Grit of Hearth Beyond the BramblesField of Play Gallery, 2026Zakariya Abdul-QadirNicholas DiazGlen EinbinderDanielle GadusTony GriegoWilliam KimEthan ShoshanAnna ShukeyloSarah ValeriCuration and Exhibition Text by Yasmeen Abdallah
Be careful with my heart, you whisperThe tender spots are raw and worn Calluses caused by callousnessBut not in here Where we seek shelter We mourn, we mend, we forage, we make Do and when the seeds are gathered They are planted for sustenance For this long winter As for the winters of our childrenWhen the winds may change direction Caretaking of the nutrients in the soil As ancestors have done since time immemorialWe make shelter We build, we dream, we comfort, we strive For a better world than we inheritedIn this long season of gloomWe reckon We beckon We collectivize We mobilize Casting nets and building nests Beauty and splendor to behold What we once lacked is now within reachIf you know where to look The roots are home base Hidden beneath the soil in plain viewBeyond the bark, beyond the brambles We’ll find each otherWhere the sea is up Looking down at the moon Where the fish sing lullabies And the stars swim in the sea As the clouds sway with the tidesUnder a warm blanket of sand that envelopes a galaxy That’s when you will know That you’ve found your place Amongst the dreamers and doersIn a hole nestled in the world Liberated and free Welcoming you into the hearth called home
Be careful with my heart, you whisperThe tender spots are raw and worn Calluses caused by callousnessBut not in here Where we seek shelter We mourn, we mend, we forage, we make Do and when the seeds are gathered They are planted for sustenance For this long winter As for the winters of our childrenWhen the winds may change direction Caretaking of the nutrients in the soil As ancestors have done since time immemorialWe make shelter We build, we dream, we comfort, we strive For a better world than we inheritedIn this long season of gloomWe reckon We beckon We collectivize We mobilize Casting nets and building nests Beauty and splendor to behold What we once lacked is now within reachIf you know where to look The roots are home base Hidden beneath the soil in plain viewBeyond the bark, beyond the brambles We’ll find each otherWhere the sea is up Looking down at the moon Where the fish sing lullabies And the stars swim in the sea As the clouds sway with the tidesUnder a warm blanket of sand that envelopes a galaxy That’s when you will know That you’ve found your place Amongst the dreamers and doersIn a hole nestled in the world Liberated and free Welcoming you into the hearth called home
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Images courtesy of Masaki Hori
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At a time when the world is heavy, full of peril, loss and heartache, each act of kindness is an opportunity to reshape what is valuable and meaningful; pushing back against negativity to make space for community, solace, and solidarity. This exhibition considers the work of cultural producers within the context of care, as pathways of compassion and beacons of ingenuity. Through a sensitive range of forms and concepts, each artist was selected for the thoughtful moments that echo between the daily actions and intentions, and how traces of these tender acts extend beyond the studio into the collective atmosphere.
This immersive interdisciplinary installation within the small confines of the gallery is built through a sensitive appreciation of the fluidity between each work as they overlap and tenderly spill into a melding that offers the viewer a contemplative place to sit and reflect. The works are deftly conceived with intention and integrity through a variety of techniques and philosophies that underscore the proficiency and dexterity of each artist to create a metaphorical collective net that signifies supporting one another when we are vulnerable, and laying a strong foundation for the world we want to create in unity. Through a maximalist gesture, together, we can cultivate an environment that expands outwardly into the corners of society where it’s needed most. This deftly woven microcosm is a mirror of what we can reimagine in challenging times, underscoring the healing properties that each of the artists possess and extend through their work, one ripple at a time.
Zakariya Abdul-Qadir moves through the world building connections with people through meaningful, conversations and portraiture. These moments take place while walking through his native and beloved home of Brooklyn, responding to the impromptu encounters he happens upon. There is a patience, a respect, and a deep humanitarian sensitivity that is apparent in Abdul-Qadir’s work. Through a transcribing process from conversation to film photography to painting, the slowness and stillness feel reverent and personable. It’s about meeting someone in a moment that is shared, and sitting with it deeply and sincerely.
Anna Shukeylo also channels the lived experience through painting, but through looking out onto the world at night. The vignettes in the Hudson Heights series, titled after a section of Washington Heights renamed by developers looking to inflate prices through gentrifying real estate tactics, explores this inside/out dynamic through a Rear Window aesthetic that juxtaposes the intimacy with display, merging the two dichotomies in a push-pull that harnesses the tension felt in Gadus’ work. We feel the strain of city life drawing us into the screens that distract from what’s happening outside our windows and walls, the insular buffer that keeps people apart. Created during the pandemic, these works summon the isolation felt in that moment. Yet, experienced today, they serve as a poignant reminder of the feeling of loneliness and solitude, and light the way toward the path forward and into the future we are creating collectively.
