Mishkin Gallery is pleased to present a series of 15 paintings by Anna Ostoya, on view from September 13 through December 13, 2024. The paintings on display are derived from sketches that Ostoya made upon her arrival in New York City in 2008 of fellow passengers on the J, M, and Z lines along her commute between Brooklyn and Manhattan. In vivid colors and kaleidoscopic compositions, Ostoya creates images that are at once intimate and removed, representational and surreal. These multifaceted images of individuals, all of whom occupy the shared public space of the subway, contend with fundamental political dimensions of identity and democracy. For this series, Ostoya remasters, in oil on canvas, a set of digital collages she produced for a book with political philosopher Chantal Mouffe. Throughout her career, Ostoya has often translated between media, integrating found texts and images (as well as images from her own archive of works) and collaborating with writers and thinkers.

Anna Ostoya: J M Z is co-curated by Mishkin Gallery’s Alaina Claire Feldman and Alexandra Tell. The exhibition is made possible by Friends of the Mishkin Gallery and the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College (CUNY).