A new solo exhibition dedicated to Yoko Ono is coming to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago next fall, according to an announcement Monday.
“Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind” will open in October, with the MCA (220 E. Chicago Ave.) as the show’s only U.S. venue. It comes to Chicago from the Tate Modern in London, where it reportedly set attendance records.
Created in collaboration with Ono’s studio, “Music of the Mind” covers some 70 years of the artist and activist’s career. It includes more than 200 works across several genres, including film, music, musical scores, photography, art installations, archival materials and what’s described as a curated music room. There also will be a number of interactive and viewer-participation elements.
“The exhibition reveals Ono’s innovative approach to language, art and participation that continues to speak to the present moment,” according to the MCA’s description. It “underscores Ono’s legacy of radical performance and her significant and influential contributions to visual art, including Fluxus and Conceptualism, music, film and activism.”
Ono, now 92, began making art in New York in the late 1950s. Along with being known as the wife of the late John Lennon, she worked with other musicians including John Cage and Ornette Coleman. Exhibition highlights also include her performance “Cut Piece” (1964), a significant work of feminist art, as well as participatory artworks such as “Painting to Hammer a Nail” (1961/1966), “Bag Piece” (1964) and “White Chess Set” (1966). Chicagoans can also expect to see Ono’s peace-driven artworks on billboards around the city and at the MCA.
Yoko Ono talks about her connections to Chicago, her art and her iconic style
The specific opening date has yet to be announced. More information at mcachicago.org
dgeorge@chicagotribune.com
