iSmart Museum of ArtHyde Park
teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity
Midwest debut of the Tokyo collective teamLab, tracing 25 years of immersive digital work plus a new commission that dissolves the boundary between viewer and artwork.
More in Chicago
Walk toward one of the glowing spheres in Massless Suns and Dark Suns and it brightens, and the spheres around it respond. Mixed in are "spheres of darkness" that look solid and can't be photographed.
Nine installations fill the Landes and Gray galleries, a mix of older works (from 2019 and 2022) and new 2026 ones. In Sea of Darkness, Memory Shining from the Depths, a black veil is projected over a hammered copper wall and reacts to viewers. In Order in Chaos, touching the floor and walls sets off animated lines. Continuous Life and Death at the Now of Eternity II is a floral ecosystem tied to Chicago: it brightens at sunrise, darkens at sunset and shifts as fall turns to winter.
Entry is free, Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 4:30pm, closed Mondays. Chicago's sunset in December is around 4:20pm, so by midwinter the flowers go dark just before closing time.
Editor's pick
Walk toward a glowing sphere in Massless Suns and Dark Suns and it brightens, setting off its neighbours. Nine digital installations, free, and one floral piece tracks Chicago's real sunrise and sunset. Skip it if you want objects over projections.
Look for
Massless Suns and Dark Suns
Spheres of light brighten as you approach and set off the ones around them, alongside dark spheres that can't be photographed.
Sea of Darkness, Memory Shining from the Depths
A projected black veil billows against a hammered copper wall and responds to your presence.
Order in Chaos
Touch the gridded floor and walls and vivid animated lines spread from your hand.
Continuous Life and Death at the Now of Eternity II
An animated flower ecosystem that follows Chicago's sunrise, sunset and seasons.
The World of Irreversible Change
A paneled animated community that Colossal says is programmed to tip into war if touched repeatedly; it is cordoned off.
Good for
- Cheap Culture
- Out-Of-Town Guests
- Teenagers
Skip if
You want objects rather than screens and projections: every work here is digital.
With kids
Admission is free, and the museum lists family programs, guided tours and talks throughout the run.
Also at Smart Museum of Art
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
8
- teamLab: Everything Exists in Infinite Continuity© teamLab, courtesy Smart Museum of Art
- Christmas Around the World and Holidays of LightCourtesy of Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
- Goodnight MoonCourtesy of Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
- Anne Frank The ExhibitionCourtesy of Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
- Smart Museum of ArtMichael Barera, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Renaissance SocietyWarren LeMay, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
- The DuSable Black History Museum and Education CenterTonyTheTiger via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Griffin Museum of Science and Industryzooey / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0