Nicholas Diaz fully immerses himself in the world of ceramics. The starfish serve as guides from the sea to this new world that is yet to be built, channeling the power of all the bodies of water to serve as mirroring constellations; north stars that guide into uncharted territories to places we may not yet have been, but have long dreamed of. What may become severed is never really gone if we refuse to accept it: like our determination, it reconstitutes itself when wounded, and patience, perseverance and determination fortify the spirit needed to keep the grit of our dreams alive.
Glen Einbinder’s approach is detailed, thoughtful and clever. It is wholehearted in its earnestness, and gently moves across two and three dimensional planes, folding in on itself and developing skeletal structure at a whim. It morphs, amorphous and anthropomorphic, shape-shifting with a structure that feels geometric, reptilian, cellular, and architectural all at once. Einbinder’s work is playful and serious, bridging the two sides of the brain with a delightful mix of studiousness and improvisation.
Tony Griego dazzlingly engages with beautiful defiance that lovingly and unabashedly celebrates kitsch, queerness, and delicious decadence. Griego celebrates life with aplomb and welcomes everyone in to join the festivities. There is no shyness or self-consciousness, as there is no time for that in this climate: it is about owning our choices, honoring oneself, uplifting community, and making each day count, warts and all. The warts are beautiful reminders of lives lived well and to the fullest. The scars we wear are badges of courage and distinction. The glamor comes from within, and it exudes out with glistening clarity, bestowing care and exuberance.
Sarah Valeri’s A Voice Still demonstrates the power in digging deeply and finding strength and grit in healing. The bells underscore that there is such beauty in the cracks and remnants; just as walking through the fire makes one resilient. Imperfections defy the pitfalls of facades and frivolity; and Valeri invites us to experience this transcendence through direct interaction with the work through therapeutic and physical ways. This mode of receiving, learning, listening, and growing is lovingly cultivated by Valeri as a means of bringing people together, earnestly and honestly.
Danielle Gadus explores life through tactile gravitational forces, and through persistence. Gadus hand dyes fabric and through various processes, creates stunning floating sculptures and installations that are reliant on suspension, weight, and minimal interventions. Reinforcements are kept to a minimum, challenging the durability of the materials, and acknowledging the precarity of the medium. This embracing of negative space has a defiant streak, playing chicken with the law of Isaac Newton. Gadus asks us to embrace the moment of suspension; to lean into the slight shifts as the building settles or the air moves ever so slightly, causing a ripple of air to shift the work that is placed with the most minimal of hardware. It is like watching nature breathe while reclining in a hammock in the evening breeze.
William Kim’s work speaks truth to power through spoken word poetry and gestures that are wickedly smart, sensitive, and playful. We are placed in liminal states between childhood, adolescence and adulthood, where emotions are blurred in beautiful varnished washes that heighten the sensory and sway us gently between states of joy, contemplation, recollection, and longing. Kim’s energy extends from the work so profoundly and fiercely: warm, cool, worldly, and welcoming. Freedom and security are interlocked, what may seem distinct is in fact two sides of the same coin, or two hula hoops conjoined as a mirror that holds the key to unlocking what holds us back most. The genius in this work is entwined with its seeming simplicity; indeed, all is not what it seems, and looking inward deeply is the way forward.
Ethan Shoshan uses textiles to draw us in to moments that intimately honor and cherish through loving and painstaking applications, where each thread is a line in a sonnet. Like Abdul-Qadir and Shukeylo, Shoshan draws from specific environments to depict the emotional components of place, and home. This rug becomes a portrait; rather than a floor where is may get soiled with the dirt of winter, it is bestowed lovingly on a wall, a scale close to human-size, where viewers can envision that staircase vividly within their own memories. This staircase is unique, however, and is a part of Shoshan's experience of home as both concept and experience.
-Yasmeen Abdallah, Curator
This immersive interdisciplinary installation within the small confines of the gallery is built through a sensitive appreciation of the fluidity between each work as they overlap and tenderly spill into a melding that offers the viewer a contemplative place to sit and reflect. The works are deftly conceived with intention and integrity through a variety of techniques and philosophies that underscore the proficiency and dexterity of each artist to create a metaphorical collective net that signifies supporting one another when we are vulnerable, and laying a strong foundation for the world we want to create in unity. Through a maximalist gesture, together, we can cultivate an environment that expands outwardly into the corners of society where it’s needed most. This deftly woven microcosm is a mirror of what we can reimagine in challenging times, underscoring the healing properties that each of the artists possess and extend through their work, one ripple at a time.
Zakariya Abdul-Qadir moves through the world building connections with people through meaningful, conversations and portraiture. These moments take place while walking through his native and beloved home of Brooklyn, responding to the impromptu encounters he happens upon. There is a patience, a respect, and a deep humanitarian sensitivity that is apparent in Abdul-Qadir’s work. Through a transcribing process from conversation to film photography to painting, the slowness and stillness feel reverent and personable. It’s about meeting someone in a moment that is shared, and sitting with it deeply and sincerely.
