CHICAGO — The Van Goghs at the Art Institute might not be, strictly speaking, “immersive.”
But the encyclopedic art museum on Michigan Avenue — which reopened Thursday, the same day the light and sound show “Immersive Van Gogh” opened — is currently showing eight paintings by the Dutch artist, according to its website.
Depending on your point of view, that’s either a strong complement to the trippy, trendy, Instagrammable experience on the North Side, or vice versa.
But the Van Goghs are pretty much always on view there. What might be even more intriguing about the Art Institute’s reopening offerings is the new “Bisa Butler: Portraits” show, which was just about to open in November when statewide pandemic mitigation efforts forced the museum into a second closure.
Not only are Butler’s grand-scale quilted “canvases” extraordinary expressions of African-American life, but in a notion that you don’t typically find at Art Institute shows, she and her DJ husband created a Spotify playlist to go with the her works.
Given the size and vibrancy of the quilts by the New Jersey artist, and their explorations into Black history and her own biography, it’s an immersive experience in its own right, extended through Sept. 6.
Also on view at the Art Institute — which is limiting capacity, requiring masking, etc. — is another of its big Impressionist shows. “Monet in Chicago,” an ambitious contemplation of the Frenchman’s special relationship to the city via the Monet works that Chicagoans and Chicago institutions own, saw its planned opening last spring postponed until late summer by the pandemic.
It’s been extended through June 14. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Monday, with advance tickets required for nonmembers and the first hour of each day reserved for members.
