The Salon will meet approximately eight times between October 2026 and January 2027, combining group discussions, critiques, readings, artist and gallerist visits, and engagement with the New York art world.

Each artist will have dedicated opportunities to present and discuss their work with the group. Critiques will focus not only on individual works, but on the larger questions, ideas, and habits that shape an artist’s practice.

The group will also step outside the studio through visits with artists and gallerists, creating opportunities to encounter different approaches to making, exhibiting, and sustaining an artistic life.

Critique & Discussion

Critiques will form the core of the Salon.

Artists will present recent work for group discussion, with sessions structured to allow for sustained looking, questioning, and conversation. Sessions may take place at Art Cake, with the option for artists to participate remotely when needed.

Alongside critiques, we will discuss readings and ideas within contemporary art, using them as starting points for broader conversations about how artists are working and thinking now.

Artist & Gallerist Visits

The Salon will include visits with artists and gallerists throughout New York, creating opportunities to engage directly with the people and spaces shaping contemporary art.

The group will visit the studio of Katherine Bradford, with a second artist visit to be announced.

We will also visit two New York galleries selected by Wallace to complement the conversations and themes emerging throughout the Salon.

The group will additionally visit CANADA, the artist-run gallery Wallace Whitney founded in Tribeca. Wallace will share his experience building and operating an artist-run space, offering an inside perspective on exhibitions, artists, relationships, and the often-unwritten stories that shape the art world.

One-on-One Conversation

Each participant will also have an individual meeting with Wallace over Zoom.

These conversations provide dedicated time to focus on an artist’s work and questions outside of the group setting.

Who Is This For?

This Salon is intended for working artists.

It may be particularly valuable for artists with established studio practices, artists returning to art-making after a period of pursuing work or other life responsibilities, and recent art-school graduates looking to continue developing their practice within a community of peers.

A central principle of the Salon is that practices sustained over long periods of time are among the most meaningful. Developing intentional working habits and discovering individual content are essential parts of finding fulfillment in the studio.

Rich artistic practices do not happen in a vacuum. They develop through engagement with, and encouragement from, other artists.

Together, we will consider what it means to be an artist now—and the many ways artists navigate the world around them.

The Art World, From the Inside

While this is not a professional development class, the Salon will make room for conversations about exhibiting and sustaining a practice within today's gallery environment.

Drawing from Wallace's experience as an artist, gallerist, and founder of CANADA, these conversations will touch on galleries, artists, exhibitions, and the often-unspoken dynamics that influence how the art world operates.

The emphasis, however, remains on the studio: making work, looking closely, asking difficult questions, and developing a practice that can be sustained over time.

Schedule

1. Opening Meeting — Art Cake
Introduction to the Salon, participants, current work, and the conversations we will explore together.

2. Group Critique
First half of participants present recent work.

3. Group Critique
Second half of participants present recent work.

4. Artist Studio Visit
Visit with Katherine Bradford.

5. CANADA + Gallery Visits
Visit to CANADA and additional galleries, with Wallace sharing stories and perspectives from his experience in the New York art world.

6. Group Critique
First half of participants present work in response to an assignment or question developed through the Salon.

7. Group Critique
Second half of participants present work in response to an assignment or question developed through the Salon.

8. Final Meeting
A concluding gathering, artist studio visit, or meeting at Art Cake, with the possibility of attending an opening together.

Schedule and specific visits are subject to change based on artist availability and the interests of the group.

Group Size

The Salon will be intentionally small, with 4–8 artists.

The goal is to create a group with enough diversity of perspective to generate meaningful conversation while remaining intimate enough for each artist to receive sustained attention.

Price: $1,500

Admission is by submission and review.

This Salon is ultimately about creating a serious, generous, and supportive environment in which artists can look closely at their work, challenge their assumptions, develop their practices, and learn from one another.

As Wallace puts it, artists are more important today than at any point in his memory. We need to be supported, challenged, and encouraged to learn from one another in order to have the strength to meet the challenges of making and sustaining an artistic life—with resilience, candor, and grace.