“For me, shoes have always held power and memory,” says Ulster County-based artist Mark Hogancamp. “People see high heels and think of style or gender or desire. For me, they help me understand others, and myself.”
Hogancamp is known globally as the creator of Marwencol, the internationally celebrated project that transformed trauma into art in the form of a miniature, WW II-era Belgian village with characters and an evolving story line. The artist and his creations have been the subject of a documentary and Hollywood feature film.
This fall, Hogancamp wanders into new artistic territory with the exhibition “In Someone’s Shoes.” Opening November 14 at O+ Exchange on Wall Street, the show turns its focus toward one of Hogancamp’s lifelong fascinations: shoes—especially high heels—as symbols of transformation, identity, and understanding. Curated in collaboration with One Mile Gallery (which represents the artist), “In Someone’s Shoes” brings together a series of photographs and personal artifacts that reveal Hogancamp’s ability to find humanity and beauty in unexpected places.
That statement resonates throughout the exhibition. In Hogancamp’s photographs, shoes—whether they’re glittering stilettos, worn combat boots, or scuffed pumps—become extensions of character, stand-ins for stories both lived and imagined. Each image feels cinematic and deeply personal, capturing not just the physical object but the emotional terrain it represents. The result is a meditation on resilience: on how identity can be both fragile and fierce, constructed and self-evident.
The exhibit also includes a special installation drawn from Hogancamp’s own collection of shoes and figurines—objects that have long appeared in his work and in his miniature world of Marwencol, where he first rebuilt his life after surviving a brutal attack in 2000. This personal display offers a rare, intimate look at the materials that have shaped his creative process over decades.
Proceeds from open-edition signed prints will benefit both the artist and healthcare access for artists through the O+ Exchange, the organization’s barter model connecting artists and healthcare providers.
The exhibition will close on December 13 with a special screening of Marwencol, Jeff Malmberg’s award-winning 2010 documentary that chronicles Hogancamp’s journey from trauma to artistic rebirth. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Hogancamp and One Mile director Janet Hicks.
“In Someone’s Shoes” runs November 14 through December 13 at O+ Exchange, 334 Wall Street, Kingston. The opening reception takes place November 14, 6-8pm. The film screening and Q&A will be held Saturday, December 13, 5-7pm. Gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday, 12-6pm, or by appointment.
