In a cerulean sky over New York City, in June 1982, five decommissioned W.W. II planes smoke-dotted sentences in the air. They were lines from “La vida nueva,” a poem by the Chilean artist Raúl Zurita. Its subject? The poem reflected on the U.S.-led military coup of 1973, directed against Chile’s democratically elected government; a dictatorship would take its place. The rapid disintegration of the text symbolized the moment of hope, gone up in smoke. In the online exhibition “After La vida nueva,” a group of contemporary artists draw from history, archives, and personal memories to reflect back on those times. —E.C.