Word & Image

Juried by Francesca Altamura

About the Juror

Caroline Goldstein is Currently the Managing Editor for Artnet. Goldstein has written art news for W magazine, Muckrack and other digital magazines. Goldstein worked at Osmos Gallery and International Print Center NY. She graduated from Sotheby's Institute of Art The Graduate School of Art and Its Markets in London and NYC, Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University

Curatorial Statement

When I embarked on the jury process for this show, I had a vague notion of what kind of word-based art I would encounter, after all, the history of art is very much a history of text in art, and text as art. What I came across in the hundreds of submissions exceeded my expectations. The works literally spoke to me, and so too, did the artists who created them.

Some might wonder why bother incorporating words into art, when we all know that a picture is worth a thousand words. But that hierarchical statement leaves no room for the rich relationship between what is seen and what is spoken, for the interplay of visual and verbal elements whether in tune or at odds with one another. Hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt, traditional Chinese calligraphy, and illuminated manuscripts are some of the earliest examples of text and image used in tandem as a narrative device to enhance meaning and reach a wider audience. Things really got interesting in the 20th century, when Cubists sought to buck conventions, rejecting the notion that art should seek to faithfully represent nature, instead seeking a disjointed, fractured visual language to reflect the rapidly changing modern world. It is little wonder that the movement birthed collage, where everyday materials are elevated to high art—newspaper fragments and other ephemera reconstituted as social commentary.

From there, the possibilities for incorporating text in art expanded. When Rene Magritte famously wrote ‘ceci n’est pas une pipe’ beneath a very clear illustration of a pipe, he was making a declaration about the state of representation versus reality, the dissonance between what is perceived and what is true, one that artists continue to probe to this day. More recently, artists like Jenny Holzer, the Guerrilla Girls, and Ai Weiwei have used text to needle at structures of power, both within and outside of the art world. Given the polarizing state of the world, it is no wonder that many of the works here convey a feeling of mistrust, in systems and in the words that built those systems. But alongside that erosion of trust, there is still a belief in the immense power that words have—to shape government policy, to attract a mate on a dating website, to amuse, to confess, to condemn, and to inspire, and these entries reflect that tension.

–Caroline Goldstein

Words to Live By

Patricia Autenrieth / Paige Bradley / Andrew Demirjian / Kristina Estell / Naomi Grossman / Tilde Grynnerup / Yukio Ito / Tom Gehrig

In this section, the interplay of words and images are full of hope, joy, and optimism. These words are incantations whispered, chanted, and longed for. They are deepest thoughts and yearnings made visible and tangible, and put into action. Patricia Autenrieth’s quilt emblazoned with the stitched word ‘MAMA’ spanning its entirety is an ode to motherhood. Historical motifs of femininity and domesticity—a high heeled shoe, a spatula, an iron, the seal of Good Housekeeping, a trio of ducks—are stitched throughout the fabric in the thinnest white thread, almost imperceptible, much like the often invisible labor of parenthood. Andrew Demirjian’s piece is another kind of patchwork. An image of an imaginary flag serves as the backdrop for a musical composition that remixes the final notes and lyrics from national anthems, with the goal ‘to disentangle one’s connection to a nation and notions of fixed borders.’ Tilde Grynnerup’s textile also resembles a flag, though here are simply the words ‘here we all are under the same sun.’

In Yukio Ito’s cosmic print, vibrant, luminous ribbons swirl to form the abstracted word ‘oasis,’ and Tom Gehrig also invokes the sky with depictions of constellations, where mythology was literally written in the stars. Paige Bradley’s sculpture of a supine female, arm outstretched to cradle an orb is lit from within, illuminating the word ‘breathe’ etched on her breast. Naomi Grossman’s sculptures are made from wires shaped into female figures, bound together literally and figuratively by the familiar promises of wedding vows. Kristina Estell uses high-visibility neon fabric cut to form the German word Sympatisch, meaning friendly and agreeable, is suspended from the ceiling like a visual exclamation mark.

