Mary's Art Starts in the Garden
Finding Home, Purpose, and Feminist Community at Ceres Gallery
March 2026
March 2026
Fifty years ago, I set a goal: to be represented in a New York City feminist art gallery. Now that goal has been realized. Ceres Gallery is located in the heart of New York City’s art community, in Chelsea, in the historic Landmark Arts Building adjacent to the High Line. My goal while studying art in college in the 1970s was to be accepted into a gallery of supportive women artists. As life intervened, I zig-zagged through and around obstacles without losing sight of that ambition. Now, Ceres has fulfilled that lifelong aspiration.
Ceres Gallery was officially founded in 1984. The New York Feminist Art Institute (NYFAI), an organization formed in the 1970s to challenge systemic inequities in the art world, recognized the need for a feminist art gallery. At the time — and, unfortunately, still today — commercial galleries and museums routinely marginalize women artists. Feminist cultural institutions emerged to disrupt that exclusion. From the beginning, Ceres was conceived as something more than a conventional exhibition venue.
On art, belonging, and the quiet power of collective devotion…
Ceres Gallery was officially founded in 1984. The New York Feminist Art Institute (NYFAI), an organization formed in the 1970s to challenge systemic inequities in the art world, recognized the need for a feminist art gallery. At the time — and, unfortunately, still today — commercial galleries and museums routinely marginalize women artists. Feminist cultural institutions emerged to disrupt that exclusion. From the beginning, Ceres was conceived as something more than a conventional exhibition venue.
On art, belonging, and the quiet power of collective devotion…
|
Feminism at Ceres is expansive, inclusive, and deeply rooted in agency rather than ideology. For decades, the gallery has quietly sustained a radical proposition: that women artists deserve not merely access to exhibition space, but a creative community grounded in seriousness, inclusion, and mutual support. Today, Ceres defines its feminist mission, not by prescribing subject matter, but by prioritizing who is able to create and exhibit. “It’s not about the kind of work being made,” explains Executive Director Stefany Benson, who has led the gallery since 2007. “It’s about giving space to women.”
Artists at Ceres work across a vast range of styles, materials, and conceptual frameworks — abstraction, figuration, textile-based art, sculpture, political work, and poetic meditations coexist. This philosophy reflects a broader feminist lineage. In the 1970s, artists began reclaiming materials and subjects once dismissed as domestic or decorative, reframing them as valid and powerful artistic expressions. At Ceres, this legacy continues: flowers, textiles, conceptual investigations, and subtle political gestures share equal footing with overtly activist work. The result is a space where artistic seriousness, not stylistic conformity, defines excellence. This philosophy speaks directly to the quiet, meditative consciousness of my floral paintings, which are centered on community and the continuity of life. Gallery artists are not voted in by the membership for their technical prowess or market viability, but for their seriousness of intent and intellectual engagement. Applicants must demonstrate sustained inquiry, thoughtful process, and long-term commitment to their work. President Susan Grabel notes that the gallery fosters growth: “You can see how people develop over time just by having space, focus, and community.” |
Mary at the Entrance to Ceres Gallery
Photo Courtesy: Mary Ahern |
Exhibition Installation View (Ceres Gallery)
Photo Courtesy: Mary Ahern |
In its early years, Ceres functioned as a local collective. Members gathered regularly for meetings, exhibitions, and long dinners that strengthened personal bonds. In the years following the COVID pandemic, digital platforms expanded Ceres’s ability to grow its membership across the U.S. and beyond. While some intimacy was inevitably lost, access and diversity increased, allowing artists who could never physically attend meetings to participate fully. Today, monthly online gatherings enable members to share tours of their exhibitions, discuss ideas, and reflect on artistic process. This wider community brings renewed vitality and depth to the diverse investigations undertaken by Ceres artists.
At the heart of Ceres stands Stefany Benson, whose leadership exemplifies the labor of love sustaining many feminist institutions. Benson devotes countless hours to operations, installations, artist support, and strategic planning. She no longer makes art herself, viewing the gallery as her creative practice. “This is my art,” she says. “Creating space. Building community.” Her vision and dedication exemplify the resilience and continuity that have enabled Ceres to thrive. Susan Grabel’s presidency brings deep historical grounding and organizational insight. A longtime feminist arts organizer and former president of the New York chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art, Grabel offers both continuity and critical perspective. Together, Benson and Grabel have anchored Ceres through economic uncertainty, cultural shifts, and generational change. Ceres functions through trust, shared labor, and deeply personal investment. As with all nonprofit organizations, a significant portion of its work is carried by its members. My own skills in marketing and technology now support the gallery’s major website redesign and historical documentation project. Through this effort, Ceres is preparing to articulate its story more fully. The aim is not only archival, but visionary: to clarify values, strengthen visibility, and ensure that future generations understand how feminist institutions survive — not through prestige or wealth, but through collective devotion. |
After more than forty years, Ceres Gallery stands as a living feminist organism: resilient, adaptive, and profoundly human. In an art world increasingly shaped by markets and spectacle, its continued existence affirms a quieter, more radical truth — that community itself is a form of cultural resistance.
My decades-old goal of finding a supportive community of like-minded feminist artists in the heart of New York City has finally been achieved. That goal rests upon the efforts of countless creative and inspiring women on whose shoulders I stand.
My decades-old goal of finding a supportive community of like-minded feminist artists in the heart of New York City has finally been achieved. That goal rests upon the efforts of countless creative and inspiring women on whose shoulders I stand.
PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS:
2025
Much More Than An Art Show: A Surprise Invitation Prompted the Documentation of My Life's Work
"Your Body Is Like Your Garden: Pay Attention to Signs of Distress"
"Walking on the Paths Carved by Centuries of Women Artists"
2024
I’m Aging Gracefully by Finding Creative Ways to Continue Doing the Things I Enjoy
A Strategy to Embrace: Lifelong Learning
Awakenings in the Garden: An Artist's Journey
Women Helping Women: A Recipe for Success
2023
A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts
My Dual Passions
2025
Much More Than An Art Show: A Surprise Invitation Prompted the Documentation of My Life's Work
"Your Body Is Like Your Garden: Pay Attention to Signs of Distress"
"Walking on the Paths Carved by Centuries of Women Artists"
2024
I’m Aging Gracefully by Finding Creative Ways to Continue Doing the Things I Enjoy
A Strategy to Embrace: Lifelong Learning
Awakenings in the Garden: An Artist's Journey
Women Helping Women: A Recipe for Success
2023
A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts
My Dual Passions