Anna Shukeylo also channels the lived experience through painting, but through looking out onto the world at night. The vignettes in the Hudson Heights series, titled after a section of Washington Heights renamed by developers looking to inflate prices through gentrifying real estate tactics, explores this inside/out dynamic through a Rear Window aesthetic that juxtaposes the intimacy with display, merging the two dichotomies in a push-pull that harnesses the tension felt in Gadus’ work. We feel the strain of city life drawing us into the screens that distract from what’s happening outside our windows and walls, the insular buffer that keeps people apart. Created during the pandemic, these works summon the isolation felt in that moment. Yet, experienced today, they serve as a poignant reminder of the feeling of loneliness and solitude, and light the way toward the path forward and into the future we are creating collectively.
Nicholas Diaz fully immerses himself in the world of ceramics. The starfish serve as guides from the sea to this new world that is yet to be built, channeling the power of all the bodies of water to serve as mirroring constellations; north stars that guide into uncharted territories to places we may not yet have been, but have long dreamed of. What may become severed is never really gone if we refuse to accept it: like our determination, it reconstitutes itself when wounded, and patience, perseverance and determination fortify the spirit needed to keep the grit of our dreams alive.
Glen Einbinder’s approach is detailed, thoughtful and clever. It is wholehearted in its earnestness, and gently moves across two and three dimensional planes, folding in on itself and developing skeletal structure at a whim. It morphs, amorphous and anthropomorphic, shape-shifting with a structure that feels geometric, reptilian, cellular, and architectural all at once. Einbinder’s work is playful and serious, bridging the two sides of the brain with a delightful mix of studiousness and improvisation.
Tony Griego dazzlingly engages with beautiful defiance that lovingly and unabashedly celebrates kitsch, queerness, and delicious decadence. Griego celebrates life with aplomb and welcomes everyone in to join the festivities. There is no shyness or self-consciousness, as there is no time for that in this climate: it is about owning our choices, honoring oneself, uplifting community, and making each day count, warts and all. The warts are beautiful reminders of lives lived well and to the fullest. The scars we wear are badges of courage and distinction. The glamor comes from within, and it exudes out with glistening clarity, bestowing care and exuberance.
Sarah Valeri’s A Voice Still demonstrates the power in digging deeply and finding strength and grit in healing. The bells underscore that there is such beauty in the cracks and remnants; just as walking through the fire makes one resilient. Imperfections defy the pitfalls of facades and frivolity; and Valeri invites us to experience this transcendence through direct interaction with the work through therapeutic and physical ways. This mode of receiving, learning, listening, and growing is lovingly cultivated by Valeri as a means of bringing people together, earnestly and honestly.
Danielle Gadus explores life through tactile gravitational forces, and through persistence. Gadus hand dyes fabric and through various processes, creates stunning floating sculptures and installations that are reliant on suspension, weight, and minimal interventions. Reinforcements are kept to a minimum, challenging the durability of the materials, and acknowledging the precarity of the medium. This embracing of negative space has a defiant streak, playing chicken with the law of Isaac Newton. Gadus asks us to embrace the moment of suspension; to lean into the slight shifts as the building settles or the air moves ever so slightly, causing a ripple of air to shift the work that is placed with the most minimal of hardware. It is like watching nature breathe while reclining in a hammock in the evening breeze.
William Kim’s work speaks truth to power through spoken word poetry and gestures that are wickedly smart, sensitive, and playful. We are placed in liminal states between childhood, adolescence and adulthood, where emotions are blurred in beautiful varnished washes that heighten the sensory and sway us gently between states of joy, contemplation, recollection, and longing. Kim’s energy extends from the work so profoundly and fiercely: warm, cool, worldly, and welcoming. Freedom and security are interlocked, what may seem distinct is in fact two sides of the same coin, or two hula hoops conjoined as a mirror that holds the key to unlocking what holds us back most. The genius in this work is entwined with its seeming simplicity; indeed, all is not what it seems, and looking inward deeply is the way forward.
Ethan Shoshan uses textiles to draw us in to moments that intimately honor and cherish through loving and painstaking applications, where each thread is a line in a sonnet. Like Abdul-Qadir and Shukeylo, Shoshan draws from specific environments to depict the emotional components of place, and home. This rug becomes a portrait; rather than a floor where is may get soiled with the dirt of winter, it is bestowed lovingly on a wall, a scale close to human-size, where viewers can envision that staircase vividly within their own memories. This staircase is unique, however, and is a part of Shoshan's experience of home as both concept and experience.
-Yasmeen Abdallah, Curator