Nicole (GoldenxMisfit)
- Dec 11, 2019
- 3 min read

Line Dot's 4th Anniversary Show

“It’s an integral part of our ethos as a gallery that all our welcome in our space no matter where you’re at in your art collection or how much knowledge you have," - Shana Hafner, gallery director

As a New Year approaches, we all begin reflecting back on the year. This is similar to what Line Dot has done with their 4th Anniversary show featuring 25 local and worldwide artists that have graced their gallery walls over the years. Some of these artists include Alice Pasquini, Cristi López, Joseph Renda Jr., Nina Talamantes, Oscar Joyo, Sergio Farfán, and Dwight White.

“We wanted to create a show that honored where we’ve been while also celebrating where we’re going,” said Shana Hafner, gallery director of Line Dot. Line Dot is a contemporary gallery in Ukrainian Village in Chicago boasting high caliber names like Hebru Brantley, Anthony Lister, and emerging favorites Kayla Mahaffey and Max Sansing.

“In addition we offer high-quality secondary market work from Banksy, KAWS, Shepard Fairey, and Takashi Murakami among others,” said Shana.

Shana was able to give us more insight into the 4th Anniversary Show and the gallery right before heading off to Miami for SCOPE.

GXM: Wow, 4th anniversary show congrats! How did the overall creation and work for it come together?

SH: Thank you! We are all very proud of how Line Dot has grown and changed over the years, and we wanted to create a show that honored where we’ve been while also celebrating where we’re going.

GXM: How did the selected artist list come together?

SH: We wanted to present a mix of both standout favorites that we’ve worked with over the past four years and artists who are newer to the gallery who we’re excited to showcase in greater depth this coming year.

GXM: What is your overall reaction to the result and turn out for the show?

SH: We could not be happier with the response to the show! It was one of our most packed openings ever and was such a wonderful gathering of our collectors, artists and friends who have been such an integral part of our growth as a gallery. Our community is truly an essential part of our success and we are incredibly grateful for all the support!

GXM: A standout in your gallery is always the work you have by Oscar Joyo. Can you tell me a bit about him and his work coming up with the gallery?

SH: Malawian-born, Oscar moved to Chicago as a teen and developed a unique visual aesthetic that fuses his African roots with contemporary urbanism. His paintings take on alternative lives in virtual reality, morphing from raw acrylic on wood to pulsating, color-changing techno-variants.

GXM: What were some milestones for the gallery this year?

SH: This year we presented some of our most ambitious and successful shows to date, including a collaboration with Vertical Gallery on a solo show with acclaimed Los Angeles painter Jillian Evelyn, our biggest Juried Show ever that drew on a pool of 200 applicants from all over the Midwest, and a solo show with Kayla Mahaffey that sold out almost instantaneously! We also expanded our partnership with local nonprofit The Simple Good to support their youth arts and mindfulness programs here in Chicago and abroad in East Africa.

GXM: What’s next for Line Dot? What should we be on the lookout for? (shows, events, etc.)

SH: We’re about to head down to Miami Beach for SCOPE and are thrilled to be bringing three of Chicago’s biggest talents with us: Max Sansing, Kayla Mahaffey and Steve Seeley. All three are incredibly talented painters technically, and are able to externalize these highly complex, fantastic inner worlds in their work.

We have a growing core group of artists that we’re excited to build with in 2020; Chicago holds so much talent and we’re so excited to keep tapping into that and introducing more collectors to this world. It’s an integral part of our ethos as a gallery that all our welcome in our space no matter where you’re at in your art collection or how much knowledge you have. We hope to continue creating a place both in-person and online where collectors at every level of experience can come and find a piece they connect with.