May 2026

Caroline Mayer &
Jennifer Bernhard

Water & Vessels

May 1–31, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 2, 5-8pm
Artists’ Talk: Saturday, May 9, 2–3pm

Join us at NOMA for a refreshing take on painting and ceramics. Caroline Mayer will features her water paintings, and Jennifer Bernhard will show her creative take on ceramic vessels.

Caroline Mayer has long been known for her depictions of scenes featuring beautiful water. In the early 90s, when she was a member of TAG in Frederick, the very first piece she sold was a painting of clam beds on Cape Cod. Her subjects shifted to Greece, a place she has visited many times. Images of dramatic cliffs and quaint churches on the water was the result. More recently, other shores have found their way onto her easel: Lake Erie, the Eastern Shore, Carroll Creek, Great Falls, Loch Lomond.

“I’m always intrigued with the vast variation in water’s appearance as a result of its setting. Clean and blue and inviting, or brown with silt and raging, calming or crashing, it’s always intriguing.”
— Caroline Mayer

Caroline invited Jennifer Bernhard to show with her because Bernhard’s work adds another dimension to the show, something related, but completely different: Vessels.

“Clay is one of the most prevalent substances on Earth, yet most people give it little thought. A ceramic vessel is one of the tools that helped humans transition from a nomadic way of life to settling in one place. Around pots, we gather, share and nourish one another. Ceramics serve as record keepers of time and remain integral parts of ceremony. Vessels have long been canvases for storytelling and essential resources of survival. The clay works I have created for this show are simply another interpretation of this remarkable material — one that has been integral to our lives both in the past and in the present.”

— Jennifer Bernhard

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NOMA 2026 Show Schedule:

June — Gary Schlappal & Barry Friedland
July — Annie Quinlan & Lily Sellers
August — Judith Kornett – A Corvid Conspiracy
September — Lisa Tayerle & Kesra Hoffman
October — Jim Mitchell & Jennifer O 
November — Elisabeth Arzt
December — Yule Show/Market