Below is the press release for what looks to be a pretty cool graffiti art show at the Blackstone Hotel located at 636 South Michigan Avenue.  The show opens Thursday, February 18th and runs through September 25, 2010.  Check it out if you can.

Chicago’s Renaissance Blackstone Hotel Opens Graffiti Art Exhibit

The 100-year-old South Loop icon introduces Outlaw exhibit by renowned graffiti artist Kaves.

PRESS RELEASE — Hotels, 2/17/2010 9:06:19 AM

Every big city needs a rebel address, and so The Renaissance Blackstone is stepping up against convention. The Beaux-Arts landmark in Chicago’s South Loop is decking its Art Hall with Outlaw, a new exhibition of works by renowned graffiti artist Michael McLeer, also known as Kaves. The Blackstone, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, has its own outlaw past counting clientele such as gangsters Al Capone and Charles “Lucky” Luciano. The property will celebrate Kaves’ spray paint skills with an exhibit on February 18 and available for public viewing through September 25.

Originally from Brooklyn, Kaves took to the tunnels of the New York City transit system at age 10 to flex his creative vision with spray paint. His growth as an artist was documented in Spraycan Art by Henry Chalfant (Thames & Hudson), and his work earned him a spot in the Graffiti Hall of Fame. Still Brooklyn, heart and soul, Mr. Kaves has designed exclusive material for clients including Nike, the Beastie Boys, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, as well as providing the artwork for MTV’s Real World: Brooklyn loft.

Though graffiti has long been the bane of urban architecture, Kaves’ art has found a welcome home inside the Blackstone, whose General Manager Robert Cartwright dabbles in graffiti art himself. Indeed, Outlaw will feature a work from Cartwright. “From a young age, I found graffiti the best way for me to express myself,” said Cartwright. “I’m so excited that I’m able to incorporate it into my current professional life with this groundbreaking new exhibit.”

The Outlaw exhibit will be open to hotel guests and members of the public until Sept. 25, 2010, from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily. The Outlaw theme will be carried throughout the hotel with an Outlaw pop-up shop taking over the hotel lobby’s Gilt shop selling sneakers, original artwork and books about graffiti, including Piecebook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers. The shop will be open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Even the hotel’s restaurant, Mercat a la Planxa, is getting in on the action, with an Effen Graffiti Cocktail from Mercat’s mixologist Katie Clas, comprised of Effen Vodka, fresh fruit juices and muddled herbs.

The Blackstone is the perfect backdrop for the Outlaw exhibit. Long on history and the creative culture of Chicago, the hotel maintains a collection more than 1,600 works, most by local artists, in all guest rooms and public spaces. The beautifully refurbished Art Hall has rotating exhibits of works for hotel guests and local patrons to enjoy. This is not the first outlaw-themed event held at the hotel, either, which was the venue for a “crime convention” in 1931, dividing power among the most influential mob families of the time