Contact:
Camille Tibaldeo
E: camille.tibaldeo@fountainhouse.org
212.246.6543
Fountain House Gallery Presents: “Encased”
March 21st Opening Reception is Featured in VIP Program for Outsider Art Fair
On view: March 21 – May 13, 2026
Opening Night Reception: Saturday, March 21, 6-9 PM ET
NEW YORK CITY – Fountain House Gallery – the premier venue in New York City representing artists living with mental illness – announces the exhibition Encased. The show, focusing upon themes of skin, encasement, and wrapping, will open with a reception on Saturday, March 21, 2026, from 6:00pm until 9:00pm ET and will remain on view through May 13, 2026. The March 21st opening reception is featured in the VIP Program for the Outsider Art Fair, (March 19-22), in which Fountain House Gallery has participated for nearly two decades. Fountain House Gallery is located at 702 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan.
Encased is curated by Fountain House Gallery artist Nancy Caton, who conceived the show’s theme, and by New York-based artist Faiyaz Jafri.
Caton said, “Encased explores the duality of above and below; what is visible on the surface and what may exist underneath. Wrapped, veiled and bound elements give form to the tension between what is shown and what is hidden.”
Added Jafri, “This show was built as a visual journey, driven by the tactile and visceral nature of the pieces – similar to how a DJ puts together a set, storytelling without a story. We started with an opening piece and then added works that complemented or contrasted with each other, building tension and continuity where the pieces transcend the sum of the parts.”
Fountain House Gallery & Studio programming is funded, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and by generous support from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, and the Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust.
Nancy Caton
Nancy Caton has been a resident of New York City for more than three decades. Her artwork is greatly influenced by her study of physics and mathematics. She works primarily with drafting tools, creating mathematical expressions inspired by geometry. Her work articulates the endless natural geometric structures of reality and highlights their unfolding beauty. Prior to her foray into creating art, she had an extensive career in the fashion industry including owning her own company, Nancy Whiskey & The Sewing Factory, a high-end atelier, for seven years. She is considered by industry leaders to be an expert in the craft of garment manufacturing. Nancy brings with her an immense knowledge of all technical aspects of the production process with an unparalleled attention to detail and an appreciation for a well-executed product. Nancy’s professional background is complemented by a philosophy degree from Hunter College, along with an incessant fascination with all things mathematics and physics related.
Faiyaz Jafri
Born and raised in rural Holland and of Dutch and Pakistani descent, Faiyaz Jafri is an artist based in New York (Lenapehoking). His work hyperbolizes and intertextualizes modern archetypes, creating a language that is at once amplified and introspective.
Since 1993, Faiyaz has maintained a continual art practice, and with over 30 years of experience in the field of images and sounds, he is fluent in a wide range of digital media and their traditional roots, including illustration and graphic design, filmmaking and animation, music scoring and post-production. His multidisciplinary practice spans print, video installations, and sculpture, with exhibitions in New York, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Berlin, Monterrey, and Sao Paolo.
Faiyaz has worked for international commercial clients such as Nike, Coca-Cola, and IBM, and has been published in editorial outlets including Wired, Raygun, and The New York Times. Since 2002, he has written, directed, animated, scored, and produced over 20 independent films, contributing to the field’s evolving definitions while engaging in an intimate decolonial inquiry within his own creative context. He regularly gives lectures and masterclasses at universities and festivals, and since 2017 has taught Digital Materiality and the Art of Animation at Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and Queens College.
About Fountain House Gallery & Studio
Fountain House Gallery & Studio envisions a world where artists find community, healing and creative growth through artistry, and where their strengths and contributions reshape how society understands serious mental illness. In the Studio, artists find a supportive community where they can explore their creativity, develop their craft, reclaim their identities, and challenge the stigma of diagnosis. At the Gallery, their work is shared with the public, celebrated and sold — amplifying their voices by advancing their careers and demonstrating their essential contributions to art and culture. Together, the Studio and Gallery foster hope, inspire new possibilities, and build upon a movement that values artistry as a force for healing and change.
About Fountain House
For 75 years, Fountain House has been a beacon of hope and recovery for people living with serious mental illness. Through its direct service clubhouse programs in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as national policy, advocacy and research initiatives, Fountain House has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people living with serious mental illness. Founded in 1948 in New York City, Fountain House originated the clubhouse model of community mental health that has been replicated more than 370 times in nearly 40 U.S. states and in 30 countries around the world.
Fountain House Gallery
www.fountainhousegallery.org
702 Ninth Avenue at 48th Street
NYC 10019
212.262.2756
Hours: Tues.-Fri. 12-6/Sat. 1-7
More than a gallery. A movement.
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