Hundreds of rare, extraordinary and often erotic artworks fill a new exhibition, and many have never been seen in the United States. “The First Homosexuals” is a greatly expanded version of a 2022 show that now takes up all three floors of the Lincoln Park exhibition space Wrightwood 659.

Here are five excellent places to reflect and recharge. Just don’t everybody go at once.

A new exhibition of his photographs at the Wrightwood 659 gallery in Lincoln Park is an evocative look at gay Black men in Chicago during a pivotal decade — and a window into a community that’s often been overlooked and stereotyped.

Called “The First Homosexuals,” the show is about a time when the art world released a flood of new representations of same-sex desire.

Rescued ruins and a virtual tour of a lost masterpiece of Chicago architecture — we speak with the city’s cultural historian and a noted artist who were part of a team exploring a long-lost theater and more.

Spectacular artwork from China fills not one, but two Chicago museums. We visit the Smart Museum of Art and Wrightwood 659 for a look at “The Allure of Matter.”

An artist with a cult following in Japan and Europe has his first show in the United States, and it is in Chicago. We visit the exhibition “Self-Portrait of Other” for a strong dose of surrealism and satire.

The Stonewall riots in New York City started the modern gay rights movement (at least, they did in the popular imagination). A new exhibition at Wrightwood 659 challenges how we think of Stonewall’s place in history.

Seven teams of designers, artists and architects created new visions of space in the world. We visit the forward-thinking show that recently arrived from Venice, Italy.

A Chicago apartment building from the 1920s has been radically reimagined. It is now an unusual art gallery designed by a world-renowned architect.