Spotlight Series

Ariel Zhang: Distant View Nearby

May 4 – June 8, 2025

In this installation, painting becomes an act of quiet construction, tracing the invisible ways architectural spaces shape how we build, dwell, and belong. The artist’s work moves beyond capturing exact places, instead tracing what lingers: “the shift of light across a surface, the feeling of texture when leaning against a wall—the quiet impressions that remain long after the space is gone.” In constructing these spaces, the artist reminds viewers that dwelling is not just about inhabiting a place, but about being shaped by what we create and what we choose to carry.

  • Ariel Zhang is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist working across painting, installation, and sculpture. Her practice explores the spatial and psychological dimensions of architecture through geometric forms and fragmented compositions. Zhang earned her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago after studying German and Economics, and has exhibited in Chicago, São Paulo, St. Louis, and Annapolis.

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Jiaming You: Looking Out