Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago presents "Demonstration Room: Ideal House," a group exhibition of conceptual proposals, architectural models and other forms of artwork. The exhibit investigates how the house has represented the 20th-century idea of utopia.

Reception
Jan. 16
4-7 p.m.

UIC Gallery 400
400 S. Peoria St.

El Lissitzky's 1920s "Demonstration Room" inspired the exhibit layout, a space designed to mimic an architect's office. Lissitzky's exhibit challenged the Western tradition of viewing art without associations by exhibiting art within a historic and conceptual framework.

"Demonstration Room: Ideal House" uses that idea, blurring the boundary between artwork and exhibition space in order to demonstrate how context is critical to one's experience of art.

"The works in this exhibition are framed by four overlapping themes," said Lorelei Stewart, visiting director of Gallery 400. "They include disposable or moveable housing, a house as an all encompassing work of art, collective housing and experiments in communal living, as well as shanty towns and how they illuminate and critique utopian notions of community life."

The exhibit, curated by Jesús Fuenmayor and Julieta González, consists of works commissioned by many artists including: Francis Alÿs, Carla Arocha, Minerva Cuevas, Liam Gillick, Dan Graham, José Antonio Hernández-Diez, Ernesto Neto, Javier Tellez and Sergio Vega.

"Since the curators and many of the artists involved in the exhibition are from South America, it is important to note the socio-political arena their ideas came from," said Stewart.

The exhibit runs from Jan. 15 through Feb. 23. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Direct exhibit questions to UIC Gallery 400, (312) 996-6114.