Kiki Smith, Sentry, 2020. Bronze, 18 1/2 x 29 x 17 in. © Kiki Smith, 2020. Image courtesy of Pace Gallery. Photograph by Richard Gary. Lender: Forman Family Collection.]
The Ark
Jun 11 – Aug 30, 2026
“[These sculptures] capture an animal’s inherent beauty, a physical manifestation of instinct and survival. There are also sculptures of animals that personify truths within human life that are best approached indirectly because they are rooted in the sublime: wordless wonder and terror.” – Eric Fischl
A sweeping group exhibition composed entirely of animal sculptures, curated by artist Eric Fischl with PHA President Eric Shiner, The Ark was first exhibited in 2025 at The Church Sag Harbor and brings together a multigenerational group of artists presenting 89 works. This expanded iteration features additional sculptures curated by Shiner. Opening in summer 2026 in Gowanus, Brooklyn, it also marks Powerhouse Arts’ first major public exhibition and inaugurates a new year-round exhibitions program led by Shiner, Vice President of Curatorial and Arts Programs Liz Munsell, and Associate Curator Constanza Valenzuela.
The Ark refers directly to the myth of the Deluge, an event of mythic scale that becomes a metaphor for the present moment, where environmental and social upheaval converge. Throughout the exhibition, animals function as both protagonists and interlocutors. Experienced in the round, in close proximity and often in monumental scale, the sculptures foster a sense of connection and wonder channeled through artists’ eyes and keen powers of observation. Rather than approaching environmental themes through urgency alone, the exhibition centers on relationships—the instinctive human tendency to care for vulnerable beings and to acknowledge their unique contributions to our collective life on this planet. From this place of recognition, the desire to preserve, respect, and protect emerges naturally from intimate encounters.
The menagerie assembled in The Ark bears witness to forces that threaten our existence while illuminating what remains most worth preserving.
“These works speak to both the precarity and possibility of our moment. Presented at Powerhouse Arts, they inhabit a space of refuge and inquiry, where making becomes a form of stewardship, of survival. Through the language of materials and the hand of the artist, these sculptures invite us to recognize the urgency of preserving our environments while reconsidering our role within them. We are one species among many, bound to a shared and vulnerable ecosystem we must unite to protect and appreciate every day.” – Eric Shiner
At Powerhouse Arts, these themes are further amplified through the institution’s role as a refuge for creative vision and its varied manifestations. An artist-curated exhibition, The Ark reflects a range of materiality, technique, and artistic gesture, foregrounding process and the labor of artistic production central to the organization’s mission. This emphasis resonates with PHA’s identity as a center for fabrication, of material exploration and technical innovation, where the sculptural object becomes evidence of often-invisible acts of making that better connect us to our world.
Featured artists from the original exhibition include: Joan Brown, Maurizio Cattelan, Jim Dine, Raven Halfmoon, William Kentridge, Sherrie Levine, Sarah Lucas, Allan McCollum, Bruce Nauman, Charles Ray, Susan Rothenberg, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Kiki Smith, Rosemarie Trockel, among others.
Newly featured artists in the Powerhouse Arts presentation will include: François-Xavier Lalanne, Canuppa Hanska Luger, Wangechi Mutu, Nohemí Pérez, Rob Pruitt, Toshio Sasaki, Nari Ward, Celia Vásquez Yui, among others.
The full exhibition catalog and programming will be announced in the coming weeks.
Mon: closed
Tues, closed
Wed: 12–7pm
Thurs: 12-7pm
Fri: 12–8pm
Sat: 11am–8pm
Sun: 11am–5pm
Timed tickets are available in advance (starting May 28th) or onsite.
Adults: $18
Seniors (65+): $12
Students (13+ w/ valid ID): $12
Military/Veterans: $12
Visitors with Disabilities: $12
Children (Ages 3-12): $5
Groups of 10 or more get 15% off their reservation.
