By Paul Varnell

Contributing writer

Chicago’s spring art season begins in early April and hits high intensity with the annual city-wide “Artropolis” festivities, April 25-28, highlighted by the “Art Chicago” exhibition on the 12th floor of the Merchandise Mart.

“Art Chicago” brings modern and contemporary art to Chicago in exhibitions by more than 180 U.S. and foreign galleries from 56 cities and 19 countries. Among the openly gay artists included are Chad Buck of San Francisco, Don Bodner and Joy Episalla of New York and Laura Fosberg and Kelli Connell of Chicago.

Along with Art Chicago are four additional shows held simultaneously at the Merchandise Mart: NEXT, which focuses on contemporary art; the International Antiques Fair; the Artist Project, which offers work by 300 independent artists not affiliated with galleries; and the Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art by self-taught artists.

Most of Chicago’s galleries and museums offer new exhibitions in late March or early April. Others have long-running exhibits that continue well into the spring season. Some of the highlights are listed below.

The Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave., continues through May 11 its popular and highly praised joint exhibition of paintings and watercolors by American artists Winslow Homer (1826-1910) and Edward Hopper (1882-1967).

The Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., hosts a large-scale exhibition of sculptures, paintings, and photo-collages by contemporary pop/kitsch artist Jeff Koons, May 31-Sept. 21. A companion exhibition, “Everything’s Here: Jeff Koons and His Experience of Chicago,” runs from June 14-Oct. 19.

The Chicago Historical Society, 1601 N. Clark St., extends through Aug. 3 its exhibition of 80 paintings, drawings and prints by Chicago artists from 1840 to 2007, including gay artists Roger Brown and Dom Orejudos.

The Spertus Museum, 610 S. Michigan Ave., presents “Imaginary Coordinates,” a new multi-media exhibition inspired by antique maps of the Near East held in Spertus’ collection. The exhibition explores issues of national identity, borders and the critical disparity between maps and lived experience, suggesting that all maps are filled with human intention. On view May 1-Sept. 7.

The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave., features “Seeing the City: John Sloan’s New York,” May 22 to Sept. 14. Sloan (1871-1951) was a prominent “urban realists” of the so-called “Ashcan School” of gritty honesty about city life, or what he called the “drab, shabby, happy, sad and human life” in the city.

The Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, celebrates the arrival of spring weather with an April exhibition of paintings and photographs of flowers by gay and lesbian artists, followed in May by art associated with the theme of the International Mr. Leather contest held during Memorial Day weekend.

The Loyola University Museum of Art, 820 N. Michigan Ave., continues through April 27 its exhibition of “Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds,” a recreation of Warhol’s entertaining 1966 New York installation, along with a number of his silkscreen prints and photographs of his foil-lined studio, “The Factory.”

The DePaul University Art Museum, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., presents “Augustus Frederick Sherman: Ellis Island Portraits 1905-1920.” During those years Sherman (1865-1925), a registry clerk at Ellis Island, systematically photographed prospective immigrants to the United States, offering a unique view of the flow of immigration in the early 20th century. On view April 17-June 14.

The Illinois State Museum Gallery of Chicago, 100 W. Randolph, in the James R. Thompson Center, presents “L. Brent Kington: Mythic Metalsmith,” which traces Kington’s evolution from works in cast silver and bronze toys to forged iron and steel and contemporary abstract sculptures. On view from April 24-Aug. 1.

Gage Gallery of Roosevelt University, 18 S. Michigan Ave., presents “Harold!,” 50 photographs of the Harold Washington years by Antonio Dickey and Marc PoKempner, April 3--May 17. Dickey was Washington’s official City Hall photographer. PoKempner covered Washington extensively for several national publications.

The National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St., presents Contemporary Chicano Art, works by Mexican-American artists from the Chicano Movement of the late 1960s through the present. The artists are from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. On view from March 20-June 15.

The Addington Gallery, 704 N. Wells, features new figurative painting by Patrick McGannon and landscape painting by Jill McGannon, March 14 to April 15. 

The Russell Bowman Art Advisory, 311 W. Superior, presents an exhibition of major paintings 1970-2004 by Chicago artist Ed Paschke (1939-2004), one of the best-known of the so-called “Chicago Imagists,” March 21 through May 10.

Valerie Carberry Gallery, 875 N. Michigan, Suite 2510, presents “Judith Rothschild: Painting of the 1940s.” March 7-April 26. Rothschild (1920-1993) produced colorful abstract oil and gouache works that verge on but don’t quite become representational.

The Carl Hammer Gallery, 740 N. Wells, presents “Wind Mischief,” paintings and drawings in a pristinely realistic style of wholly imaginary views by Marilyn Murphy. Runs March 14-April 12. 

Zygman-Voss Gallery, 222 W. Superior Ave., presents “La Vie Parisienne,” featuring paintings, drawings and etchings by Louis Icart (1890-1950), whose works were especially prominent in the Art Deco era of the 1920s. The exhibit runs March 15-April 15.

Thomas Robertello, 939 W. Randolph, presents “I Throw Myself at Men,” performance-based photographs of Lilly McElroy literally throwing herself at men in bars, March 14-April 19. This is followed by landscape and figurative paintings by Emily Noelle Lambert, April 25-June 7.

Architech gallery, 730 N. Franklin, presents “XIX: 19th Century Design,” an exhibition of original drawings, watercolors and prints by the architects and decorators who created the varied looks of 19th century architectural design, ranging from Industrial Revolution to High Victoriana, April 4 to Aug. 30.

Robert Henry Adams Fine Art, 715 N. Franklin, presents an exhibition of recent acquisitions, primarily from the 1900s to 1960s. Among the pieces are ones by Ivan Albright, his twin brother Malvin Albright and Clyde Singer, whose “The Individualist” (1958) is an amusing street scene in social realist style of a man spontaneously breaking into dance to the vague disapproval of passers-by. On view to April 24.

The new gay-owned Bridges Fine Art, 305 N. Second St. in St. Charles, features works by more than 20 regional artists, including Richard Sperry.