Meet the Chicago artists CEOs love to collect
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Photo by @PropertiesA Hebru Brantley mural at @Properties Uptown office.
For CEOs, adding an impressive piece to the company corporate collection is a subtle way to make a mark. And while some acquire hard-to-find pieces from around the world, others are turning to local artists to get one-of-a-kind work, often with Chicago themes. Here are the local artists getting corporate attention—and dollars.
HEBRU BRANTLEY AND @PROPERTIES' THADDEUS WONG
Photo by @Properties@Properties Peoria Street office.
When @properties co-founder Thaddeus Wong was brainstorming gifts to send to the real estate brokerage's 2,500 top customers, he wanted to make a statement. So in 2015 he commissioned Chicago painter Hebru Brantley to create a coffee table book, a collectible similar to one Brantley had published in the past.
"It just spoke to me—his art is something special," says Wong, who became acquainted with Brantley's work after seeing his mural on Bucktown's Nike store. Brantley has graffiti artist roots, and his cartoon-like work is collected around the globe.
Hebru Brantley, left, and Thaddeus Wong
After the book, Wong commissioned Brantley to paint a family portrait as an anniversary present for his wife (which includes their four children); it hangs in their Lincoln Park home. He also displays an oil painting of Brantley's “Flyboy” character along with a sculpture inside @properties' Goose Island office, and a Brantley mural is on the firm's Uptown office building. "Commissions are always a fun challenge," says Brantley, 36, who replied via email while traveling in Japan but typically works out of his Pilsen studio. Creating a custom piece requires "an understanding of the subjects on a conceptual level," he says.
Michael Small, left and Josh Moulton
JOSH MOULTON AND GOGO'S MICHAEL SMALL
When Chicago artist Josh Moulton met Gogo Chief Executive Michael Small at a technology event at 1871, the tech incubator inside the Merchandise Mart, they stayed in touch via email. Months later, Small asked Moulton—who regularly paints Chicago-centric scenes for corporate clients such as Deloitte, PWC and McDonald's—to add local flavor to a company conference room.
For Small, Moulton created two paintings that show Gogo's exterior (and prominent signage) among the other downtown high-rises. Moulton began the process by taking photos of the exterior views and painting to scale from the photographs. The turnaround took about a month, because he had to capture el tracks, bridges and building facades. "Each (painting) has a ton of little windows," says Moulton, 39, who runs a storefront gallery in Lincoln Park featuring his paintings and prints.
Small says he commissioned the work because it helps employees understand how the in-flight internet-connection company contributes to the fabric of Chicago. "The idea was to make our building prominent, but in the context of the city," he says. "If you wanted to, you could give a city tour right from the painting."
Moulton says the corporate relationships help keep him afloat as an artist. He often provides a selection of photographs to clients and asks them which images they'd like him to depict. Most are scenes of Chicago. "That's what really sells," he adds.
Jeff Zimmerman's mural at 1871
JEFF ZIMMERMAN AND 1871'S HOWARD TULLMAN
Anyone who nears 1871's Merchandise Mart 12th-floor space can't help but notice the colorful mural covering 80 feet of the hallway that leads to the entrance. The artwork, which muralist Jeff Zimmermann painted off-site and later installed, is a tribute to the city's creative minds. A Chicago hot dog sits alongside aerial views of the city and cow heads. The mural was the brainchild of 1871 Chief Executive Howard Tullman. A longtime art collector, Tullman wanted "something young, hip and visually sophisticated," says Zimmermann, who painted the mural in 2014 and works alongside artist Jason Brammer out of a Humboldt Park space.
Jeff Zimmermann, left, and Howard Tullman
The CEO/artist relationship has evolved from there. With the help of Tullman, Zimmermann painted a 90-foot-tall mural in 2016 in Bucktown off of the 606 trail that was sponsored by fellow 1871 resident Conagra. It includes symbols of the city along with one of his signature knots. (It also features an image of Tullman, Zimmermann points out.) Outside work, Tullman hired the muralist to paint a backdrop for a short play he wrote a few years ago. "He's got my loyalty," says Zimmermann, 47.
For his part, Tullman, who is stepping down from 1871 at year-end, says that Zimmermann adds a distinctly Chicago feel to the tech space. The symbols in his mural are meant to give a sort of energy to the office while adding color to the loft-like feel. "It's a very active piece," says Tullman. "We didn't want it to be a situation where (the artwork) would fade into the wall."
Photo by Manuel MartinezJoshua Rogers
ALEX BRADLEY COHEN AND ARETE WEALTH MANAGEMENT'S JOSHUA ROGERS
While Joshua Rogers tends to hang noncommissioned pieces on the walls of his wealth management firm, the CEO has recently made a few exceptions. An abstract portrait of Rogers and his fiancee, commissioned from Chicago artist Alex Bradley Cohen, is a highlight in his personal office at Arete's West Loop headquarters.
Rogers met Cohen through a mutual friend. The two hung out at Rogers' home prior to the commission, says the artist, a 2014 School of the Art Institute graduate who specializes in portraiture. "It felt less like a commission and more like a work of art that I was making for a friend," he says.
Rogers says he was drawn to the quirkiness of his work and was excited to meet an up-and-coming local talent. Cohen often depicts abstract figures in a real-life context. He had a large solo exhibit at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery in New York this fall.
Most of the time, the wealth manager prefers to choose works from Arete's inventory and advises clients to do the same through the firm's year-old art advisory service. To do otherwise is "almost like going to a fine-dining chef and saying you have to add more salt to this dish," Rogers says. "It's kind of a faux pas."