Eavesdrop attended the opening of William J. O’Brien’s mid-career solo show on view through May 18 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago. 2014 is shaping up to be a strong one for Chicago-based artists, with this show clearly thrusting O’Brien into the upper echelon.

On its heels, Chicago will have a disproportionate—in a good way—presence in this year’s Whitney Biennial. The Biennial will be the last in the Marcel Breuer building before the museum relocates downtown to new digs by Renzo Piano. Y’all, all this spotlight on our local talent means that if you haven’t already collected work from these folks, you’re S.O.O.L. Eavesdrop seriously regrets not scooping up a work on paper from O’Brien years ago when we could’ve maybe—stress maybe—afforded it.

Eaves loves to read the accession and loaner info listed on the museum labels and, given their impeccable design aesthetic, it was no surprise to see the names of Dirk Denison and his partner, David Salkin, listed as the owners of several of the pieces included in the MCA show. Dirk, if you read this, please invite us over to peep your art collection and we’ll bring something nice to sip on!