ART & ARCHITECTURE
Readers’ Choice: Intuit and Las Manos (tie)
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At 32, Mejia is just starting to build a substantive body of work—now that he’s gone half-time in his day job, teaching art at Jones College Prep in the South Loop. His raw portraits and disturbing street scenes document specific moments in his life. He paints estranged friends, agitated crowds, ex-lovers, or his wife, giving his works telling names; a portrait of his wife wearing an accusatory expression is titled I Draw Just Enough to Not Get Yelled at by My Wife, while a drawing of a downtrodden throng is called I’ve Been Really Hard on People Lately. Mejia explains that his works “are visual journal entries that dissect my relationships… confront my emotional baggage… and address my feelings of inadequacy.” They’re also visually spellbinding. Mejia is just starting to get noticed in galleries (his work was recently featured in a two-man show at Vespine Gallery) and exhibit in juried shows (including Around the Coyote this October). a gabrielmejia.com. —Lisa Skolnik
Readers’ Choice: Scott Fishman
Readers’ Choice: Cloud Gate
Best Building
Best Building Built This Century
