TOMORROW, Sunday, April 19 is the LAST DAY of the 2026 BARELY FAIR, don't miss it! Western Exhibitions is presenting a solo booth by Nanako Kono
Nanako Kono’s paintings, drawings, prints, comics and collages investigate miscommunication, power imbalances and non-literal language use. Kono is inspired by the structure of comic strips, employing intrinsic elements of that format — panels, speech balloons, animated objects, recurring characters, text — in her humorous paintings. Taking visual and material cues from the Chicago Imagist tradition, Kono uses flatness, transparency, double-sidedness, and thickness of acrylic sheets in her work to convey the multifaceted nature of emotions, perceptions, and the indirect exchange of feelings with others through imaginary borders. She is also interested in the agency of tools themselves, considering language not only as a medium used by humans but as a tool that can act independently. Once released, words are re-shaped by interpretation, context, and circulation, often moving beyond the control or intention of their author.
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Booth photograph courtesy of Barely Fair
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Installation views
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"Ketchup Later (in Chicago)" 2026
Acrylic on acrylic sheet, laminated on wood, danish oil, 6h x 13w x 1d in
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"Squeeze Me: Mayo (Japanese Standard)" 2026
Acrylic, color pencil, paint maker on acrylic sheet, laminated on MDF, 11 x 8 x 0.75 inch
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“Bad Mouth Metrics” 2026
Acrylic, color pencil, paint maker on acrylic sheet, laminated on MDF. Mouth/tongue: 5h x 2.5w x .5d inches; Tape measure: 2.5h x 1.5w x .5d inches; Ruler: 3.75h x 1.25w x 1/8d inches
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"Mini Bummer" 2026
Acrylic, color pencil, paint maker on acrylic sheet, laminated on MDF, 6.75h x 8w x .5d inches
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"Yes - No, Maybe So" 2026
Acrylic on acrylic sheet, 2h x 4w x 3d inches
final weekend to see ‘The room in this room’ by Alex Schmidt @bodyconfidence at @barely_fair ! Open 12pm-5pm through Sunday!
💙💙💙
#AlexSchmidt #AlexSchmidtAKAbodyconfidence
#PADTheRoomInThisRoom #BarelyFair #JuliusCaesarGallery
Do you like the idea of an art fair but find trudging around a convention center for hours, looking at hundreds of booths, to be too much? Chicago’s @barely_fair has a suggestion: mini art fair booths, complete with white walls and good lighting, that are about the right size for an art-loving Barbie doll to visit, set up at tabletop height. Here are the booths for Western Exhibitions, Sheet Cake Gallery, March, Chris Sharp, and Corbett vs. Dempsey, among the thirty exhibitors. Check it out if you’re in Chicago over the next week.
Documentation for BARELY FAIR 2026 is now online! Visit our website to take a peek at this year’s 32 exhibitors and the 45 artists they brought to BARELY FAIR.
To visit the fair, use the ticket portal linked in our bio. We have day time hours and evening events, with tonight’s NIGHT CAP featuring live music by @kw3band and both tonight and tomorrow featuring extended lounge space with curated cocktails inside @lewisbagchi
The fair is open through April 19. Day time hours are 11AM - 5PM through Sunday APR 12, and Extended Exhibition APR 14-19 open 12PM - 5PM. Our last evening events are tonight, APR 10, from 7PM - 10PM and Saturday, APR 11 from 6PM - CLOSE.
Essex Flowers is thrilled to participate in Barely Fair’s sixth edition with an installation featuring ceramic sculptures by Aaron Krach, cyanotype paintings by Julia Rooney, and a site-specific floor and wall painting by Emmy Thelander. For the context of the international miniature art fair, the artists produced work at a 1:12 scale for a booth measuring 20 x 20 x 12 inches. @barely_fair@somehightide@emmerslol@aaron_krach (and thanks to Patrick for so much help!)
BARELY FAIR’s VIP Nights for Chicago’s Art Week begins with MINIBAR for South Side Arts Night. We have day time hours 11AM - 5PM through Sunday, and more evening events with NIGHT CAP Friday, 7PM - 10PM featuring live music by @kw3 and Saturday we have LAST CALL from 6PM - 10PM.
BARELY FAIR 2026 features 30 exhibitors including 15 newcomers, where all exhibitors share a small look at their programming inside 20 x 20 x 12 inch booths. Our 15 new exhibitors will be joining the more than 100 past exhibitors to have participated in bringing intimate art experiences to the art fair format. We look forward to welcoming you to this year’s edition!
Laura (the gallery) is pleased to present A Frog Tailor, a solo presentation of new work by Chang Sujung at Barely Fair 2026, marking the gallery’s first participation in the fair and its debut presentation in Chicago.
