Alissa Walls | Day of the Deer: a process-oriented installation
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Day of the Deer | Alissa Walls
Open Space Gallery
On view: February 9 – December 13, 2026
Reception: Thursday, September 24, 5-7 p.m.
Day of the Deer is a year-long, process-oriented installation by artist and art historian, Dr. Alissa Walls (SUNY Oneonta Art Department, Assistant Professor of Art History). It stands as a unique exhibition in that it seeks no clear beginning or end. Over the course of the year, Walls will add new elements each day to inspire people to return often as she transforms the Open Space Gallery into a playful and uncanny environment with sacred offerings, real and representational deer, found and purchased objects, and numerous drawings, prints, painting, sculptures, and projection. This installation breaks material boundaries, encourages play, and invites viewers to broaden their understanding of what art is, how it can be pursued, and what topics it can explore while alluding to the potential to break social, cultural, and ideological barriers. Day of the Deer poses challenging questions about dominant social structures, cultural hierarchies, and the relationship between the natural world and the built environment in the age of the Anthropocene. These topics become approachable and accessible in an atmosphere of creativity, fun, and exploration. Starting with an inspiration from The Fawn in the Forest with No Names from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, Walls employs grids, boxes, and figures and sources from art and natural histories to critique systems of order, offering up the possibility of new ways of being.
Poster design by Savannah Simpson. Funding Generously provided by the SUNY Oneonta Faculty Research & Creative Activity Grant program.
Open Space Gallery
On view: February 9 – December 13, 2026
Reception: Thursday, September 24, 5-7 p.m.
Day of the Deer is a year-long, process-oriented installation by artist and art historian, Dr. Alissa Walls (SUNY Oneonta Art Department, Assistant Professor of Art History). It stands as a unique exhibition in that it seeks no clear beginning or end. Over the course of the year, Walls will add new elements each day to inspire people to return often as she transforms the Open Space Gallery into a playful and uncanny environment with sacred offerings, real and representational deer, found and purchased objects, and numerous drawings, prints, painting, sculptures, and projection. This installation breaks material boundaries, encourages play, and invites viewers to broaden their understanding of what art is, how it can be pursued, and what topics it can explore while alluding to the potential to break social, cultural, and ideological barriers. Day of the Deer poses challenging questions about dominant social structures, cultural hierarchies, and the relationship between the natural world and the built environment in the age of the Anthropocene. These topics become approachable and accessible in an atmosphere of creativity, fun, and exploration. Starting with an inspiration from The Fawn in the Forest with No Names from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, Walls employs grids, boxes, and figures and sources from art and natural histories to critique systems of order, offering up the possibility of new ways of being.
Poster design by Savannah Simpson. Funding Generously provided by the SUNY Oneonta Faculty Research & Creative Activity Grant program.
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Where is it happening?
SUNY Oneonta, 108 Ravine Parkway, Oneonta, NY, United States, New York 13820
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherGalleries at SUNY Oneonta
