As 2020 approaches, many years since “we were supposed to have flying cars” have past. Popular stories in film and literature like “1984,” “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and “Back to the Future Part II” take place in a future passed, leaving us laughing at the ridiculous technology that doesn’texist yet. But “The Running Man” and “Blade Runner” both take place in 2019 (the latter starts in November), but the planet isn’t like that either. This leaves us wondering what’s to come, since various predictions were proven incorrect by time. Enter a world unknown, and known, in “A Trace by the Future,” where 2019 meets an unnamed year, on view at UMass Lowell’s University Gallery through November 21. Washington, D.C.-based artist Jonathan Monaghan’s exhibition featuring recent work incorporates pastels and fluorescents, pop culture and technology in sculpture, video, print and … [Read more...] about AN EERIE FEELING OF FAMILIARITY: JONATHAN MONAGHAN’S FUTURISTIC VISION IN LOWELL