With the summer season afoot, New York is poised to celebrate another round of Upstate Art Weekend (UAW). Founded in 2020 by Helen Toomer, UAW has mushroomed into the annual all-you-can-see art extravaganza of the year in the sprawling lands north of Manhattan. With a focus on regional arts organizations, galleries, museums and artists, UAW offers a coordinated vision of the abundant art ecosystem in the greater Hudson Valley. UAW 2026 will take place from Thursday, June 25 to Monday, June 29 (in past years UAW tended toward later July).
This year, Toomer has orchestrated a group exhibition—her inaugural curatorial project for UAW—that reflects the vibrant ethos of the UAW culture. On view at the UAW Headquarters in Kingston through June 29, “Earthen Plot” includes 37 artists chosen from the 200 artist participants included in the recent UAW Open Studios (May 16-17). In a cheery email correspondence, Toomer describes the exhibition as a chance “to create a gathering point” that furthers the spirit of UAW “while giving visitors another way to engage with the creative energy of the region,” she writes.
The fun-loving ambiance of “Earthen Plot” celebrates the artists “whose practices are rooted—physically, spiritually, or intuitively—in the conditions of place” as indicated in the cute square postcard for the show. Featuring paintings, photography, sculpture, installation and mixed media works, the exhibition is anchored by Manju Shandler’s Tiger Woods (2025), an oversized turtle made of bright vintage fabrics with a dignified spirit-animal persona while standing tall in the middle of the room (special shout-out to my talented Bennington College classmate). Three charming ceramic works by Kathy Ruttenberg embody her continued exploration of allegorical narratives, including I Feel Seen (2022), a woman in a white dress contained on her small earthen plot (if you will) and Heart of the Matter (2018), a woman leaning back against a leafless tress and looking up at a friendly owl in a moment of shared kindness. Ashley Lyon’s ceramic Pink Leg (2016) is a humorous vision of an isolated naked leg that wears a flat shoe in a yoga-pose-fallen-down posture that warrants a giggle.
Moving around the room, the conversation becomes ever more playful. Three collages on stoneware by Alison Owen are slightly surrealist in their magic, and Mended Venus (2025) is a charming mini image of this gorgeous goddess. Amelia Toelke’s Eyes Wide Open (2021) features two gold-leaf hands against a pink background in a ceremonial-like moment, while Amy Talluto’s Balancing Star Child (2024) is a sweet vision of a two-headed and four-armed figure on a seesaw against an energized purple backdrop. Andrea Loefke’s Homecoming (2017) is three tree stumps topped with classic Dutch blue-and-white design motifs, an amusing twist on a recognizable European style. Khaki Slacks (2025) by Ann B. Murphy is a wonderfully bizarre scene done in mixed media featuring a brave American eagle flying above two funky dudes (there is so much more to say about this work), and Catrin Perih’s Some Enchanted Evening (2023) continues the provocative peculiar-ness in a watercolor image of two figures inside an iconic Airstream trailer environment.
Like any fantastical group show, there is so much to experience, and the fiesta endures with Christine Domanic’s In The Wake of Convenience (2026), a giant wool wall sculpture resembling a thriving coral reef that nourishes the eyes to come upon it. Untitled (Dragon Tapestry) (2024) by Gossamer Rozen is a retro-looking cashmere and wool dragon in sunglasses, while Jon Beer’s Bunker No 1 (2026) is silliness in a box and reminiscent of Joseph Cornell’s contained worlds.
Loenor Mendoza’s Yo Soy El Control (2016) are dual-colored mirrors that reflect her directive: “I am the control,” indeed a fitting notion to endure tough times. Two colorful threaded works by Melissa Dadourian catch us in their raw beauty, and Red Stripe (2026) appears like a cross between upcycled fashion and sculpture. Beneath the Garden (2026) by Nicole Helen Brunner is one of several joyful blooming collage-like compositions, while Steven Weinberg’s Hunting Moonrose (2025) takes us deep into a wooded forest on a winter midnight. Driving Black (2025) by ransome features two stylish characters clad in oversized sunglasses on the road.
Among the most compelling pieces in the show are figurative paintings by Yoonmi Lee, including Gaze (2026), featuring a woman on her knees from behind with a giant eyeball for a head. Two smaller acrylic and gouache paintings by Zejian Shen titled Shelf 1 & 2 (2025) are vivid still-life’s with a contemporary edge, one of which features the archetypal hand of the Statue of Liberty as a candle holder, a poignant reminder to hold the light high amid dark times.
With Toomer’s continued devotion and direction, we anticipate another dynamic long weekend of art revelry in the region as folks plot their own earthen path through the abundant Hudson Valley for UAW 2026. As spoken by Toomer, the fearless founder: “UAW really reflects the region as it is—vast, rooted, collaborative, and committed.”
