Each season harbors a cherished secret, and the annual display of cherry blossoms are reminiscent of a sentimental phraseology from the study of Japanese aesthetics: mono no aware, or the pathos of beauty. As the quixotic odors and elegant aura of springtime flora transport our collective soul into elated realms, this sensual mood naturally carries over into art.
A trio of artists on exhibition at Maiden Lane Gallery in Kingston explore transitory affections through a series of dreamy photographs and mixed media works on paper. Curated by Matt Moment, the two thoughtful shows—featuring three regional artists—occupy two floors of a handsome brick building on Maiden Lane that now serves as an outpost for Headstone Gallery. Run by Lauren Aitken and Chase Folsom, Headstone is a fan favorite with a dynamic program of yearly exhibitions (plus they offer pottery classes in their adjacent community ceramics studio), and this is their first collaboration with Moment as a guest curator.
Ahead of seeing the shows, I chatted with Moment outside on the street amid a cheerful crowd on a splendid afternoon during the opening on May 16. He spoke lovingly about his vision for this curatorial project, and we chuckled at our mutual obsession with art and our pursuit to understand the inner workings of this industry (one that “eludes me” he commented, the same one that I deem a land of “smoke and mirrors” said with flippant adoration). It was a charmed conversation that set the tone for a careful encounter with the shows.
On the first floor, the two-person exhibition “The Rip in Her Sleeve” features pigment print photographs by Alicia Schirrmeister and Ruth Lauer Manenti. As a devotee of the emotional complexities of art (the “pathos of beauty” as a modus operandi for imaginative living) and the existential tendencies in art (anything that re-affirms the intensity of human existence), the ambience of this show is pure poesy.
Schirrmeister’s My Mother’s Wedding Dress (2025) and My Mother’s Wedding Dress (Detail) (2025) are an homage to the creamy frock, with the artist appearing both tentative and nostalgic dressed within it (the former), while a close-up of the layered fabric discloses a private memory (the later). Another photo duet titled Vine (2022) whisks me away to a chapter of Romantic literature by way of these black and white images of thick writhing branches that duel among themselves. With Manenti, a sense of isolated poignancy continues in works such as Blanket (2026) and the image of a lone white fabric hung on a wall, leaving us to wonder. Clouds (2024) is a hazy dreamlike scene of two windows from across a room, while Long Beach (2025) is a classic vision of rolling salty waves against a timeless sky.
Upstairs, the solo show “Drawings” includes ethereal drawings and metalpoint works by Iliana Arocho that extol the voluptuous drama of organic flora. Works such as Daylilies (2025) and Iris and Iris (2026) are a luscious combination of hyper-realist meets quasi-surrealist, while her fleshy-looking graphite drawing Gut (2022) is erotically expressionistic. The series Dying Tulip (I–V) (2026) heighten the feeling of mono no aware as we appreciate the fading elegance of these five beautiful beings.
Spring is always a tease, a season with so many enraptured mysteries. In tandem with the season, these three artists share their enchanting secrets through artworks that entice and elude. With graceful aesthetic visions by Schirrmeister, Manenti, and Arocho, we are given time to pause and ponder the poetic fleetingness of it all.
