For those of you who weren’t able to make it out to Chicago and see the wonderful Officially Unofficial art exhibition, this should serve as a delightful alternative. Not to blame your lack of planning or anything, I almost missed it myself.

Tucked off Michigan Ave., on an inconspicuous street just before the shopping district, an exhibit of art inspired by the Obama campaign is found, and it’s truly one of the most stunning collections you’ll ever see.

All the stalwarts are there: Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Alex Pardee, plus dozens of others, most of whom we’ve featured here on the jailbreak in the past few months.

The status of President Obama as a pop culture icon and rock star continues to amaze me. Never in the history of American politics has a candidate spawned a phenomenon like we’re witnessing right now. And I doubt we’ll ever see anything like it again.

Just a few days back the New York Times ran a front page story detailing the influx of Obama art that began before his election and has continued up until this point. They remarked how unusual it is for a president to receive this amount of support in general and especially in the art world. One would think that eventually the hype surrounding Obama will wear off as the media develops a narrative that will define his presidency. But until now, at least, he remains perhaps the most captivating figure of my lifetime.

More photos from the Officially Unofficial exhibition after the jump.