Intuit: The Center For Intuitive & Outsider Art

Great!

$ 5 admission is a small price to pay to see some of the world’s best outsider art. The gallery space is small & exhibits rotate through. Artists biographies provide context & make the art accessible. Staff is friendly & willing to answer questions. Bonus — Henry Darger’s recreated apartment in the back.

This is an interesting though small gallery in West Town. I’ve seen outsider art exhibits at museums before but I’ve never been to a museum devoted entirely to outsider art. I enjoyed reading the detailed descriptions of the artists and their work – it’s much more comprehensive than the blurbs I see at most art museums. There was also a cute gift shop and a reading room. Admission is only $ 5, so I would recommend stopping by if you are ever in the area.

This place is a trip. I walked in not knowing what to expect since I really wasn’t exactly sure what outsider art is. Our guide was so knowledgable as he explained the concept of outsider art, and told us about some of the pieces. He took our questions and answered with expertise and clarity. In fact, every staff person I encountered was willing to share insight and information. The artwork is beautiful and highly unusual. There’s information about the artist posted near each piece. It seemed that there was a theme of some sadness, illness or hardship that was a common thread to each artist, which helped me to understand the depth of the art. I found some of the art to have a sad and eerie quality, but art should evoke emotion. The Darger room was absolutely fascinating. It brought to life the man behind this whimsical yet sometimes disturbing work. If you’re a lover of visual art, or just curious about outsider art, I highly recommend visiting Intuit. I walked out feeling much richer than when I walked in.

Went on a holiday Saturday and the executive director herself was there.
Such a unique museum! Each caption tells a unique story about the unconventional artist who made the piece. A mix of American and international artworks and mediums.
THe Henry Darger Room is a fascinating replica of the outsider artist’s apartment, complete with collages, clippings, religious ornaments, balls of twine, paints, etc.
I had the opportunity to work on a project about Darger, so seeing the room in person was a real treat.
At $ 5 it’s a great deal. The gift shop showcases more custom art as well.

If you know what outsider art is, this is a great little museum. If you don’t know what outsider art is, it’s great place to find out. I am a big fan of small museums for many reasons and this one delivers. The size makes it feel like a hip art gallery but all the information available for the pieces shown and the selection of the pieces themselves make it feel like a first class museum. Best of both worlds.
Seems like the exhibits are rotated, so I expect to be back every so often to see what is new. Go on a Saturday afternoon and then grab a drink or a bite somewhere nearby and let the discussion begin.

Street parking not too hard on Aberdeen behind it. It’s not large but it is fascinating if you enjoy outsider art. Nice little gift shop. The Henry Darger room is fascinating. Give yourself time to read the accompanying materials.

— that’s their web address. Yep, they must have gotten that early on. Good foresight by someone.
I love museums and galleries. And I really love «Outsider Art», even though I don’t really understand it. I was delighted when I found this place in Chicago. Its not large, but it uses space well. Outsider Art is also called Folk Art by many, but the «new» name Outsider Art seems to be the trend. Outsider art is usually used to refer to self taught artists, and those working outside of the «main stream» of the art world. Grandma Moses is a famous, perhaps the first famous, «Outsider Artist», although she was branded a Folk Artist. Many outsider artistes are considered to be mentally challenged, and some may be, but just as many are not, they are simply self taught, they may hide their work, they may work with unusual subjects or mediums etc.
As one of their permanent collection «items» they have the Henry Darger Room — a replica of the room where Henry lived (a one room apt) for decades, until he went to a nursing home. the collection includes (from website)
«tracings, clippings from newspapers, magazines, comic books, cartoons, children’s books, coloring books, personal documents, and architectural elements, fixtures, and furnishings from Darger’s original room.»
Standing in the doorway of this room is amazing,. He used every space imaginable for his work, which include a 15,000 page fantasy storybook found after his death, which seems to be what really «put him on the map» art wise. He was a talented artist and storywriter, but he made a living as a custodian, and was more or less a recluse. This room alone is worth a visit to the Museum.
But they do have more, including a large meeting room, where they give lectures and hold receptions and the like.
Their permanent collection houses pieces by many different artists, and they have shows often. When I was there, there were paintings, painted chairs, and other things in-​between.
In addition they have a research room where you can look up all sorts of artists and their work. They offer workshops for those who are interested.
This small museum is worth a visit. Entrance fee is $ 5, free for members, and they are part of the «Museum Exchange» if you are a member of, for example, the Albright Knox. But its worth the $ 5.
They have a gift ship unlike any other I have seen. The items for sale are made by various artists and many are usable, I bought a wine holder as both a gift and «conversation piece» for someone. They have decorated clothing. Interesting postcards. Its really nice.
Parking here is street, and you may have to walk a block or two. But its worth it.
(Review 425)

I have only been here once, but my husband and I had a pretty fun time. The place was clean and the art was neato. The gift shop was small but interesting, and they have a «bathroom gallery» which was funny. The only bad thing was the door was locked during open hours and it was confusing, we almost left. You have to ring the bell and wait, the door sticks!

