Main Space

Empathy's Alchemy
Curated by Zahar Vaks
November 7 - December 20, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 24th | 6:00 - 8:00pm

Ortega y Gasset Projects (OyG) is proud to present  Empathy's Alchemy, a show exploring the symbiotic relationship between empathy and alchemy within the works of Ethan Greenbaum, Mónica, Newton Pottinger, Kemar Wynter, and Sun You . The opening reception will take place on Saturday, November, 7th , 2026 from 6-8pm, and run through December 20th, 2026.

I've been thinking about the Latin root of the word curator: cura, meaning "to take care."

Over the years I have come to appreciate more and more how my curating process is connected to my creative practice. I am drawn to artwork on an instinctual level–a vibe, a resonance, a trace. I can't quite place it, and that is what excites me. It is an initial feeling that I follow–and through the following of that feeling I get a sense of understanding.

This has always been my practice; believing and leaning into what I don't necessarily understand. Trusting, leaping, dancing. Higher-level thinking happens after the fact, but the creative act itself is generally a blank zone, a state of intuition. Like meditation, dropping in.

This is a state of openness. A yearning to connect. A desire to collaborate. A moment to appreciate thinking through making.

Reflecting through the process of putting together this show, which pulls from so many experiences and influences, I can only say this: something can be specific but not fully developed, which then continues to evolve because of the things you decide to let in. When you say yes. When you are open.

Sometimes you have to block shit.

When you are open and when you trust what's coming in, it can both change things and still maintain the integrity of the original thing.

That's jazz.

That's freestyle.

That's improvisation.

But there is still structure to it.

Similar to the work of an educator. You have a plan but things happen and you have to adapt.

This is creation.

This is curation.

This is life.

It was through this process, following instincts, remaining open, and paying attention to what continued to resonate, that Empathy's Alchemy began to take shape.

What interests me about empathy is its vastness. Sometimes it is linked to a specific story. Other times it exists in more subtle ways, as a non-verbal and yet undeniably present experience. It can emerge through narrative, but it can also emerge through observation, gesture, materials, intuition, ritual, process, and sustained attention. It can be found in what an artist chooses to depict, but also in how they work, what they return to, and the relationships they develop with their materials over time.

The artists brought together in Empathy's Alchemy each offer a distinct manifestation of this expansive understanding of empathy.

The Skirt:

Ideals on Wheels
Michael Dispensa
Curated by Annamariah Knox
November 7 - December 20, 2026
Opening Reception Saturday November 7, 2026 6-8pm

Ortega y Gasset Projects is pleased to present Ideals on Wheels, a site-specific solo installation in The Skirt by artist Michael Dispensa, curated by Annamariah Knox. The opening reception with the artist will take place on Saturday November 7th, 6-8pm, and the exhibition will run through December 20th, 2026.

Ideals on Wheels is composed of sculptural and video objects, depicting transformed infrastructure from the New York City subway system. Made in faithful resemblance to their real counterparts, these sculptures express the uncanny double experience of both what the subway promises, and how it actually is.

Formerly three separate and privately owned railways, the NYC subway was incorporated as a public system by the city in the mid-1900s. The visual language of the 1970s R46-era subway cars, still in use today, reflects this ethos of municipal pride: NY City and State seals checker
the train car walls, and faux wood paneling and colorful orange seats lend a bright and welcome feel.

Dispensa takes these iconic symbols of state effort and morphs them to reflect the reality of the subway: a look under the hood, so to speak. Through a series of casting disruptions, city and state seals bend, warp, and discolor. Wild roses–the New York State flower–proliferate, in place of the oft used generic European rose, and the iconic speckled terrazzo subway flooring becomes an ever-spreading starfield. The subway brake pulleys with their tempting red handles morph into multi-handled absurdities.

Ideals on Wheels calls for you to “see something, see something, see something,” a reinterpretation of the paranoid “See something, Say Something” slogan, into a call to presence. The installation proposes the evolution of top-down propaganda proclaiming collective city and state enthusiasm, to the more alive experience of witnessing what actually is.

Artist Bio: Michael Dispensa (b. 1993 Queens NY), is a multimedia artist and educator working in Brooklyn, NY. He graduated from The School of Visual Arts in 2016 with a BFA in illustration and received an MFA in painting from Rhode Island School of Design in 2021. His work has been most recently included in group shows at Asya Geisberg Gallery, The RISD Museum, Stephen Street gallery, and Soloway Gallery. He currently works as an artist Instructor with Studio in a School, Ashcan Studio of Art, and Queens Public Library. 

Curator Bio: Annamariah Knox (b. New York City, NY), is an interdisciplinary artist working across soft sculpture and video. She received a B.A. in Art History and Theater from Bowdoin College, and a Masters in Fine Art from Cornell University. Recent exhibitions have been at Ortega y Gasset Projects in Brooklyn, NY, at Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY, and at the Soil Factory, in Ithaca, NY. Her show at Ortega y Gasset Projects was listed as a Must See in Artforum. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Soil Factory, Anderson Ranch, and Arrowmont School of Craft. She is currently based in New York City.

JOIN US for an afternoon of spiritual reading, art collecting, and celebrating together!