VIP opening tonight!
A Note from the Artist:
One night, I was a “frog tailor” in my dream. Nothing else happened. It was simply the realization of a new occupation in a new body. Like many people, when I have a peculiar dream, I try to trace it back, wondering why I had it and what it might mean.
I often think of myself as a frog. In Korean culture, derived from the fable of the tree frog, a frog symbolizes someone who does the opposite of what they are told, someone who persists even more when told not to. I think the dream came from my identification with the frog, intertwined with my daily studio work where I was spending long hours sewing garment components for new sculptures.
The moral of the story, which I probably read in first or second grade, made me think that I should listen to my mother more often. Revisiting the story as an adult, growing older means that there is no longer anyone left to rebel against. Ultimately, I can only rebel against myself.
The works presented here were made by the “frog tailor,” as I imagine myself in the dream.
The fable of the tree frog:
Long ago, there lived a tree frog who always did the opposite of whatever his parents told him. When his mother was dying, her deepest wish was to be buried in the mountains. But knowing that her son would surely do the opposite of whatever she might ask, she told him to bury her by the stream instead.
After she passed away, the frog felt deep regret for his lifelong disobedience. Wanting to honor her final words, he buried her by the stream just as she had asked. One night, during a terrible storm, the frog awoke, terrified that the rising water might wash her grave away. He rushed to the burial site only to find water. To this day, it is said that the growing sound of frogs croaking before a storm is actually the cries of this very frog crying out in sorrow for his mother.
#changsujung #barelyfair #expochicago #laurathegallery
BARELY FAIR 2026’s SPOTLIGHT currently features profiles on:
Michelle Alexander
Amelia Briggs
Assaf Evron
DW Fitzpatrick
Barry Flanagan
Alex Gartelmann
Zuza Golinska
Kazuki Guzmán
Herbert Holsey
Margot Kalach
Kate Klingbeil
kg
Aaron Krach
Rodrigo Lara
Patrick Carlin Mohundro
Jamie Mirabella
Jamie Nares
Julia Rooney
Alex Schmidt
Samuel Stevens
Emmy Thelander
Krzysztof Walaszek
More profiles will be shared between now and the fair’s conclusion. Visit our website for SPOTLIGHT or more information on visiting the fair!
BARELY FAIR 2026 opens this weekend! Western Exhibitions is thrilled to participate for the second year in row, this time with a solo booth by an artist new to our roster, NANAKO KONO.
Operated by JULIUS CAESAR artist collective, BARELY FAIR 2026 hosts 30 artist-run spaces, commercial galleries, and curatorial projects from around the world inside 1:12 scale booths (20 x 20 x 12 inch) built to mimic the design of a standard fair, bringing intimate art experiences to the art fair format.
HOT TIP: You can't just show up, you need a ticket! Like the booths, the fair itself is small, so to give viewers a proper intimate experience, attendance is limited and timed. Tickets will be available through ARTSVP platform on the Barely Fair website AND at a link in our bio.
FAIR DATES:
April 3 through April 19
11am to 5pm, closed Mondays
Evening events: April 3, 4, 7, 10 & 11
Image 1:
pre-opening installation of Nanako Kono's booth
Images 2-3:
"Yes - No, Maybe So" 2026, Acrylic on acrylic sheet, 2h x 4w x 3d inches
Image 4:
Installation view
Image 5:
Barely Fair Logo
From the fair:
Tickets for evening events, titled VIP NIGHTS, went on sale Friday, March 27th. Due to our focus on smaller encounters with contemporary art with this year's fair, we recommend utilizing the wait list on our ticketing platform if you cannot find a time or date that works for you. We will be looking to add ticket capacity as the fair nears.
We are so excited for BARELY FAIR to return next week!
Operated by the Julius Caesar collective, this is one of the most unique stops on the Chicago art calendar. The fair presents over 30 international exhibitors, all at a 1:12 miniature scale within 20-inch booths.
It’s a playful and alternative to the traditional fair model, and we’re thrilled to be working on their ticketing again this year.
The fair runs April 3 - 19 with day time general admission and VIP Nights. Evening events include access to @Lewisbagchi for expanded lounge space and curated cocktails through an experimental art installation by artist @_tony_lewis_
Located in Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood, @BARELY_FAIR is fully ticketed, with exact address shared through booking confirmation. Tickets are not for sale at the door. Please visit their ticketing portal for more information on the events and visiting the fair. Link in bio! 🎟️
📸 Photo courtesy of BARELY FAIR.
#barelyfair #chicagoartweek #miniatureart #artsvp
