Member Events
November 5, 2025
detail of Blossom Allée, c. 2002, oil on linen, 18x24 in
Join us for Luise Kaish—Finding the Sublime in Central Park, on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at 7 pm, on Zoom. This virtual event is a collaboration between the Artists’ Fellowship and the Kaish Family Art Project, and is open to all.
The program will highlight Luise Kaish’s drawings and paintings of the allée of cherry blossoms in Central Park, which she visited every year, drawing inspiration from their timeless beauty. We will discuss this late body of work in light of her larger practice, drawing upon never-seen archival materials, and focusing on the role of the spiritual throughout.
Please RSVP using the button below. A Zoom link will be sent to you on the morning of the event.
Sculptor, painter, collagist, and educator, Luise Kaish, was a key figure in the New York art scene of the late 20th century. The strength and breadth of her work, her influential role in education, and the prestigious awards she received set Kaish apart as an early female leader in the arts. Kaish was Chair of Columbia University's painting and sculpture division (1980-86), one of the first women to receive the Rome Prize Fellowship (1970-72), and a participant in pioneering shows such as the SculptureCenter's "Women Welders" (1953). Kaish worked extensively in sculpture and painting in her lifetime, creating expressive small-scale sculptures, intricate collages with burned and layered canvas elements ("burntworks") and monumental commissions. Through her art, Kaish paid homage to a broad range of natural, cultural, and philosophical allusions from the Old Testament and Kabbalah mysticism in her early years, to the cosmos and the environment in her mature years. Kaish's sensitivity to human experience and expression continues to be relevant for new audiences today.
October 14, 2025
On October 14, 2025, AF President Jessica Daryl Winer led our third virtual drawing meet-up, Drawing Central Park, in the spirit of fellowship and peaceful observation. Here is a recording of the Zoom session. It was an enjoyable opportunity to slow down and make marks to convey the beauty and intricacies of the trees of Central Park.
September 26, 2025
Last week, on September 26, AF members got together to explore galleries in Tribeca along Broadway and on Walker and White streets.
1. Discussing “Princess Bari” (2025) with artist Tracy Weisman at the “Unseen: 14 Artists on Resilience and The Rights of Women in North Korea” (393 Broadway).
2. “Piece by Piece” group show at Elza Kayal gallery (368 Broadway, Ste 409), where director Eniko Imre generously gave us a walkthrough.
3. Artist Carol Salmanson’s glowing light works at Elza Kayal gallery, with a small work by the show’s curator Jaynie Gillman Crimmins on the cabinet.
4. Marveling at artist Lin Wang’s ceramic sculpture “Porcelain Flesh Table,” at HB381 gallery (381 Broadway), combining traditional Chinese blue and white patterning with images of sailors’ tattoos.
5. “Titled” by artist Joan Linder, who we were lucky enough to chat with at Cristin Tierney gallery’s new space (49 Walker St.). This large-scale drawing, a tribute to her parents’ library, exploring identity and the American Jewish experience, as well domestic themes.
6. Our map!
map image c/o downtowngallerymap.com
July 14, 2025
On July 14, we had the pleasure of getting an intimate look at Shaping American Art: A Celebration of the Art Students League of New York at 150. The show featuring many impressive works by artists who had studied or taught at the Art Students League. Thank you to assistant curator Esther Moerdler for providing context about the artists, their relationship to the League and to one another as students and teachers. It was fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable. More about the exhibit at this link.
March 26, 2025
Thank you to co-curator Natalia Viera Salgado for giving us a walk-through of Past as Prologue, Part II, running at the National Academy of Design at 519 West 26th St. until April 26, 2025.
It was great to hear more about the individual works in the show, and about NAD itself, with its parallel history to the Artists Fellowship—NAD was founded in 1825, just 29 years before the AF, and many artists have been members of both organizations.
You can read more about the exhibition at this link.
February 25, 2025
It was an honor to become acquainted with the Gochman Collection of contemporary art by Indigenous and American artists, displayed in an upper east side apartment. We are grateful to Rachel and Moonoka for giving us a tour and sharing insights on some of the amazing works on display.
In order from top left to right, row over row:
1. Melissa Cody (Navajo/Diné), Into the Depths, She Rappels, 2023
2. Beau Dick (Kwakwaka’wakw, Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw First Nation), Komina (Rich Woman), ca. 2000
3. Kay WalkingStick (Citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and Anglo), The San Francisco Peaks Seen from Point Imperiale, 2021
4. Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota), Midéegaadi: Fire Bison, 2021
5. Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Lakota), Ruin, 2021
6. Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill (Métis), Untitled, 2023, (Tobacco, nylon stockings, stones, etc.)
7. Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Salish member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation), Amerika Map, 2021
8. James Luna (Payómkawichum, Ipai, and Mexican), War Dance Technology (Left), 1990
9. Rachel Martin (Tlingit, Tsaagweidei, Killer Whale Caln, of the Yellow Cedar House (Xaai Hit’) Eagle Moiety), Gochman Family Chalk Drawings, 2022
10. Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw and Cherokee), BETTER BECAUSE WE CAN BE, 2022, beadwork
January 28, 2025
On January 28, 2025, AF President Jessica Daryl Winer led our second virtual drawing meet-up, Drawing Central Park, in the spirit of fellowship and peaceful observation. Here is the recording of the Zoom session. It was an enjoyable opportunity to observe nature and focus on drawing some lyrical Central Park trees.
December 10, 2024 Annual Members’ Meeting
Our 2024 Annual Members Meeting took place on December 10, 2024 via Zoom. (Note the many smiling faces.)
In our last fiscal year, we were able to provide 64 working artists with more than $325,000 to help get them through the worst times and back to work.
We thank our members and supporters for helping us fulfill our mission.
October 23, 2024
Our private tour of the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts last week was thoroughly enjoyable and informative. We saw the show ‘Aoko-born away from home’ at the EFA Project Space and peaked into the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Shop, seeing some printmaking in action. We later had the pleasure of visiting four artists in the studio program: Amy Hill, Cui Fei, Youngjae Kim, and Liselot Van Der Heijden.
Thank you to Executive Director George Scheer and Program Director Alexandra Unthank for showing us around, and to the artists for welcoming us into their studios.
July 9, 2024
On July 9, 2024, AF President Jessica Daryl Winer led Drawing Central Park, a virtual drawing meet-up. We sketched from images of trees and other elements in Central Park. A good time was had by all.
April 5, 2024
On Friday, April 5, at 11 am, we gathered at the New-York Historical Society to see the exhibition “Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School.”
Kay is not only an AF member, but is our 2024 Clinedinst medal awardee. In this exhibition, her work is presented in conversation with highlights from New-York Historical’s collection of 19th-century Hudson River School paintings.
December 12, 2023
Our annual Members Meeting took place at the Salmagundi Club. Thank you to those who attended in person or on Zoom.
