Halloween isn’t the only thing bringing a chill to the air right now — but we put aside our fears and turn to the abundance of art. There’s much to see in Upstate New York this October: Echoes in Two Tongues at Convey/Er/Or Gallery in Poughkeepsie, for instance, presents the work of five artists celebrating their Latin-American roots. Catskill Art Space in Livingston Manor features three exhibitions by regional artists at once, while Reclamation at Holland Tunnel Gallery in Newburgh includes diverse artworks by 22 artists working with found and reclaimed materials. Davina Hsu’s mystical wool-felted creations are true to the exhibition title — Heaven on Earth, at Turley Gallery in Hudson — and the same can be said for Avani Patel’s exhilarating paintings, which can be seen in Rhythmic Allure at Delaware Valley Arts Alliance in Narrowsburg. Tricks and treats alike can be found at Faraday Cage, RAE BK’s politically sharp guerrilla-style installation in a ranch house in Kerhonkson. This month, let us enjoy the phantasmagoria of art in all her madness and magic!
Echoes in Two Tongues: Honoring Latin American Women
Convey/Er/Or Gallery, 299 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, New York
Through October 25
Esperanza Cortés, “Corazón Blanco” (2007), encaustic on canvas (courtesy the artist and Convey/Er/Or Gallery)
The group show Echoes in Two Tongues, curated by Elisa Pritzker at Convey/Er/Or Gallery, honors ancestral roots through personal expression. Featuring artworks by five artists, the show delights in diversity in culture as well as medium. Luz Castaneda’s “Afro-Brazilian Ritual Costumes” (2024), for instance, consists of lace, shells, and beads woven into a basket that recalls a ceremonial object made with care. Esperanza Cortés’s “Corazón Blanco” (2007), meanwhile, is an encaustic white heart floating in a dreamy cerulean-blue backdrop, while Marielena Ferrer’s “Green Monarch” (2023) is a small etching of the wings of a butterfly, a humble work that reflects the majesty of this little creature.
Nancy Catandella
Greenkill, 229 Greenkill Avenue, Kingston, New York
Through October 25
Nancy Catandella, “Judy” (2024), acrylic and cold wax on canvas (photo courtesy Greenkill)
Portraiture — capturing not just the likeness but the essence of someone — is a challenging assignment. Artist Nancy Catandella tackles the medium with both finesse and sensitivity as seen in a series of expressionistic portraits of her friends at Greenkill in Kingston. “Wayne” (2025) is a tall and handsome gentleman in a black suit, his countenance one of questioning and concern. “Elaine” (2024) is a cool cat in her dapper bowler hat, and “Judy” (2024) stands resolute with two spirit-like bobcats circling her lower body. While these portraits might seem unfinished because of their frenetic mark-making, Catandella conveys the power of each sitter with command and care.
Jeffrey Christensen
Bonnie Rychlak
Heidi Schlatter
Catskill Art Space, 48 Main Street, Livingston Manor, New York
Through October 25
Jeffrey Christensen, “Baskin Lytle” (2019), acrylic and oil on canvas (photo courtesy Catskill Art Space)
Catskill Art Space’s current trifecta of exhibitions reflects its longstanding commitment to dynamic shows showcasing regional artists. Jeffrey Christensen’s colorful mixed-media paintings mash together culture and politics; George W. Bush, for instance, can be found in the collage-like landscape of “Baskin Lytle” (2019). Meanwhile, Bonnie Rychlak’s industrial-meets-modern sculptures celebrate raw forms; “Another Rabbit Hole” (2023), for instance, is a playful encaustic round sculpture with a hole in the center and black nubs around the circumference. Heidi Schlatter’s “Ore” (2025), depicting a particularly jagged example of the metal, fuses photo, sculpture, and portrait at once in her exploration of the environment and American expansionism.
Avani Patel: Rhythmic Allure
Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, 37 Main Street, Narrowsburg, New York
Through October 26
Avani Patel, “Untitled” (2025), acrylic and paint marker (photo by Tanner Simon, courtesy of DVAA)
The paintings of Avani Patel are an all-out vision of controlled chaos. Infused with exhilarating color schemes, Patel’s paintings seem to explode in every direction simultaneously with wild painterly movements that defy the borders of the canvas. Works such as “Flotation of Pink” (2022) and “Formation” (2022) recall bright chromatic mushroom clouds rising high. “Nairobi” (2023) features a dark mass in the middle that stretches out on both sides, and at first glance, “Untitled” (2025) looks like some futuristic flower. A visit to this show affords the chance to see Painting by Candy Spilner, another exhibition running concurrent with Patel’s that features her three-dimensional Pop-inspired pieces.
