Drexel University's Leonard Pearlstein Gallery has announced its Fall 2025 exhibition, "Of the Grid: Systems + Structures in Contemporary Art," running from October 14 to December 15. The show features 36 artists working across media including photography, video, drawing, weaving, sculpture, embroidery, printmaking, painting, book arts, and interactive installation, with works that use the grid as a formal, conceptual, or narrative device. Co-curated by gallery director Mark Stockton and Cindy Stockton Moore, the exhibition highlights a mix of Philadelphia-based artists and international contemporaries, with pieces ranging from an IKEA-hacked fountain to a suspended quilt of climate data visualization.
The exhibition matters because it demonstrates how a seemingly rigid formal structure—the grid—can be a springboard for diverse artistic experimentation and social commentary, from capitalist critique to climate awareness. By centering local Philadelphia talent alongside global voices, the show reinforces the role of university galleries in fostering community engagement and interdisciplinary dialogue. It also underscores the continued relevance of systems-based art in contemporary practice, offering visitors a tactile and conceptual exploration of order, constraint, and creativity.