Rachel MacFarlane paints fantastical visions of plants and landscapes that feel lifted from speculative fiction. Before she begins painting, MacFarlane builds small paper constructions that distill the emotional forms of plants and places, using memory as a guide. The finished works glow with slick brushstrokes and electric hues of magenta, amber, orange, teal, and violet, drawing viewers into environments that feel at once lush and uncanny.

This January, MacFarlane presents a new solo show, “Afterlight,” at Hollis Taggart’s downtown New York space. In this new body of work, climate change seeps into that sense of uncanniness: plants and skies appear sunstruck and overheated; the land appears to be under pressure. Many of the plants are drawn from recent experiences, including several inspired by real species she encountered during a research trip to Spain.

MacFarlane earned an MFA from Rutgers University in 2016 and a BFA from OCAD University in 2008. She has also had solo exhibitions at Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Norberg Hall Gallery, the MacLaren Art Centre, and Mason Gross Gallery at Rutgers University.

— Casey Lesser