The Tower 
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 12, 2026 6 - 8pm
September 12 - November 1, 2026​​​​​​​
Ortega y Gasset Projects (OyG) is proud to present The Tower, a group exhibition curated by OyG co-director and artist, Adam Liam Rose. The exhibition spans OyG’s Main Gallery, Project Space, and The Skirt, our dedicated space for site-responsive installations. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, September 12th, 2026 from 6-8pm, and run through November 1st, 2026.
The Tower brings together the work of artists exploring the various symbolic archetypes of the vertical structure, ranging from human aspiration toward the divine, to psychological connections with catastrophe. As a form, the tower carries the weight of historical and spiritual associations: it is the Tower of Babel, symbolizing ego and the friction of miscommunication; it is the sixteenth card of the Tarot, representing a moment of sudden upheaval, confusion, and extreme change; and it is the panopticon, taking on the form of a "godly" overseer—the all-seeing and unavoidable lens of modern surveillance. The tower is often associated with power and access, and several artists in the show examine and question how elevated vision may dictate authority and mobility. Beyond these traditional anchors, some artists focus on the structure’s intimate, queer, or positive associations, representing moments of clarity, "eureka!," transformation, and community resilience. Through painting, drawing, sculpture, textile, ceramic, performance, video and photography, artists in The Tower navigate these ideas through both abstraction and figuration, often leaning into surreal and metaphysical interpretations that transform architectural height into a vessel for human ambition and spiritual inquiry. From literal stone structures to psychological boundaries, the tower evokes our desire to transcend the earthly, and the simultaneous danger and freedom in forgetting our foundations.
The exhibition is activated by a series of endurance performances by Peter Cage and collaborators. The artist will be plastic wrapped to a sculpture by Nicholas Knight on every Saturday of the exhibition. Please note these performances contain nudity. Performance dates: Opening Sept 12, 6-9pm, Sept 19, 4-6pm (substitute), Sept 26, 4-6pm, Oct 3, 4-6pm (substitute) Oct 10, 4-6pm, Oct 17, 4-6pm, Oct 24, 4-6pm (substitute), Oct 31, 4-6pm. 
A digital catalog will accompany the exhibition, to be launched at a closing event in November. Contributors include Dr. Victoria Ferentinou, Assistant Professor at the University of Ioannina where she teaches art theory and history of art; New York based writer Paul Legault, who wrote a poetic "translation" and re-interpretation of W.B. Yeats The Tower; and an introductory essay by exhibition curator and OyG Co-director Adam Liam Rose. More information to follow.
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