Congratulations to HADVC MA student Ashna Rana - University of Alberta

This year’s iteration of the artistic assembly was a love letter to the neighborhood and its craftsmanship amid an era of remediation, development, and gentrification. Figurative beeswax sculptures in Lesley Kushner's Gowanus-based art studio (all photos Rhea Nayyar/Hyperallergic)

“I want to visualize the fact that, despite our perception, reality is changeable,” the Brooklyn-based artist said of her paintings. Melissa Brown in her Brooklyn studio (photo Jennifer Samet/Hyperallergic; all other photos Adam Reich, courtesy the artist)

He brought his optical preoccupations into the 21st century, without losing his love of artists from earlier eras. David Reed, "#808" (2024–26), oil and acrylic on polyester (all photos courtesy Rodder)

Prairie, a Chicago gallery that helped put a range of cutting-edge artists on the path to success, will close after nine years. The gallery announced its closure on Friday by revealing that its forthcoming exhibition, a group show called “Retrospective,” would be its final one. “This will be our last show,” the gallery wrote on Instagram.

In surreal tableaux, mythological creatures interact with flora and fauna within dream-like realms. Insects, stars, metaphysical tendrils, and all-seeing eyes accompany human bodies with the heads of raptors. Rithika Merchant’s strange yet alluring symmetry contains what may be esoteric rituals or communions with the natural world. Each speculative, fable-like narrative taps into our collective anxiety about the environment and hope for healing. Merchant’s vibrant new body of work centers on hybrid creatures and a sense of the sacred, comprising the Mumbai-based artist’s solo exhibition The Dreaming Realm at Galerie LJ. She harnesses elemental phenomena like the earth, plants, fire, water, and the stars to emphasize both volatility and strength. Amid scenes of floods and eruptions, individuals participate in enigmatic activities or ceremonies exemplifying cooperation and determination.