Wag artworks, a new Chicago art gallery, proudly announces its opening on burgeoning Division Street, a welcome addition to the Wicker Park artistic community.
As with everything at wag artworks, the new gallery's mission is unique—to be an inviting and refreshing alternative to up market, uptight galleries, welcoming art enthusiasts from all walks of life. wag's curator Willa Reynolds explains, "We call our offering approachable art —by that we mean intriguing, inviting, alluring, attainable and non-threatening. Everything we want wag artworks to be. It's our unique difference."
Representing nearly 20 different artists from all over the country, in a wide range of mediums, wag artworks offers an intriguing and impressive variety for everyone and every budget. At wag you will find everything from paintings, pastels, mixed media, and photography to bronze, glass, jewelry, and functional objects.
Many of wag's diverse artists show only at wag; in many cases this is the result of the close relationships wag has with its artists. The exquisite oils by Oregon Artist Jon Hunt, which show in galleries in Laguna Beach and Sausalito, are only available at outside California wag. Well-known Illinois artist George Colin's pastels, which hang in the collections of former President George Bush, Oprah Winfrey and Lettuce Entertainment Restaurants, also are available only at wag in the Chicago. And the beautiful silver jewelry by Portuguese designer Margarida Pimenthal is exclusive to wag in the Midwest. But it is not exclusivity that drives wag's owners; it is a desire to bring together a selection of work in an inviting environment that is as appealing to a first time buyer as an established collector.
The owners of wag, Willa Reynolds and Abbe MacLise, are both recent escapees of Chicago's advertising community. When asked why they chose to join Chicago's vibrant art scene, marketing director Abbe MacLise explains it like this: "In advertising you really feel the worlds of art and commerce colliding, and that's inevitable, but we wanted to take a new approach and create an environment where art and commerce could blossom together. Moreover, we wanted to create the kind of gallery experience we were yearning for. One where everyone is welcome to browse and learn about the art and artists in an unintimidating space."
At wag you will find a constantly evolving and uniquely broad range of contemporary works, a warm welcome, and on some days you'll find the wag mascot, a friendly miniature dachshund puppy called Duncan. There is much to be discovered at the new wag artworks located at 2121 W. Division St. in Wicker Park, open Tuesday through Sunday.
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