Main Space

Empathy's Alchemy
Curated by Zahar Vaks
November 7 - December 20, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 24th | 6:00 - 8:00pm

Ortega y Gasset Projects (OyG) is proud to present  Empathy's Alchemy, a show exploring the symbiotic relationship between empathy and alchemy within the works of Ethan Greenbaum, Mónica, Newton Pottinger, Kemar Wynter, and Sun You . The opening reception will take place on Saturday, November, 7th , 2026 from 6-8pm, and run through December 20th, 2026.

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 what I don't necessarily understand. 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 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, 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.

Sun You's work embodies multiple levels of fluency in conversation. Intuition and the playfulness present in her work are paired with a honed specificity that has slowly been marinating in her practice. Thinking back to my first curatorial endeavor with Sun at OYG nearly ten years ago, I remember writing, "There is a spontaneity present in how these are composed. Over time the playful spontaneous gestures accumulate to a kind of instinctive knowing. The compositions offer a meaningful relationship  between the fragmented and the whole." Looking at the work now, that observation still feels true. The fragmented and the whole remain in  dialogue. What first appears spontaneous gradually reveals itself as a form of accumulated knowledge. 

Ethan Greenbaum's practice is vast, diverse, and synthesized. At times one may see concrete, stone work,  or outdoor signage. These are some examples of recognizable textures, symbols, signs, and scenes that  provide an entry point into the work, but they never become fixed. Instead, they remain fluid and transforming, continually shifting between what can be named and what remains elusive. This can be visible through  familiar and yet refreshing passages of color  or in the cuts that interrupt the surface. This is a space where a photo can be sculpture, the outside is brought in, and  the ground is transferred onto a wall. There is an alchemy at work in this exchange. The recognizable and the formless exist in conversation with one another, creating a symbiosis between clarity and mystery.  What resonates with me is the generosity of that openness. The work does not ask us to arrive at a singular understanding. Instead, it invites us into a space where recognition and uncertainty coexist. We recognize something, lose it, and then find it again differently. 

Greenbaum's  and You’s work reminds us that empathy is not always connected to a specific story or narrative. Sometimes it exists as a non-verbal and yet undeniably present experience. It moves through texture, atmosphere, association, and intuition.

Kemar Keanu Wynter offers a multisensory mode of sharing. There are vast subtle tonal shifts that make surfaces feel as though they are breathing. Within that subtlety emerge moments of bold, rich, saturated color. Kemar then offers his poetic titles and beautiful depictions of process. I am reminded of Roland Barthes' essay The Two Sources of Painting-Writing, where he imagines painting emerging from both the tracing of signs and the transformation of substance itself. Reading Barthes, I find myself thinking about Kemar's work. There is the language surrounding the work and there is the material narrative of the work itself. Surfaces breathe. Color accumulates. Tonal shifts expand and contract. The paintings ask us not only to look but also to feel. Empathy arrives through language and sensation simultaneously.

Mónica Palma's alchemical empathy is palpable. This feels true across the many modes of thinking and making she engages in. From her use of selected materials to the gestures and actions that activate them, there is what feels like a touch of kindness present throughout the work.

This is just as true in her impromptu performances and documentations on the street, activating a gallery space, or on a train. Selected materials are often naturally formed or found. They arrive carrying their own histories and significance, charged with transformative potential energy. Touch, voice, gesture, and ritual all play a role in creating moments of connection. 

Newton Pottinger's empathy is channeled through keen observation. This is an artist who uses the act of drawing to document and observe with love.I must be fully transparent that Newton is my wife's father and that I have been living with his work for years. He has memorialized our dogs and cats that passed away, captured our family at different points in their lives, and most recently has been making touching portraits of our daughter. Beyond capturing a likeness, the drawings are an actualization of love and connection. There is something beautiful about the amount of attention required to truly see a person, an animal, or a moment. That attention is palpable in Newton's work.

The drawings feel like an extension of a life spent looking closely. They are records of observation, but they are also records of affection. They remind me that drawing can be an act of care. That seeing can be an act of love. Newton's work speaks to a form of empathy rooted in sustained attention. Some of the strongest forms of empathy come from simply being present long enough to truly see someone.