HEATWAVE | An exhibit by YAI ArtsStudios, a nonprofit studio program for artists with disabilities
July 9-July 27, 2026
at Brick Aux Gallery  

Hot dogs, hot tempers, hot sticky nights. Sweaty backs, smelly feet, soft serve, short shorts, chilled beer, cold showers, Diet Coke with extra ice. Swimming pool splashes, block party beats, spitting hoses, sizzling grills. Summer in New York is upon us and YAI Arts is here to capture the spirit of the season in all its dripping, unruly glory.

In the group exhibition HEATWAVE, YAI artists make snapshots of the sweetest bits of the longest days of the year, which somehow go by all too fast. The works offer distinct and particular visions of summer’s essence – from a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle tearing into a cheesy slice to a coven of 70s babes in tightie whities grooving beneath a disco moon. As the temperatures rise and the thunderstorms roll in, artists make their seasonal offerings on paper and canvas.

The pieces on view depict many of summer’s faces, all of them glistening with sweat and doused in sunscreen. There’s the fleeting ecstasy of a perfect chocolate vanilla swirl cone served with sprinkles and drizzling before it reaches your hands. The heightened emotions that come with elevated temperatures. The primal bliss of a fizzing, spitting chilled Diet Coke. These simple pleasures become pagan rituals as the beating sun turns daily life into a thick dreamy haze. 

Thank you, Priscilla, for your beautiful words <3