Artikel: Bold Enough for the Windy City? The Golden Nude Chicago Collectors Dare to Give
Bold Enough for the Windy City? The Golden Nude Chicago Collectors Dare to Give
Holiday Gift Guide · Chicago
Bold enough for the Windy City.
Refined enough for the Gold Coast.
For centuries, the human body has been the noblest subject of art, from the marble figures of ancient Rome to the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. In Chicago, a city that built its skyline on daring, a fine art nude is not provocation. It is a celebration of form, light and strength, and one of the boldest, most memorable gifts you can offer.
This season, skip the crowds on the Magnificent Mile and give a work made by an artist rather than a brand: a signed, limited-edition photograph by Zack Zublena, the California artist known for his figures painted in gold. Fine art photography Chicago collectors seek out, ordered directly from the artist and delivered to your door.
Begin with the piece collectors return to most often
Discover Golden Embrace, our most collected work
Bold, Yet Timeless: The Fine Art Nude as a Gift
A fine art nude says something no ordinary gift can: that you trust the recipient's taste, and that you see beauty where others might only see daring. Chicago has never been shy about ambition, and this is a gift with the same confidence. In Zack Zublena's work, the body is painted in gold and photographed like living sculpture. The skin becomes metal, the pose becomes architecture, and what remains is elegance rather than exposure. These are works for a living room, a bedroom or a private study, made to be lived with for decades.
Held: Lovers, Friends, Sisters? You Decide
Are they lovers? Best friends? Sisters? A mother and her daughter? Two golden women, one seated, the other resting against her, their faces hidden. Zack never tells, and that is exactly the point. Held belongs to whoever you hold closest, which makes it the most versatile gift on this list.
Give it to your partner, your sister, your mother or the friend who has been there through everything, and let them read their own story into it. Fair warning: once it is on the wall, it will start a conversation at every holiday dinner, from Lincoln Park to Hyde Park.
A Thousand Suns Within You: For Someone Who Brings Light
Hands open outward, as if releasing light into the room. A Thousand Suns Within You is a tribute to generosity and warmth, made for the person in your life who lights up every space they enter. When the wind comes off Lake Michigan and the days grow short, it brings a soft, golden glow to a Gold Coast brownstone or a cozy bedroom in Andersonville.
Discover A Thousand Suns Within You
A Gift Straight From the Artist, Signed by Hand
There is something special about owning a work that comes straight from the hands of the person who created it. When you order on zackzublena.com, you are not buying from a catalogue or a reseller. You are acquiring a photograph directly from a trusted American artist, with nothing and no one in between.
Every print is overseen by Zack himself, from the first proof to the final inspection with one of the finest fine art printers in Los Angeles. Before it leaves the studio, he signs the photograph by hand and personally signs its certificate of authenticity, which records the title, the date, the edition number and the artist's name. That certificate is your proof of provenance: a clear, unbroken line from the artist's studio to your Chicago wall.
It is also a relationship rather than a transaction. You can write to Zack with any question about a photograph or the right size for your wall, and receive an answer from the artist himself. For a holiday gift, he can include a short personal note with the print on request.
A City That Takes Photography Seriously
Few American cities honor the photograph as Chicago does. The Art Institute of Chicago began its photography collection with Alfred Stieglitz's own prints and now holds one of the great photography collections in the country. Just down Michigan Avenue, the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College is the only museum in the Midwest devoted entirely to the medium. The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago keeps the conversation bold, while the gilded interiors of the Driehaus Museum remind us how gold and art have always belonged together. The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times follow the city's art scene all year-round.
A signed, limited-edition photograph lets you bring a piece of that tradition home. Each work by Zack Zublena is released in an edition of only 10 signed prints, produced on archival museum paper. Once an edition is complete, it will never be printed again.
Since 2016, Zack has photographed dancers, yogis and contortionists painted in gold, drawing on the sculptural tradition of the Italian Renaissance. His work has been chosen by established businesses such as The Cellar and Skin Rehab in Beverly Hills, and by David Lloyd Clubs across the UK and Europe.
