Zane Bennett Gallery
435 South Guadalupe Street
Santa Fe, NM 87501

In these cataclysmic times, can we even feel shock anymore? More urgently, are we still capable of empathy?

The grotesque is a style in visual art and literature characterized by the bizarre and pitiable. The term is derived from the Italian grottesca, meaning “of a cave,” and in these depths there are said to be monsters. The grotesque tends to divide the human from the alien, “us” from the “other.” It’s supposed to provoke our most twisted fears.

Upon further study, the grotesque revealed itself to be much more. Instead, a complicated link formed between the grotesque and the beautiful, revealing the sublime nature of both. The works blur the animalistic and deeply human, stirring a natural but uncomfortable feeling. They explore life, death, and radiant rebirth, suggesting that new hope for humanity can emerge through painful consciousness.

This exhibition treats the grotesque as a shared condition, opening a space for intense vulnerability amid potentially polarizing differences. The viewer is invited to consider how each work shines light on aspects of oneself and the larger world. What would it mean to stay in the discomfort long enough for empathy to reignite?

Exhibiting Artists

Aleshanee Nikita, Amber Price, Aurora Ajiboye-Taylor, Brianna Tadeo, Ghislaine and Lando Fremaux-Valdez, Grace Driscoll, Greta Young, Hilary Rochow, Jason Wright, Jazmin Novak, Jessica Marie Gross, JONAH ADLER, Jonathan Sandmel, Juniper Harrower, Kaylie Boyle, Leah Hardy, Martha Reich, MJ Yurcic, Molly Goehring Burke, Molly Rae, Monica Salazar, Princess Xeon (Anna Sacy), Rica Maestas, Río Herrera-Shiffler, Rocío Rodríguez, Sam Grabowska, Scott Horn, sheldon richards, Tessema A. Meredith, Zac Trainor, Zach Sawan

Young Curators

The Search for Radiance in the Grotesque is curated by the SITE SANTA FE Young Curators program. Young Curators is a free after-school program for high school students to write critically about art and exhibitions, learn about jobs in art and museum fields, and work together to bring an exhibition to life.

The 2026 Young Curators are Lila Adeyemo, Kyla Allender, Claire Booqua, Geneve Rose Calderon, Annabelle Gutierrez, Miranda Hernandez, Olivia Hickel, Justus Holy Bear, Bri Tweet, and West Williams.

Thank you!

The Young Curators Program is generously supported by: The City of Santa Fe Children and Youth Commission, The City of Santa Fe Arts and Culture Department, the McCune Foundation, and Anonymous.

Thank you to Jordan Eddy and Southwest Contemporary for guidance on the curatorial statement, Alice Gould and Damon Griffith for installation, and to the staff at Zane Bennett Contemporary Art.