May We Dance in the Face of Our Fears

May We Dance in the Face of Our FearsAntonia Wright, Barbara von Portatius, Brad Kahlhamer, Cannon Hersey, Claudia Peña Salinas, Corey Escoto, Finley, Jen DeNike, José Carlos Martinat, LigoranoReese, Jennifer Wen Ma, Nene Humphrey, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Tomas Vu, Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos), Thomas Beale, and more. Curated by Maureen Sullivan.JANUARY 7–28, 2026

OPENING: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 6–8 PM

SWPK Gallery / The Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Foundation

417 Lafayette St, 2nd Floor, NYC. www.swpk.org

May We Dance in the Face of Our Fears

José Carlos Martinat, Purificador #11, 12, 13, 14, 2024, Medical cotton gauze, dyed

with ayahuas-ca,crushed quartz, sangre de grado, tul, bronze, and colored powders used

by healers for cleansing and recovery rituals, 6 x 4 ft. Courtesy artist

As the world continually spirals in a mad max trajectory, May We Dance in the Face of Our Fears greets the new year armed with hope, resolution, and a daily dose of sage. The exhibition celebrates the indefatigable human spirit that rises like a phoenix from the ashes, faces down apathy and despair, and creates balance, beauty, and contemplative work that reflects this challenging journey.The artists in this exhibition explore many paths of healing, renewal, and transformation. Some connect with their inner shamans, the universe, ancestors, and the earth’s restorative powers. Others explore spirituality and mystical re-enchantment through practicing rituals, alchemy, and affirmations. Processing loss and grief many artists tap into deep reserves of resilience, deepening connection with themselves, their communities, and the natural and spiritual worlds, in search of wonder over fear.Cannon Hersey, Claudia Peña Salinas, Jen DeNike, José Carlos Martinat, and Thomas Beale draw from history, cosmology, the vernacular and the sacred. Sources as varied as the mystery survivor trees of Hiroshima, temples and ancient archeological sites, and crystals and curative minerals unearthed in Arkansas, Mexico, and Peru infuse and activate painting, levitation performance, textile installation, and sculpture with their mystical powers.Through intimate and durational gestures, Nene Humphrey, Barbara von Portatius, and Antonia Wright address grief, vulnerability, and care. Victorian mourning rituals, reflections on decay and rebirth after an extended coma, and public performances crying on street corners around the world examine how personal loss can open pathways toward empathy, connection, and renewal.Large-scale installations by Brad Kahlhamer, Jennifer Wen Ma, and Sara Siestreem (Hanis Coos) posit states of duality—light and darkness, chaos and order, presence and absence. Incorporating ceremonial beads, paper gardens, glass orbs, and dreamcatchers, these works function as channels of remembrance, strength, and balance across tribal, national, and personal geographies.Language, political gesture, and social meditation shape works by Corey Escoto, LigoranoReese, Maynard Monrow, and Rirkrit Tiravanija with Tomas Vu, whose practices take the form of poetry, manifestos, affirmations, and public performance. Finley explores sacred geometric symbols and patterns drawn from ancient art and architecture, pointing toward universal systems of connection and continuity.The exhibition is organized by Maureen Sullivan, an independent curator, writer, and founder of Red Art Projects. Her curatorial practice has included solo presentations of Christian Jankowski, Eve Sussman and Simon Lee, Jeremy Blake, Ghost of a Dream, and Orit Ben Shitrit, as well as group exhibitions featuring Ragnar Kjartansson, Sue de Beer, Julia Chiang, and Ugo Rondinone, among others.

Rirkirit Tiravanija and Tomas Vu, Fear Eats the Soul, 2018, Silkscreen on newspaper, 22 x 24 in.

Thomas Beale, Tramp, 2012, Found wood, paint, pigment, metal, glass, fabric, 45 x 32 x 30 in.

Claudia Peña Salinas, Tunich, 2020, Brass, dyed thread, ceramic, and river stone, 24 x 53.5 x 24 in.

Jennifer Wen Ma, Night Which Contains the Sea, 2017,

Hand-crafted glass, laser cut black paper, Size variable

ABOUT SWPK GALLERYSWPK Gallery — The Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Art Foundation — is a non-profit organization committed to promoting East-West cultural exchange through the arts by sponsoring and hosting art exhibitions of national and international artists. For more information, visit: swpk.org

May We Dance in the Face of Our Fears is produced in collaboration with the Donghwa Cultural Foundation.

SWPK Gallery

417 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor

New York, NY 10003

Phone: 212.598.1155

Email:info@waldandkimgallery.org

Media inquiries: Odelette Choocho@waldandkimgallery.org