Isabelle frances mcguire

“Those Who Charge Forward” and “Bust” for Ornament & Information at the Chicago Cultural Center. Presented by @gertie.chicago Love this show

“Eugenics Model Stares at the Pile of Bodies” (2019, 2026) Barely Fair with @hansgoodrich

Ornaments & Information opening tonight at the cultural center. Very excited for this one @gertie.chicago @chicagospleen @apucks

3 recommendations to help you feel something

As we count down the days to Ornament & Information, Gertie is excited to spotlight some of the artists whose work is featured in the exhibition. The next artist is Isabelle Frances McGuire, a Chicago-based artist who trawls history, pop culture and the internet to create eerie, often uncanny sculptures. McGuire’s work is currently on view in the 2026 Whitney Biennial at the @whitneymuseum , which is open until August 23. Isabelle Frances McGuire (b. 1994, Austin, Texas) lives and works in Chicago. Selected solo and two person presentations include The Renaissance Society (Chicago, IL) What Pipeline (Detroit, MI), King’s Leap (New York, NY), Scherben (Berlin, DE), Mickey (Chicago, IL), Good Weather at Et al. (San Francisco, CA), From The Desk of Lucy Bull (Los Angeles, CA), and Prairie (Chicago, IL). Recent group shows include Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY) Drei, (Cologne, DE) Hans Goodrich (Chicago, IL) High Art & Sister (Seoul, KR), Artists Space (New York, NY), Petzel Gallery (New York, NY), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Chicago, IL), Bel Ami (Los Angeles, CA), shore (Vienna, AT), M. LeBlanc (Chicago, IL), In Lieu (Los Angeles, CA), and Alyssa Davis Gallery (New York, NY). Recent featured publications include Cultured, Paper Magazine, The Chicago Reader, New City Chicago, Art Review, and Modern Art Notes. McGuire is the recipient of the 2025 Chicago Artadia award, DCASE Individual artist grant, and FCA grant. Image credits: 1: Photo by Lyndon French. 2: Isabelle Frances McGuire, Robot Donkey 2, 2023, in “The First Machine,” What Pipeline, Detroit, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and What Pipeline, Detroit. 3: Isabelle Frances McGuire, All Artists, Models, 2021, in “dresses without women,” MICKEY, Chicago, 2021. Image courtesy of the artist and MICKEY, Chicago.

Thanks so much to @drewmsawyer and @marcelacguerrero for including me in this year’s @whitneymuseum biennial. The sculptures are made using found medical CT scans, the back wall of a 1 to 1 scale replica of Abe Lincoln’s birth cabin, and fan made replicas of character models from the iconic video game DOOM. Satan in American and Other Invisible Evils: Experiments in Public Sculpture (Witches 1) Satan in American and Other Invisible Evils: Experiments in Public Sculpture (Witches 2) Satan in American and Other Invisible Evils: Experiments in Public Sculpture (Witches 3) Symbolic Birth Cabin Unit (Partition) Satan in American and Other Invisible Evils: Experiments in Public Sculpture (Demon 1) Satan in American and Other Invisible Evils: Experiments in Public Sculpture (Demon 2)

For the Whitney biennial catalogue, we reached out to Charles Ray to interview me. What was meant to be a single hour long discussion turned into a year of conversation, mentorship, and a penpal like friendship. The catalogue contains a brief segment of that conversation. So thankful to @drewmsawyer and @marcelacguerrero for asking me to participate in this years @whitneymuseum

📘NYC BOOK LAUNCH📕 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘤𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦: 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘡𝘦𝘳𝘰 THU, MAR 5, 7PM 99CANAL FREE For this special event in New York, in collaboration with 99CANAL, join us to celebrate the publication of 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘤𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦: 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘡𝘦𝘳𝘰. This book, which grows out of McGuire’s 2024 exhibition at the Renaissance Society, tugs at various loops in American culture as the artist turns to iconic figures that keep coming back, such as Abraham Lincoln, vampires, and Frankenstein, and plays with familiar stories of “good men and monsters.” In addition to a wide array of images, the book also features new essays by Max Hart and curator Karsten Lund, as well as a reprint of a short story by George Saunders. Using this occasion as a chance to dig deeper into the book and McGuire’s work, Karsten Lund from the Renaissance Society and designer Lucas Reif will join the artist for a lively conversation. 99CANAL is an artist-run Studio & Public Program supporting Artists with access to professional studio environments while presenting an open, research-driven curatorial platform for public engagement. Isabelle Frances McGuire: Year Zero 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘻𝘪𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘡𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘮𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘱.

