Ismael Nery is featured in The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869–1939, on view at Wrightwood 659, Chicago. Curated by Jonathan D. Katz and Johnny Willis, the exhibition brings together more than 300 works by 125 artists, examining the emergence of homosexuality as a social and artistic identity from the late 19th to early 20th century.

Nery appears in the section dedicated to Latin American production, alongside artists such as Tarsila do Amaral and Vicente do Rego Monteiro. The exhibition also features key figures including Frida Kahlo, Romaine Brooks, Claude Cahun, and Marsden Hartley.