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Richard Binder, Barbara Blades, Christine Boos, Leslie Brack, Yvette Brackman, Nicholas Bruno, Patrick Collier, Tom Denlinger, Markus Dohner, Rita Halvorsen, Robert Hewitt, Nina Levy, Larry Miller, Dan Mills, Kurt Mitchell, Steve Olsen, Michael Piazza, Jon Pounds, Russ Redsville, Martha Schlitt, Susan Sensemann, Helen Tsatsos and Ellen Grimes, Tom Van Eynde, and James Warden

The Republic Reconsidered explores and redefines the established genre of the monument and the place of public art in the community today. The juried works in this competition are designed to encourage speculation, fantasy, and the reconsideration of public art. In an era of pluralistic art, architecture, and design, Gallery 400 ’s goal is to re-examine the history of the monument and to revise views on public installations and their impact on contemporary culture.

On exhibition in conjunction with the centennial of the 1893 World ’s Columbian Exposition, The Republic Reconsidered is inspired by the recently restored Statue of the Republic, a one-third scale replica of the one-hundred-foot statue originally created for the World ’s Fair, which depicts a laurel-crowned woman holding in one hand an eagle and in the other a standard adorned with a wreath and the word “Victory.” Both statues were created by the artist Daniel Chester French, who executed them in the Classical style, and covered them in eighteen-carat gold leaf. Using The Statue of the Republic, which now stands in Jackson Park at the corner of Lake Shore Drive and Hayes, as a point of departure, The Republic Reconsidered focuses on the ever-shifting state of the monument and public sculpture, both in Chicago and beyond.

Opening Reception: Wednesday, September 29, 1993, 4–7pm