In the Spotlight: Meet Spectrum Chicago’s Spotlight Recipients
Every art fair has discoveries—the artists and galleries whose work makes you stop, look again, and want to know more. At the inaugural Spectrum Chicago, a select group of exhibitors has been chosen for the fair’s Spotlight Program, recognizing distinctive artistic voices, compelling bodies of work, and presentations that promise to make an impression.
Selected from among Spectrum Chicago’s participating exhibitors, this year’s Spotlight recipients represent a range of mediums, styles, and perspectives. What connects them is a commitment to their practice and work that invites conversation, curiosity, and connection.
As Spectrum Chicago prepares to open its doors at THE MART, Art Business News introduces the artists and galleries selected for the 2026 Spectrum Chicago Spotlight Program—and offers a closer look at the creative voices behind the work.
Carol Ryan, Carol Ryan Fine Art – Booth 1123
Chicago-based abstract artist Carol Ryan brings a bold exploration of color, emotion, and texture to Spectrum Chicago. Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, she builds richly layered compositions through saturated color, drips, spattering, and dimensional passages that give her paintings both energy and depth. While intuitive in spirit, the works maintain a strong sense of structure and a distinctive visual language rooted in reflection and personal discovery. At Spectrum Chicago, Carol will present a selection of large-scale paintings designed to create an immersive, impactful presentation. And for this Chicago artist, exhibiting at THE MART marks a welcome return to familiar territory, following previous appearances there at the One of a Kind Show.
David Seligman, Seligman Studios – Booth 2098
http://www.seligmanstudios.com/
Chicago-based artist David Seligman uses portraiture and the human form to explore the stories we carry within us. Working in oil and drawing inspiration from early 20th-century figurative expressionism, Seligman approaches each subject with an interest in psychology, memory, identity, and emotional connection. He often imagines a backstory for the figures he paints, creating an underlying narrative while leaving space for viewers to discover their own meanings and associations. Themes of displacement and belonging, informed in part by his own family history, add another layer to the work. At Spectrum Chicago, Seligman will present a cohesive body of figurative and portrait-based paintings that invite viewers to look beyond the surface and consider the inner life of each subject.
John Denis – Booth 2123
http://www.johnjosephdenis.com/
Contemporary sculptor John Denis transforms glass and acrylic into elegant dimensional forms shaped by light, movement, and the natural world. For more than a decade, Denis has developed a signature approach to these materials, creating sculptures that balance the precision of architectural form with the fluidity and rhythm of nature. Inspired in particular by the sea and the patterns found within the natural environment, his work explores transparency, texture, reflection, and shifting perspectives. At Spectrum Chicago, Denis will present a focused selection of sculptural works, including Frequency, Tidal, Latitude, Flight, Celerity, Glacier, Horizon, and Ellipse—pieces that reveal new relationships between form, light, and space as the viewer moves around them.
Maks Simone – Booth 3097
Working under the name Maks Simone, Chicago-based self-taught artist Paul Makovski creates multidimensional works that play with perception and invite viewers to become active participants in the experience. His Spirit Orb and Double Take series combine 3D effects, optical illusion, bold color, reflection, and texture, incorporating materials ranging from enamel and acrylic to fabric, fur, leather, mirrors, vinyl, transparent gel sheets, and plexiglass. Influenced by street art, graffiti, and contemporary design, Makovski has spent years developing his distinctive approach to optical illusion. The result is work that changes with the viewer’s perspective—encouraging visitors at Spectrum Chicago to move around it, look closer, and question exactly what they are seeing.
Stephen Ursino – Booth 2107
Self-taught Illinois artist Stephen Ursino creates expressive oil paintings that move between abstraction, portraiture, and the figure. Working from imagination and driven by curiosity, identity, and emotional energy, Ursino builds his surfaces through an unusually physical process, applying and manipulating paint with palette knives, taping knives, homemade metal tools, razor blades, chip brushes, and even his hands. Faces and figures emerge through dense layers of color and texture, giving his work a raw immediacy while maintaining a cohesive and recognizable visual language. At Spectrum Chicago, Ursino will present a body of abstract figurative and portrait-based works, each completed with a handmade black wood frame crafted in his own studio wood shop.
