Jason Middlebrook: Fun with Fungi, Opening Reception on Saturday July 11th, 1-5pm

Jason Middlebrook, Morel Mosaic, 2026, fiberglass, stained glass, grout, 26 x 7 inches, featured by Karlyn Benson in the Two Coats of Paint Selected Gallery Guide.

OPENING SATURDAY 1-5 🍄 Jason Middlebrook: Fun with Fungi

Hello friends! We look forward to seeing you This Saturday, July 11th, 1-5pm for the Opening Reception of Jason Middlebrook: Fun with Fungi at LABspace! Huge thank you to Jason Middlebrook for creating this Solo Exhibition of sculpture, paintings and drawings inspired by mushrooms for us We are super honored, and we can’t wait to share this work with you Jason Middlebrook will be here to meet you at our Opening Reception This Saturday, 1-5pm See you soon! XO Ellen + Julie

Jason Middlebrook, Fungi Space Dung, 2026, acrylic on canvas, 14 inches in diameter

Jason Middlebrook writes: In the fall of 2008 I was contacted by the Aspen Museum and invited to make a series of sculptures for their annual ArtCrush event. The artist Fred Tomaselli had a survey exhibition that coincided with the event, which impacted my vision for the sculptures I made. Living in the Hudson Valley where our annual rainfall is over 45 inches a year, it creates a perfect condition for fungi to spread. Last year that series of mushrooms sprouted again. The forms, the texture, the scale and symbolic nature of all types of fungi has been my inspiration. I’m drawn to series in my work, the mushroom sets up a framework for me to explore with rules. Fungi are Earth’s primary recyclers, they break down organic matter and release it into soil. Artists are recyclers as well. In the case of mushrooms, I’m recycling ideas and approaches over and over again to create a dialog between viewer and the mushroom. In many cases my mushroom paintings treat the form as a cherished sculpture similar to the sculptures on display in the show. Jason Middlebrook (b. 1966, Jackson, MI) received his Master of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA and his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA. He completed an Independent Study Program at The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. His work may be found in the collections of the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO; Marte Museum, San Salvador, El Salvador; Redmond, WA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; NASA Art Program, Washington, D.C.; New Museum, New York, NY; Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, OH; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. Middlebrook lives and works in Hudson, NY.

Jason Middlebrook: Fun with Fungi July 11-August 30, 2026 Saturday and Sunday 1-5pm Opening Reception: This Saturday, July 11th, 1-5pm

LABspace 2642 NY Route 23, Hillsdale NY 12529 Inquiries: julielabspace@gmail.com

LABspace is located below Hillsdale General Store and Cook & Larder 17 miles east of Hudson NY 13 miles east of The Campus 13 miles north of Millerton NY 22 miles southeast of Kinderhook 11 miles west of Great Barrington LABspace was founded and directed by artist Susan Jennings 2014-2018, and has been the curatorial project of artists Ellen Letcher and Julie Torres since April 2018. We are now in our 8th year of programming since taking the reins, thanks to all of you and to SJ!

Review in Chronogram/Closing Party Sunday June 28

Review of Sara Farrell Okamura: On The Precipice in Chronogram, by Taliesin Thomas. Click to read full review.

Review of Sara Farrell Okamura: On The Precipice In Chronogram By Taliesin Thomas Final Weekend! CLOSING PARTY SUNDAY 1-5PM

Hello friends, We are thrilled to share Taliesin Thomas’ moving review in Chronogram, which beautifully captures the paintings on view in Sara Farrell Okamura: On The Precipice, CLOSING THIS WEEKEND at LABspace! Huge Thank You to Taliesin Thomas and Chronogram, and to Sara Farrell Okamurafor sharing her powerful work with us Click here to read Taliesin Thomas’ insightful writing on Chronogram LAST CHANCE to see this extraordinary exhibition! Please join us for a Closing Party with Sara Farrell Okamura: This Sunday, June 28th, 1-5pm 🎉 Visit us Saturday and Sunday 1-5pm  The full Exhibition Checklist is available here It’s a super fun weekend in the Hudson Valley and we can’t wait to see you! THANK YOU everyone! XO Ellen + Julie

Sara Farrell Okamura: On The Precipice Solo Exhibition of Paintings May 23–June 28, 2026 FINAL WEEKEND: Saturday and Sunday 1-5pm Closing Reception with Sara Farrell Okamura: This Sunday, June 28th, 1-5pm Exhibition Checklist Review in Chronogram, by Taliesin Thomas

Meet Sara Farrell Okamura at our Closing Party, Sunday 1-5pm. Image courtesy Katharine Dufault.

Sara Farrell Okamura is an artist, writer and arts educator. A working artist for over 35 years, she has created both gallery and public art exhibitions. Farrell Okamura has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council, MASS MoCA, Assets For Artists, Project A.R.T. Fund, Martha Boschen Porter Fund, and Mass Cultural Council. Having exhibited her work nationally and internationally, she has most recently focused on local venues in the greater New England and Hudson Valley areas. Farrell Okamura was Co-Director of 1935 Gallery, Chicago, curating exchanges with artists from Mexico; and Director of Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, a community program on the campus of MASS MoCA. She has been a museum educator at MASS MoCA in North Adams MA, and at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield MA. Sara Farrell Okamura has written art reviews for The Brooklyn Rail, Boston Art Review, Art Spiel, and Hyperallergic. Sara Farrell Okamura writes:  Bad ideas, good ideas, choices, anxieties, these are all real, but how do you express them in tangible form?  I grew up by the ocean, lived in urban areas and now reside in the mountains. Beauty lies in the natural phenomenon that surrounds us wherever we call home. The sea, the Great Lakes, the parks are the essence of transcendent joy and renewal. Is it abstract? Is it real? This body of work poses that it is both.  From the kelp forests being rescued by sunflower starfish with the help of conservationists who won’t give up, to those fighting to save protected animals and land, to the decisions, dreams and ideas we choose to make constantly minute by minute— how do we make all these integral parts of life visually concrete?   Relying on the accessibility and the natural characteristics of paint, this is an attempt to give these concepts perceptible articulation.

