Mary Ahern
My New World Anemone Redux – Oil on gallery wrapped canvas – 36×36″
A compelling fusion between earthly botany and cosmic wonder.
Passion Red Dahlia – Gallery Wrapped Oil on Canvas – 30×30″
Red hot passion exuding from a single centered flower.
Subtle Exhuberance – Tree Peony – Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas – 36×36″
A subtle yet calm passion enlivens this floral portrait.
Cosmic Camellias – Gallery Wrapped Oil on Canvas – 24×36″
Cosmic Camellias explores the profound connection between the celestial and terrestrial worlds.
Cosmic Phalaenopsis – Oil on deep Cradled Hardboard – 24×24″
A reminder of the delicate balance in nature & our cosmos for mutual survival.
Cosmic White Lotus – Oil on deep Cradled Hardboard – 24×24″
A merging of micro & macro visions of our universe calling for a harmonious balance for continued survival.
Cosmic Brugmansia Trio – Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas – 40×30″
Drawing inspiration from the vibrant community of life in my garden, my flowers invite universal questions of existence and purpose in their quest for survival, eventual senescence, and rebirth.
Meditative Journey-Immortality Iris – Acrylic & Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas – 24×24″
The piece invites a contemplative, mindful engagement with its energetic yet tranquil interplay of universal abstraction & garden inspiration.
Cosmic Daylily Trio – Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas – 48×24″
Drawing inspiration from the vibrant community of life in my garden, my flowers invite universal questions of existence and purpose.
Pay Attention Here – Orange Hibiscus – Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas – 36×36″
This floral portrait honors the ephemeral but forceful nature of this hibiscus.
STATEMENT
My work returns again and again to centering, not as an escape from chaos, but as an active response to it. That practice began in the garden, where cycles of growth, decay, and renewal became a way of thinking as much as a source of imagery. I often pair the very small with the very large, the center of a flower with the shape of a galaxy, because I believe the same patterns of balance repeat at every scale.
I work across painting, digital media, and installation not to repeat one idea in different materials, but because each medium offers a different way of paying attention: painting carries the slow mark of the hand, digital work translates something living through a machine, and installation removes the image altogether, replacing it with a tactile space the viewer can experience with all their senses. Circles, spheres, and other recurring symbols move through this work, but they are tools in service of larger questions, not a signature layered on top.
All of it sits inside a practice of over fifty years, spanning painting, sculpture, assemblage, installation, and garden design, of which this exhibition is only the most recent chapter.
Solo Invitational Art Exhibitions & Events
| 2026 | Centering in the Midst of Chaos. Ceres Gallery. Solo Exhibition. November, 2026 |
| 2026 | Transverse Gallery for Contemporary Art. Solo Exhibition. May 29, 2026 – August 2, 2026. Locust Grove Estate & Museum. Poughkeepsie, NY |
| 2025 | Full Circle. Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library, Queens College, NY. Duo Alumni Exhibition. April – May, 2025 |
| 2024 | The Atelier at Flowerfields. St. James NY. Solo Invitational. “Not Just Another Pretty Flower”. April-May |
| 2023 | Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Great River. NY. Solo Invitational. May-June |
| 2022 | Karen & Ed Adler Gallery. PWPL. Solo Invitational. Port Washington NY |
| 2020 | OMNI Gallery. Uniondale NY. “The Flower Show”. January – June |
| 2019 | Ashawagh Hall East Hampton NY. Invitational. “Contemplations”. June Farmingdale State College. Memorial Gallery. Invitational. June & 2021 Huntington Arts Center. Featured Artist. June-Sept. |
| 2018 | The Bridgehampton Museum. Market + Art Show. July 5-8 Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Great River, NY. Solo Invitational. “Floral Contemplations-A Duality of Vision” May-June |
| 2016 | Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Great River, NY. “Gardens Revisited”. Solo Invitational. May/July |
Selected Juried Shows, Competitions & Awards
| 2025 | • Pigments of Your Imagination. Art League of Long Island. Oct-Nov, 2025 • Mills Pond Gallery. Imagination ’25. St. James. NY. Oct-Nov, 2025 • Salmagundi Club, New York, NY. Sylvia Maria Glesmann Exhibition. Sept, 2025 • Raising Women’s Voices. Ceres Gallery, NYC. May-June, 2025 |
| 2024 | • Permanent Impermanence. South Dartmouth, MA. • Spring Fling. FotoFoto Gallery. Huntington NY. May 2024 • Primary Colors. The Art Guild. Port Washington NY |
| 2022 | • Emerging Artists. Heckscher Museum. Huntington NY • National Heritage Trust. Olmstead Symposium at Bayard Cutting Arboretum |
| 2018-19 | • Beamsderfer Gallery. Highland Park. NJ. “Real/Unreal” • Islip Art Museum. Islip NY. “The Art of Collaborating” • Mills Pond House. Smithtown NY. Juror James Rubin. “Time” • Slide Slam Presentation. Sponsored by the Patchogue Arts Coalition. • The Bridgehampton Museum. Bridgehampton NY. Market + Art Show |
Memberships
- Allied Artists. New York NY.