Isabelle Frances McGuire • Post-Fair • February 26-28 Bel Ami presents bewitching sculptures by Isabelle Frances McGuire at Post-Fair 2026. This continues McGuire’s investigations in Year Zero, their 2024 – 2025 solo exhibition at The Renaissance Society exploring the legendary origin stories of Abraham Lincoln and other heroic icons, and previews the artist’s forthcoming installation in the Whitney Biennial 2026, opening March 8. Bel Ami’s installation at Post-Fair resembles an unmarked burial mound, overgrown with wildflowers. Beneath the surface, busts of figures evoke ghoulish archetypes—vampires and witches—and also real women. Made with open-source 3D scans of female bodies from COVID research, two sculptures entitled Underworld hint at how women and their bodies have been co-opted to represent fears and to serve campaigns in both fictional and historical events. Seemingly buried alive, their transmogrifying faces depict demonization as an imposed process. Grasses, flowers, and wheat stalks stricken by ergot fungus sprout from the muddy ground surrounding the crypt. McGuire’s use of diseased grains cites the Salem Witch Trials (1692 – 1693), as some modern psychologists attributed these mass hysterical events—which resulted in 30 convictions and 19 executions—to hallucinations caused by ergot poisoning. This theory has largely been discredited, and historians have posited that the trials were driven by more ‘rational,’ man-made conspiracies. Accusations of witchcraft may well have been used as a pretense for land seizures. With this dark subject matter, McGuire makes light of the multiple meanings of ‘plot,’ which include: a tract of real estate, a plan for deception, and a storyline. Rather than simply adding to the endless rehashing of undying narratives in updated costuming, McGuire prompts us to question who we want to be in this life and the next.

Bel Ami will be participating in Post-Fair with a presentation of Isabelle Frances McGuire. Bel Ami is pleased to present work by Isabelle Frances McGuire at Post-Fair 2026. McGuire will open a solo exhibition at the gallery this fall. Isabelle Frances McGuire (b. 1994, Austin, TX) lives and works in Chicago. They received their BFA from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Selected solo and two person presentations include The Renaissance Society, Chicago (2024); What Pipeline, Detroit (2023); King’s Leap, New York (2021); Scherben, Berlin; Mickey, Chicago (2021); Good Weather at Et al., San Francisco (2020); From The Desk of Lucy Bull, Los Angeles (2020); and Prairie, Chicago (2017). Recent group shows include ‘My Story Gallery,’ High Art & Sister, Seoul (2024); Artists Space, New York (2024); ‘Multi-User Dungeon (MUD),’ Petzel Gallery, New York (2024); ‘Descending the Staircase,’ Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago (2023); ‘Tell Me What You Want,’ Bel Ami, Los Angeles (2023); M. LeBlanc, Chicago, IL; In Lieu, Los Angeles (2020); and ‘At the End of the Game You Will Be Forgotten,’ Alyssa Davis Gallery, New York, (2018). Isabelle Frances McGuire Paranoia Sublime in the Wild Wild West, 2023 PLA plastic, porcelain doll, twine 33 x 10 x 8 in (83.82 x 25.4 x 20.32 cm) Portrait of Isabelle Frances McGuire Installation view of Isabelle Frances McGuire, ‘Year Zero,’ 2024, at The Renaissance Society, Chicago Isabelle Frances McGuire, ‘Bust 1 (“Elvis”, “Modern WarFare II NVG”)’ [detail], 2023 —— Post-Fair 2026 Thursday 2/26: 11am - 8pm Friday 2/27: 11am - 6pm Saturday 2/28: 11am - 6pm @belami.la @ham_m2a @post_fair #belami#isabellefrancesmcguire #postfair

My nephew 🥲 @thechicagomouse

Book launch today @chicagoathletichotel 7pm with a conversation between me, Karsten, Lucas, and max. @rensoc @lucasreif @kwlund