Not as fragile as it sounds, the Glass Curtain Gallery is a quite durable representation of the art world in Chicago's South Loop. Named for the building it inhabits, which appeared to critics as a "curtain wall" made of glass (built in 1891, it was one of Chicago's first skyscrapers), this first-floor space is Columbia College's largest campus gallery at 2,200 square feet. The gallery's Ludington building is not just an integral part of the South Loop's architectural history, but a major part of the college: It also houses the Film department, the Center for Book and Paper Arts and the Conaway Multicultural Center, a vast student lounge and additional exhibition space.

Keeping a pulse on the school's talents and visions, the Glass Curtain Gallery offers a steady stream of staff, faculty, alumni and student exhibitions throughout the year. The shows are devoted to a variety of discplines, from art therapy to interior design to fine art photography. Several of the exhibits, which rotate on a four-to-six-week basis, are not just made by students and faculty but curated by them. The results of this dynamic and varied curatorial vision are some of Chicago's most interesting group exhibitions. In recent years these have included "Chicago Land/Space/Place" (spring 2004); the stamp art exhibit which attracted the attention of the Secret Service, "Axis of Evil: The Secret History of Sin (spring of 2005);" and "Gifts of New Orleans" (spring of 2006).

With a constructed niches, pristine white walls and hardwood floors, the gallery's layout makes for relaxing art viewing, not to mention that it easily accommodates installations, sizeable group shows and multi-media requiring video, audio and computer technologies.

Centerstage Reviewer: Joanne Hinkel