Orange Door, the Foundation’s exhibition space in Chicago, is dedicated to sharing works from the Foundation’s collection. Exhibitions change annually. We are open by appointment, and we welcome visits from school groups and visiting curators.

Location & Hours

By appointment
Chicago, IL 60612
312.254.3360
info@thomafoundation.org

Message from our planet
On view through Summer 2019

An art collection is like a time capsule—we collect objects in order to protect the past while imagining how they serve the future. To future generations, the art and artifacts of our era will represent the turns of our existence, survival and mastery. The works on view in Message from Our Planet use the abstract languages of geometry, light and code to convey their messages, demonstrating a human desire to communicate deeply yet be understood universally. These works have been brought together for their vivid worldviews.

Message from Our Planet is organized like an interstellar time capsule, inspired by NASA’s Golden Record (an LP curated with human achievements like math and Mozart) beamed to outer space on Voyager I in 1977. Will others be inspired by our achievements and model themselves on our masterpieces like the Romans did the ancient Greeks? Will there be a museum dedicated to the Information Age? How will our messages be received?

Artists included: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, John Gerrard, Christian Marclay, Siebren Versteeg, Daniel Canogar, Manfred Mohr, Jenny Holzer, R. Luke DuBois, Guillermo Galindo, Peter Sarkisian, Kenneth Knowlton, Leon Harmon, and Sarah Frost.

Abstract in the Digital Era and The Algorists
On view through Summer 2019

The artists in Abstract Art in the Digital Era looked to emerging digital technologies to pioneer new types of abstract art. Many first worked with conventional art materials and later discovered creative coding to introduce new methods of precision, automation, and experimentation into their practices.

Artists included: Victor Vasarely, Frederick Hammersley, June Harwood, Leo Villareal, and Lee Mullican.

The Algorists features a room dedicated to a group of artists who code their own software to produce computer-assisted drawings. They began working at the dawn of modern computing in the 1960s. In 1995 Jean-Pierre Hébert adapted the mathematical term and wrote the Algorist manifesto, as code, to identify a broader artistic community. An algorithm is a set of mathematical instructions that can be carried out by a computer, especially when they are complex beyond human capability. Artist Roman Verostko calls this a “recipe” for creating art. Although algorithmic procedures have been used creatively for centuries, from basket and textile weaving to Islamic mosaic and music notation, the computer provided tools and techniques more precise than traditional hand-made methods.

Artists included: Peter Beyls, Jean-Pierre Hébert, Desmond Paul Henry, Manfred Mohr, Vera Molnar, Frieder Nake, Roman Verostko, Harold Cohen, and Mark Wilson.