Vassar College

Sep. 17, 2026, 1:00 p.m.Location: Palmer Gallery
The Patient Looks Back: Portraits of My Therapist brings together a three-year body of work by Catskill-based painter Joyce Polance. Each portrait is based on a photograph taken during one of Polance’s monthly in-person therapy sessions.
Therapy usually directs attention toward the patient while the therapist remains comparatively opaque. In these paintings, Polance reverses that structure, making the therapist the subject of prolonged scrutiny. Likeness does not resolve the images; it increases the pressure between recognition, intimacy, and the limits of what looking can reveal.
Polance works in oil entirely with her fingers, building, pressing, and partially removing wet layers of color. The paintings move between precise observation and material disruption, allowing the face to remain recognizable without becoming fully knowable.
The exhibition is on view September 17–October 10, 2026, at the James W. Palmer III Gallery in the College Center at Vassar College.
An opening reception with the artist will be held Thursday, September 24, from 5:00–7:00 p.m. Polance will give an artist talk Saturday, October 3, from 4:00–5:00 p.m. The exhibition, reception, and artist talk are free and open to the public. No reservations or tickets are required.
Sponsored by the <a href="https://offices.vassar.edu/campus-activities/palmer-gallery/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Palmer Gallery</a>.
This event is free and open to the public.

Local Event: The Patient Looks Back: Portraits of My Therapist—Solo Exhibition by Joyce Polance

Dutchess County

Mid Hudson Valley

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The Patient Looks Back: Portraits of My...

Sep. 17, 2026, 1:00 p.m.Location: Palmer Gallery
The Patient Looks Back: Portraits of My Therapist brings together a three-year...

The Patient Looks Back: Portraits of My Therapist—Solo Exhibition by Joyce Polance

Taylor Hall 203, Vassar College

A talk by Anita Varma ’08 (Media Studies), Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media, University of Texas, Austin based on her 2026 Columbia University Press book Solidarity in Journalism, about journalism and social justice. The talk will explore how conventional journalistic norms discourage reporters from taking sides; journalists are supposed to remain neutral, impartial, and objective. Yet there is also a long tradition in journalism, dating back to the 1800s, that pursues truth by practicing solidarity for social justice. Solidarity in Journalism offers a bold defense of reporting for social justice, showing what journalistic solidarity looks like in principle and in practice.
This event is sponsored by the <a href="https://www.vassar.edu/mediastudies" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Media Studies Program</a> and the <a href="https://www.vassar.edu/sociology" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Sociology Department</a> and is free and open to the public.

Local Event: Talk by Anita Varma ’08

Talk by Anita Varma ’08

A talk by Anita Varma ’08 (Media Studies), Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media, University of Texas, Austin based on...

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Hayleigh Evans

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Rich Kirby

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Jay Estate

The Jay Heritage Center in Rye, New York will celebrate America at 250 with a toast to Jay Medal honorees Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annette Gordon-Reed, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University and award-winning Lincoln historian Harold Holzer.
The Jay Medal for Service was created in 2012 to recognize individuals who demonstrate a selfless spirit of commitment to and engagement with their community mirroring the multifaceted contributions of John Jay and his descendants. These honorees have demonstrated through their life's work that our shared narratives as a country, complicated as they are, can be better illuminated through the highest caliber of ongoing scholarship and advocacy. Honorees are selected for their excellence in the fields of American history, environmental stewardship, social justice or civic engagement.
Joining the celebration will be Chief Judge of the State of New York and the New York Court of Appeals, Honorable Rowan D. Wilson and historian and philanthropist Elihu Rose who will present the awards at JHC's annual Soirée. Special guests will include David Blight, Frank Cogliano, Joanne Freeman, and Beverly Gage.

The Jay Medal Soirée will be held Saturday, September 19, 2026 at the Jay Estate from 5:30-9:30pm. Cocktails, dinner, award ceremony and dancing. Cocktail Attire.
<a href="https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/hh4hwzr/lp/2df39049-73d1-4b5e-8196-3cbfafe00fd4" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">PURCHASE ADVANCE TABLES AND TICKETS HERE</a> Scroll down for more info about tables and tickets. Request a print invitation by emailing <a href="mailto:jayheritagecenter@gmail.com" target="_blank">jayheritagecenter@gmail.com</a>

Local Event: Jay Medal Soirée

Jay Medal Soirée

The Jay Heritage Center in Rye, New York will celebrate America at 250 with a toast to Jay Medal honorees Pulitzer...

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The Patient Looks Back: Portraits of My Therapist—Solo Exhibition by Joyce Polance

SEP

17

1:00 PM

Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY

Talk by Anita Varma ’08

OCT

26

5:30 PM

Mid Hudson Valley, NY

Jay Medal Soirée