International Residency Exhibition––It would hurt us – were we awake –

The New York Art Residency & Studios (NARS) Foundation is pleased to present It would hurt us – were we awake –, a group exhibition featuring work from the Season III, 2025 International Residency Artists: Jayden Ashley, Doreen Chan, Elizabeth Chang, Alessandro Di Lorenzo, Gill Gatfield, Kimin Kim, Shivani Mithbaokar, Maya Smira, Cass Yao, Giorgia Volpe, Kay Yoon, and Tony Zhao, curated by NARS Curatorial Fellow Daniela Mayer. ‍It would hurt us – were we awake – presents twelve international artists whose works drift along the mutable edge of sleep and waking life, where inner sanctuaries are unsettled by invisible architectures of external power. Shaped by today’s pervasive climate of ambient anxiety, the exhibition reflects on how sites of rest and refuge—mental, bodily, or built—are rendered precarious by elusive, often existential forces. Across media, the artists explore these fragile barriers, navigating the tension between safety, vulnerability, and the subconscious.