September 4 - October 5, 2025

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 6, 4 - 6 pm

Artist Talk: Sunday, September 21, 4:40 pm

Closing Party: Sunday, October 5, 4 - 6 pm

440 Gallery is proud to present In Light of Everything, a solo exhibition of watercolors by Susan Greenstein. This collection encourages viewers to see another facet of Greenstein’s work. Deceptively simple compositions compel us to accept light and shadow as the subject, not as the supporting cast. With this approach, Greenstein has developed a new, yet familiar, voice. This is her eighth solo show at the gallery for Greenstein.

Greenstein finds herself captivated by how light shapes the way we see: it defines form, sets mood, and determines what is visible or hidden. Just as compelling are the shadows it leaves behind—shifting, collapsing, and reconfiguring the familiar into the unexpected. Light and shadow are the protagonists. Sharp lines may define a shadow, while a cast light may have a soft, caressing edge. Spaces within the painting become abstract, flattening into what is light and what is not. In each painting, Greenstein captures, as a camera might, a specific moment— light and shadow marking ephemeral time.

Shadows in Cádiz is an excellent example of this recontextualization. We first see a cactus in the corner, quietly sitting in its pot, below a decorative plate. But when we look between the plate and the cactus, the space’s ridged shape is defined by light, becoming its own object. The lacy shadow of the cactus delicately dominates the space, the new soloist of the watercolor. Caught in time, the two forms— traditionally seen as a background of a still life—become abstract, flattened, creating an almost cubist rendition of space.

Greenstein says, “Light is at the center of my work—both subject and storyteller. I’ve become interested in how light can be anything from the main character to dissolving into abstraction. Just as important, I am fascinated by the shadows cast in its wake—shadows that collapse and reconfigure familiar shapes into new compositions.”

Susan Greenstein is a graduate of Pratt Institute and Queens College and has attended programs at MassArt New England, Bennington College and Maine College of Art. Her work can be found in private collections across the U.S., and she has exhibited extensively in New York City, New Hampshire and the Delaware Art Museum. She is a member-artist of 440 Gallery and directs the Young Artist program at the gallery. As an art educator, she has influenced and mentored many young artists at the Brooklyn Friends School and Studio in a School. She currently teaches adults at The Art Annex, Winslow Art Center and Washburn Studios. Greenstein lives and works in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn.

In the Project Space:

“Nature-ish”: Jon Bunge, Axelle Destaing, Gail Flanery, David Stock

The Project Space show, Nature-ish, features four artists: Jon Bunge, Axelle Destaing, Gail Flanery, and David Stock. Each of these artists derives inspiration from the natural world, a subject that has galvanized our imagination for as long as we have been expressing ourselves. We are all connected to nature, but at this particular moment the relationship is fraught. These artists provide insights into the ongoing affinity we have with the earth.

Jon Bunge constructs sculptures from branches, which he configures into forms that, while undeniably natural, exist as distinctly different entities. His close attention to the form, texture, color, and organic properties of the twigs reflects the beauty and splendor of the natural world. The suspension of these beguiling objects creates complex shadows and movement. Bunge states, “…the motion is continuously changing, something like how the appearance of a tree changes on a windy day.”

Axelle Destaing’s painterly photography reveals the quiet, poetic presence of the natural world. Through soft, intimate, dreamlike compositions she invites viewers to slow down, awaken their senses, and reconnect to the earth. Motion plays an integral part in Destaing’s process, transforming the commonplace into the lyrical through the use of slow shutter speeds, camera movement, and multiple exposures. The resulting photographs offer a gentle pause from the noise of modern life.

Landscape is ever-present in Gail Flanery’s work. Although highly abstracted, these monoprints express her connection to the natural world: forms suggest branches, trees, and clouds. To create a real sense of place, Flanery uses the Chine-collé printing technique, and then adds details with pastels and additional media. She states, “my artwork is fed by nature.” The luminous colors call to mind the atmospherics of sunlight, confirming her rapport with the world around her.

David Stock has been photographing his Queens neighborhood for years, and is fascinated with nature’s resilience in dense urban environments. Where we erect structures, vines will clamber up; where we pave surfaces, plants will grow in the cracks. Stock contrasts this botanical determination with city residents’ use of artificial turf, plastic flowers, and imitation leaves that replace or simulate a direct experience with nature. His is a thoughtful inquiry into how we transform and imitate nature, prompting the viewer to reflect on our place in it.