March 19 - April 19, 2026

Opening Reception: March 21, 5:00 - 7:00 PM

Unpresidented is a series of abstract portraits exploring the enduring struggles of the American presidency through the nation’s early leaders. Spanning from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln, the works reflect on political conflicts — states’ rights, federal power, expansion, and, a malignant tumor that has never healed — slavery.

Inspired by contemporary political unrest and the frequent use of the word “unprecedented,” the exhibition looks to history for context. Rather than literal likenesses, the portraits are abstracted to reveal shared pressures, contradictions, and the physical and psychological toll of leadership.

Roi says, "My passion for pattern has always been integral to my work. In the presentation of these portraits I took full advantage of the pomp and ceremony of the office by creating highly ornamental frames not only underscoring the tension between presidential symbolism and the realities of governing but also satisfying my own need for pattern in the service of the narrative.”

Robin Roi earned a BFA in printmaking from University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and an MFA from Claremont University in California. In 1974, she was awarded a three year Artist In Residency at the North Carolina Arts Council. In NYC, Roi held staff positions at The Drawing Center, The Heller Gallery and The American Crafts Museum. In 1983, she joined the staff of Evergreene Architectural Arts and was later appointed Director of Decorative Painting, a position she held for over 30 years. Robin exhibits widely throughout the U.S. and her work has been represented by Barbara Gladstone Gallery, NYC and Bruno Bischofberger, Zurich. She has been exhibiting with the 440 Gallery since 2020.

“Where I Have Been”: Greenstein, Martin, Plenefisch

The Project Space features work by Susan Greenstein, Juliet Martin, and Sohn Plenefisch. The title “Where I Have Been” indicates these pieces are the result of a journey, or perhaps a pilgrimage. The travel might involve traversing a great distance, an exploration of an interior world, or a lament for a loss that is irretrievable. Viewers are invited to experience the visualization of various kinds of passages.

In the fall of 2025, Susan Greenstein traveled to Morocco. The saturated color of her surroundings galvanized her creativity: the intricate patterns of mosaics, the light in the interiors of the places she visited, the riads where she stayed. Greenstein’s work was profoundly affected by this new environment. She states, “I was especially captivated by the effortless way these patterns intertwined, allowing a visual rhythm to flow through the spaces I chose to paint, guiding both my eye and my hand.” These watercolors are the rich result of where she had been.

For more than thirty years, Juliet Martin has explored the landscape of bipolar disorder. In this current multimedia work, she inverts the traditional relationship between therapist and patient, becoming the doctor for her ChatGPT patient. She asks why ChatGPT looks so sad, which generates sorrow and self-reflection in the AI-generated text. The text, along with fiber weavings and imagery of rabbits and insects—which serve as stand-ins for depression and mania—produce a physical manifestation of the emotional terrain Martin has traversed.

Sohn Plenefisch is showing a mixed-media diptych titled “Birds of North America.” The black voids in the surface of this work are set against a painted sky that appears vast and stormy. The edges of these wound-like holes are rough and surrounded by red-orange pigment. The faceted beads suggest tears of mourning. Each void is accompanied by the name of an extinct bird, creating a powerful expression of the violence and loss perpetrated on these avian species.