For the past decade, the River North Design District (RNDD) Fall Gallery Walk has invited visitors to see art not simply as something to collect, but as something to live with. On Sept. 11, the event celebrates its 10th anniversary by transforming high-profile River North showrooms into designer-curated spaces where original artwork becomes part of beautifully designed interiors rather than simply hanging on gallery walls. “Art comes alive when it’s experienced in the context of how we actually live,” says RNDD Executive Director Jill Maremont. “Seeing a painting above a fireplace, a sculpture in an entry or ceramics styled on a dining table allows people to imagine those pieces as part of their own homes.”
A dramatic landscape screen anchors this layered living room by Sucher Studios, one of the returning design talents at this year’s River North Design District Fall Gallery Walk.
To celebrate the milestone, the Gallery Walk welcomes back Gallery Walk All Stars—a collection of returning designers and artists who have helped define the event over the past decade. This year’s event features 31 artists and 16 designer vignettes, with returning participants including Tom Stringer Design Partners, Brynn Olson Design Group and artist Lucy Slivinski. “This year’s Gallery Walk is our most immersive yet,” Maremont says. “Rather than simply displaying artwork in a showroom, each designer has created a fully realized experience where art, interiors, music, cocktails, lighting, scent and storytelling all come together.” From celestial journeys and dreamlike bedroom installations to colorful gallery-inspired vignettes, each showroom offers a distinct interpretation of the relationship between art and interiors.