Crossing Borders at Van Der Plas Gallery

Installation view, Crossing Borders, Van Der Plas Gallery, New York, NY

By WM December 12th, 2025

Van Der Plas Gallery presents Crossing Borders, a group exhibition of sixteen artists whose works push the boundaries of perception, politics, and play. Grotesque yet colorful, childlike yet profound, the show creates an immersive landscape where viewers are invited to step beyond the familiar and encounter new ways of seeing and imagining the world.

Canadian artist Marc Bell makes his debut at the gallery with his watercolor drawing The New Schnauzers Dept circa 2012–2023–2025 (POST 1995). The piece reflects Bell’s fascination with capitalism, poetry, exuberance, and the blurred lines between high and low culture. Known for dense compositions where comics merge with fine art, Bell blends text and imagery into intricate visual worlds. Emerging from Canada’s collaborative ’zine scene of the 1990s, he continues to champion underground creativity, inviting viewers into richly layered, imaginative spaces.

Bell’s methodical mark-making contrasts with the improvisational energy of longtime friend and collaborator Jason McLean. The two co-founded the absurdist All Star Schnauzer Band in the mid-1990s, a Dada-inspired project exploring character invention and pop-culture parody. While Bell accumulates detail into ornate structures, McLean embraces spontaneity, chance, and immediacy.

Jason McLean is known for autobiographical mixed-media drawings often described as “mind maps.” His newest work in the exhibition, Thoughts of a Dreamer, features aquamarine layers over yellows and greens, accented with a red crown and halo. His distinctive lines create pathways tracing a personal journey from Canada to New York and down to the Gulf of Mexico. Brilliant and colorful, McLean’s art draws viewers into the poetic chaos shaping both interior and exterior worlds.

Jason McLean

Al Díaz contributes works that explore the boundaries between language and image, as well as public and private space. Internationally recognized for his collaborative and text-based street art, Díaz is known for transforming everyday signage—especially in his WET PAINT series—into thought-provoking interventions. His pieces often blend humor, wordplay, and social critique.

For Crossing Borders, Díaz addresses shifting attitudes toward immigrants in the works Liberty and Divide Et Impera (“Divide and Conquer”). Divide Et Impera features a golden silhouette of the United States set against pastel oceans, punctuated by clusters of national flags. The work highlights the country’s diverse origins and reminds viewers that, aside from Native Americans, most Americans trace their roots to immigrant ancestors. Liberty, made from discarded wood, presents skulls, bones, and a turquoise crown resembling copper patina, accompanied by the phrase “We are no longer welcomed here,” referencing the hostility and racism directed toward undocumented people.

Lee Ranaldo

The exhibition also features Elizabeth Sweetheart, the iconic Green Lady of Brooklyn, showing for the first time at the gallery. She presents delicate watercolor beach scenes from the East Coast of Canada and Florida, a series she began in the mid-1990s. Rendered in gentle blues and greens, her works evoke a sense of peace and possibility. Sweetheart arrived in New York in 1964 after hitchhiking from Canada, eventually working in the garment district and later running her SweetPea Design Studio. She became widely known as the Green Lady around 2000 and continues to embody her green identity in daily life. One of her early green overalls is included in the exhibition alongside her paintings. She most recently appeared in Chappell Roan’s music video for “The Subway.”

Additional artists in Crossing Borders include Alejandro Caiazza, Antony Zito, Christine Randolph, Devon Marinac, Doug Groupp (Clown Soldier), Kevin Wendall (FA-Q), Juan Carlos Pinto, Konstantin Bokov, Lee Ranaldo, Sonni, Susan Day, and Noah Becker.

Crossing Borders opens Friday, December 13th at Van Der Plas Gallery