NARROWSBURG, NY — “Artwork as Collection/Collection as Artwork,” a group show curated by Valerie Mendelson, opens at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA), 37 Main St., on Friday, May 11, with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. The show will be on view in the Loft Gallery through June 2.

The show features nine visual artists and one poet whose work is informed by collecting as practice and as form. Working with stamps, rocks, found images, cloth, paint and photography, these artists use their collections to evoke memories and continuities with the past, as well as to call into question our relationship with the world. The exhibit features work by Richard Aakre, Dale Emmart, Jean Feinberg, Matthew Jensen, KB Jones, Valerie Mendelson, Hilda Shen, Sally Tittmann and Tish Webster, with poems by Thomas March. Prior to the reception on May 11, at 6 p.m., March will give a reading at One Grand Books, 60 Main St.

“In my own art historical writing, I have focused on histories of collectors, specifically those who collected art in 19th century Paris,” says curator Valerie Mendelson. “Many of the collectors I wrote about thought of themselves as artists, creating their own artwork by means of the artworks they amassed.”

DVAA hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit delawarevalleyartsalliance.org or call 845/252-7576.