The most imposing piece of architecture along the Chicago River is the massive Art Deco temple known as the Merchandise Mart. For the next four days, the Mart will host Art Chicago (taking over one 200,000 square-foot floor). Art Chicago -- the fair in the States before Art Basel landed on a beach in Miami -- was on its deathbed in 2006 when it was revived by Christopher Kennedy's Merchandise Mart Properties (MMPI). MMPI proved it was serious about the art game last year when it scooped up New York's Armory Show and Volta, an emerging-art fair that started in Basel. The result is that if the art world has eyes, they are trained, for the moment, on Chicago.

A quick scan of the list of 181 dealers participating in Art Chicago reveals a heavy international presence. (New York-based Nicholas Robinson Gallery is bringing work from the McDermott and McGough series "Detroit" featured recently in Men's Vogue).

"The European dealers who signed up understand how extraordinary the Midwest market is better than the New York dealers," says Paul Morris, Armory co-founder who has been working with MMPI. "I would never underestimate this crowd." Nor should one underestimate the power of the Euro. --RUTH LOPEZ

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