UPCOMING EXHIBITION

The Rain Don’t Mind

April 3 – May 16, 2025
Opening April 3, 6–8 pm

EFA Studios
323 West 39th St., New York, NY, 3rd Floor
Hours: Tue–Fri, 12–5 pm

Shimon Attie
Richard Barnes
Rhona Bitner
Edgar Jerins
Greg Kwaitek
Nazanin Noorozi
Maria Rapicavoli

Curated by Deric Carner

The Rain Don’t Mind is a group exhibition exploring the complexity of violence and tragedy. It uses humor, glamour, and absurdity to approach heavy themes from unexpected angles. Featuring works by EFA Member Artists Shimon Attie, Richard Barnes (alumni), Rhona Bitner, Edgar Jerins, Greg Kwaitek, Nazanin Noorozi, and Maria Rapicavoli, the exhibition invites viewers to engage with narratives that resist simple interpretations, encouraging reflection on the ambiguity of life's darker moments. 

The participating artists explore tragedy as a complex, often chaotic phenomenon as they engage with themes of responsibility, the role of the observer, and how we attempt to make sense of the incomprehensible. Through their work, the artists reveal how creative practices can become spaces for reflection, reconciliation, and even transformation.

Inspired by Milli Vanilli’s 1989 hit song “Blame it on the Rain,” the exhibition suggests that there may be a satisfying answer to the question of blame. Negative icons such as the Unabomber, Hitler or the US’s exit from Kabul lurk in our cultural imagination as unhealed trauma. New traumas and tyrants make these themes ever more relevant. The artists' engagement with dark iconography of war, terrorism, abuse, and death seeks a way to acknowledge and transform imagery.

Contact:  Deric@efanyc.org

CURRENT EXHIBITION

The Reality Principle

March 8 - April 15, 2025
Open by Appointment
info@monirafoundation.org

Monira Foundation
888 Newark Ave. Ste 250
Jersey City, NY

Atif Akin
Fanny Allié
Keren Anavy
Allen Ball
Keren Benbenisty
Tyler Christopher Brown
m burgess
Mattia Casalegno
Annette Cords
Andreana Dobreva
Koray Duman, Ted Kerr, and Carlos Motta
Nazli Efe
Cui Fei
Jason File
Del Geist
Liselot van der Heijden
Erick Alejandro Hernández
Tamiko Kawata
Sarah Leahy
Patricia Leighton
Cy Morgan
Cynthia Reynolds
Yali Romagoza
Susan Silas

Curated by Deric Carner and Ysabel Pinyol Blasi   

EFA Studios and the Monira Foundation proudly present The Reality Principle, featuring EFA Studios and Monira Residency artists. The exhibition focuses on proposed, in progress, or otherwise unrealized work through models, mockups, and drafts. It is a show of dreams and experiments that tells the hidden stories of artists aspiring to make work that has been stymied by demands of reality or the approval of others. We celebrate these artists who continue to offer ambitious ideas and images to the world.

The reality principle is a Freudian concept that describes the ability to assess reality and act accordingly instead of acting solely on the pleasure principle. Artists are tasked with dreaming of new, until-then-impossible realities and are often indulged in pursuing pleasure and grand ambitions. However, they must work within the constraints of funding bodies, publics, and material realities. Rejection and setbacks can feel arbitrary and prejudicial. And yet many artists face this pain over and over again to see their visions through.

Monira Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution, functions as a radical experimental laboratory, working in close collaboration with artists, curators, musicians, dancers, producers, and writers to conceive, realize, and present innovative projects in all media. Its aim is to spark, intensify, and promote an evolving cultural and social dialogue between creators, audiences, and institutions. Focusing on the unique potential of interdisciplinary work in a context distinct from the distracting pressures of academia and the market, Monira Foundation advances the practices and products of today’s foremost artists, amplifying their contributions to communities both local and distant. 

Contact: Deric@efanyc.org

PAST EXHIBITIONS