LABspace 2642 NY Route 23, Hillsdale NY 12529 Inquiries: julielabspace@gmail.com Exhibition Checklist Review in Chronogram, by Taliesin Thomas

LABspace is located below Hillsdale General Store and Cook & Larder 17 miles east of Hudson NY 13 miles east of The Campus 17 miles north of Millerton NY 22 miles southeast of Kinderhook 11 miles west of Great Barrington MA LABspace was founded and directed by artist Susan Jennings 2014-2018, and has been the curatorial project of artists Ellen Letcher and Julie Torres since April 2018.  April 2026 marked our 8 Year Anniversary since taking the reins, thanks to all of you and SJ.

Conversation with Sara Farrell Okamura, led by Elisabeth Condon: Saturday June 6th at 2pm

Elisabeth Condon (l) and Sara Farrell Okamura (r), in Conversation This Saturday June 6 at 2pm in the LABspace Courtyard

Conversation with Sara Farrell Okamura, Led by Elisabeth Condon: SATURDAY JUNE 6 at 2PM Sara Farrell Okamura: On The Precipice Solo Exhibition of Paintings The Detour is Over!

Hello friends! Please join us on Saturday June 6 at 2pm for a Conversation with Sara Farrell Okamura, led by Elisabeth Condon They will discuss the work on view in Sara Farrell Okamura’s Solo Exhibition, On The Precipice Exhibition Hours are Saturday and Sunday 1-5pm through June 28 Closing Party with Sara Farrell Okamuraon Sunday June 28th, 1-5pm The full Exhibition Checklist is available here Thank you Sara Farrell Okamura and Elisabeth Condon! See you soon! XO Ellen + Julie

Sara Farrell Okamura: On The Precipice Solo Exhibition of Paintings May 23–June 28, 2026 Saturdays and Sundays 1-5pm Exhibition Checklist Conversation with Sara Farrell Okamura, led by Elisabeth Condon: Saturday June 6th at 2pm SAVE-THE-DATE: Closing Reception with Sara Farrell Okamura: Sunday June 28th, 1-5pm

Sara Farrell Okamura, No Lights, 2026, oil on linen, 18 x 18 inches. Exhibition Checklist.

Sara Farrell Okamura writes:  Bad ideas, good ideas, choices, anxieties, these are all real, but how do you express them in tangible form?  I grew up by the ocean, lived in urban areas and now reside in the mountains. Beauty lies in the natural phenomenon that surrounds us wherever we call home. The sea, the Great Lakes, the parks are the essence of transcendent joy and renewal. Is it abstract? Is it real? This body of work poses that it is both.  From the kelp forests being rescued by sunflower starfish with the help of conservationists who won’t give up, to those fighting to save protected animals and land, to the decisions, dreams and ideas we choose to make constantly minute by minute— how do we make all these integral parts of life visually concrete?   Relying on the accessibility and the natural characteristics of paint, this is an attempt to give these concepts perceptible articulation. Sara Farrell Okamura is an artist, writer and arts educator. A working artist for over 35 years, she has created both gallery and public art exhibitions. Farrell Okamura has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council, MASS MoCA, Assets For Artists, Project A.R.T. Fund, Martha Boschen Porter Fund, and Mass Cultural Council. Having exhibited her work nationally and internationally, she has most recently focused on local venues in the greater New England and Hudson Valley areas. Farrell Okamura was Co-Director of 1935 Gallery, Chicago, curating exchanges with artists from Mexico; and Director of Northern Berkshire Creative Arts, a community program on the campus of MASS MoCA. She has been a museum educator at MASS MoCA in North Adams MA, and at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield MA. Sara Farrell Okamura has written art reviews for The Brooklyn Rail, Boston Art Review, Art Spiel, and Hyperallergic.

Elisabeth Condon lives and works in New York City and Tampa, FL. She is the recipient of the Pollock Krasner Foundation and Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grants. Her paintings are included in the permanent collections of the Hudson River Museum, the United States Embassy in Beijing, the United States Embassy in Namibia, the Tampa Museum of Art, and the Perez Art Museum Miami. Condon's public commissions include MTA Art & Design Percent for Art, Norte Maar Collaboration for the Arts, Tribeca Film Institute's Storefront Art Recovery Initiative (STAR), and Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center. Her NYCT Ditmars-Astoria subway station design was a 2024 selection for the Poetry in Motion series.

LABspace 2642 NY Route 23, Hillsdale NY 12529 Inquiries: julielabspace@gmail.com The Detour Is Over!

LABspace is located below Hillsdale General Store and Cook & Larder 17 miles east of Hudson NY 17 miles north of Millerton NY 22 miles southeast of Kinderhook 11 miles west of Great Barrington MA LABspace was founded and directed by artist Susan Jennings 2014-2018, and has been the curatorial project of artists Ellen Letcher and Julie Torres since April 2018.  April 2026 marked our 8 year anniversary since taking the reins, thanks to all of you and SJ.