Very unique place with some really cutting edge art. I often find Outsider Art to be more interesting than art by trained people. The Henry Darger room is worth the trip alone. It’s not a very big museum and the neighborhood is a bit shabby, but it’s not too expensive and the people are really friendly. Very inspiring.

I went here for the Arts and Drafts events and I was pleasantly surprised by the Outsider Art they display, it’s not something I ever really got into or see myself getting very interested in, but there were some exhibits there that drew my interest and the Henry Darger room was an interesting, but sad story. I think it’s a great space for a smaller event that has some interesting work showcased.

Intuit is an amazing resource for art fans and artists alike. With a large library, a gift shop, and a convenient event space, the Intuit Center for Outsider Art showcases the work of many outsider artists deserving of greater attention. For a measly 5 bucks, you can see some great paintings, sculpture, and drawings, as well as take in the Henry Darger room, a permanent fixture of the gallery’s collection, a recreation of the apartment belonging to the famous writer and painter from Chicago.

Truly one of the best and most lovely places in Chicago to go see art. Ya, ya, we have the chicago art institute, mca, river north galleries, but this place is truly exquisite.
Accessible art work from all sorts of artists. Lee Godie, the madam of Michigan Avenue art shows here. Raw, exuberant, naïve, Lee made her mark in Chicago. Her spirit was exceptional and the archives of her work here are genius.
There is also a moving, wild, beautiful exhibit of Henry Darger’s life and art. An icon of «identity» art… dreamy humbleness from a long time ago.
An intimate gallery/​museum space with helpful art keepers. Go be awed… you’ll be glad you did!

Love, love, love Intuit! What a treasure. And one that happens to be pretty well hidden in a rusty, crusty part of town… much like a lot of the work housed therein.
Don’t let that keep you from finding your way here. For those of us who live outside Chicago/​NYC/​Atlanta and don’t have easy access to outsider work via galleries, shows, museums, or auctions, seeing this work outside of print form is the difference between experiencing my Achtung Baby cassette tape vs. U2 on tour.
My first trip happened to be during Lonnie Holley’s artist-​in-​residence stint. It was an awakening for me, and I am grateful to have one of those pieces in my home. My second show was the Architecture of Hope exhibit, which was more broad and comprised a number of artists. I hope to make it up for the William Hawkins — Hawkins Bolden exhibit coming up.
As much as I love the exhibits, I’ve also spent hours perusing the shop. Intuit has a stellar selection of reference literature, including old exhibit catalogs and periodicals. On my last trip, I had to creatively rearrange my luggage to get underweight because I’d piled up books on Yoakum, von Bruenchenhein, and Finster that I’d previously been unaware of. And the staff have always been helpful and sweet!

Just now taking a moment to review this gem. When we visited, there were huge wall murals by an artist who melded his American and Hispanic heritage with bold symbols and imagery. We also enjoyed some huge manga-​style murals.
I was looking forward to the Darger room and it came through with the eerie, time-​warp feeling I was hoping for. But, oh, I wish I could have perused some of the artifacts in that roped-​off room!
Be patient — I’m sure many visitors bypass the book collection — and be sure to skim through some of the books. There’s a book in there on Darger’s work that includes full-​color, full-​pages of some of The Vivian Girls epic.
I appreciated the funky range of the gift store — it didn’t come off as pre-​packaged nor irrelevant to Intuit.
Also enjoyed an exhibit of local elementary & middle school art — inspirational…
Just the right size that you can take a «non-​arts friend» and they will find value in the visit, too.
Worth returning for each new exhibit.

Finally got to go here. Saw the Ulysses Davis show: Very nice. The place isn’t huge, but they have a lot of stuff, especially with the recreated workroom of Henry Darger room.
There is a shop, which was not as amazing as everyone says. I didn’t really see anything interesting, personally. Seems a good place for books though.
They now charge a $ 5 entrance fee, but it is worth it.

