Strong Sales as EXPO Chicago 2025 Draws Major Collectors and Institutions to the Midwest

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EXPO Chicago‘s 12th edition reported healthy sales as the fair wrapped up on Sunday, with galleries declaring transactions ranging in the four to low six figures, representing the mid-to-low market.

The fair registered a decline in blue-chip presence in its second year under Frieze—a situation partly remedied by strong local and institutional networks, with a vernissage benefitting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and the return of the Northern Trust-backed acquisition prize.

This year, the award saw three U.S. museums acquire works: Birmingham Museum of Art selected a painting by Lilian Martinez at OCHI and a collage by Winnie Truong at Patel Brown; Dallas Museum of Art purchased a Wallace Pato painting shown with Mitre; and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art brought home three works by Soo Shin presented by PATRON.

Gallerists also spoke of the fair as a place to connect with curators, including attendees like 2022 Venice Biennale curator Cecilia Alemani, and a long list of represented institutions not limited to MacArthur Foundation, Carnegie Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, and Bergen Kunsthall.

Prominent visitors included mega-collectors Marty Nesbitt and Anita Blanchard, Susan and Michael Hort, and Alec and Jennifer Litowitz. A special section dedicated to 20 Korean galleries established with KIAF organisers, Galleries Association of Korea, also brought fresh energy to the event.

‘Sales at this price point are always a cause for celebration’, said Manya Kochhar, associate director at New York‘s Aicon Contemporary, noting that the placement of G. R. Iranna‘s work with a Midwestern collector exemplifies the ‘true purpose of our participation in art fairs’.

Communication in Silent Branches (2025) sold in the range of $90,000 to $110,000 (all figures USD) alongside three mixed-media works from the artist’s ‘Under the Planet’ series in the four-figure range.

Chicago dealer Monique Meloche, whose eponymous gallery hosted an exhibition to celebrate their 25th year, cited a ‘flurry of sales’ and a ‘terrific first day’.

Meloche’s gallery placed multiple works by young Nigerian artist Luke Agada and a historical work by Sanford Biggers with Chicago collectors. The gallery also sold works by Rashid Johnson, Sheree Hovsepian, and Nate Young, among others.

From Canada, Patel Brown co-owner Devan Patel and director Jennifer Simaitis said the fair ‘seemed busier than usual’ with many first-time visitors.

The gallery placed a work by Winnie Truong with Birmingham Museum of Art through the fair’s Northern Trust Purchase Prize, and others with new collectors, alongside that of Laila Mestari.

London gallery Pippy Houldsworth sold out their booth of new work by Chicago-based Kenyan artist Wangari Mathenge, including Re-Membering IV (Weep Note, Child) for $100,000, Re-Membering (Folded in Time) (both 2025) for $90,000, and placed two works by the artist in Midwestern museums.

Sundaram Tagore Gallery confirmed ‘robust sales and conversations with important collectors’, selling a painting by Korean artist Chun Kwang Young for $155,000, several images by London-based photographer Karen Knorr totaling over $100,000, and a photograph by Edward Burtynsky for $27,000.

Finally, Tang Contemporary Art sold a triptych by Korean artist Yoon Hyup for $120,000, and paintings by Yoon Hyup, Gongkhan, Deng Shiqing, and Jade Ching-yuk Ng for a total of $100,000. —[O]

Main image: EXPO Chicago (24–27 April 2025). Courtesy EXPO Chicago. Photo: Lucy Hewett/CKA.