Catching Fire
resilient alchemies in a burning worldJune 20 - August 29, 2026
Free & Open to the public
Saturdays & Sundays 1:00 - 5:00 pm
& by appointment
Opening Reception
Saturday, June 27, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Extended hours for Upstate Art Weekend
Thursday, June 25 - Monday, June 29
12:00 - 5:00 pm
The exhibition is curated by Alison McNulty and includes works by:
Emil Alzamora
Gerardo Castro
Marcy Chevali
Daniel Giordano
Shanti Grumbine
Alison Kudlow
David Licata
Processing Collapse (Michael Asbill & Ripley Butterfield)
Zachary Skinner
Catching Fire: resilient alchemies in a burning world brings together nine artists whose work engages fire as a volatile force and regenerative catalyst, bearing witness to the ways heat, pressure, and combustion shape our material and emotional lives. Across sculpture, installation, painting, sound, photography, and works on paper the exhibition, curated by Gallery Director Alison McNulty, includes work by Hudson Valley and NYC artists Emil Alzamora, Marcy Chevali, Daniel Giordano, Shanti Grumbine, Alison Kudlow, David Licata, Processing Collapse (Michael Asbill and Ripley Butterfield), and Zachary Skinner, along with the posthumous work of celebrated Newburgh artist, Gerardo Castro.
Through structural and adaptive transformations that engage politics, material culture, ecology and the environment, this exhibition unfolds through unraveling and overlapping poetics. While some artists harness flame and heat as a means of material manipulation from one state to another, others document and imagine the releasing and healing potential of burning. Creative alchemy, both literal and metaphorical, stands as a testament to the transient –and transcendent—nature of matter and bodies in an era marked by ecological precarity and political volatility.
Special Events at Ann Street Gallery TBA
All events are free and open to the public;
space limited where RSVP requested
The Exhibition Guide can be downloaded here.
Postcard image courtesy of the artist
Flaming Bud by Alison Kudlow
Ceramic, wrought iron, found hookah parts, candle, flame
50 x 28 x 18”
2023
Image Credit: Paul Takeuchi
Surge (Genizah) by Shanti Grumbine
De-acidified New York Times newspaper, jade glue, matte medium, UV varnish, nails, magnets
22 x 30"
2015
Image courtesy of the artist
Untitled by Marcy Chevali
Flameworked borosilicate glass and knit brass wire
8 x 19.5 x 7"
2026
Presence by Gerardo Castro
Burning on Arches oil paper, oil paint
6 x 2’
2016
Cliff Dwellers with Aloe Vera Garden by Zachary Skinner
Alcohol inks, India ink and acrylic on Yupo
9 x 10”
2024
Image Credit: Ernesto Eisner
My Immaculate Conception I by Daniel Giordano
24 karat gold, acrylic paint, brass, bricks, cattails, ceramic, codfish skin dog treats, deep-fried batter, epoxy, eyeshadow, goatskin cockring, hosiery, Instapak Quick foam, kudu horn, lichen, Megan Murphy Martinez’s hair, mesh polypropylene, Murano glass, nail polish, Northeast Fast-Dry tennis court surface, phosphorescent acrylic, plastic bags, plastic wrap, pomade, ribbon, shellac, silicone, sparklers, spitballs (acrylic polymer emulsion, saliva, toilet paper, pigment), table base, Tang drink mix, tennis balls, tomato cage, urinal cake, water caltrop
74 x 24 x 95"
2013 - 2021
The Sky has Fallen by David Licata
Torchworked borosilicate glass on charred driftwoo
40 x 20 x 22”
2026
Waymaker (Detail) by Emil Alzamora
Steel, plaster, graphite wax
84 x 22 x 24”
2021
Artifact of Collapse by Processing Collapse
Half-carbonized slab of white ash wood
23 x 15 x 4”
2026
Crucible Fictions by Alison Kudlow
Ceramic and bronze
Dimensions variable
2022
Safe Harbors' Ann Street Gallery exhibitions are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Cowles Charitable Trust, Dominican Sisters of Hope Ministry Fund, M&T Charitable Foundation, and individual donors.
