Empathy's Alchemy

Ethan Greenbaum

Mónica Palma

Newton Pottinger

Kemar Wynter

Sun You

Ortega y Gasset Projects (OyG) is proud to present Empathy's Alchemy a group exhibition in the Main Gallery exploring the symbiotic relationship between empathy and alchemy.

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 it when I don't necessarily know everything about it. 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 some of the things you decide to let in. When you say yes. When you are open.

When I reflect on the process of putting this show together, and consider how it pulls from so many experiences and influences, I can only summarize it by saying: 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: with 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.

Together these artists suggest that empathy is not a singular condition. It can be attached to a story, a memory, a gesture, a material, an observation, a touch, a ritual, or a process. Sometimes it speaks clearly. Other times it remains non-verbal and yet undeniably present.

Empathy's Alchemy is an invitation into that space. The space between feeling and understanding, intuition and specificity, the fragmented and the whole. A space where connection is not simply represented, but embedded within the work itself.