MAY DEVINEY
NO AI, ONLY I
June 23–July 11, 2026

OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, June 25, 2026 | 6–8 PM

CLOSING RECEPTION
Saturday, July 11, 2026 | 4–6 PM


Viridian Artists is thrilled to present NO AI, ONLY I, a solo exhibition of irreverent assemblages and mixed media paintings by American artist MAY DEVINEY. The exhibition will be on view from June 23 through July 11, 2026. An Opening Reception will be held on Thursday, June 25, from 6–8 PM, followed by a Closing Reception on Saturday, July 11, from 4–6 PM.

In No AI, Only I, May DeViney explores the persistent cultural pressures placed on women to embody impossible ideals of perfection. Through a series of incisive paintings and mixed-media constructions, she examines how expectations of selflessness, modesty, perseverance, and quiet endurance continue to shape perceptions of womanhood while also addressing the growing presence of technology in contemporary life. The exhibition's title asserts the importance of individual creativity and human agency, emphasizing that these works are the product of a singular artistic vision rather than artificial intelligence.

DeViney's imagery draws from a wide range of sources, including Renaissance painting, religious iconography, family history, nostalgia, popular culture, and national symbols. Her work investigates issues that extend beyond gender politics to encompass environmental concerns, labor and economic insecurity, social division, prejudice, and other challenges facing contemporary society. By combining historical references with current events, she creates visual narratives that are at once humorous, poignant, and sharply critical.

Originally trained as a painter, DeViney has increasingly focused on mixed-media constructions that integrate painting, collage, found objects, antiques, and salvaged materials into three-dimensional wall pieces, sculptures, and installations. These works often evoke the spirit of Joseph Cornell, H. C. Westermann, and Grant Wood while drawing on the compositional grandeur of Renaissance religious and historical painting. The weathered objects she incorporates carry traces of previous lives and histories, lending her work a sense of layered time and cultural memory.

Among DeViney’s recurring motifs are her celebrated “home shrines,” which elevate not saints or historical heroes but ordinary women navigating the demands of daily life. Works such as Gameboard Madonna, Lunch Lady Madonna, and Scientist Madonna facetiously reimagine the haloed Madonna figure as an “everywoman” balancing labor, responsibility, and societal expectations. Elsewhere, paintings such as The Lady Is Worried, featuring a troubled Statue of Liberty, and the collage US Twister, with its chaotic array of contorted and screaming figures, reflect the artist’s concern with political polarization and social instability.

With No AI, Only I, DeViney presents a provocative body of work that confronts contemporary anxieties while celebrating human creativity, resilience, and imagination. Through wit and absurdism, historical reference, and piercing social commentary, she invites viewers to reflect on the ideals, technologies, and institutions that shape our lives.

Born in rural Ohio and raised in suburban Chicago, May DeViney attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she absorbed the influence of the Chicago Imagists and studied under artists including Jim Nutt of the Hairy Who movement. She later earned a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Boston University, an education that continues to inform her interest in technology and its impact on society. Now based in Massachusetts, she has continued her artistic studies, most recently at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

DeViney's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at galleries, universities, and museums. Since 2000, she has presented solo exhibitions at Viridian Artists as well as at the Schacknow Museum, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Graceland University. Her work has appeared in publications including Harper's Magazine, The New York Times, Wall Street International, Prism magazine, and Gallery&Studio magazine. DeViney is also a member of the New York-based artist collective Detritus, organized by artist Vernita Nemec.

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