World of Variety Pop-up at Curb Appeal Gallery

Pop-up run: Saturday, November 25 — Sunday December 24, 2024

Hours: Thursday + Friday (5 - 8 PM), Saturday + Sunday (Noon - 6:00 PM), and by appointment 

Opening party: Saturday, December 2, 2023 (4:00 - 8:00 PM)

Bagel Brunch featuring Zeitlin’s Delicatessen: Sunday, December 17, 2023 (12:00 - 4:00 PM)

Closing Day Festive Drinks + Cookies All Day: Sunday, December 24, 2023 (12:00 - 5:00 PM)

Curb Appeal Gallery is delighted to announce our first pop-up in partnership with the newly launched World of Variety. Organized by Stella Brown, World of Variety is a modern, curated, variety store with a focus on artist-made objects, local and regionally produced products and a range of unique objects collected from around the world. World of Variety is a store that celebrates the life of objects—their origin, history, and future. Whether contemporary art objects, used and found items, manufactured tools, collected rocks and natural history, or novelty toys, they tell the story of the time, place, and culture that created and collected them. 

This first iteration of World of Variety features the work of over 20 Chicago artists, makers, and locally owned businesses as well as sourced home goods. Perfect for holiday gift giving, this pop up will include handmade ceramics, plants, candles, homewares for hosting, novelty items, and vernacular Chicago objects. Artists and businesses will include Ash Hudson, Ben Driggs, Ben Marcus, Bob Holcombe, Francisca Villagrana, Gail Placko, Harry Kuttner, Ike Sugar, Jeanette Hayes, Jetsy Merchblatt, Kimberly Kim, GnarWare, Molly O'Connell, the artists of Project Onward, Trumbo Soap and The Weaving Mill among others. 

About World of Variety: World of Variety is a project by Stella Brown, the founding Director of the Buddy store at the Chicago Cultural Center, artist, independent curator, and film set decorator. As an artist, her medium is the language of display, with her academic interests focusing on museums and the collection and display of the cultural objects. Paired with a deep concern for, and interest in, the environmental changes that humanity is bringing upon the planet in the Anthropocene, Brown’s work is steeped in the desire for locally focused retail that both celebrates the wonderful objects produced by the people of the Chicago and Midwest region, as well as a commitment to a sustainable lifestyle for customers. 

About the gallery: Curb Appeal is an apartment gallery located in the Heart of Chicago, run by Todd Garon and Sandy Guttman. As an organization, we are interested in the intersection of art and accessibility. We draw inspiration from the neighborhood topology of our historic storefront space and its visibility to the community in which we are sited. Our large windows and sidewalk stoop encourage passersby to peer in as well as invite themselves into our live/workspace. Grounded in the idea of “home” with an ethic of accessibility, Curb Appeal reimagines what both an apartment and a gallery can be.

For more information, please contact info@curbappeal.gallery.

Accessibility: Curb Appeal is wheelchair accessible. Masks are encouraged and available upon entry, though not required. Please note, Curb Appeal is an apartment gallery and doubles as a home to our gallery dog. 

Image description: Overhead shot of a variety of objects for sale. The objects include a yellow beaded necklace, small red candles, a ceramic cup with an alligator on it, serving utensils, an ornament, a sculpture of a piece of meat, an illustrated artwork depicting the Greek Corner Restaurant, and a bumper sticker that says “Chicago Forever”. 

Press release available here: World of Variety Pop-up Press Release