Art and toys in Humboldt Park

Toys and art have certain similarities -- both have legions of avid collectors, both can inspire our imaginations, and both are mind-numbingly boring. Wait, no, that's just art. Bringing toys and actually sweet art together, Nudge Gallery.

From a Chi Art Institute grad who grew up around the Texas toy store her parents owned, NG's cobbled together an uber-eclectic combination of her areas of interest (toys & art), scattering 'em amongst throwback decor from an old wooden radio/record player console, to crystal chandeliers the previous owners left in the basement, hopefully the only thing left hanging down there. On the art side there's a wild series of paintings featuring toxic-looking melting trees and mutant birds; a mechanical cyborg octopus with exposed machinery on his tentacles; and a group of tiny, hyper-detailed figures made of wire and nail polish called Social Creatures, so thought-provoking you're sure to be all aTwitter. Toy action leans heavily old-school, with gumball machines, lava lamps, and a huge range of wind-up tin figures, from robots, to a cowboy who swings a wire lasso, to a duck that moves around in circles laying eggs, which happened pretty much every game until Adam came over from the rival Hawks.

Starting March 4, they'll be taking submissions for an upcoming themed show combining all sorts of 2D, 3D, and performance pieces, culminating in an end-of-the-month unveiling that'll be soaked in booze, possibly necessary considering art can make even nudity mind-numbingly boring.