This month’s lineup takes us through Brooklyn, Queens, and Jersey City, where intimate thoughts, melded with the political repercussions we grapple with individually and collectively, are presented to the public in moving forms that are explorations in artistic practice as a means of activation against the norms we must confront to maintain our humanity. Through rejections of subjugation and exploitation, be it patriarchal economies or the fallout of colonialism, these selected exhibitions put artists at the forefront who contend with these issues and make space for constructive discourse.
Gallery 14C @gallery14c
Gallery 14C, 157A 1st Street, 2nd Floor, Jersey City, NJ 07302
Overlap: Life Tapestries
On view through: September 12, 2025
Curated by: Vida Sabbaghi
Featuring: Carrie Alter, Bri Cirel, Paola Fiterre, Angela Fraleigh, Carla Goldberg, Sascha Mallon, Yerang Moon, Linda Stein, Jean Shin, Lola Flash, Shari Weschler, Martha Wilson, Alida Wilkinson
Curated by Vida Sabbaghi, Overlap: Life Tapestries is now in its fourth iteration at Gallery 14C. Previously presented at Pen + Brush, the exhibition focuses on identity and representation through notions of gender and social constructs in a range of forms.
A striking throughline is the rejection of patriarchal structures and a dedication to highlighting female-identifying artists. Through tender moments that speak powerfully through their dedicated media, we are privy to the inner dialogues of each artist, as their ruminations fill the room in an animated dialogue that blends the distinctive voices into a chorus that is endearing, thought-provoking, and introspective.
The line, at times fluid and loose in form, is in equal measure with other works that bear weight through sculptural embodiments and features of the face. The works, in all their glory, are beautifully arranged by Vida Sabbaghi, who is clearly devoted to this ambitious endeavor and puts heart at the center of the exhibition. Portraiture and video are prominent components that fill each gallery with moving depictions of the experiences we carry in our complex lives.
Gorgeous figurative works by Carrie Alter, Alida Wilkinson, Angela Fraleigh, Carla Goldberg, and Shari Weschler are large in scale and touch on the vulnerability that humanity must contend with. Bodies are vessels of emotions, hopes, and aspirations; just as much as they contend with discomfort, disillusionment, and the weight of societal expectations and demands. Sasha Mallon offers different points of entry through a watercolor and ink work on paper, and an intriguing fiber sculpture that runs from floor to ceiling, with a mirror at the bottom to hold our reflections. This duality shows a range of interests and talents that help shape the exhibition. The photographs of Paola Fiterre lend a surreal, mysterious element that underscores the element of mystique and conversation with Linda Stein’s work that holds a strong presence in the show.
Yerang Moon’s painting is a wonderful abstract and expressive work that conveys unrestricted emotion that is rapt and ignited with such liveliness. Jean Shin’s Hide Series is a striking entry point to the show, and conjures the adage of not knowing what another person is going through until one has walked in their shoes; while Martha Wilson’s powerful video and photographic works are about strength, confrontation and acceptance of ourselves as we age, change, and shift in our very human bodies.
Bri Cirel reckons with popular culture and celebrity in her work, while Lola Flash confronts the mundane through photography in the isolated moments in public as a way to claim space and individuality. This unapologetic intimacy at the forefront feels like a parallel to Wilkinson’s layered work on mylar, which holds a voyeuristic tinge in its gentle rendering. The positioning of Alter and Moon’s works creates a conversation that reverberates across the room, making for a dynamic experience.
Ultimately, the exhibition feels like a vibrant conversation that is ongoing and encapsulated in longevity. How we endure, live, work, and exist while navigating the twists and turns that are at times inconvenient, problematic, and painful, is balanced with the wonderful aspects of being in these bodies, as they are, and making our marks on this earth for whatever time we are given. This is an empowering acknowledgment to hold, and it gives us the strength we need as we navigate the complexities stemming from this moment. Sabbaghi nurtures the notes of each artist, drawing them out in deep lulls that reverberate throughout the space. Her deftness as a curator doubles as a conductor in this orchestra of work that is given the armspan to spread its wings and soar.
I Think, I Draw, I Am
Pioneer Works @pioneerworks
159 Pioneer Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
On view through: August 10, 2025
Featuring: Daniel Johnston
Curator: Lee Foster
Daniel Johnston’s massive archive is a delightful gift to fans. There is a mix of glee, tinged with reverence, for the opportunity to enter into the mind and heart of the artist in this posthumous survey. Simultaneously, I felt a twinge of sorrow and sadness for the loss of his prolific voice. Each work, varying from pencil to marker, to watercolor and ink, reveals inner thoughts, references to pop culture, and is loaded with figures and characters from the zeitgeist.
