Visual Duets: The Art of Creating Together (Exhibition)
- Triton Museum of Art
- May 21
- 2 min read
The Triton Museum of Art presents Visual Duets: The Art of Creating Together (May 16, 2026 - August 16, 2026) by Judith Cook and David Einstein, Donald (Aldo) and Era Farnsworth, Ellen Konar and Steve Goldband, and Tandem Painting (Suzette McDonough and James Whitehouse). This exhibition brings together four collaborative artist duos whose creative practices demonstrate the power of partnership and shared artistic vision. Across the four duets, this exhibition showcases painting, photography, printmaking, and mixed-media artwork.
This exhibition features painters Judith Cook and David Einstein. Over the span of two decades, Cook and Einstein’s collaboration transforms abstraction into a visual conversation. Working across oil, acrylic, ink, and mixed media, their process unfolds as a responsive exchange, each mark replying to the other. Nature is what first sparked their partnership and expanded into explorations of social, cultural, and environmental themes; their work merges two distinct sensibilities into unified compositions that emphasize gesture, color, and spatial dynamics. Cook’s focus on inner perception and transformation complements Einstein’s process-driven exploration of light, flow, and color, resulting in layered works that balance intuition with formal rigor.
Also featured are Donald (Aldo) Farnsworth and Era Farnsworth, whose partnership bridges art, understanding of materials, and art history. Working through Magnolia Editions, the collaborative studio they co-founded, their practice spans Jacquard tapestry, printmaking, papermaking, and drawing. Their work reflects a deep engagement with materials as carriers of history, often incorporating techniques inspired by Renaissance-era papermaking and traditional Japanese processes. Their ongoing projects - including the Art Notes series and a narrative-driven exploration of Mount Fuji, blend craftsmanship, experimentation, and storytelling, demonstrating how collaboration can evolve into a way of life.
Photographic artists Ellen Konar and Steve Goldband present works from their series Bayscapes, a body of work capturing the vivid, otherworldly salt ponds of the San Francisco Bay. These photographs document a landscape shaped by 150 years of industrial activity and now undergoing ecological restoration. “The beauty is real. So is the ruin,” Konar and Goldband state. Combining Goldband’s sensitivity to geometry and light with Konar’s interest in memory and meaning, the work exists as both environmental advocacy and elegy, holding the tension between beauty and loss as these striking, accidental abstractions disappear.
The exhibition also highlights Tandem Painting, the collaborative practice of Suzette McDonough and James Whitehouse. Their vibrant figurative works center on identity, representation, and social justice, uplifting everyday individuals as they view them - as heroes. Drawing from McDonough’s background in visual storytelling and community engagement, and Whitehouse’s experience in science, law, and activism, their paintings aim to uplift while provoking reflection. Rooted in mutual respect and dialogue, their process mirrors the themes they explore: belonging, resilience, and the power of being seen.
Visual Duets: The Art of Creating Together will be on view in the Triton Museum of Art’s John and Eve Mathias Gallery starting May 16th, 2026.
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