What's the Future? 
OyG Projects Fundraiser and Art Raffle  
Sunday, October 25, 2-5pm

BUY TICKETS HERE

Your purchase of a ticket to the event gets you: 

• admission to the event and refreshments

• a raffle ticket to win 1 of 9 original artworks by an OyG Co-Director at the event (see list of artists below) 

• the opportunity to meet with a spiritual advisor at the event 

• a fabulous “Gourd Prize” for those who don’t win in the raffle

• a memorable, mystical experience with your OyG community

Non-attending guests can support OyG from afar by purchasing a "Non-attending / Proxy" ticket and receive a raffle ticket to win an original artwork by an OyG Co-Director:

Adam Liam Rose
Annamariah Knox
Clare Britt 
Eric Hibit
Lauren Whearty
Leeza Meksin
Nickola Pottinger 
Xingze Li
Zahar Vaks

At OyG Projects, we’ve been thinking a lot about the future of our organization:
How do we sustain in a changing financial landscape? 

OyG Projects is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. We are entirely artist-run. Our mission is to support under-represented, marginalized artists and emerging artists, provoke dialogue and bolster artistic community.

YOU are our community and we need your support to keep going! 

*** art for raffle ***

How the raffle works

Available artworks are on view during the event in a side gallery at OyG Projects. 

Upon ticket purchase, all ticket holders (both attending and non-attending) receive a ticket number (Click “view tickets” in the “Your Order” box on receipt to find ticket number; ticket number is visible above the QR code on the purchaser’s e-ticket). 

The ticket number is the ticket holder’s raffle number. 

All ticket sales close at 3pm on Sunday, October 25th. 

At the scheduled event on Sunday, October 25, at around 3:30pm, the live raffle begins. Numbers are drawn at random. Ticket holders choose from the available artworks in the order numbers are drawn. 

Non-attending ticket holders are assigned a proxy: a Co-Director present at the event who will choose on behalf of the ticket holder if their number is called in the raffle. Non-attending ticket holders may e-mail top three artwork choices to: 

erichibit@gmail.com

Subject line: Non-attending / Proxy 

Choice 1: artist name 

Choice 2: artist name 

Choice 3: artist name 

Every effort will be made to select artwork based on the top three choices. You may add more choices. However, we cannot guarantee an artwork selection. But we will try our hardest to match non-attendees with their top choices!

Non-attending ticket holders may opt NOT to pick top choices and enjoy the surprise! 

Distribution of artwork

Attending ticket holders that win art in the raffle leave the event with the artwork. All artworks are manageable and can be carried and/or transparent in a normal sized car. Light packing is provided. 

Non-attending ticket holders that win art in the raffle receive free packing and shipping, or hand-delivery within NYC. Later pick-up at OyG Projects is also available. Specific arrangements to be made after the event. 

Odds of winning 

Odds of winning an artwork by an OyG Co-Director depend on the total number of ticket sales. There are 40 maximum tickets available for in-person attendees. Non-attending tickets are unlimited. An example scenario: with 90 tickets total sold and 9 available artworks, each ticket holder has a 1 in 9 chance of winning an artwork. 

Gourd Prize 

The Gourd Prize is awarded to all ticket holders who don’t win an artwork in the raffle. Each dried gourd is hand-painted by Co-Director Eric Hibit in his signature dot style. Due to their natural differences in size and shape, each gourd is unique! 

Attending ticket holders leave with a gourd in hand. 

Non-attending ticket holders receive free packing and shipping, or hand delivery within NYC. Later pick-up at OyG Projects is also available. 

Support the Future of OyG Projects with a Monthly Gift

Dear OyG Community,

Like many artist-run spaces, OyG Projects is navigating a challenging financial year. Since COVID, we've worked tirelessly to keep our doors open — drawing down our emergency reserves and steadily repaying an SBA loan that helped sustain us during the most uncertain times. While we’ve been fortunate to receive support in the past from grant makers, including the NEA, those sources are increasingly unpredictable in today’s rapidly shifting funding landscape.

Because of these challenges, we are currently faced with a $25,000 deficit for 2026. We must raise these funds in order to complete this year's programming, and to begin planning for our near future.

We are asking you to help sustain it

The most impactful way you can contribute is by becoming a monthly donor with a recurring gift of $5, $10, $25 or more a month.

We hope you will help us meet a tangible short-term goal:
75 monthly donors by the end of Summer. 

We are reaching out at an important moment for OyG Projects to ask for your support. We did not receive a major recurring grant this year and are working to fill a significant gap in our budget as we work to sustain programming and grow to support artists.

Your donations help OyG Projects remain sustainable amid increasingly limited grant funding. Your consistent commitment and support help us develop effective budgets, and help to stabilize our finances in between grant periods.

If you choose to donate $10, $25, $50, $100 per month or more we will provide you with free applications to our annual solo show open call and our annual curatorial open call. We will also offer occasional discounts for future events.

We are so grateful for your support, and hope you will help us continue to provide the programming and opportunities that support artists and bring our community together.

OyG Projects is a 501c(3) nonprofit and your donation is tax deductible. Thank you for 13 years of OyGoodness!

OyG Projects 

Clare Britt
Eric Hibit
Annamariah Knox
Xingze Li
Leeza Meksin
Nickola Pottinger
Adam Liam Rose
Zahar Vaks
Lauren Whearty