(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Art House Productions presents Playing Favorites, curated by Andrea McKenna, on view at the Art House Gallery from Saturday, May 2nd through Sunday, May 31st, 2026. This is an intimate and revelatory solo exhibition by Bryant Small. Bringing together a selection of the artist's most cherished works—many of which have never been exhibited publicly—this presentation offers a rare glimpse into the personal logic and emotional resonance that shape Small's evolving practice.
Rather than a retrospective, Playing Favorites unfolds as a deliberate act of selection guided by instinct, memory, and material connection. Small highlights works that have remained close—pieces that mark turning points, unresolved questions, or quiet triumphs within his studio process. The exhibition invites viewers to consider what it means for an artist to choose favorites: not as definitive statements of value, but as reflections of intimacy, risk, and attachment. In revealing these works, Small opens a space between the private and the public, where the act of making becomes inseparable from the act of keeping.
Andrea McKenna, Gallery Director of Art House Productions, says, “Playing Favorites is personal to Bryant Small, offering a rare look into the works that have remained most meaningful to him over time. Many of these pieces have never been shown publicly, making this exhibition not only a presentation of art, but an invitation into the artist’s inner world. In sharing these favorite works, Bryant allows viewers to see the human side of an artist’s process: the attachments formed through making, the risks taken, and the quiet pride that can live inside a finished piece. Playing Favorites reminds us that art is not only about what is created, but also about what we hold onto, and why”.
There will be an Opening Reception on Saturday, May 2nd from 3:00pm–5:00pm and an Artist Talk on Sunday, April 17th from 2:00pm– 4:00pm.
Regular gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00pm–4:00pm. All artwork will be available for purchase in person at 345 Marin Boulevard in Jersey City, NJ and online via the Art House Online Gallery.
Bryant Small is a Jersey City–based artist whose practice investigates the expressive and atmospheric potential of alcohol ink on Yupo paper. Working through a process that embraces both intention and chance, Small constructs luminous, fluid compositions that foreground movement, saturation, and spatial ambiguity. His paintings unfold as immersive fields of color—simultaneously controlled and unpredictable—where pigment disperses, pools, and collides to create dynamic visual environments.
Rooted in abstraction, Small’s work engages ideas of perception, sensation, and emotional resonance. The translucency and immediacy of alcohol ink allow for a continual negotiation between artist and medium, resulting in surfaces that feel both ephemeral and deeply embodied. Each composition operates as a record of motion and transformation, inviting sustained looking and personal interpretation.
Small’s work has been recognized internationally, including inclusion in Art Market Magazine’s Gold List of Top Emerging Contemporary Artists and multiple Conception Arts Awards for Excellence. His paintings have been exhibited internationally and are held in private collections worldwide.
ACCESSIBILITY: Large-print materials and tactile, descriptive tours are available upon request. For more information, please contact Andrea McKenna at [email protected].
Art House Productions is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the performing and visual arts in Jersey City, NJ. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Art House fosters creativity, inclusivity, and accessibility through theater productions, visual art exhibitions, and community programs presented both on-site and throughout the city.
Art House’s 2026 programming is made possible through the generous support of An Anonymous American Foundation; an anonymous donor from the Jewish Communal Fund; Hudson County Cultural Affairs’ Arts in Education and Hudson County History Partnership Programs; Hudson County Parks; the Exchange Place Alliance; the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the NEA; the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District (HDSID); KRE; NJ Beer Co.; supported by funding through the NJEDA’s A.R.T. – Phase II Grant Program,; Panepinto Properties; public funds from the Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund; RWJ Barnabas | Jersey City Medical Center; SILVERMAN; Super Buy Rite; Tito’s; and many generous volunteers, donors, and sponsors.
