Illuminating the power of visual storytelling by empowering creativity, inspiring passion, and enriching lives through timeless curated art.

Unscripted Streets

Opening Reception

July 12 - Aug 3, 2025

T. Mari Gallery proudly presents Unscripted Street, a group exhibition celebrating the raw, spontaneous beauty of street photography. Featuring works by Mame Cheikh Mbaye, Kirill Polevoy, Néstor Zumaya, and Francisco Malave. This show captures the spirit of public life in unguarded moments across continents and cultures. Each black & white photograph in this exhibition is a window into the unfiltered essence of city streets with people in motion, quiet observations, urban textures, and the poetry of the everyday. The monochrome format sharpens contrast and emotion, allowing light, form, and story to emerge with clarity and depth. These images invite us to pause and witness the unscripted: fleeting expressions, chance encounters, and visual rhythms that might otherwise go unnoticed. The result is a portrait of humanity that feels immediate, timeless, and deeply honest.

A diverse group of people wearing masks gather in a city street for a Black Lives Matter protest, with some sitting on the ground and others standing, holding signs.

Francisco Malave

A young man with a backpack walking past a graffiti-covered wall, with a shadow cast across part of the wall, in black and white.

Kirill Polevoy

Black and white photo of a young woman with short curly hair, wearing a black T-shirt and sitting outdoors with a crowd in the background.

Mame Cheikh Mbaye

Two men sitting at a table inside a room, viewed through a glass window reflecting a cloudy night sky with the moon, and power lines in the distance.

Néstor Zumaya

Mame Cheikh Mbaye

From Dakar: Street Story Series

Mame Cheikh Mbaye's "Street Story" photography series captures the vibrant street life of Dakar, revealing profound emotions, offering a window into the human condition. His powerful images highlight the beauty and resilience of the people of Dakar, engaging viewers with their authenticity and emotional depth.

A young boy with a shaved head riding a bicycle indoors with a somber expression. The environment appears to be an old and worn building with a rough wooden floor and dark background.

FRAGMENTS OF STILLNESS

Artwork by Jim Yale, Curated by Pattie Horwitz

“Jim Yale’s artistry is simple and honest. Each piece is painted in real time, revealing glimpses of his subjects as they exist in their private spaces—pensive and enveloped by the quiet glow of solitude. He paints his subjects as they are—pensive, alone, caught in their own quiet moments. Yale is known for his mastery of gouache on paper and oil on canvas. His brush strokes are loose but true, his colors bold but never loud. He leaves out the extra details, capturing only what matters.

Each figure is in a place that feels like home. A private place. You can’t always see their faces, but you feel the weight of their thoughts in the tilt of a head or the curve of a shoulder. Yale’s paintings hold his subjects in that quiet, in-between moment, where they’re left to themselves, unguarded and real.

These are glimpses, nothing more. Fragments of solitude and silence. We see them as they are—unpolished, unsure, utterly human. And perhaps, in those small, still moments, we see a part of ourselves, too.”

- Pattie Horwitz, Curator

A man in a beige coat and black pants standing in front of a large black and white poster of a woman with short hair, resting her chin on her hand, looking thoughtful.

Drago is an artist and fashion designer who captures moments in time, his thoughts, and his identity through his work. His creative momentum defies the ordinary—he is anything but everyday. Driven by a passion to express beauty, Drago's fashion line is a reflection of what inspires him. Each shirt is hand-painted with his art, making every piece a one-of-a-kind creation that resonates with his deeply personal and introspective vision.

Drago’s designs are personal, pure, and uninhibited—like the calm of a Sunday morning. His shirts are unisex, creative, and entirely unique.

You can find Drago’s shirts online, in NYC, Japan, and now in Chicago at T. Mari Gallery. Stop by to see these eclectic designs and pair them with your favorite outfit.

Behind the Art

"Behind the Art" takes viewers into the personal lives of artists, exploring how they unwind and find inspiration outside their studios. Each episode features a different artist, offering an intimate look at their hobbies, interests, and daily routines when they are not creating art. The series aims to give another layer to artists, showing the diverse ways they relax and recharge.


Fairyland Series 

Andy and Lilette Ramos-Baker

Fairyland — a place that’s beyond the imagination and yet it exists. Its beauty surrounds you, engulfs you, and captures your attention.

Andy Alexis-Baker is a photographer, printmaker, and professor with a passion for exploring our natural world and Lilette Ramos is a landscape photographer based in Chicago and born and raised in Luzon, Philippines. Through her art, she aims to inspire a profound appreciation for the raw power and resilience of nature's geological wonders. 

Both are passionate advocates for environmental conservation and invite you to see the wonders of the world through their lens.

Black and white photograph of tall, jagged rock formations on a hillside with sparse, twisted trees, under a cloudy sky.
Black and white photo of hoodoo rock formations in a desert landscape with dramatic cloudy sky.