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

Infinity Clock: Artworks on Time
September 2019 – July 2020

The most pressing question for a Digital Art collection is longevity. The truth is: no one knows the exact lifespan of any artwork, but we believe that artists creating with digital technology have something to say about the future of existence.

Each artwork in this exhibition contains an internal clock set by an artist. Some of the artworks die as you watch them, some are being created live, some time travel, and some pursue eternity. As technology advances so does our control of time.

Infinity Clock brings together vintage and contemporary digital, video, and electronic works from the Thoma Foundation’s collection to tell a story about the way artists seek truths beyond the confines of their age.

Artists included: AES+F, Angela Bulloch, Nancy Burson, Daniel Canogar, John Gerrard, Matthew Angelo Harrison, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Jenny Holzer, Christian Marclay, Nam June Paik, Thiaggo Rocha Pitta, Jennifer Steinkamp, United Visual Artists, Stephen Wilkes, Marina Zurkow, and an Algorist Drawing Salon.

The Algorists: Historic Computer Art
September 2019 – July 2020

A generation of international artists in the 1960s produced the first software-assisted artworks. They termed themselves the Algorists. Adopting computers as a second brain or a more precise hand, the Algorists shared a visual language of geometric abstraction to express faith in machine-enhanced creativity. Their timeline progressed alongside electronic music and the communication networks.

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