The Reality Principle

Scale model of The Hum

March 8 - April 15, 2025
Opening reception: Saturday, March 8, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Monira Foundation
888 Newark Ave. Ste 250
Jersey City, NY

Atif Akin
Fanny Allié
Keren Anavy
Allen Ball
Keren Benbenisty
Tyler Christopher Brown
m burgess
Mattia Casalegno
Annette Cords
Fei Cui
Andreana Dobreva
Koray Duman, Ted Kerr, and Carlos Motta
Nazli Efe
Jason File
Del Geist
Liselot van der Heijden
Erik Hernádez
Tamiko Kawata
Sarah Leahy
Patricia Leighton
Cy Morgan
Cynthia Reynolds
Yali Romagoza
Susan Silas

Curated by Deric Carner and Ysabel Pinyol Blasi   

EFA Studios and the Monira Foundation proudly present The Reality Principle, featuring EFA Studios and Monira Residency artists. The exhibition focuses on proposed, in progress, or otherwise unrealized work through models, mockups, and drafts. It is a show of dreams and experiments that tells the hidden stories of artists aspiring to make work that has been stymied by demands of reality or the approval of others. We celebrate these artists who continue to offer ambitious ideas and images to the world.

The reality principle is a Freudian concept that describes the ability to assess reality and act accordingly instead of acting solely on the pleasure principle. Artists are tasked with dreaming of new, until-then-impossible realities and are often indulged in pursuing pleasure and grand ambitions. However, they must work within the constraints of funding bodies, publics, and material realities. Rejection and setbacks can feel arbitrary and prejudicial. And yet many artists face this pain over and over again to see their visions through.

Monira Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution, functions as a radical experimental laboratory, working in close collaboration with artists, curators, musicians, dancers, producers, and writers to conceive, realize, and present innovative projects in all media. Its aim is to spark, intensify, and promote an evolving cultural and social dialogue between creators, audiences, and institutions. Focusing on the unique potential of interdisciplinary work in a context distinct from the distracting pressures of academia and the market, Monira Foundation advances the practices and products of today’s foremost artists, amplifying their contributions to communities both local and distant. 

Contact: Deric@efanyc.org