**Geoffrey Litherland**
*Aether Drifts*
Sand, lime, earth, and cosmic pigments on wood
wool board
24.4” × 20.5” × 2”
$3,000.00

**Geoffrey Litherland**
*Space Forms*
Sand, lime, earth, and cosmic pigments on wood wool
board
24.4” × 20.5” × 2”
$3,000.00

**Geoffrey Litherland**
*Astral Mesh*
Sand, lime, earth, and cosmic pigments on wood
wool board
24.4” × 20.5” × 2”
$3,000.00

**Kerry Stevens**
*RHSF X1*
Shellac, wax, pigment on wood panel
48" x 48" x 1"
$4,650.00

**Barry Beach**
#4
Reclaimed wood, vellum, and glue mounted on board
32" x 25" x 4"
$3,000.00

**Barry Beach**
*Hollow Topography*
Reclaimed wood and cardboard
21" x 16" x 14"
$2,500.00

**Kerry Stevens**
*RHSF*
Peony shellac, wax, pigment on wood panel
48" x 48" x 1"
$4,650.00

**Emily Conlon**
*Being II*
Layered etchings, beeswax, and thread on paper
22" x 25" x 0"
$450.00

**Emily Conlon**
*Being III*
Layered etchings, beeswax, and thread on paper
22" x 25" x 0"
$450.00

**Aydin Hamami**
*Tempest*
Mixed media on sewn canvas and found material
72" x 60" x 1.5"
$10,500.00

Wall 2 – Method

Yunqian Lin / Rebekah Burgess / Lingyi Hu / Dani Hawkes / Deborah Meyers / Rosalyn Driscoll / Marion Grant / Brenda Stumpf / Tyler Burton / Oriana Confente / Merlin Lentz / Victoria DeBlassie

Through acts of risk, curiosity, and innovation, the artists on this wall reimagine material as something not fixed, but in flux—something to be broken, deconstructed, and reinvented. This is experimentation as a form of inquiry. Yunqian Lin collaborates with water, time, and entropy in her photographic works, allowing nature to deconstruct the image and reconstitute it as something entirely new. Rebekah Burgess floods historical image reproductions, nurturing organic growth on paper to emphasize the fragility of documentation itself. Lingyi Hu’s close-up images of transforming glass defy the expected behaviors of the material, presenting it as a shifting landscape and capturing its uncanny in-between states. Dani Hawkes allows her rusting paintings to continue evolving with environmental forces, giving up control in favor of unexpected material expression. In each of these practices, process is not a means to an end.

Other artists experiment by hybridizing traditional craft with unexpected materials or methods, inviting new sensorial, philosophical, and sculptural possibilities. Deborah Meyers fuses ancient goldsmithing with contemporary textures and gems, bridging centuries through tactile contradiction. Rosalyn Driscoll’s rawhide-based forms hang, float, transformed by time and gravity. Marion Grant layers Japanese paper, acrylic, and fabric in shifting palimpsests that invite balance from chaos, while Brenda Stumpf assembles relic-like sculptures from salvaged materials and steeped paper, evoking forgotten rituals and alchemical transformation. Tyler Burton explores the impact of modern life on the natural world, using multimedia installations to question our disconnection from nature. Oriana Confente reclaims analog processes like botanical film development to propose new, care-centered collaborations with more-than-human forces. Merlin Lentz merges animal, machine, and glitch into ambiguous painted forms that blur the boundaries of identity and material. Victoria DeBlassie invites us to reconsider sensory hierarchies by using the hand to recontextualize discarded domestic materials, turning the overlooked into quiet acts of resistance. Across all these works, experimentation is not just a strategy—it is a commitment to uncertainty and playfulness.

