Overview

The Air We Share invites viewers to look closely at the plants that thrive at the edges of human attention. Painter, printmaker, and naturalist Ilana Manolson celebrates and elevates species often dismissed as weeds, revealing their vitality, beauty, and essential roles within the ecosystems we share.

Manolson paints through deep observation. Swaths of color flow across luminous landscapes while delicate strokes trace the intricate veins of leaves. Her “energetic fields”—bursts of light and form—make visible the unseen forces connecting all living things. Informed by her training as a botanist, her work finds grace and purpose in what many overlook.

This exhibition challenges the hierarchies humans impose on nature. Weeds, often maligned as invaders, stabilize soil, retain water, and offer shelter, medicine, and renewal. By placing them at the center of her compositions, Manolson reclaims their dignity and reveals their quiet power.

As climate urgency intensifies, The Air We Share calls for renewed awareness of our interdependence with the natural world. Manolson’s paintings remind us that life not only persists but flourishes in the margins, and that every living thing contributes to the shared breath that sustains us all.