Realities Within at the Everson
Spring 2026
Artworks of various shapes and sizes fill the walls, a mosaic of colors and textures. A vibrant impressionist painting, showcases a beautiful landscape. A busy city scene ,fills a large canvas. A small collage piece depicts a striking figure. Each work is different, but they fit together perfectly.
The exhibition Realities Within opened to the public on March 7th 2026 at the Everson Museum of Art,in Syracuse, New York. The diverse exhibit highlights a group of artists who use a variety of mediums to represent their different perspectives. The exhibition is split into four categories on the four walls of the room: landscapes, cityscapes, portraits and still lives and is formed entirely from the Everson’s collection.
Realities Within is presented in salon style, a technique inspired by 19th Century French painters. Artworks of various sizes fill the entire wall, fitting together like puzzle pieces. They are selected to compliment each other and work together to present an idea, creating an engaging experience.
Steffi Chappell, the Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Everson, worked on the exhibition and its presentation. “Visitors really love when we do a salon style hang because it's just really dynamic and it gives them a lot of artwork to look at,” Chappell said.
Though the general subject matter is the same within the four categories, the artists’ interpretations vary a lot. On the landscape wall is Amy Lincoln’s 2025 painting Pink Spiral Galaxy Seascape. It is a new acquisition of the museum, and features abstract shapes of waves, stars, clouds and spirals. Bright pinks, purples and blues radiate off the large canvas. Lincoln's dreamy work reflects on her upbringing in Oregon, contradicting its constant cloudy weather through exaggerated shapes and colors.
Just below Lincoln’s painting, Brent Phelps’ photograph Beaverhead Rock, Montana, August 24th, 1997 is displayed. The photograph depicts a steep cliff face, starkly framed by a dark, cloudy sky. The intense scene stretches horizontally in a wide frame.
These artworks are vastly different, but they showcase scenes that are important to the artists. They represent their unique view of the world and their individual form of artistic expression.
“Every artwork is a reflection of the artist that made it and each artist brings their own history and their own likes and dislikes and biases to the work that they make,” Chappell said.
The exhibition features artworks from many different time periods and artists with assorted backgrounds which the Everson values, Chappell said.
“We're always really conscious of trying to represent diverse artists,” Chappell said. “We always want to show artists at the museum that have a variety of viewpoints because we want our visitors to be able to connect with those artists.”
The works of Realities Within come together into a beautiful display of individuality. They represent the artists’ memories and independent experiences in the world, forming a diverse collection. Their salon style presentation provides an image of unity in a divisive time, Chappell said.
“I think art really has the power to connect people,” Chappell said. “Anytime that we can present artwork from different artists with different backgrounds and different perspectives, I think that helps us a little bit to connect with each other.”