Where We Gather Now: A September 2026 New York Art Exhibition
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By: Lisa Reynolds| Where We Gather Now: A September 2026 New York Art Exhibition | Image: Lyall Aston, Jeremy Turpin, and Anita Katz
Three Artistic Voices Examine Identity Through Distinct Visual Forms at Dolly and Oz Presents Exhibition in NYC
New York’s September arts schedule is often crowded with large openings, fairs, and overlapping gallery programs. Where We Gather Now takes a smaller, more specific approach. Presented by Miami gallery Dolly and Oz Presents, the exhibition brings together photography, painting, and sculpture at a pop-up space at 2 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side.
The show features work by photographer Lyall Aston, painter Jeremy Turpin, and sculptor Anita Katz. Their practices differ in material and process, yet the exhibition frames them around a shared question: how do we see one another after first impressions fall away?
That question gives the show a clear structure. Rather than treating the artists as separate attractions, Where We Gather Now asks visitors to consider how each medium can hold a different account of identity, memory, beauty, and self-presentation.
A Debut With a Clear Focus
The exhibition marks the New York debut of Dolly and Oz Presents, founded by Felicia Frazier. The Miami-based gallery centers emerging artists and collectors who are developing relationships with contemporary art. Its first presentation in New York is selective rather than broad, placing three artists in a direct exchange.
Frazier’s project is shaped by a belief that art can support reflection and personal discovery. Dolly and Oz Presents takes its name from her parents, Dolly and Oz, and the gallery’s approach reflects a personal connection to art, objects, and collecting. In this context, the exhibition is not only an introduction to three practices. It is also a statement of how the gallery intends to work with artists and audiences.
The Lower East Side setting matters. The neighborhood has long been a place where established galleries, temporary projects, and newer voices coexist. The two separate open nights, each built around a different pairing of the work at 2 Rivington Street fits that setting, while giving viewers a limited but useful chance to spend time with work outside a larger institutional format.
Photography and the Public Image
Lyall Aston opens the exhibition on Thursday, September 17, from 6 to 9 p.m. Born in South Africa, Aston has worked for more than two decades in fashion photography. His career includes campaigns for GUESS, Macy’s, Free People, Lacoste, L’Officiel, and InStyle, as well as celebrity portraiture.
For this presentation, Aston brings work from his Miami solo debut, Here You Go, alongside new selections from his Post Chaste series. His photographs move between the controlled visual language of fashion and more personal encounters. That contrast is important. Fashion photography often depends on carefully managed appearances, while portraiture can invite viewers to notice uncertainty, expression, and distance.
Aston’s work offers one way into the exhibition’s central question. It asks viewers to consider what a polished image reveals, what it withholds, and how attention changes when a person is seen beyond a commercial or social role.
Portraiture, Beauty, and Material Memory
Jeremy Turpin and Anita Katz open their paired presentation on Wednesday, September 23, from 6 to 9 p.m. Turpin, a Tampa-based painter, presents work from his Good Hair - Bad Hair series. He uses an acrylic layering method that places color across black-and-white forms, creating portraits that address beauty standards and the authority behind them.
The series considers who has the power to name certain features, textures, or styles as acceptable. Turpin does not offer a simple answer. Instead, the paintings make room for viewers to examine the categories they have inherited and the ways visual judgment operates in everyday life.
Katz brings another material language to the exhibition. Born in Bolivia and based in Miami, she worked in architecture and interior design before committing fully to sculpture. Her Threshold series consists of large-scale masks made with reclaimed EPS foam, marble powder, and acrylic paste.
The masks draw on her family’s migration from Bolivia and on the experience of rebuilding identity across places. Their surfaces and scale make the work physically present, while their subject remains personal. Katz’s sculptures show how materials associated with construction and design can carry history, grief, and repair.
Images courtesy: Top: Jeremy Turpin and Anita Katz (Bottom)
Time to Look Closely
Where We Gather Now is worth attending because it gives three different artistic practices enough proximity to sharpen each other. Visitors can move from Aston’s photographs to Turpin’s painted portraits and Katz’s sculptural masks, then consider how each artist addresses the difficult work of seeing people with greater care.
The exhibition offers a thoughtful September stop for viewers interested in emerging artists, cross-medium conversation, and work that asks for more than a quick look. The Eventbrite RSVP links are below:
Dolly and Oz Presents' New York City pop-up is located at 2 Rivington Street. The gallery will be open daily from 12-8 p.m. except Mondays from September 16-26, 2026. For more information about the exhibition and its artists, visit dollyandozpresents.com.
About Dolly and Oz Presents
Founded in 2022, Dolly and Oz Presents is a contemporary art gallery in the heart of South Beach, dedicated to showcasing bold, emotionally resonant work from emerging and underrepresented artists. The gallery serves as both a creative platform and cultural gathering space, curating exhibitions, performances and conversations that speak to the complexities of our time. With a focus on accessibility, authenticity and community-building, Dolly and Oz Presents is redefining the gallery experience. To further demystify the art-buying process, the gallery lists all artwork pricing transparently and publishes “Canvas Stories” on its YouTube channel, where artists share the stories behind their work. For more information, visit dollyandozpresents.com and follow on Instagram @dollyandozpresents.