Selections from the Postcard Collective: 2019-2026

Written By Monica d. Church

Dates: July 9–December 19, 2026

Please join us for a Reception on

Thursday, November 19, 2026 from 4-6 PM

It is free and open to the public.

Viewing Hours:
Monday–Friday, 8:30 am–4:30 pm


Vassar College Art Library
Vassar College, 24 Raymond Avenue
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604

Statement by Monica Church, Artist/Curator of The Postcard Collective: 2019-2026

Since the fall of 2019, I have participated in the Tucson, Arizona–based Postcard Collective, seasonal exchanges, joining a community of collage artists who create original works intended to be sent through—and experienced via—the mail. I became involved just before the pandemic, and during the isolation of the shutdown these small artworks offered connection, humor, beauty, intelligence, and hope. At a time when rising postage costs and increasing mailing restrictions make the exchange of mail art ever more difficult, this exhibition celebrates a creative practice rooted in the postal system.

The postcards selected for this exhibition primarily explore collage and photography, or the intersection of the two. Yet it is the hand-cut collages that feel especially intimate. Each one is unique, touched by another artist's hands and carried across distances before arriving at my home in Poughkeepsie, New York. Some postcards simply demanded inclusion because of their inventiveness or beauty, regardless of medium.

Over the years, these exchanges have allowed me to develop genuine connections with many members of the Postcard Collective. Their responses to each seasonal prompt reveal not only their creativity but also the concerns, visual language, and evolving ideas that shape their broader artistic practices.

Selections from the Postcard Collective is part of Transforming Collage Hudson Valley, a series of ten exhibitions presented in Poughkeepsie, Millbrook, and Kingston in conjunction with Making Meaning: A Collage Symposium, which took place July 22–24 at the Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts in Poughkeepsie, New York. This gathering celebrates the evolving language of collage and the vital role contemporary artists play in shaping cultural dialogue, experimentation, and community.

While the exhibitions in Transforming Collage: Hudson Valley reflect themes explored in the symposium, each stands as an independent curatorial project. Together they showcase regional and national artists whose work expands our understanding of collage through historical inquiry, contemporary practice, and innovative curatorial approaches.

This exhibition shares a selection of over 115 postcards from exchanges and includes postcards by myself and artists Anna Buckner, Rochelle Cassasola, Helen Chang, Cheryl Chudyk, Greg Colburn, J.A. Creamer, Alina Cristea, Maria Daniela-Quiros, Nicholas Darquea, Craig Davidson, Emily Denlinger, Gabriella Frank, Nikki Gardner, Camden Hardy, Thelma Harris, Andrea Hempstead, Alaina Hickman, Katrin Klink, Lewis Koch, Epiphany Knedler, Andrea Lewicki, Wolfgang Lexington, Camille Locoutre, Billi London-Gray, Lucas Masch, Daniel Marchand, Michelle Miller, Liu Miao, Allen Morris, Amelia Morris, Toni Neioma, Shadia Nitforouth, Mercedes Nunez, Ryan Parker, Pamela Pecchio, Nat Raum, Jessica Riehl, Jacinda Russell, Elizabeth Sumner, Stephen Tomasko, Tina Tryforos, Billy Renkl, Christine Scheer, Leah Swenson, nic umbs, Alex Vasselman, Alice Vinson, & Robin Whatley

Monica d. Church

Monica d. Church (b. 1964, Middlebury, VT USA) is an abstract artist who paints on repurposed sails. She lives and works in New York’s Hudson Valley where she sails on the Hudson River in a 1966 Ensign. She also works in printmaking, photography and collage.

Monica has a BA in visual arts from Bennington College and an MFA in painting from The University of Kentucky. Her works are in numerous collections including Manugistics, Rockville, MD; Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY; and Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY.

monicachurch.org
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