Barbara Nessim's first solo exhibition in Chicago, "My Compass Is the Line," is on view at the DePaul Art Museum through June 21st. The show spans drawings, computer-generated prints, and a site-specific installation, with her sketchbooks—which she calls "forever books"—at its heart. Nessim, born in 1939, graduated from Pratt Institute in 1960 and built a career in commercial illustration before a pivotal 1982 residency at Time Inc. led her to become an early adopter of computer art. The exhibition is curated by Ionit Behar and supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
The exhibition matters because it highlights Nessim's unique trajectory as a feminist artist who challenged gender norms in commercial illustration and was a pioneer in digital art, working with computers decades before the medium became fashionable. Her career also underscores the importance of teaching and mentorship, having chaired Parsons' illustration department and taught at the School of Visual Arts. The show offers a rare opportunity to see the full arc of her practice, from private sketchbooks to early computer prints, revealing an artist who let her line guide her through uncharted creative territory.