H. C. Westermann, a two-time graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is known for his extraordinarily crafted sculptures that blend conceptualism, wit, surrealism, and offbeat anthropomorphism. His independence and skepticism toward the art world, along with his dedication to art making, made him a hero to generations of artists across the United States.
Join Chicago-based artists B. Ingrid Olson and Richard Rezac for a conversation moderated by Giampaolo Bianconi, Dittmer Associate Curator in Modern and Contemporary Art, about the intricacies and continued impact of Westermann’s work.
This program is generously sponsored by the Carol Given Winston Fund for Docent and Patron Education.
About the Speakers
B. Ingrid Olson’s work has been the focus of solo exhibitions at institutions and venues such as Keijiban, Kanazawa; XYZ Collective, Tokyo; fluent, Santander; i8 Grandi, Reykjavik; the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University; Secession, Vienna; Buffalo AKG Art Museum; and a two-person exhibition at the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago. She is a recipient of a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship. Olson’s work was recently included in the 2024 Whitney Biennial and has been featured in group exhibitions at Jeu de Paume, Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Henie–Onstad Kunstsenter, Hovikodden; Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Lumber Room, Portland; Aspen Art Museum; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Richard Rezac lives and works in Chicago. Since 2000, he has had 28 solo exhibitions, including shows at the Portland Art Museum; the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago; Luhring Augustine; Rhona Hoffman Gallery; Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi; Misako and Rosen; and James Harris Gallery. He has received the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Rome Prize at the American Academy in Rome, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award, among others. His sculpture is in the collections of institutions including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Dallas Museum of Art; Yale University Art Gallery; and the Carnegie Museum of Art.
Giampaolo Bianconi serves as the Dittmer Associate Curator in Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. He is an expert on international intermedia artistic production since the 1960s. His recent exhibitions include John Knight: A work in situ (2024), Ellsworth Kelly: Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance (2024), and Iman Issa: A Game, or So You May Think (2025). Since joining the museum, Bianconi has realized projects with artists including Marwa Arsanios, Charles Atlas, Lorraine O’Grady, Sondra Perry, and Nora Turato. In 2026 he will open exhibitions with Edgar Calel and Jill Mulleady. His writing appears regularly in catalogs and periodicals.
If you have any questions about programming, please reach out to museum-programs@artic.edu.
Closed captioning will be available for this program. For questions related to accessibility accommodations, please email access@artic.edu.
