The best art exhibits to see in Chicago in May

Often referred to as a “master of the macabre,” Chicago artist Ivan Albright devoted much of his career to portraying the decaying human body, accentuating the grotesque nature of the physical manifestations of age and disease. The exhibition includes more than 30 of Albright's works, including the portrait he painted for the 1945 film adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Worn tools, scribbled equations and disassembled clockworks are magnified in Italian photographer Francesco Pergolesi's latest show, which depicts the worktables of artists and artisans. "Tableaux" treats the places where creation takes place as a canvas, exploring the ways in which the spaces where we work can serve as documents of the transformations that take place within them.

Self-trained Thai artist Tang Chang began his career making commissioned portraits, but he's best known for the abstract painting he created with his body (instead of brushes) and his drawings of poems, which created patterns and shapes out of words. “The Painting That is Painted With Poetry is Profoundly Beautiful” showcases his large-scale painting and considers the way in which his embrace of poetry influenced calligraphic art.

Originally displayed at San Francisco's Alcatraz penitentiary, "Trace" displays portraits of activists and prisoners of conscience made from millions of Lego bricks. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was inspired to create this installation after he was imprisoned in Beijing due to his political activism. The Chicago edition of the installation includes 113 of the original 176 portraits as well as screenings of documentaries that explore Weiwei's process. Admission must be booked via a free online reservation.

Vertical Gallery teams with Galleri Ramfjord in Oslo, Norway, for a show featuring work created on 20-inch canvases by 20 Scandinavian artists (see what they did there?). Featuring canvases by street artists, painters and mixed media artists, “20 x 20 x 20” includes work by Sassa Nordstrom, Tom Erik Andersen, Steen Larsen and Espen Eiborg.

Collecting vintage photos and films that explore the culture of Chicago's neighborhoods, "Never a Lovely So Real" shows how communities throughout the city reacted to three decades of social change. The exhibition includes work from photographers who documented the clubs, art movements and culture on the South Side of city as well as images from Uptown and Wrigleyville that document the transformation of each area.