Editor: Trista Zhong
A Juried Award Exhibition by Hall W. Rockefeller and Irene Ailin Wang
March 6 – March 20, 2025 • The Blanc, 15 E 40th Street, New York
New York, NY—Waave Foundation, in partnership with The Blanc, is proud to announce
(Sur)real, a juried group exhibition as announcing the first New York Women’s Art Month, on view from March 6 through March 20, 2025 at The Blanc (15 E 40th Street, New York).
Featuring works by awardees Kate Donnelly, Emily Wisniewski, Sandra Cavanagh, Michelle Wey, Wendi Men, and Katrina Slavik, along with three leading female artists Nancy Spero, Laurie Simmons, and Hu Junjun, (Sur)real explores themes of uncanny, discomfort, and fantasy. The exhibition offers a framework to reimagine the feminine in contemporary contexts and evoke new perspectives on identity.
Curated as part of the inaugural New York Women’s Art Month, an initiative by the Waave
Foundation spotlighting the crucial yet underrepresented contributions of women to the city’s cultural landscape. In (Sur)real, each artist challenges perceptions, embraces new materialities, and engages in a vibrant dialogue with both contemporary and historical contexts.
“New York Women’s Art Month recognizes the need to intervene now, so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. It celebrates the contemporary artists who will become part of this great city’s story and ensures we never have the opportunity to forget them.”
—Excerpt from the Preface of NYWAM by Hall W. Rockefeller and Irene Ailin Wang
Highlights of (Sur)real
Nancy Spero: A seminal figure in the feminist art movement of the 1960s, Nancy Spero
confronted themes of war, female sexuality, and power structures through her
groundbreaking pictographic language. Her powerful piece Nancy Spero’s Alphabet of
Hieroglyphs, 2008 anchors the show with a vibrant look at mythological imagery and the
reclamation of women’s iconography.
Kate Donnelly: NYWAM awardee - Through performance, humor, and time-based
media, Donnelly probes human connection, grief, and joy. Her video works, including
This May Take Awhile (2012), invite audiences to reconsider our shared vulnerabilities
and collective resilience.
Emily Wisniewski: NYWAM awardee - Blurring the boundaries between bodies and
landscapes, Wisniewski’s large-scale canvases (e.g., Growing Together, 2024) offer a
tactile, immersive exploration of queer identity and the natural world, challenging
traditional perceptions of figure and setting.
Sandra Cavanagh: NYWAM awardee - Rooted in narrative, her paintings and
lithographs (e.g., Dressing The Bride, The Lascivious God, 2024) weave together mythology, mortality, and transgenerational memory, reflecting on both personal and
political histories.
Michelle Wey: NYWAM awardee - Investigating the value of handmade craft in an age
of digital excess, Wey’s mixed-oil canvases such as La Guerrera III (2006) highlight the
enduring relevance of originality and beauty in a rapidly shifting cultural landscape.
Wendi Men: NYWAM awardee - Drawing on abstract expressionism and Chinese ink
painting, Men’s large-scale oils like Blazoned Days (2024) capture the resilience of
plants in extreme conditions, echoing themes of impermanence, survival, and
interconnected life.
Katrina Slavik: NYWAM awardee - Slavik’s textile works incorporate upcycled fabrics
to examine urban ecosystems and the shared histories embedded in New York City’s
working-class communities. Pieces like Ghost in the Supply Chain (2024) weave together
sustainability, labor, and ancestral craft.
Hu Junjun: Through her ongoing Unlimited Nirvana series, Hu merges traditional
Chinese and digital techniques, exploring Buddhist spirituality, impermanence, and
devotion while prompting reflection on the evolving global landscape.
Laurie Simmons: In 1972, Simmons revisited the dollhouses from her 1950s
childhood—long dismissed during second-wave feminism as tools of social conditioning.
Simmons’s New Bathroom Women Kneeling, challenged traditional art photography and
documentary modes, revealing how gender identity is constructed through representation.
About Waave Foundation
Waave Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women and non-binary individuals through the arts. Deeply rooted in the fourth-wave feminism movement, Waave operates as a contribution-driven community rather than a traditional institution, championing collaboration that transcends racial, gender, and industry boundaries. Founded by artists and art enthusiasts committed to academic rigor and innovative thinking, Waave harnesses art as a catalyst for social change and voice empowerment.
“It is time to reclaim the narratives that were never told. At Waave, our mission remains unchanged: using art to embrace the future waves of feminism.”
—Irene Ailin Wang, Founder of Waave Foundation
Exhibition Details
• Exhibition Title: (Sur)real
• Dates: March 6 – March 20, 2025
• Venue: The Blanc, 15 E 40th Street, 2FL, New York
• Opening Reception: March 6, 2025 (6–9 PM)
• Hours: Wednesday to Saturday 11AM to 6PM
Media Contact
For press inquiries, interviews, or high-resolution images, please contact:
• Email: info@waave.org
• Instagram: @Waavefoundation
• Website: www.waave.org
(All photos designed by Trista Zhong)
Comments