- Artists Alliance of East Hampton. East Hampton NY.
- Art League of Long Island. Dix Hills NY
- Guild Hall. Easthampton. NY
- Huntington Arts Council. Huntington. NY
- Islip Arts Council
- LI Museum of Art. Stony Brook NY
- Mills Pond House Gallery. Smithtown Arts Council. Smithtown NY.
- MOCA Museum. Patchogue NY
- National Association of Women Artists. NAWA.
- Northport Arts Coalition. Northport NY
Lectures/Public Speaking
- 2023-2024. Presenter. Professional Business Practices for Artists. Round Table Discussion Series. National Association of Women Artists.
- May 2023. Invited Speaker. Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Great River NY. “Not Just Another Pretty Flower2”
- May 2021. Invited Speaker. Noon With NAWA. “Social Media for Beginners”
- August 2019. Invited Speaker. Three Village Garden Club. “From the Garden to the Wall. Design Concepts Used When Creating a Painting and Creating a Garden”.
- January 2019. Slide Slam. Juried Presentation. Sponsored by the Patchogue Arts Coalition.
- June 2018. Invited Speaker. Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Great River NY. “Contemplations – The Duality of Vision”
- September 2017. Invited Speaker. American Rhododendron Society, Long Island Chapter. “From the Garden to the Wall. Design Concepts Used When Creating a Painting and Creating a Garden”.
- March 2015. Invited Speaker, Long Island Horticultural Society. “From the Garden to the Wall”.
- March 2014. Invited Speaker in conjunction with a One-Person Art Show. “From the Garden to the Wall”. A Conversation About Workflow & Process in Creating Digital and Traditional Mixed Media Art. Sponsored by: Harborfields Library & Centerport Garden Club.
- August 2013. Invited Speaker. “From the Garden to the Wall”. A Conversation About Workflow & Process in Creating Digital and Traditional Mixed Media Art. Sponsored by: Huntington Arts Council.
Publications
- Sanctuary Magazine. Columnist. 2023-Present
- Naturally Inspired. Columnist, Substack. 2025-Present
- Bold Journey. Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Mary Ahern of Chelsea NYC
- Aging Gracefully by Finding Creative Ways to Continue Doing the Things I Enjoy Nov 2024,
- A Strategy To Embrace: Lifelong Learning. September 2024,
- Awakenings in the Garden: An Artist’s Journey. July 2024,
- Women Helping Women: A Recipe for Success. March 2024,
- A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating a Career in the Arts. November 2023
- Canvas Rebel. Life and Work With Mary Ahern. November 2024.
- Canvas Rebel. Meet Mary Ahern. August 2023
- Sanctuary Magazine. My Dual Passions. September 2023.
- Elysian Magazine. Women Inspiring Women. NAWA: The Original Art Influencers by Suzanne Johnson. Fall 2021.
- Fine Art Connoisseur. Changing the Narrative for Women in Art. 2-23-2021 by Cherie Dawn Haas.
- National Association of Women Artists. Featured Artist. NAWA NOW. Fall 2020 Newsletter.
- Artist’s Spotlight. Light Space and Time. February 2019.
- Arts Business Institute. Artist Profile. August 17, 2018
- Hamptons Art Hub. Portfolio: Mary Ahern’s Floral Portraits Entwine Nature, Art & Life Examined. June 2018.
Education
- Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration. New York Botanical Garden.
- A.S. Ornamental Horticulture. Farmingdale State. Robert J. Rodler Scholarship. Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
- BA. Queens College. Major in Fine Arts. Cum Laude & Fine Arts Award of Distinction.
- Post-graduate work in Computer Science. Columbia University.
- Life-Long Learning in workshops across the United States online & in-person.
- Marketing with Tony Robbins, Seth Godin & Alyson Stanfield.