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Maira Kalman: Joy

Iris Swimming in the English Channel, 2026

Gouache

Image Dimensions: 11 1/4 x 15 inches (28.6 x 38.1 cm)

Paper Dimensions: 15 x 22 1/4 inches (38.1 x 56.5 cm)

Framed Dimensions: 20 x 24 inches (50.8 x 61 cm)

Pablo Casals Playing Bach, 2026

Gouache

Image Dimensions: 11 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches (28.6 x 22.2 cm)

Paper Dimensions: 15 x 11 inches (38.1 x 27.9 cm)

Framed Dimensions: 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

Mary Ryan Gallery is pleased to announce Joy, an exhibition by Maira Kalman (b. 1949). This is Kalman’s third solo exhibition at the gallery. On view are 54 paintings, all of which are reproduced in her new book Joy. These works showcase her signature vivid colors, achieved through multi-layered gouache on paper.

After her last exhibition and book, Still Life with Remorse, Kalman turned her lens to beautiful moments found throughout her day: the unexpected, ecstatic, yet ordinary things whose beauty can take you by surprise. “It’s very straightforward – whatever makes my heart sing is what I paint,” Kalman says. Through exuberant color and exquisite details, the artist revels in the small delights of everyday life.

Olive and Bruno, 2026

Gouache

Image Dimensions: 11 x 8 3/4 inches (27.9 x 22.2 cm)

Paper Dimensions: 15 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches (38.7 x 28.6 cm)

Framed Dimensions: 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

In Iris Swimming in the English Channel, we see a woman in a red bathing suit doing the crawl through an expanse of calm, blue and green water. Vibrant pink outlines the shore and cliffs in the background. The artist based the painting on a photograph of her cousin, explaining, “The photo exemplified freedom and joy and all the good things.”

The subject matter ranges from solitary moments of peaceful reflection to ebullient dinners with friends. A Sunday in Paris is given the same consideration as a tattered couch on the curb. Kalman finds travel to be very inspiring, but just as readily finds inspiration in a walk around the block.

Table After Dinner, 2026

Gouache

Image Dimensions: 15 x 11 1/4 inches (38.1 x 28.6 cm)

Paper Dimensions: 17 1/2 x 15 inches (44.5 x 38.1 cm)

Framed Dimensions: 24 x 20 inches (61 x 50.8 cm)

Kalman writes, “And finally, after all the wandering, when you go home, won’t you be welcomed by all of your books and papers. Won’t you be grateful. Even if you are alone, won’t you murmur a word of thanks. A benediction of sorts. May it ever be like this.”

She continues, “And don’t I know, and don’t you know, how one sublime instant, one sublime, fleeting instant, changes everything, and makes the world right? Just for an instant. But what an instant!”

Kalman’s book Joy was published by Harper Influence, an imprint of HarperCollins, in October 2026. Let’s Keep This Conversation to a Minimum, consisting of four short films created by Alex and Maira Kalman and starring Maira Kalman, is screening at the IFC Center in New York City starting with a special screening and talk on November 2, 2026.

Chaos of Books, 2026

Gouache

Image Dimensions: 8 x 10 3/4 inches (20.3 x 27.3 cm)

Paper Dimensions: 11 1/2 x 15 1/4 inches (29.2 x 38.7 cm)

Framed Dimensions: 16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm)