Curatorial Conversation with Jeff Stevenson and Dan Peterman

21c Museum Hotel Chicago and theNate are excited to present the next Curatorial Conversation. Director and Curator of the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park (theNate) and the Visual Arts Gallery at Governors State University, Jeff Stevenson, will be in conversation with artist Dan Peterman to discuss his artwork and career.We will also be introducing two visiting artists: Gwen Yen Chiu and Andrew Light, who will have work on view at theNate for Sculpture, Wine & Dine on Saturday, September 13, 2025.

Dan Peterman exhibits widely using recycled materials to produce starkly minimal works that are at once elegant sculptures, functional objects, and critiques of environmental waste and neglect.

Peterman's work is an example of adaptive reuse, though he was practicing it long before it had an official title. His work explores the "intersection of art and ecology," embracing a wide variety of formal and situational strategies and employing a range of materials, including recycled plastic and metals, as well as organic and post-consumer waste.

Though Peterman usually exhibits his work in museums and galleries, he is known for displaying his art for the general public. The most well-known example is his Running Table, a 100-foot-long picnic table located at theNate. The table considers issues around consumption and recycling and is made from the equivalent of two million recycled milk bottles.

Peterman is also a founder and board member of Experimental Station, an innovative, Chicago-based incubator of small-scale enterprises and cultural projects. He is a former recipient of the University Scholar Award from UIC, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Lewis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. His works have been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Venice Biennial, Italy; Vanabbe museum Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland; Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, IL; among other venues.

PRO TIP: Arrive at 5 pm for a tour of the current exhibition at 21c with Museum Manager Jennifer Murray.

Image credit: Dan Peterman, Running Table, courtesy of theNate