa Chicago is proud to feature new work by artist Laleh Motlagh in a solo exhibition from May 31 - July 20, 2024. As an Iranian Azerbaijanis-American woman, Laleh Motlagh delves into profound explorations of love, intimacy, spirituality, trust, and resilience while remaining present to her own localities. Based in Chicago, Motlagh challenges socio-cultural alienation and navigates the complexities of multicultural identity. Often collaborative with other-than-human, she employs drawing, painting, sculpture, performance, video, and installation to question the boundaries between human and natural life, the admissible and the taboo, as well as the geopolitical overtones found so prevalently in the discourse of border zones and notions of belonging.
Her new exhibition, Entanglement, explores issues related to transformation of personal memories, contemplation on entanglement, love, care and intimacy, containment & consolation, and seeing the unseen. The exhibit includes drawings, paintings, video, and mixed media sculptures. The work is a continuation of her study of the remains of her houseplants and of those in the garden outside. In an interview with writer Mána Taylor in NewCity Art, Motlagh says “They are still changing.” The dried remains are featured in this exhibition at SoNa Chicago, including a series called “Cycles and Voids,” where different hues of dried material are shown in their varied and subtle shades. Laleh Motlagh was one of NewCity’s Breakout Artists of 2023.
The new works in Entanglement extend on the themes of Contemplation, which was at the Chicago Artist Coalition last year. Laleh Motlagh’s work has a simple elegance and quietness. It conveys the transitory nature of life and its beauty in all its phases. We try to hold it, but it has transformed into something else that is also deeply meaningful.
Laleh Motlagh’s work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions around the world. She has received multiple awards and recognitions. Motlagh received her MFA from the University of Illinois Chicago and teaches at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.
The Opening Reception for the show Entanglement is Friday, May 31 from 6-9 pm. An artist talk is scheduled for Saturday, June 22 from 1-2 pm. The exhibition runs through July 20, 2024.
SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art is located at 1527 N. Ashland Avenue in the Wicker Park Bucktown neighborhood on Chicago’s north side.
