Looking at Lola Gil’s newest solo show, Filling Up Rooms, it reminded us of something she told us just a year ago in our Winter 2024 Quarterly: “I was always being asked about what kind of paintings I created and I wasn’t sure how to categorize them. I was misdiagnosed as a surrealist in my early years, and though my first exposure and inspirations were surrealist-inspired, my work is grounded in storytelling, and escapist imagery, still photography, and is figuratively-motivated. I want the painting to say, ‘Come inside right now, and as you’re looking at me (the painting) this is happening right now.’ Narrative Escapism comprises two beautiful words that can make you daydream just by saying them out loud.…