Exhibit: “Bending Reality,” The Art Center

Vacant lots, abandoned warehouses, broken infrastructure, and neigh­borhoods that have fallen into disrepair are the source materials for Alleys & Ruins, a photo series by Chicago–based Xavier Nuez. Using half-century-old Hasselblad cameras, and combining colored gels with long exposures, Nuez’s images are vividly surreal representations of some of our most unloved places, such as Michigan Central Station, in Detroit, whose fate currently lies in limbo. Nuez’s photographs join those of three other contemporary shutterbugs in “Bending Reality,” an exhibit at Highland Park, Ill.’s The Art Center showcasing unconventional methods of taking—and making—photographs. Through Dec. 18. theartcenterhp.org