Reclamation: Lost and Found in Newburgh
Holland Tunnel Gallery, 46 Chambers Street, Newburgh, New York
Through October 26
Judy Thomas, “Flair” (2025), mixed media, dimensions variable (courtesy the artist and Holland Tunnel Gallery)
Curated by Janet Rutkowski and Alexandra Limpert and featuring 22 artists working in Manhattan and the Hudson Valley, Reclamation at Holland Tunnel Gallery in Newburgh honors reclaimed and found materials. “Flair” (2025) by Judy Thomas features bright, string-like fabric wrapped around an armature, and feels almost biological in its grooving sinuousness. Julie Lindell’s “Everything” (2025) is just that: a compelling sculptural pile-on of everything from a toboggan to a cow skull. Meanwhile, “Stick Stag” (2025) by Alberto Marcos Bursztyn is a horse-like creature made of milled wood and door frames, while Conrad Levenson’s “Points of View” (2015) is an iron and steel sculpture suggesting a creature reaching arms outward.
Davina Hsu: Heaven on Earth
Turley Gallery, 609 Warren Street, 2FL, Hudson, New York
Through November 2
Davina Hsu, “Synchronicity” (2025), natural wool felted on soft foam (courtesy the artist and Turley Gallery)
Davina Hsu’s creative practice is an exquisite embodiment of uplifting metaphysical and esoteric sensibilities. Heaven on Earth presents a series of recent works consisting of natural wools on foam; the six colorful pieces in this show seem to hum together in some ethereal harmony. “The Shift” (all works 2025) features a rainbow quasi-landscape in the middle with a turquoise border all around, while “Adored” recalls a slice of a stained-glass window. Hsu’s elegant series culminates with “Inner Temple,” a vertical work with pink, yellow, and neon greenish tones that vibrate with an energy that is simultaneously graphic, organic, and mystical.
What is Missing? Artworks in the Olana Landscape
Olana State Historic Site, 5720 State Route 9G, Hudson, New York
Through November 2
Installation view of Gabriela Salazar, “A Measure of Comfort (Cake and Cord)” (2025) (photo by and courtesy the artist and Olana State Historic Site)
Among the top destinations to experience the natural glory of Upstate New York is Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, which is nestled on 250 acres of land. Olana’s current outdoor exhibition, What is Missing?, features site-specific commissioned artworks by Ellen Harvey and Gabriela Salazar. With the October fall foliage in full swing, now is an ideal time to visit and see Harvey’s “Winter in the Summer House” (2025), a hexagonal enclosed structure made of mirrors that reflect the beauty of the surrounding area, and Salazar’s “A Measure of Comfort (Cake and Cord)” (2025), two interrelated mixed-media sculptures that consider the formerly functioning woodshed and icehouse at Olana, reflecting on human ecological intervention through heating and cooling.
John Dolan, Jack Dolan, Michele O’Hana: HOME
Robin Rice Gallery, 234 Warren Street, Hudson, New York
Through November 7
John Dolan, “Rink” (1979), archival pigment print (photo courtesy Robin Rice Gallery)
Featuring photos, porcelain, and other functional art objects, HOME at Robin Rice Gallery in Hudson presents the work of three artists as a family collaboration. John Dolan’s retro-looking photographs take us back in time; the dreamy vision of “Rink” (1979) appears as if it were photographed in haste while whizzing past. “Bisect Bowl” (2025) by Michele O’Hana is a humble bowl with white glaze and gold, one of several elegant porcelain works by the artist. A fisherman, blacksmith, and artist by training, Jack Dolan’s hand-forged knives are as sophisticated as they are sharp; “Stripped Bread with Stainless Steel Blade with Cow Bone and Water Buffalo Horn” (2025) is both a utilitarian object and a contemporary artwork.
Faraday Cage
Untitled Residence, 1049 Samsonville Road, Kerhonkson, New York
Through November 23
RAE BK, “Eggman” room inside Faraday Cage (2025), mixed media installation, dimensions variable (©Travis Mark; photo by Travis Mark, courtesy RAE BK)
Let’s face it: Things are really weird right now, and artists are amping up the weirdness with unabashed excavations of political power imbalances. Among the most interesting art experiences in Upstate New York this season is Faraday Cage in Kerhonkson. This guerrilla-style site-specific installation by Brooklyn-based street artist RAE BK — known for his urban interventions — is presented both inside and outside a soon-to-be-demolished ranch house. The presentation is as outrageous as it gets, featuring various rooms with provocative vignettes such as “Eggman,” in which an open-mouthed mannequin faces a block of televisions, the American flag flashing on TV screens, egg cartons lining the ceilings, and drawings and text all over the walls. It’s a disconcerting vision of isolation, disconnection, and digital dystopia.
CPW, 25 Dederick Street, Kingston, New York
Through January 11, 2026
Unknown photographer, social tea hosted by Josie Washington (standing center in black), Dallas, Texas (c. 1955) (courtesy Documentary Arts/Texas African American Photography Archive)
Featuring images of Black Americans in moments both public and private, Kinship & Community is a celebration of Black culture in Texas. Among the most arresting photos included in this group show is Haram Dotson’s “11th Chapter observing Black History Month, Houston, Texas” (c. 1980s), a poignant black and white image of a group of women holding hand-written signs, including one that reads “slave girl.”Not all images are so heart-wrenching: Benny Joseph’s “Eldorado Ballroom, Houston, Texas” (c. 1965) is a lively scene of two masked couples enjoying drinks, while A. B. Bell’s “Children playing handclapping games, Dallas, Texas” (ca. 1965) offers a joyful vision of mid-20th-century youth in the American South.
