NEW YORK, NY.- Mindscape is a Pattern articulates the impulse (instinct) to pattern and explores the general influence of quilt-making traditions in the contemporary painting of six artists: Caetlynn Booth, Christopher Dunlap, Debbi Kenote, Bonnie Morano, Evan Peltzman, and Kevin Umaña.

The folk-art tradition of the American quilt, composed of textiles with their own patterns and origins, has historically been categorized as a woman's art/craft form in both individual and collective contexts. Because of the ubiquitous nature of this tradition and the quantity of tremendously talented homemakers over time, quilts have touched countless lives, becoming a source for not only warmth, safety, and intimacy but also the ignition point to creativity for so many visual artists.



In putting this show together, Booth’s aim is to assemble in one space the paintings of artists whose work she has been following and with whom she shares a deep affinity in terms of how pattern is used to understand the world and to advance ideas. In the practice of these artists, one can see their minds at work, solving conceptual puzzles that not only create patterns, but set up frameworks in which pattern has a sequence, a progression, changes course, and resolves by way of wit and risk, or with a systematic approach, modular extrapolation, playfulness or humor, all tapping into the deep humanity represented in pattern-making.

As the show came together, other formal threads developed, highlighting the curatorial impulse of pulling together another type of “quilting” rhythm in matching and contrasting elements between the varied works. Anyone can enjoy and appreciate the language of pattern, yet pattern-makers will feel it aching deeply in their body, a type of knowledge only possessed by physically enacting these patterns.



Kevin Umaña, known mostly for his abstract geometric paintings, recently expanded his practice to include ceramics while investigating the history of the Pipil people, the indigenous group of El Salvador which his family derives from. Umaña’s work creates an equilibrium between the capacity as a creator and the energy of the surrounding world, and these new explorations have marked a major turning point in his life and art to uncover a hidden science within the artwork that reflects a spirituality all his own.

Debbi Kenote's work begins with handcrafted stretchers, transforming the conventional rectangular canvas into complex forms. Her designs draw from the geometry of quilts, the patterns of weaving, and the structure of Bauhaus architecture, while her palette captures shades observed in the natural world. Bonnie Morano's work makes use of symmetry, doubling, inversion, and reflection, all revolving around the central spine of the painting to form a connection between joy and devotion, real and imagined space, and most of all, the physical and the spiritual nature of painting.



Evan Peltzman's work possesses a particular force, largely informed by his personal experience with cerebral palsy and how this has shaped his understanding of selfhood. Peltzman’s work makes use of a type of indexical language to speak to themes of frustration, confusion, adaptation, and grit, while communicating a sense of reassurance despite the obstacles.

Christopher Dunlap's work invites viewers to enter the spatial relationships established in the patterns he creates to become more conscious of how they see. He is interested in the space where perception and sensation meet, allowing meaning to emerge through the viewer’s experience.

Caetlynn Booth's work is informed by foundational experiences with quilt-making in her youth, providing a subtext to her overarching practice of exploring the spiritual qualities of intermingling observation with internal visions through time, across tonal variations, color, light, form, sequence, pattern and reflection, to distill symbolic essences that speak to feelings of interconnectedness with the worlds she inhabits.

Founded in 2011, Project: ARTspace is an interdisciplinary creative project space. Our organization programs events and exhibition where curators and artists of all levels have the chance to meet, engage and promote new collaborative projects.

Mindscape is a Pattern is on view at Project: ARTspace, June 26 – September 19, 2025