**Yunqian Lin**
*3XJ7+M2 Savannah, 3*
Archival inkjet print on Unryu paper
44" x 55" x 0"
$400.00

**Yunqian Lin**
22PQ+3R Wilmington Island, Georgia
Archival inkjet print on Unryu paper
44" x 55" x 0"
$400.00

**Yunqian Lin**
*24J4+FR Tybee Island, Georgia*
Archival inkjet print on Unryu paper
44" x 55" x 0" Yes $400.00

**Rebekah Burgess**
*Fern*
Polaroid emulsion transfer with applied resin
4" x 4" x .2"
$200.00

**Rebekah Burgess**
*Untitled*
Polaroid emulsion transfer with applied resin
4" x 4" x .2"
$250.00

**Lingyi Hu**
*A Landscape of Tourmaline*
Glass, Prints
40" x 60" x 0.004"
$2,700.00

**Dani Hawkes**
*Rust Painting II*
Steel
19.7" × 19.7" × 0.8"
$900.00

**Dani Hawkes**
*Rust Painting III*
Steel
15.8" × 15.8" × 0.8"
$800.00

**Dani Hawkes**
*Rust Painting IV*
Steel
15.8" × 15.8" × 0.8"
$800.00

**Deborah Meyers**
*Ring*
Jewelry
1" x 1" x 1"
$2,250.00

**Deborah Meyers**
*Ring*
Jewelry/Metal
1" x 1" x 1"
$2,350.00

**Deborah Meyers**
*Ring*
Jewelry/Metal
1.5" x 1" x 1"
$2,550.00

**Rosalyn Driscoll**
*Emptiness of Fire*
Rawhide, neon
12" x 41" x 17"
$15,000.00

**Rosalyn Driscoll**
*Incarnation*
Rawhide, steel, leather
90" x 60" x 20"
$15,000.00

**Marion Grant**
*Metal Brocade*
Alternative media on handcrafted multi-layered acrylic
13” x 11”
$1,250.00

**Brenda Stumpf**
*Reliquia*
Mixed media and found object sculpture
16" x 8" x 8"
$1,800.00

**Brenda Stumpf**
*Altare*
Mixed media and found object sculpture
24" x 16" x 11.5"
$2,800.00

**Brenda Stumpf**
*Arcanum Munera*
Mixed media and found object sculpture
25.25" x 22" x 8.75"
$2,800.00

**Brenda Stumpf**
*In Memoriam*
Mixed media and found object sculpture
11" x 24" x 9.5"
$2,800.00

**Tyler Burton**
*Salton Feet*
Salvaged interior wall, ceramic
52" x 22" x 14"
$6,000.00

**Tyler Burton**
*Satsuma Haas*
Concrete, vegetable & fruit bag netting, plastic, paint
15.5" x 8" x 7"
$1,200.00

**Oriana Confente**
*Impressions Between Light and Land (Variation I)*
Phytogram photogravure on handmade paper
8" x 10" x 0.25"
NFS

**Merlin Lentz**
*Birdshit*
Mural various fungi on laminate, resin and acrylic on wood
43.3" × 68.9" × 1.1"
$4,400.00

**Merlin Lentz**
*Two Figures Playing One Guitar*
Acrylic and resin on wood
32.3” × 24.2” × 2.9”
$5,200.00

**Merlin Lentz**
*Waffle Painting*
Fungi on laminate, resin, oil and acrylic on wood
33.3” × 21.3” × 2”
$3,600.00

**Victoria DeBlassie**
*Prepackaged Oranges (Le arance preconfezionate)*
Laminated orange peels, invisible thread, red ink, glue
3.5’ x 2’ x .5"
$8,000.00

**Victoria DeBlassie**
*The Netted Peel (La scorza rete)*
Net print on orange peels, thread, black ink, sealent
9’ x 20’ x 6"
$10,000.00

Wall 3 – Mechanism

Christine McDonald / Caroline Hatfield / Rebecca Murtaugh / Maria Sol Rodriguez / Shawn Marshall / Aylin Derya Stahl / Juan Granados / Zoe Schwartz / Jamey Hart / Nela Steric / Holly Stone / Julia Norton / Norah Stone / Charlotte Saylor

Mechanism is not solely a function of industry or automation—it is also human. It refers to the intricate systems—emotional, cognitive, cultural and industrial—that shape how we perceive, interact with, and assign meaning to material. The artists on this wall trace how materiality intersects with memory, labor, identity, and care. Their works reframe the idea of mechanism as a human social architecture: a structure for navigating complexity, mediating loss, and grounding personal and collective histories.

Christine McDonald’s inflatable car-skin sculptures critique planned obsolescence, equating industrial decay with bodily vulnerability. Caroline Hatfield fuses sci-fi and geology to explore extraction and environmental futures. Rebecca Murtaugh uses locally harvested clays to transform ceramics into ecological tools. Maria Sol Rodriguez repurposes lottery tickets into fragile handmade paper, exposing the false promises of hyper-consumption. Each artist engages with material systems not just as infrastructure, but as deeply human environments—psychological, economic, and affective.

Others explore how architecture, technology, and visual archives shape perception and memory. Shawn Marshall builds surreal architectural spaces layered with transformation and recollection. Aylin Derya Stahl documents the slow fading of images in urban spaces, turning visual entropy into cultural reflection. Juan Granados fuses clay with digital restoration to embed familial memory into mutable form. Zoe Schwartz merges glass, pearl, and metal into layered ecosystems that explore transformation and ancestry. Jamey Hart gathers humble materials to examine absence, presence, and the poetic space between. Nela Steric’s chemically altered imagery blends symbolism with everyday residue, evoking personal and collective mythologies.

Finally, a number of artists engage with discarded, overlooked, or ephemeral materials to surface the subtle mechanisms of regeneration, remembrance, and adaptation. Holly Stone experiments with pleated tissue and light, revealing how perception shifts with illumination. Julia Norton assembles paper, pigment, yarn, and bone into sculptural works rooted in care. Norah Stone embeds foraged ecological debris into ceramics that feel both maternal and geological. Charlotte Saylor turns painting rags and found objects into layered compositions where texture and memory cohere. These works transform residue into reflection—reminding us that every material bears the imprint of human touch, and that every act of making is also a way of understanding.