Elephant Room Gallery is proud to present “Long Distance Alchemy”, a group exhibition by artists Corey Hagberg, Jack Cackovic and Alex Krueger. The exhibition opens on Friday, April 11th and runs through May 25th at Elephant Room Gallery located at 704 S Wabash Ave. in Chicago. This collection explores the connection between these artists who, although stylistically are very different, share a commonality in the influence and overall feel of their work.

“Long Distance Alchemy” features artists Corey Hagberg, Jack Cackovic and Alex Krueger. Having spent much of their artistic beginnings in and around Chicago, the artists have a mutually shared creative ethos which drives their individual artistic approaches into a unique and seamless collaboration. Now spanning from New York City to Denver, creative expression is the alchemy that ties them together. Having backgrounds in street art and murals, the city’s grittiness, politics, industry, people and culture are often built into the framework of their practice in various ways. Meticulous in their craft and intentional with their messaging, each artist specializes in various mediums including assemblage, painting, drawing, collage, sculpture and glass. Through both individual and collaborative pieces, the viewer is invited to explore the narrative each artist conveys and find the connections between them.

Jack “Nice-One” Cackovic, a prominent figure in Chicago’s rising street art scene, created his own world of characters adorned with colorful star patterns. He earned his BFA from Columbia College Chicago in 2008. Both during school and later, his practice has centered around spontaneous pop-up public art, street art, muralism, painting and relief wood sculpture. He moved to Oakland, California in 2015, where his personal artwork and professional skills took him around the world creating and installing artworks. In 2016, he stepped away from his star-patterned creations to pursue other artistic endeavors and life

projects. Since relocating to Denver, Colorado in 2019, Cackovic keeps a keen focus on drawing, while also incorporating objects, images, materials and areas of study acquired through his travels throughout California, Colorado, and Southeast Asia. These elements are then joined through assemblage, collage, wood working, painting, and drawing in his home studio in Denver. Returning to Chicago for this exhibition, Cackovic is eager to connect his past and present art practices. In light of the current political climate and the divisive nature of the American flag, Cackovic aims to reclaim the star as an inclusive symbol, represented by vibrant colors and textures. @jackcackovic

Alex Krueger is an artist currently working out of New York City. Originally from the Chicagoland area, he comes from a lineage of meat packers from the Fulton Meat Market. His earliest encounters with art were the graffiti-covered factory walls, adorned with the bold expressions of anonymous taggers and muralists. Deeply influenced by subcultural aesthetics—most notably punk rock, which captivated him in his youth—Krueger embodies the spirit of rebellion and subversion in his practice. Leaning on years of experience as a glassblower, a craft he began developing as a teenager in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, Krueger assembles objects in an expressive, gestural manner. His unconventional approach creates unexpected textures and challenges traditional perceptions of materiality, pushing glass beyond its preconceived limits. The result is a body of work that feels alive—playful, chaotic, and deeply human—each sculpture existing in a world of its own.Krueger’s artistic journey is also shaped by his engagement with the punk scene and his dedication to stewardship through education. He has worked with several arts programs, including Little Black Pearl Art and Design and Project FIRE in Chicago, as well as Urban Glass in New York City, using glass as a medium for self-expression and empowerment. For him, this practice echoes the DIY ethos of punk—an act of resistance and creation. His sculptures, often depicting fragmented faces and bodies, reflect this philosophy. “The responsive relationship with the material runs parallel to my experience of being human,” he explains. “That’s why I make faces or bodies. We can all feel something together, and from there, we can build.” – Krueger @alexkruegz

Corey Hagberg is a Chicago based mixed media artist whose disciplines include screen printing, painting, graphic design, illustration, sign painting, muralism and writing. In 1984 at age 5, Corey’s family migrated from the Chicago area to California’s Bay area where the earliest memorable seeds of inspiration were planted for Corey. He found inspiration in skateboard graphics, album covers and comic books. Drawn to the absurd, macabre, and all things labeled taboo, fringe or off limits, Corey’s imagination was enraptured by the graphics of Santa Cruz skateboards and the scene in general. Corey and his family returned to Chicago in the 90’s. Getting kicked out of the house at age 15, Corey struggled with some heavy stuff but still managed to earn a BFA in painting and a Graphics Design Degree. “My process is very similar to a DJ or music producer in the fact that I appropriate snippets of pop culture ephemera and re-contextualize or resurrect it to make something new while paying homage in the process. The beauty in the creative struggle for me is how to bring the viewer into the realm of my sentiments relating to this journey of life, yet still allow them to draw their own conclusions and form their own meanings. My work is mostly about relational perspectives in regards to humans and their environments. Themes of mass or macro communication, constructed identities and how they are assigned/utilized are often juxtaposed against the divinity of nature or the influence of religion/politics/capitalism.” – Corey @crush_entity

“Long Distance Alchemy” opens with a reception on Friday, April 11th from 6 to 9pm. The gallery will also be open for a reception in conjunction with Expo Art After Hours on Friday, April 25th from 6 to 9pm. The events are free and open to the public and more information can be found on the gallery’s website: www.elephantroomgallery.com

Elephant Room Gallery opened in Chicago’s South Loop Neighborhood in 2009 with a mission to focus on local, new, emerging and under-represented artists in a wide variety of mediums and styles. Over the years they have continued this mission while also adding more established artists to the mix. Many artists exhibited here have gone on exhibit in other nationally and internationally recognized galleries and museums. Through their diverse roster and uniquely intimate space, the gallery has become an exciting hub for up and coming artists and has been instrumental in brin

Official Website

More events on this date

Tags: Alex Krueger, Chicago, Corey Hagberg, Elephant Room Gallery, Jack Cackovic, Long Distance Alchemy, Loop