Steina and Woody Vasulka at Thoma Foundation, Santa Fe, US
October 23, 2025
October 23, 2025
Opening October 31, 2025, 5-7 p.m.
Steina and Woody Vasulka are featured in the Thoma Foundation's upcoming exhibition, Ephemeral Acts.
Drawn from the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation collection, the exhibition explores the transient nature of time-based art, where time serves as both medium and composer. This selection of works is unified by a temporal state driven by various catalysts—from algorithms and choreography to dramaturgy, game engines, interactivity, and instruments. Each artwork unfolds a unique interpretation of a fleeting “real-time,” inviting viewers to consider the notion of ephemerality not only in art, but in life. All works exist fundamentally only in their moment of execution, resisting permanence yet leaving a lasting imprint through memory, legacy, and the creative act.
Curated by Kathleen Forde, the Foundation’s Director and Curator of Media Arts, this exhibition also underscores our commitment to collecting, preserving, and sharing both the history and contemporary landscape of media art in depth. Each artist featured in Ephemeral Acts has more than one work in the collection’s holdings, demonstrating the Foundation’s priority to collect throughout an artist’s career. The work on view spans 1970-2025, highlighting the Foundation’s strategic dedication to a stewardship of the field from its inception to the present. The works featured by the Vasulkas as Steina's Violin Power (1969-1978) and their collaborative work, Noisefields (1974).
Steina and Woody Vasulka are featured in the Thoma Foundation's upcoming exhibition, Ephemeral Acts.
Drawn from the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Foundation collection, the exhibition explores the transient nature of time-based art, where time serves as both medium and composer. This selection of works is unified by a temporal state driven by various catalysts—from algorithms and choreography to dramaturgy, game engines, interactivity, and instruments. Each artwork unfolds a unique interpretation of a fleeting “real-time,” inviting viewers to consider the notion of ephemerality not only in art, but in life. All works exist fundamentally only in their moment of execution, resisting permanence yet leaving a lasting imprint through memory, legacy, and the creative act.
Curated by Kathleen Forde, the Foundation’s Director and Curator of Media Arts, this exhibition also underscores our commitment to collecting, preserving, and sharing both the history and contemporary landscape of media art in depth. Each artist featured in Ephemeral Acts has more than one work in the collection’s holdings, demonstrating the Foundation’s priority to collect throughout an artist’s career. The work on view spans 1970-2025, highlighting the Foundation’s strategic dedication to a stewardship of the field from its inception to the present. The works featured by the Vasulkas as Steina's Violin Power (1969-1978) and their collaborative work, Noisefields (1974).