Standing amongst these works is like walking into a time capsule, where we are all young, and feeling the intensity of the world again. Of course, some of us still feel many of those emotions of our youth, particularly with the state of the world as it is. The culture wars of the 1990s and the far-right rhetoric of its day is an eerie resounding of our sadly tragic current state of affairs. This adds a powerful twinge to the work, as it seems to beckon from decades past about how history repeats itself. Art truly is a clear reminder of this.
To walk into this archive is to feel the swell of energy Johnston shared with the world in his brilliant and iconic way. The music playing harkens back to an era when Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Dinosaur Jr. ruled the airwaves. The ambiance is wholly nineties in an awesome way, and spending time with the vivid imagery brings me back to childhood and adolescence when I would squirrel away with precious pens and markers and try to make sense of the craze of the world around me. The simplicity and beauty within each drawing lend to curious wonderment, and I relished each one. Familiar characters make frequent appearances as they lament their frustrations and apathy in enthused ways that feel as though they will leap out of the frames. The many voices offer contemplation, nostalgic comfort, and unabashed angst in the most glorious way.
The Gatherers
MoMA PS1 @momaps1
22-25 Jackson Avenue, Queens, NY 11101
On view through: October 6, 2025
Featuring: Karimah Ashadu, Tolia Astakhishvili, with Dylan Peirce and Maka Sanadze, Miho Dohi, Andro Eradze, He Xiangyu, Samuel Hindolo, Geumhyung Jeong, Klara Liden, Jean Katambayi Mukendi, Nick Relph, Selma Selman, Ser Serpas, Emilija Škarnulytė, Zhou Tao
The Gatherers is organized by Ruba Katrib, Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, with Sheldon Gooch, Curatorial Assistant. Exhibition research and support is provided by Serena Moscardelli, NYU Curatorial Fellow
The Gatherers is an exhibition so rich, substantive, and dense, that it deserves a full day to take in all the poignant nuances and stories powerfully woven through it. Firmly rooted in installation, sculpture, and new media, including video, light, and sound, it is an exhibition that not only stimulates the senses, but forces them to halt on a dime in order to hear the silence happening in between the dynamic moments. This compelling show moves with purpose from one gallery to the next, revealing the costs of consumption as told through the various experiences across the globe.
The works were made within the last few years, with some made on-site. The numerous works speak to us about global and corporate waste, the pollutants they leach that wreak havoc on our planet, and the toll that is paid by all things living on the earth. The tone of the show is smart and well-versed, reflecting upon the pitfalls of capitalism and how its colonization of land and natural resources has been devastating to peoples and the natural world across the continents. The Gatherers highlights various instances of this through documentary-style videos, stunning sculptural works reusing many of the materials they speak of, and from imprints and residue of the detritus the world is riddled with. Surprises await throughout the exhibition, and the longer you take it in, the more resonance comes forth.
Supercharged with important recollections and text, I would recommend setting a good amount of time aside to fully engage with the works and the conditions and circumstances that led to their creation. Each room is rife with wisdom and knowledge, and is exactly what we need in the world right now.
About the writer: Yasmeen Abdallah is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, curator and educator examining history, contemporary culture, materiality, reuse, memory, and space. She has been a visiting and teaching artist at institutions including New Museum; Pratt Institute; Sarah Lawrence College; Residency Unlimited; BRIC; Kean University; Parsons; Columbia University; Children’s Museum of NYC; El Barrio Artspace; Fairleigh Dickinson; and University of Massachusetts. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology (focus in Historical Archaeology) and in Studio Art with honors, with a Minor in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies from University of Massachusetts; and received an MFA in Fine Arts, with distinction, from Pratt Institute. Exhibitions include Art in Odd Places; the Boiler; Bronx Art Space; Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center; Cornell University; Ed Varie; Elizabeth Foundation; NARS Foundation; Open Source; Pratt Institute; PS122 Gallery; Spring Break Art Show; University of Massachusetts; and Westbeth. Publications include Anthropology of Consciousness; Ante Art; Art Observed; Bust Magazine; Emergency Index; Hyperallergic; Papergirl Brooklyn; Free City Radio; Radio Alhara; Tussle Magazine; the Urban Activist; and Transborder Art. Her work is in public, private, and traveling collections in the U.S. and abroad. @86cherrycherry