Infinite Loop: For the One You Love
Two golden bodies intertwined in a single, endless line, each supporting the other. Infinite Loop is a portrait of balance and togetherness, the most intimate gift you can offer a partner this season. Through the coldest Chicago nights, above the bed, it becomes a quiet promise renewed every morning.
The Golden Hour: For the Chicagoan Who Lives for the Light
Every Chicagoan knows the moment when the sun rises over Lake Michigan and sets the towers along the lakefront ablaze in gold. The Golden Hour captures that feeling in a single figure, photographed from above in a flowing, curved pose, with soft shadows that speak of both calm and strength. It is a natural gift for a high-rise in Streeterville, a home on the North Shore or a penthouse overlooking the lake, where the light does the rest.
Birth of Artemis: For Someone Who Is Beginning Something New
A golden figure rises from the desert sand, holding an open frame against a vast California sky. Birth of Artemis speaks of emergence and freedom, a quiet celebration of stepping into a new chapter. In the middle of a Midwestern winter, it is a warm, sunlit gift for a friend moving into a new home, launching a new venture or welcoming a new year with courage.
A New World Takes Form: For a New Beginning
One leg grounded, the other reaching outward, hands joined in a gesture of focus. A New World Takes Form is a portrait of balance and intention, a meaningful gift for someone starting a new chapter, from a Wicker Park walk-up to a Prairie-style home in Oak Park.
Discover A New World Takes Form
Namaste Ganesha: For the Yoga Lover
When winter keeps the city indoors, Chicago's yoga studios fill up from Lakeview to the West Loop. Namaste Ganesha unites a gold-painted figure in prayer with a delicate watercolor Ganesha, creating a serene presence for a meditation room, a home studio or a wellness space.
Cobra Pose: For the Couple Who Practice Together
Two golden figures rise side by side in a mirrored cobra pose, like sculptures carved from the same block. This duo is a perfect gift for a couple who share their practice, and a striking presence in a home studio, a spa or a wellness space anywhere from Bucktown to Evanston.
Supernova: For the Collector of Contemporary Art
Precise, geometric and luminous, Supernova captures a gold-painted body in perfect balance. In the city of Mies van der Rohe, its clean composition feels right at home, and it makes a striking centerpiece for a glass-walled residence on Lake Shore Drive or a design-led loft in the West Loop.
Silent Power: For the One Who Prefers Quiet Strength
A gold-painted man bows low against deep black, his strength held in stillness. Silent Power is a gift of presence and restraint, with a dramatic contrast that brings depth to a darker interior: a River North loft, a corner office in the Loop or a private library in Lake Forest.
Exclusive Art for Chicago Interiors
Each of these works was conceived as exclusive art for discerning interiors: Gold Coast mansions, lakefront high-rises in Streeterville, Victorian homes in Lincoln Park, estates in Winnetka and Lake Forest, and boutique hotels across the city. Their warm gold tones bring a touch of summer to the longest winter, and their limited editions mean they will never become commonplace.
Choosing the Right Size
Every photograph is available in sizes from an intimate 8 x 12 inches (20 x 30 cm) to a monumental 46 x 72 inches (117 x 183 cm). For a gift, 16 x 24 inches (40 x 60 cm) fits easily above a console, a desk or a bed. Larger formats create a true statement piece in a living room or a lofty entrance. Not sure which size to choose? Write to Zack directly, and he will help you decide.
Delivered to Chicago, Ready for the Framer
Each print is produced on demand in California and shipped rolled in a protective tube, free within the United States. Take it to your favorite Chicago framer still in its tube, so the frame suits your interior perfectly. Zack is happy to advise on framing and hanging.
Holiday ordering date: to receive your print before Christmas, please order by December 12.
A Gift Made by Human Hands
In a city built by craftsmen, steelworkers and visionary architects, a signed photograph created with real models, real gold body paint and real light carries a different weight. Every work by Zack Zublena is photographed and finished by hand, never generated by AI.
