ABOUT FLXST Contemporary
Founded in 2019, FLXST Contemporary is a contemporary fine art and photography gallery and an art incubator in Chicago. We present highly-evocative and uncompromising artwork by emerging and mid-career artists, and we support the creation and exhibition of new artwork across all visual mediums. Our art program centers on artists of color, LGBTQ-identified artists, and immigrant artists.
The artists we work with produce thoughtful, aesthetically-driven, and socio-engaged work reflective of the contemporary times in which we live. We work tirelessly for the success of our artists and provide them with as much professional development as they need so that they can navigate the art world with confidence and intelligence.
We put artists, their vision, energy, and their conceptual power first. The artwork exhibited at our gallery engages viewers to think and to linger on important conceptual and compositional questions. The quality of the artwork represented at FLXST also encourages collectors and curators to consider pieces for their private collections and institutions, respectively. For collectors, we serve as a resource for the creation of an inclusive art collection. For curators, likewise, we offer the expertise to assist in art exhibition proposals or institutional diversification efforts.
Acquiring artwork produced by the artists that we represent immediately impacts their lives. Acquisitions support and nourish creativity and facilitate the goal of achieving a sustainable artistic practice for our artists. We work with transparency and equity with every artist in order to demystify many components of the art market. The artists we represent come from underrepresented canons in the art world; some are artists who decided not to pursue post-graduate education because of cost or other constraints; while others are artists who followed untraditional routes like being self-taught. Yet all of our artists work determinedly as artists first and foremost (while also holding several side jobs) to gain a foothold within the art world. We vet each of our artists holistically. When we decide to work with an artist, we strive to push their careers forward. We believe in their talent to transform the art world to be more inclusive and forward-thinking.
FLXST Contemporary calls the historic Motor Row district in the Near South Side home (a designated landmark in the National Registry of Historic Places). Just a little over a mile south of The Art Institute of Chicago, Motor Row is a neighborhood brimming with creative possibilities as we enter into a new decade in its century-plus history. During its heyday in the earlier part of the 20th century, the Motor Row district showcased over 100 car models in showroom spaces as large as the one FLXST Contemporary is in. Just one block south on South Michigan Avenue resides the former headquarters of the Chicago Defender, a leading voice for Chicago’s African American community — the building itself is also a designated historic landmark. There is a design and artistic sensibility in the neighborhood’s historic architecture and among the people who live and work here.
FLXST Contemporary pays respect to the vibrant cultural and historical community all around its gallery space.
Jan Christian Bernabe, Ph.D.
Gallery Director | Founder
