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[CHICAGO] Contemporary art, perhaps more than other classifications, can run the gamut, and finding a gallery or museum that you consistently enjoy isn’t always easy. Nor is finding an exhibit to please everyone in your viewing party. If this is a concern, fret no more. The Hyde Park Art Center in south Chicago never fails to delight with at least something among its six or so exhibits on display at most any time. A visit this weekend was a stellar example of this “something for everyone” success, and following are highlights of half a dozen strong exhibits. About 30 more images can be seen at my Flickr gallery:

• INSTALLATION “Notes to Nonself,” from Diane Christiansen and Shoshanna Utchenik. From the HPAC’s always wonderful (if a bit hard to read, due to tiny text type!) exhibit guide: “Wander the Ego Forest, wade through the Relationship Bardo and then take solace in the Temporary Refuge …” or in layperson’s terms: enjoy an illuminated pink octopus (below), a plywood forest festooned with new-age sentiments, Tibetan prayer flags floating in a sea of kite-like clouds, and more. But I don’t want to spoil the fun. Just go and enjoy, through May 2, 2010.

• PAINTINGS from Andreas Fischer, “Ghost Town.” Portraits (below) depicting “intangible mental characteristics excluded from an object-based historical archive.” In layperson’s terms, you might wonder if they are painted from death masks, sepia photos found in an old ghost town, or something from your family archives. A companion show (that I have not seen) boasts landscapes by Fischer, at College of DuPage. Don’t miss the exhibit catalog, a free souvenir, with color selections from the show (and the landscape exhibit). It offers some more explanation and unrelated (?) background about an old West ghost town. Download the PDF free here now!

• INSTALLATION “ThingsThatNeverReallyHappened,” by Stan Chisholm, described as “dedicated to falsehoods, futures, fictions, the beauty of ignorance and cold realizations.” Or, touring the upstairs hallway gallery, you might think the Garbage Pail Kids came to life in someone’s acid-trip and went amok with magic markers, paper of all kinds, string and more. Fun, frightening and fanciful. To create this exhibit, Chisholm spent three weeks in residence at HPAC and blogged extensively about the process (scroll to bottom of page for several installments). Through April 25, 2010.

To enjoy more, visit HPAC, of course, or head over to my Flickr photo album from my visit this weekend, where you will see about 30 other photos of things that struck my fancy. Congrats to HPAC and to the artists!