The Ark is on view in Powerhouse Arts' Grand Hall, a cavernous 22,517-square-foot, column-free room that once housed the turbines that provided electricity for Brooklyn's railroads and streetcars.
Address:
322 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Get detailed directions here.
PHA is committed to making art accessible to everyone. The venue offers wheelchair access, gender-neutral restrooms, and a quiet room for sensory breaks. Service animals are welcome. Contact us at info@powerhousearts.org for specific accommodation requests.
For media inquiries, incude high-res imagery, please write to press@powerhousearts.org.
exhibition images
Daniel Firman, Le Sommeil en Forêt (The Sleep in the Forest), 2025. 3D printing PETG, metal, paint, 216.5 x 78.75 x 126.5 in. © Daniel Firman, 2025. Photograph courtesy of the artist. Lender: courtesy of the artist and Ceysson & Bénétière.
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Urban Trickster, 2021. Cast bronze, 28 x 20 1/2 x 24 in. © Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, 2021. Image courtesy of the estate of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Garth Greenan. Lender: Gochman Family Collection.
Maurizio Cattelan, Ghosts, 2021. Taxidermy pigeon’s, Variable life size pigeons. © Maurizio Cattelan, 2021. Photograph by Zeno Zotti. Lender: courtesy of the artist and Pirelli Hangar Bicocca, Milan.
Daisy Youngblood, Little Gorilla, 2020. Low Fire Clay, 12 1/4x 11 1/2 x6 3/4 in. © Daisy Youngblood, 2020. Photograph courtesy of the artist and Salon 94. Lender: collection of Nicolas Rohatyn and Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn.
Sarah Lucas, Tit-Cat Up, 2015. Bronze Edition 4 of 6 + 2 Aps, 47 1/2 x 30 x 19 1/8 in. © Sarah Lucas, 2015. © Sadie Coles HQ, London. Image courtesy of Gladstone Gallery, London. Lender: courtesy of the artist and the Gladstone Gallery.
participating artists
Allan McCollum
(American, b.1944)
Anthony Theakston
(British, 1965)
Brendan Hesmondhalgh
(British, b.1973)
Bruce Nauman
(American, b.1941)
Bryan Hunt
(American, b.1947)
Cannupa Hanska Luger
Catherine Thiry
(Belgian, b.1962)
Celia Vasquez Yui
Charles Ray
(American, b.1953)
Claudette Schreuders
(South African, b.1973)
Daisy Youngblood
(American, b.1945)
Daniel Firman
(France, b. 1966)
Deborah Butterfield
(American, b.1949)
François-Xavier Lalanne
Jane Rosen
(American, b.1950)
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
(Native American, 1940-2025)
Jean-Françios Gambino
(French, b.1966)
Jim Dine
(American, b.1935)
Joan Brown
(American, 1938-1990)
John O’Reily
(American, b.1979)
Jörg Immendorf
(German, 1945-2007)
Jude Griebel
Kate MccGwire
(British, b.1964)
Kiki Smith
(German-American, b.1954)
Maurizio Cattelan
(Italian, b.1960)
Mentawai People
Monica Banks
(American, b.1959)
Nari Ward
Nichola Theakston
(British, b. 1967)
Nicola Hicks
(British, b.1960)
Nohemi Perez
Patrick Villas
(Belgian, b.1961)
Rosemarie Trockel
(German, b.1952)
Ryan Johnson
(Pakistani-American, b.1978)
Sarah Lucas
(British, b.1962)
Sherrie Levine
(American, b.1947)
Susan Rothenberg
(American, 1945-2020)
Thomas Deininger
Toshio Sasaki
(Japanese, 1947-2007)
Wangechi Mutu
William Kent
(American, 1919-2012)
William Kentridge
(South African, b.1955)
William Tucker
(British, b.1935)
sponsors
The Ark's public programs, Crafternoons, Art Where You Are, and The Deluge are generously supported by Hermès.