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Ann Clarke: Under the Canopy

Textile artist Ann Clarke frequently describes herself as “the kid who took a walk alone.” Solitary labor and contemplation are essential building blocks for her work, which ranges from intricately woven landscapes to impossibly detailed anatomical tufted wall hangings. For Clarke, the importance of solitude is held in tension with her role as an educator and community builder. The techniques underpinning her work have been passed from one maker to another in workshops, sewing circles, and from parent to child, weaving a literal social net.

Clarke’s body of work presented in Under the Canopy was shaped by her mother’s physical and mental decline in the years before her passing. A ghostly knit of her mother’s hand evokes the intimacy that comes with sharing skill and labor. Images of nature exist alongside others that draw on the material culture of domestic environments like flower arrangements, vases, and empty chairs. Grouped together, the works in Under the Canopy create space for both artist and viewer to contemplate human relationships, mortality, and shared labor.

About the Artist: 

Ann Clarke, originally from Rochester, NY, is a celebrated fiber artist who received an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design. She holds a BFA in painting and printmaking from the University of Michigan. Clarke has exhibited throughout her academic career having taught at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, she joined SU as a faculty member in Fiber Arts/Material Studies. In 2008, she was named the Dean of Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, and returned to faculty in 2016, retiring in 2024 to be a full-time artist. Clarke’s newest series, Interior Landscapes, includes large-scale rugs installed on walls for museum visitors to contemplate. Dreamlike images of trees challenge us to consider the vulnerability of our wooded landscapes. Oversized, empty chairs remind us of the consequences of loss—of both people and the environment in which we make our homes.

Nanni Valentini: Interspaces

Over the half-century span of its Ceramic National exhibitions, the Everson launched the career of countless American ceramists. In 1942 and 1958, the scope of the Ceramic Nationals became international, showcasing talents from both the Western hemisphere and Europe. On the advice of Italian artist Lucio Fontana, a brilliant ceramist in his own right, the 1958 Ceramic International introduced Nanni Valentini to the world. Valentini received a coveted purchase prize, and his work was exhibited on that year’s circuit, which included the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Detroit Institute of Arts.

By the time he exhibited at the Ceramic International, Valentini’s work had begun to move away from strict functionality. Although his studies were rooted in pottery traditions at the Istituto d’Arte per la Ceramica in Faenza, Valentini saw himself as a fine artist rather than craftsman. In the 1960s, he began creating conceptual wall-based ceramics that drew from exciting developments in Italian painting. By the 1970s, he produced a groundbreaking series of works called Trasparenza (Transparency), which further broke down the barriers between painting and sculptural object. Before his untimely death in 1985, Valentini established that ceramics were an inextricable part of the fine art canon.

In collaboration with the Nanni Valentini Archive, Fondazione Museo della Ceramica di Savona, and ABC-ARTE, Interspaces re-introduces Valentini’s groundbreaking work to American audiences.

Amy Lincoln: Fractured Light

New York-based artist Amy Lincoln (b. 1981) paints dreamy, atmospheric landscapes and seascapes recalling her childhood under the overcast skies of the Pacific Northwest. At once tranquil and vibrant, otherworldly and familiar, Lincoln’s imagined scenes of radiant suns, calm seas, and vivid foliage present a stylized version of the natural world in every color of the rainbow. An exploration of the phenomena of light reflection and refraction, Fractured Light is Lincoln’s first solo museum exhibition.

Lincoln begins most paintings with three colors that she mixes with varying amounts of white to establish a color system unique to each work. She meticulously builds up layers of paint, creating surfaces that appear to glow from within. Through gradual tonal transitions, geometric precision, and the use of symmetry, Lincoln’s paintings capture the feeling of light moving across a landscape. In a world saturated with rapidly changing high-definition images, Lincoln’s work offers us an alternative that encourages close looking and deep engagement with color, light, and form.

About the Artist: 

Born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1981, New York-based artist Amy Lincoln paints dream-like scenes of imagined landscapes, atmospheric activity and vibrant, fantastical foliage. Recalling her upbringing in Oregon, where beach visits under overcast skies were frequent, Lincoln’s paintings explore the phenomena of light reflection and refraction. She completed her MFA at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art in 2006 and her BA at University of California, Davis in 2003. Lincoln’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Sperone Westwater (2024; 2023; 2021), Taymour Grahne Projects, London (2022), Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York (2018; 2016) and Monya Rowe Gallery, Saint Augustine, FL (2016), among others. Her work has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions including Johansson Projects, Oakland, CA (2024), Columbus Museum of Art, OH (2023), The Hole, New York (2022), Sargent’s Daughters, New York (2018), and Regina Rex, New York (2017), as well as internationally at Galerie Valerie Bach, Brussels, Belgium (2020) and Taymour Grahne Projects, London (2022; 2021). Lincoln has been awarded residencies at the Wave Hill Winter Workspace program, the Inside Out Art Museum Residency in Beijing, and a Swing Space residency from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Columbus Museum of Art and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.

Pride Ethos: A Living Exhibit

On June 10 and 11 2026, the Everson Museum of Art becomes the stage for Pride Ethos: A Living Exhibit - an immersive two-night takeover of queer performance art, set throughout the museum’s striking architecture and surrounded by its celebrated collection of American art.Wander the galleries. Sip drinks in the sculpture court with enjoying music curated by our DJ. Witness bold expressions of pride through drag, burlesque, theater, and dance. With a different cast each night, this is more than a show, it's an experience.Brought to you by Breadcrumbs Productions, Jo March, and Come Out Central New York in collaboration with the Everson Museum of Art.This project is made possible with funds from the Tier Three Project Support program, a regrant program of the County of Onondaga with the support of the County Executive and administered by CNY Arts.

Everson Summer Arts Camp (Week 1, Ages 5-7)

Ages 5-7
9 am - 12 pm Daily (Drop-off between 8:45 – 9 am, pick-up between 12 – 12:15 pm)

In this half-day program, campers will explore several media with learning through literacy at the core of the program. Campers will engage with painting, collage, sculpture, and storytelling in this week’s session, designed specifically for children in the 5-7 age range. We’ll incorporate Social-Emotional Learning through artmaking, activities, and games to inspire creativity and celebrate the joy of making.

This half-day camp is well-suited for students eager to try new mediums, learn fresh skills, and complete engaging projects within short, manageable time frames.

Everson Summer Arts Camp (Week 3, Ages 5-7)

9 am – 12 pm Daily | (Drop-off between 8:45 – 9 am, pick-up between 12 – 12:15 pm)

In this half-day program, campers will explore several media with learning through literacy at the core of the program. Each day we’ll begin with a book with an artistic focus which will inspire the days’ themes. Campers will engage with painting, collage, sculpture, and storytelling, in this week’s session designed specifically for children in the 5-7 age range. We’ll incorporate Social-Emotional Learning through artmaking, activities, and games to inspire creativity and celebrate the joy of making.

This half-day camp is well-suited for students eager to try new mediums, learn fresh skills, and complete engaging projects within short, manageable time frames.