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The 10 Best Destinations For Public Art In Chicago

By Antonia Depace and Fiona Good-Sirota By Antonia Depace and Fiona Good-Sirota | April 12, 2024 | Lifestyle, Guides,

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Explore Chicago’s vast collection of vibrant sculptural art with these renowned works that define our downtown.

See also: The 9 Best Parks To Visit In Chicago

Agora (2006)

1135 S. Michigan Ave. / Website

Located in Grant Park, “Agora” by renowned sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz showcases 106 headless cast iron figures with varying depictions of movement. The installation is Abakanowicz’s most expansive permanent work and one of her many compositions exploring the motif of crowds.

Art on theMART

222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, Ste. 470 / Website

Regarded as one of the world’s largest platforms for digital art, Art on theMART features projections of contemporary works on its 2.5-acre facade in coordination with high-tech digital mapping techniques.

Calder’s Flamingo (1974)

50 W. Adams St. / Website

Among Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s iconic dark towers, Alexander Calder’s “Flamingo” adds serious color—his signature Calder Red—and a curved form to the wide-open Federal Plaza.

Chagall’s Four Seasons (1974)

10 S. Dearborn St. / Website

This surrealist mosaic by Marc Chagall in the Chase Tower Plaza features thousands of colorful tiles that depict the human physical and spiritual life cycle through six scenes of Chicago.

See also: The 11 Best Museums In Chicago

Cloud Gate (2006)

201 E. Randolph St. / Website

Arguably Chicago’s most-recognized landmark, “The Bean” by British artist Anish Kapoor, is the centerpiece of Millennium Park and a must-see selfie spot with its smooth, stainless steel surface that distortedly reflects the city’s famous skyline.

Crown Fountain (2004)

201 E. Randolph St. / Website

Nestled in Millennium Park, Jaume Plensa’s interactive sculpture comprises a black granite reflecting pool bookended by two glass-and-brick towers that show a rotation of faces via LEDs. In the summer, water spouts from each tower, turning the space into a popular splash park.

Freeform (1993)

160 N. LaSalle St. / Website

Located at the State of Illinois Building, this stainless steel work is about two and a half stories tall and weighs approximately 3 tons. Designed by Chicago-born sculptor Richard Hunt, the piece is said to explore various characteristics of abstract art and emulate the weightless nature of fire.

Miró's Chicago (1981)

77 W. Washington St. / Website

Modernist Joan Miró designed this vibrant, 40-foot-high installation depicting the sun, the moon and the stars with steel, wire mesh, concrete, bronze and ceramic tiles.

The Untitled Picasso (1967)

50 W. Washington St. / Website

This untitled piece by Pablo Picasso, also known as “The Picasso,” was the first modern sculpture to find a home in the Loop. The sculpture was surrounded by controversy when installed by the architects of the Richard J. Daley Center due to its reflection on 1960s cultural changes.

Yoko Ono’s Skylanding (2016)

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6401 S. Stony Island Ave. / Website

Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and peace activist Yoko Ono installed this metal sculpture in Jackson Park, her first permanent public work of art in the U.S. The installation features twelve 12-foot-high lotus flower petals, said to epitomize peace.

See also: The 9 Best Art Museums To Visit In Chicago


Tags: Antonia DePace

Photography by: COURTESY OF ART ON THEMART

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