Beyond the Grid is Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park’s ongoing art series—an evolving showcase of contemporary artists, immersive installations, and creative exchange. Located on the hotel’s B1 level within the Chicago Pedway, the series brings together local and global talent across disciplines, inviting guests and visitors to experience art in motion.
Each residency transforms the space with new perspectives, while live activations, artist interactions, and community-driven partnerships deepen the connection between art and audience.
What to Expect:
- Rotating artist residencies
- Live art experiences
- Meet-the-artist moments
- Community and philanthropic partnerships
Beyond the Grid is designed to be more than an exhibition—it’s a platform for creativity, connection, and cultural storytelling.
Now on View:
Perspectives of Place is the latest exhibition in the Beyond the Grid art series curated by ArtistsProof. On display from July 21 through September 22, Perspectives of Place features Liz Flores, Cheri Charlton, Carina Vargas Nunez, and Amy Donaldson and brings together art and community participation to explore how our understanding of place is shaped by identity, memory, and the city of Chicago.
Moving from the hotel lobby into the Chicago Pedway, the exhibit invites guests, commuters and the wider community to experience art beyond traditional gallery spaces – and to consider the many ways we see, experience and connect to the places around us.
Together, their work considers place not simply as geography, but as something deeply personal and continually evolving, shaped by the experiences we carry and the ways we see and engage with the city of Chicago and the world around us.
About The Artists
About Artist Liz Flores
Anchor artist Liz Flores brings a distinctive visual language informed by identity and the experiences of womanhood. Her bold, fluid figures reduce the human form to expressive lines and gestures, creating works that feel simultaneously personal and universal. Presented in the hotel lobby, Flores’s work establishes a central idea within the exhibition – that our sense of place begins with the self and the experiences we carry with us.
Her mural work can be found throughout the Chicagoland Area. In addition to working with private and commercial clients across the United States, she has exhibited her artwork in galleries in and around the U.S., Canada and Europe. Learn more about her work at lizfloresart.com or follow her on Instagram @lizitto.
About Artist Carina Vargas-Nuñez
Carina Vargas-Nuñez is a multidisciplinary artist working in paint and textile, based in Chicago, IL. Their work has been featured at The Other Art Fair, the Overture Center for the Arts, and the Bridgeport Arts Center, and they have completed residencies in Cuba and Chicago. Self-taught, Carina has spent the past several years cultivating both their artistic practice and community. Learn more about their work at carinavargasnunez.com or follow them on Instagram @cari_na_vn.
About Artist Cheri Charlton
Cheri Charlton is a Chicago-based illustrator, muralist, and educator whose work explores the beauty of the natural world through a graphic, colorful, and whimsical style. She has been painting murals for over ten years and is the artist behind Curious Bunny, the largest mural painted by a woman in Chicago. Learn more about her work at cherileecharlton.com or follow her on Instagram @chersugarlee.
About artist Amy Donaldson
Amy Donaldson is a painter native to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, now living and working in Redding, California. Over the course of her career, she has exhibited internationally, from London to New York, Chicago, and California, including a 2016 solo show in Paris, the Brussels Art Fair, Art Basel Miami, and the Illinois State Museum. Working in crushed, natural pigments fused with oil paint, Donaldson builds her compositions through a freely expressive, sculptural process — layering marks across the canvas, scraping them back, then building up again. Learn more about her work at amydonaldson.com and follow her on Instagram @donaldson_fine_art.
Past Featured Artists
About Artist Fontaine Scarelli
Fontaine Scarelli is a contemporary abstract expressionist painter whose work explores tension, time, and psychological space through large-scale, immersive compositions. Scarelli’s canvases invite viewers into environments where memory, perception, and existential uncertainty intersect. Drawing influence from post-apocalyptic cinema, The Twilight Zone, and his solitary upbringing, his work reflects a deep fascination with the fragile boundary between reality and illusion.
Additional Information:
Additional artist residencies, exhibitions, and interactive experiences will be announced on a rolling basis, reinforcing the series’ mission to push creative boundaries, foster meaningful connections, and shine a spotlight on a city that thrives on creativity. As part of Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park’s commitment to delivering unparalleled experiences for both guests and locals, the series is designed to be provocative, immersive, and truly one-of-a-kind, going beyond the art itself.
Local artists interested in participating or learning more are encouraged to reach out directly to Art Curator Peggy Sparks of Artists Proof, by emailing [email protected].
