Carrie Secrist established her first gallery in Chicago’s River North district in 1992 and moved to the West Loop area in 2003. Prior to the 2020 pandemic, she conceived a new gallery approach, one with three components. The first, a gallery to exhibit the work of a featured artist, the second, an adjacent space for a curated group exhibition elaborating on the solo exhibition. The final and third component, a salon dedicated for artistic collaborations.
The gallery contacted VHA in fall 2022 to assist them in planning their new space. Located on Chicago’s near west side, Secrist | Beach secured a 10,000 sf former warehouse that had last housed a catering business. With bow-string trusses and prominent skylights, the space was ideal for a gallery.
The salon is the exception to the skylit galleries. It can be easily converted for black box displays.
Wall partitions were located with regard for truss locations and portals positioned to provide ample display walls and straightforward circulation. Existing slab floors were ground smooth and provided with a new concrete topping.
CREDITS
Lighting Designer: Lux Populi
General Contractor: ARCO / Murray
Photographer: Eric Hausman
Art shown above is from Secrist | Beach’s Fall 2024 show, including “Manifest” and Anne Lindberg’s “Of all colors”, bottom images feature Luftwerk’s “Landscape as a Composition”.