March 8 – April 15, 2025
888 Newark Ave ste 250, Jersey City, NJ
Viewing hours:
Thursday at 3pm
Friday at 3pm
Saturday at 12pm – 3pm
Curated by Deric Carner and Ysabel Pinyol Blasi
EFA Studios and Monira Foundation proudly present The Reality Principle, featuring EFA Studios and Monira Residency artists. The exhibition focuses on proposed, in progress, or otherwise unrealized work through models, mockups, and drafts. It is a show of dreams and experiments that tells the hidden stories of artists aspiring to make work that has been stymied by demands of reality or the approval of others. We celebrate these artists who continue to offer ambitious ideas and images to the world.
The reality principle is a Freudian concept that describes the ability to assess reality and act accordingly instead of acting solely on the pleasure principle. Artists are tasked with dreaming of new, until-then-impossible realities and are often indulged in pursuing pleasure and grand ambitions. However, they must work within the constraints of funding bodies, publics, and material realities. Rejection and setbacks can feel arbitrary and prejudicial. And yet many artists face this pain over and over again to see their visions through.
Monira Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution, functions as a radical experimental laboratory, working in close collaboration with artists, curators, musicians, dancers, producers, and writers to conceive, realize, and present innovative projects in all media. Its aim is to spark, intensify, and promote an evolving cultural and social dialogue between creators, audiences, and institutions. Focusing on the unique potential of interdisciplinary work in a context distinct from the distracting pressures of academia and the market, Monira Foundation advances the practices and products of today’s foremost artists, amplifying their contributions to communities both local and distant.
The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) public charity, dedicated to providing artists across all disciplines with space, tools and a cooperative forum for the development of individual practice. We are a catalyst for cultural growth, stimulating new interactions between artists, creative communities, and the public. Our mission is maximized by fostering diversity in all its aspects.
EFA Studio Program, founded in 1998, is an open-submission, juried membership program that provides affordable private studio space, facilitates career development, and promotes public and critical exposure for its artists. EFA encourages open exchange among artists, curators, critics and the public in order to advance the invaluable contribution of art and artists in the New York City community.
Contacts: Deric@efanyc.org, Ysabel@monirafoundation.org
Exhibiting artists:
Atif Akin
Fanny Allié
Keren Anavy
Allen Ball
Keren Benbenisty
Tyler Christopher Brown
m burgess
Mattia Casalegno
Annette Cords
Andreana Dobreva
Koray Duman, Ted Kerr, and Carlos Motta
Nazli Efe
Cui Fei
Jason File
Del Geist
Liselot van der Heijden
Erick Alejandro Hernádez
Tamiko Kawata
Sarah Leahy
Patricia Leighton
Cy Morgan
Cynthia Reynolds
Yali Romagoza
Susan Silas
