Sex will not disappear any time soon, judging by its prominence here, in K8 Hardy's sizzling self-advertisements, in Pradeep Dalal pictures of men popping out of Hindu temple floor plans, and in still lifes by Daphne Fitzpatrick (corncob-with-sneakers) and Paul Mpagi Sepuya (beefcake-with-Nina Simone).

On the fashion front, it is all about morphing. Luis Jacob and Chris Curreri push pink head-to-toe spandex bodysuits as the look of tomorrow; Julio Grinblatt designs cover-up couture with bandages.

And while Jaime Warren makes a case for electrified shoes, and Glen Fogel plugs cosmetology-as-collage, Derrick Adams goes straight for weirdo Space Age with a pyramidal Venusian-Egyptian helmet that Jack Smith, always light-years ahead of his time, and our time, would have loved.

And what about art? Is there a future in painting?

Yes, at least in paintings of mysterious airborne vehicles like the one in a city mural photographed by LaToya Ruby Frazier. And will we still be shopping? Yes, again, and there's no time like the present to start.

Why not begin at Higher Pictures? Most of the work in the show, organized by the independent curator Dean Daderko, is for sale, and pretty cheap. When some of these 50 careers hit the stratosphere, you won't be able to touch them. As every smart collector knows, the future is always now. HOLLAND COTTER

Higher Pictures

764 Madison Avenue, near 66th Street

Through July 3