on view
GALLERY ONE
rob tarbell:
interruptions
OCTOBER 3 – 28, 2026
Opening Reception,
OCTOBER 3, 6-8PM
Drawing on the ephemeral and fragile properties of smoke and mirroring and the purity, fragility, and apparent permanence of porcelain, the work exposes false narratives, conflicted virtues, and fractured identities as they are broadcast, displayed, and distorted. Using transience and tension as both visual and material metaphors, figures formed with smoke hover between presence and evasion across pristine porcelain and mirrored, color-shifting grounds.
Artwork pictured:
Acceptance Draws the Curtains While Revelation Recites the Family Name
smoke verse on linen, vinyl, copper, wood
60" × 40"
GALLERY two
Small artworks can have a significant impact.
In art, scale is as fundamental as material, color, line, shape, and context. From ancient sculpture and intimate devotional objects to contemporary painting, photography, and mixed media, artists have long used scale to shape how we experience an artwork and to communicate ideas about intimacy, importance, power, and perception. A work doesn’t have to be monumental to demand our attention.
Continuing this tradition—and with a little humor—502 Gallery is pleased to present the fifth installment of its popular annual invitational exhibition, Shopliftable, a celebration of small-scale works by 20 artists. Each artwork is modest in size but full of possibility, inviting viewers to look closely and discover how much an artist can say within a limited physical space.
With works small enough to steal—but hopefully not—Shopliftable brings together a diverse selection of paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture, and mixed-media works that demonstrate that artistic impact is not determined by physical scale. Sometimes, the smallest works make the biggest impression.
SHOPLIFTABLE
pt. 5
October 3–31, 2026
Opening Reception,
October 3, 5-8 PM