Subconscious Surfaced is on view at Moderne Gallery, Philadelphia
May 1 – August 29, 2026
Moderne Gallery presents Subconscious Surfaced, a group exhibition featuring works from the 1960s through the early 2000s. The exhibition explores a shared thread of surreal, otherworldly sculptural form across a range of expressions, techniques, and contexts.
A number of works in the exhibition derive from the esteemed collection of Marc and Diane Grainer, renowned patrons, collectors, and champions of the arts, who assembled a singular collection over the course of more than forty-five years. We are proud to present these works and to serve as stewards as they find their way into new collections.
On view are works featuring figures, narratives, and compositions drawn from deep within the subconscious, emerging from a realm beyond the threshold of immediate awareness.
Through incongruous forms and psychologically charged imagery, the artists give material presence to subconscious visions, bringing into view what ordinarily remains beyond immediate perception. Situated between the imagined and the tangible, these works offer insight into psychological dimensions that exceed the limits of ordinary experience.
Featured artists: Ralph Bacerra, Mark Burns, Nancy Carman, Michele Oka Doner, Jack Earl, Sergei Isupov, Michael Lucero, Louis Marak, Beverly Mayeri, Norma Minkowitz, Sunkoo Yuh
What has always drawn us to these works is their ability to give form to something not easily described. They operate in a space between the seen and the sensed, where memory, intuition, humor, tension, and psychological charge begin to surface. Whether through figuration, distortion, modulation, or narrative, the artists featured in Subconscious Surfaced make visible something that remains just beyond language. That quality feels central to the spirit of this exhibition – the sense that the subconscious is not separate from everyday life but rather constantly pressing into it.
An especially meaningful aspect of this exhibition is how strongly it connects to Philadelphia. This city has historically played an important role in shaping serious conversations around craft, clay, and sculptural practice. The influence of its galleries and institutions is deeply felt in that history, specifically in this context the work of The Clay Studio, which has provided an essential platform for artists and helped sustain a community around ceramics for decades. Philadelphia is a place where artists, collectors, galleries, and institutions have come together in significant and lasting ways, and this exhibition is very much part of this larger story.
A number of the works featured in Subconscious Surfaced come from the collection of Marc and Diane Grainer, whose commitment to artists and to the broader community around this work deserves real recognition. Over the course of more than forty-five years, they built a collection with depth, character, and conviction. Just as important, they helped support an ecosystem of artists, galleries, institutions, and the continued visibility of this material. Their collecting methodology is engaged and sustaining, and its impact continues to be felt.
We are especially grateful to Leslie Ferrin for her help in working with the Grainers and in bringing this group of works forward. Her collaboration, generosity, and trust have meant a great deal throughout this process.
At Moderne Gallery, we think often about stewardship and continuity. Part of our role is to honor the histories these works carry while helping place them into new contexts and new collections. It is our hope that this exhibition speaks not only to the strength of the work itself, but also to a next generation of collectors who understand that collecting goes beyond the object.
It is a privilege to present these works in Philadelphia, where so much of this history continues to resonate, and to take part in the next chapter of that story.
Contact
info@modernegallery.com
Moderne Gallery
1705 N American St. STE 3
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States
Photos by Christian Giannelli
Captions
- Beverly Mayeri, Buttoned Up, 2003, low fired clay, acrylic, 13 x 8 x 18 in. Purchased from Franklin Parrasch Gallery, 2004. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Jack Earl, I Knew A Guy, 2003, ceramic, China paint, 11 x 12 x 30.5 in. Purchased at Perimeter Gallery Inc, Chicago, IL, 2004. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Louis Marak, Teapot, 1994, ceramic, 15 x 5 x 14 in. Purchased from John Natsoulas Gallery, David, CA, 2010. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Mark Burns, Little Absalom Teapot, 1998, stoneware, earthenware, glaze, China paint, 12 x 9 x 14 in. Purchased at Helen Drutt, Philadelphia, PA, 1998. Made in the artist’s studio, Las Vegas, Nevada. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Michael Lucero, Face Jug, 1990, ceramic, glaze, 8 x 10 x 11 in. Purchased from Donna Schneier Fine Art, NY, 2000. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Michele Oka Doner, Tattooed Doll, c. 1960s, porcelain with iron oxide, stoneware, 8 x 11 x 13 in. Private Collection.
- Nancy Carman, Don’t Look, 1999, white earthenware, underglaze, clear glaze, 18.75 x 8.75 x 15 in. Purchased at Helen Drutt, Philadelphia, PA, 1999. Made in the artist’s studio, Philadelphia, PA. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Nancy Carman, Untitled, 1982, glazed earthenware, 18 x 13.5 x 6.75 in. Private Collection.
- Norma Minkowitz, Come Closer, 1998, fiber, 22 x 18 x 36 in. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Ralph Bacerra, Head Vessel, 1993, earthenware, glaze, 20 x 8 x 35 in. Purchased at Donna Schneier Fine Art, 1999, from Garth Clark Gallery, from the collection of Peter Joseph. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Sergei Isupov, Limits, 1999, porcelain, glaze, stain, 15 x 6 x 6 in. Purchased from SOFA NY, 1999. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Sergei Isupov, Swimmer Teapot, 1996, porcelain, glaze, stain, 13 x 11 x 10 in. Purchased from Dorothy Weiss Gallery, 1997. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Sunkoo Yuh, Alfred Fertility Chicken, 1997, stoneware, glaze, 19 x 11 x 26 in. Purchased from Helen Drutt, Philadelphia, PA, 1997. Made in the artist’s studio, Alfred, NY. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
- Sunkoo Yuh, Con Man’s World, 1993, stoneware, glaze, 23 x 18 x 32 in. Purchased from Helen Drutt, Philadelphia, PA, 1999. Made in the artist’s studio, Long Beach, California. The Marc & Diane Grainer Collection.
