ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, a dual exhibition of paintings featuring MARC CHICOINE’s gestural, expressive figures and ELI PORTMAN’s luminous cityscapes. The exhibition will be on view from January 29 through February 14, 2026. An Opening Reception will take place on Thursday, January 29, 2026, from 6 to 8 PM, followed by a Closing Reception on Saturday, February 14, from 4 to 6 PM.

In ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, Marc Chicoine and Eli Portman explore how internal states and external environments shape perception and presence. Portman looks outward at the urban world, while Chicoine turns inward to the body and movement. Though their visual languages differ, both artists consider how individuals navigate larger systems, making the invisible tangible through their artmaking.

Working between Brooklyn, New York, and Raleigh, North Carolina, MARC CHICOINE’s paintings are shaped by his freestyle dance practice. In his work, he explores bodily narrative, physical objects, and their relationships as vehicles for metaphor. These elements are deliberately composed, sometimes merging seamlessly and at other times colliding, to express both universal and personal truths.

Chicoine’s art practice is grounded in an appreciation for corporeal experience and its expressive potential. Influenced by theories of embodied cognition and the research of thinkers such as George Lakoff, he understands bodily sensation and perception as shaping how we make meaning of the world. Cognition, emotion, self-awareness, and the metaphors that structure our lives are inseparable from the body itself, and this belief directly informs his visual language.

His paintings, executed in dry media, gouache, and oil, translate these ideas into form through a balance of technical control and raw expression. The work is characterized by geometric structures, bold color, and a fluid movement between figuration and abstraction. Figures often appear with thick, exaggerated contours, while objects seem suspended against the flat backgrounds evoking a Neo-Expressionist sensibility marked by vibrant color, layered symbolism, and a palpable sense of vitality.

As a longtime practitioner of House dance, Chicoine brings the same fearless, genre-bending spirit to his visual art, sustaining an ongoing dialogue between discipline and improvisation across both media. Whether composing a painting or moving on the dance floor, Chicoine seeks to connect universal human experience with his own intimate psychosocial narratives.

Born and raised in the Greater Boston area, ELI PORTMAN’s newest body of work depicts the bustling cityscape of New York City in soft, desaturated hues. Informed by a wide range of influences, including a lifelong love of comic book artists, the early 1900s Ashcan School, Vincent van Gogh, and the Impressionist movement, Portman employs unusual perspectives and subtle color palettes to blend fine art and illustration, creating dynamic compositions that feel both grounded and atmospheric.

Portman is fascinated by urban environments and the stories they reveal. He focuses on urban grime, graffiti, and worn-down structures, elements that bear the marks of time, use, and human presence. In his paintings, he observes the city in motion, including abandoned shopping carts on busy streets, pedestrians lost in their own worlds, trains rumbling along elevated rails, and the lively crowds of Chinatown. Through these moments, he captures the rhythms, contrasts, and hidden narratives of city life.

Working from real locations, Portman photographs neighborhoods and architectural details that catch his eye, then uses these images as the basis for his paintings. Applying muted hues of orange, blue, and yellow, he depicts intimate details with quiet attention. Each painting functions like a single comic panel, constructed with pen and ink, where dark, precise line work is emphasized. He is drawn to the expressive potential of thin, deliberate lines made with a steady hand and the right pen. Through this careful process, he transforms overlooked moments into airy watercolor works, illuminating scenes that often go unnoticed and presenting the city in a fresh light.

Central to his work is the exploration of solitude amid the city and the tension between feeling alone and re-cognizing the universality of that experience. Portman depicts moments of isolation we all know: walking past windows glowing with social life or working quietly while others celebrate. He paints visual spaces that reflect both the claustrophobia of public areas and the sense of being alone. His paintings invite viewers to see themselves reflected in these familiar scenes, connecting moments of seclusion through shared experience. With soft colors, fine details, and everyday urban subjects, Portman renders images that are intimate yet collectively understood.

Presented at Viridian Artists | 548 West 28th St. #632  NY, NY 10001