“The aim of the dreamer, after all, is merely to go on dreaming and not to be molested by the world. His dreams are his protection against the world. But the aims of life are antithetical to those of the dreamer, and the teeth of the world are sharp.” - James Baldwin In 2020, the aims of life have felt antithetical to those of the dreamers, yet artists have gone on creating, imagining, persisting, showing us that transformation occurs from within uncertainty. The unstable yet steady flow of concept, style, medium, and subject matter express not only the precarity of our experience but also hope. Art-making in these spaces is the ultimate optimism, a belief in the world continuing so that eventually, somewhere in the future, the creative act elicits a response outside of itself. art_works is pleased to present “Leaps of Imagination” on view beginning September 7, 2020, featuring a group of Boston-centered artists, including: Ibrahim Ali-Salaam Cyrille Conan Iwalani Kaluhiokalani Soyoung L. Kim Danielle Klebes Jessica Lau Matt Murphy Loretta Park Julia Rue Michael Talbot Jamal Thorne Michael Zachary Through their work, the common thread is an engagement with our collective uncertainty via the aspirational conviction that a better tomorrow depends on leaps of imagination propelling us forward and to the other side of our current reality. The teeth of the world may be sharp, but perhaps instead of using art as a form of escapism, we can learn to dream our way through the world. -- art_works is an artist-centric, mission-driven advisory committed to expanding the art ecosystem through strategic partnerships with companies and individuals. art_works is driven by the belief that artists deserve access, collectors deserve transparency, and we all deserve an art world founded on equity.