Screening & Talk | 4×4: Contemporary Art in Chicago
May 26, 20266:00 pm - 8:00 pm
About the Event
Season 1 — Jenn Freeman | Po’ Chop, Errol Ortiz, Deb Sokolow, Bernard Williams
The MCA is proud to host Pentimenti Productions for the premiere of 4×4: Contemporary Art in Chicago, an annual series of four short documentary films about practicing local artists, each directed by a Chicago-based filmmaker. The series profiles a diverse array of artists working in different mediums, based in distinct neighborhoods, and at varying stages of their careers. Each film is a collaborative process between the artists and filmmakers, resulting in four stylistically unique works, unified by a quintessentially Chicago sensibility.
The series aims to capture Chicago’s rich and vibrant contemporary arts scene in a way that reflects the creativity and iconoclasm of the artists and filmmakers involved. Season 1 filmmakers include: cai thomas, Erin Babbin & Michael Sullivan, Alex Morelli, and Kevin Shaw. This premiere screening is followed by a talkback featuring the artists and filmmakers moderated by curator Lola Ogbara.
Design by Span. Finishing services by Nolo Digital Film and Ben Kruse. Archival Footage Partner: Media Burn Archive.
Access Information
English CART captioning is provided at this event. To request additional accessibility services, please contact us at [email protected] or 312-397-4076.
About the Films
we are two. (dir. cai thomas)
An intimate portrait of artist Jenn Freeman | Po’Chop, whose practice merges the worlds of dance, storytelling, drag, and striptease, as they perform at queer burlesque clubs, stage THICK: a crumbling freak show, and maintain House of the Lorde, a Black feminist studio & gathering space.
Errol Ortiz: Headspace (dirs. Erin Babbin & Michael Sullivan)
Despite producing hundreds of paintings over the span of seventy-plus years, Chicago Imagist Errol Ortiz has received too little attention from the wider art world. This observational documentary surveys Ortiz as he works on a new painting from start to finish, while musing on his art school days, the influence of the cityscape, and the challenges of working as an aging artist.
Beneath the Surface of the Everyday (dir. Alex Morelli)
An observer of quotidian strangeness, Deb Sokolow creates semi-fictitious drawings and books commenting on architecture, politics, and pop culture. Shot on 16mm and adopting the style of 70s paranoid thrillers, the film traces the evolution of Sokolow’s speculative ethos, detailing a shadowy encounter at McDonald’s and her fixation with Rocky Balboa.
I Dreamt of Cowboys, Cottonfields, and Clouds – Bernard Williams (dir. Kevin Shaw)
An excavator of American history, painter and sculptor Bernard Williams draws inspiration from seminal, but under-appreciated figures such as Black cowboys, farmers, and a unique female aviator. Taking us on a journey from Chicago to Indiana to Alabama, the film follows Williams as he debuts a public art installation and visits a 90-year-old family friend who informs his work.
Funding
Lead support for the 2025–26 season of MCA Talks is made possible by The Richard and Mary L. Gray Lecture Series through a generous gift to the Chicago Contemporary Campaign.
Generous support is provided by The Antje B. and John J. Jelinek Endowed Lecture and Symposium on Contemporary Art; the Kristina Barr Lectures, which were established through a generous gift by The Barr Fund to the Chicago Contemporary Campaign; The Gloria Brackstone Solow and Eugene A. Solow, MD, Memorial Lecture Series; and the Allen M. Turner Tribute Fund, honoring his past leadership as Chair of the Board of Trustees.