exhibition review: “Strange Realities: The Symbolist Imagination” at the Art Institute of Chicago

Gustaf Fjaestad, Moonlight, Örebro, 1897.

An artwork shows the silhouette of a woman standing beside a chain railing and looking out over a moonlit lake, with rippling water reflecting bright light and a house with two glowing windows visible across the shore.

“Strange Realities: The Symbolist Imagination” is at the Art Institute of Chicago through January 5, 2026.

exhibition review: “Strange Realities: The Symbolist Imagination” at the Art Institute of Chicago