Change is the Only Constant | Tessa DeLisio, Anjali Malcomson, and Sidney Rabeck
Project Space Gallery
On view: April 14 – May 9, 2026
Reception: April 16, 5-7p.m.
We find ourselves at the forefront of rapid change, with the ability to both capture moments and relive the past at our fingertips. Who are we going to become in this nostalgia-drenched reality and how do we allow ourselves to move forward? In Change is the Only Constant, a three-person show by Tessa DeLisio, Anjali Malcomson, and Sidney Rabeck, the nuance and uncertainty of life’s major stages are represented in a semi-chronological cycle of life. Every piece of the natural world operates cyclically, from the interaction of the moon's phases with our bodies, to the rise and fall of the tides, the coming and going of the seasons, and the rotation of the earth. We, as humans, are not separate from this; each of our trajectories in the larger cycle of our lives coincides with the consistent rhythm of change. Change is the only constant – it is the paradoxical nature of the life cycles we all exist within. What will we hold onto through these transitions? Even reminders of the past are subject to the inevitability of transformation; photographs will fade as surely as memories. As artists, we capture moments that help us carry pieces of our lives with us. We experiment with time, asking questions like: “How long can this stay? How will it change?” This mixed media exhibition explores these questions and the cyclical nature of our lives through time-based media, narrative prints, and symbolic ceramics and sculptures, asking viewers to reinterpret their relationship with time, change, and the expected and unexpected events that tie us all together. The reception will also include a collaborative and communal element in the form of an interactive cyanotype that will record personal objects brought and temporarily shared at the event.
Poster design by Savannah Simpson.
1000 Cranes
Fine Arts hallway, between the Hamblin Theater and the Martin-Mullen Gallery
On view: April 9, 2026 - May 31, 2027
Reception: to be announced
Folding a paper crane takes patience and concentration. Once the pattern is learned, the process of carefully aligning and creasing edges is calming and centering. Done in a group it creates community, each person contributing small delicate cranes while collectively creating something beautiful. The folding of paper cranes was first documented in 7th century China. It was developed and made popular in the Edo Period of Japan between the early 1600s to the mid 1800s. The tradition of folding 1,000 paper cranes is known as “Senbazuru” and symbolizes a wish or prayer for good health and good fortune. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and through the work of Sadako Sasaki, who developed leukemia from the bombings, it became a global symbol and prayer for world peace. These 1,000 paper cranes are multi-hued, multi-pattered, and multi-facetted, just like the students, faculty, staff, and community members who folded and strung them. They are accompanied by a few fish and maybe a dragon or two, if you look closely. In the same way that the differences, both great and small, between each crane and creature magnifies their charm and interest, diversity in community is strength and creates great beauty.
Poster design by Savannah Simpson.
This is the Thousand Cranes project. Students, faculty, staff and some community members helped to fold and string a thousand paper cranes. When done as a group a thousand cranes represent a prayer for world peace.
2026 Juried Student Show
Martin-Mullen Gallery
On view: March 24 – May 2, 2026
Reception: Thursday, April 30, 5-7 p.m.
The 2026 Juried Student Show is an annual exhibition which includes work submitted by students and juried by full-time Art faculty, and artworks preselected by the full-time and part-time faculty. It highlights the different mediums and themes explored by our students over the academic year, and this edition includes over 90 pieces by nearly 70 students. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, we’re also able to present 17 awards celebrating creativity and excellence, which will be announced at the reception.
Poster design by Mulue Legesse.
Day of the Deer | Alissa Walls
Open Space Gallery
On view: February 9 – December 13, 2026
Reception: Thursday, September 24, 5-7 p.m.
Day of the Deer is a year-long, process-oriented installation by artist and art historian, Dr. Alissa Walls (SUNY Oneonta Art Department, Assistant Professor of Art History). It stands as a unique exhibition in that it seeks no clear beginning or end. Over the course of the year, Walls will add new elements each day to inspire people to return often as she transforms the Open Space Gallery into a playful and uncanny environment with sacred offerings, real and representational deer, found and purchased objects, and numerous drawings, prints, painting, sculptures, and projection. This installation breaks material boundaries, encourages play, and invites viewers to broaden their understanding of what art is, how it can be pursued, and what topics it can explore while alluding to the potential to break social, cultural, and ideological barriers. Day of the Deer poses challenging questions about dominant social structures, cultural hierarchies, and the relationship between the natural world and the built environment in the age of the Anthropocene. These topics become approachable and accessible in an atmosphere of creativity, fun, and exploration. Starting with an inspiration from The Fawn in the Forest with No Names from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, Walls employs grids, boxes, and figures and sources from art and natural histories to critique systems of order, offering up the possibility of new ways of being.
Poster design by Savannah Simpson. Funding Generously provided by the SUNY Oneonta Faculty Research & Creative Activity Grant program.
Contact
Gallery Director: Sarah Simpson
Email: Sarah.Simpson@oneonta.edu
Tel: 607-436-2445
Administrative Assistant: Katie Webster
Email: kaitlin.webster@oneonta.edu
Tel: 607-436-3456
General Info
Admission: Free
Mailing Address:
Galleries at SUNY Oneonta
106 Fine Arts
SUNY Oneonta
108 Ravine Parkway
Oneonta, NY 13820
Gallery Floor Plans:
Martin - Mullen Gallery
Project Space Gallery
Open Space Gallery
Gallery Hours
11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tuesday to Saturday
Closed between exhibitions and open by appointment only during university recesses.
Parking: Visitor parking permit required. Visit the University Police Department to obtain a permit.