I was here for a «sneak preview» of the new Ulysses Davis sculptural show. Check out his evil Richard Nixon in the little gallery of Presidents!
Because this was an event associated with a fine arts conference, a curator opened the rope in the Henry Darger room and showed us some things that are usually not visible to the public, like some drawings and scrapbooks Darger made that are in the dresser drawers. He explained a little bit about how it was all preserved, which was fascinating. The room is plenty interesting on its own, but with the «special access pass» it was even better. This room is a permanent part of the museum, but the rest of the art changes, with different exhibitions of works by artists without formal training coming and going throughout the year. It looks like the Davis sculptures will be there until at least mid-​March.
There’s also study center with a library of books and documentaries about self-​taught artists and their work. Some books are for sale in the gift shop, but I did not look to see if there is significant overlap with the study center collection.
Speaking of the gift shop, it’s maybe the best museum gift shop I’ve visited. Yes, the MCA has cool Japanese toys and the Art Institute has magnets shaped like suits of armor, but if you want something like a calendar of random American mug shots from the early/​mid 20^th century, random family snap shots apparently gleaned from antique malls, or bike tire bracelets, this is the place. There’s just so much there in such a small space that I am sure I missed something really interesting.
Don’t forget to donate when you go! There’s nobody at the door, just a clear box to put money into, so put as little or as much as you want. It would be a shame to go without giving them anything, though, because the staff clearly works very hard and with great love at keeping this place special.

At least one reviewer states that having institutions preserve outsider art somehow cheapens the art; to which I respond, there might not be preserved outsider art if it were not for the art establishment’s protection. Darger’s work could easily have found its way to a dumpster instead of to a museum, if it were not for the protection and grace of gifted connoisseurs. INTUIT is one such sanctuary.
We attended the Ulysses Davis exhibit this weekend and found the presentation, space, and lighting delightful. Chicagoans who have not yet been to INTUIT are doing themselves a disfavor — Go!
Also notice the museum’s website has a calendar of art lectures. Become more savvy about the art and meet other members of the interested public.
I agree with other reviewers that I was expecting more of Darger’s work at INTUIT besides just the Darger room. Not necessarily a criticism. .. after seeing «In the Realms of the Unreal» I was hoping for more Darger, that’s all.

I don’t know how (read: why) I went so long without checking this place out. I suppose it was one of those things I took for granted, as in, I’ll get around to visiting sometime. Usually those places are the places you should be visiting all the time, and Intuit is no exception.
My friend really wanted to check out their Darger Room, and she was not disapointed. The recreation of his living/​work space was definitely a unique museum exhibit. I only wish that more of his work was visible from behind the little velvet rope.
What I really loved was the exhibit they’ve just extended, a collection of the works of Joseph Yoakum. The pieces are mostly landscapes said to be inspired by his world travels, though there is no confirmation that he actually set foot in all of these places. While a lot of them are of rural America, there were several cool landscapes of areas in South America and Sweden, if I remember correctly. Either way, there’s something almost mythological about the concept, and when you throw his own unique eye, you get something special. At least three times I found myself reminded of a mushroom trip in Central Park.
The rest of the stuff in the front room ranged from «This is pretty excellent» to «OK, I could have done this as a child». I suppose given the genre that that’s to be expected. The staff were super pleasant, the price was right (free) and the gift shop had about fifteen things I wanted to take home. If you’ve been thinking about going, go.

Intuit is a pretty amazing little space. If you are into folk, intuitive or «Outsider» art, it is definitely worth a stop.
Spaces of this kind are rare. In the name of art from the fringes: I ask others who are impatient with the size of the space or «lack of selection» to consider what you are asking the curators to assemble. Are you going to see «a bunch of stuff» or hoping to find one good piece that speaks to you? These types of work are often snapped up by private collectors or destroyed, I deeply respect the effort involved in assembling them for us to view for free.
The Darger Room is the focus of Intuit’s space, its reason for being. Concerned volunteers managed to save artifacts from his studio/​apartment — why it was torn down I’ve yet to understand. A small space (close to 10′ square, if that) in the back of Intuit approximates a corner of Henry Darger’s apartment. As a whole, I found the room a bit flat — a sanitized version of his space. I did enjoy seeing the bundles of his reference materials and art supplies, though.
The current exhibits are very relevant to Intuit’s mission and valuable to the folk art /“Outsider” enthusiast: a selection of about 40 pieces including collage, sculpture & paintings from the Heartland and the work of Joseph Yoakum.
The shop, which thankfully is not a corporate art museum store, has some worthwhile publications and appropriate small items. You can feel good about supporting a worthwhile cause while picking up a good exhibition catalogue. I look forward to returning!