FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Aug 1, 2017 - Summer Show is an exhibit of evocative artworks by three rightfully ambitious emerging artists - Antonyo Marest, Dana James and Pascal Faro. From Marest’s vibrant graphic works, James’ scenes of lush water to Faro’s debut piece featuring his unique characters on canvas the scenes on view are colorful, imaginative and moving. 

Among the motifs represented in Antonyo Marest’s (b. 1987, Barcelona, Spain) work, it’s the geometric figure that holds the importance. A symbol of personal growth and positivism about the architecture, line and color. His work is represented by the reference made to Bolidismo, an architectural and industrial design movement of great influence in the 80s. In different works we will see how the pattern combination is mixed with impossible prints, exaggerated and uneven colors. The works refer to the struggle and communion of styles, movements and trends in art.

Water, the most predominant theme in Dana James’ (Buschwick, NY) work, is rendered with the notion of awakening the viewer’s visual memory by depicting fear, nostalgia, refracted light. Pushing the boundaries between abstraction and representation, there is an undercurrent of both catharsis and Americana in these lost memories. Reoccurring themes draw on imagery as wide-ranging as the mundane found in suburbia, manmade bodies of water, and sci-fi imagery, all the while referencing the American tradition of Color Field Painting.

The main aim of Pascal Faro’s (b.1988, Tribeca, NY) paintings is communication, his drawings representing a "visual language", which everyone could readily and easily understand, with the same ease and simplicity with which he creates his characters. It’s the situations in everyday life that are constant inspiration for stories that he playfully draws and paints. His art is often described as imaginative, original and amusing. 

La Esquina | 203 Lafayette Street, NY, New York 10012 | Mon-Sun: 12pm–10pm

Curator: Natasha Stefanovic | ns@beautifulthingscurated.com | 917-454-8534

Press Contact: Dominick Banks | pr@beautifulthingscurated.com | 312-523-4293

Woman Free Yourself (ended 7/17)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Woman Free Yourself is an exhibit of empowering artworks by renowned artists Siona Benjamin, Judy Chicago, Maxi Cohen, Grace Hartigan, and Faith Ringgold. Spanning photography, prints, oil on linen and gouache and gold leaf on board, the scenes on view consider the necessary roles that women artists play in exerting agency in consideration of the female figure. Co-opting the male gaze to embolden women’s roles in art-making (the exhibit’s namesake artwork was made by Faith Ringgold as a protest against the lack of women artists in museum exhibitions during the 1970s), these artists present vigorous action and transformation from a feminist perspective. From Ringgold’s vibrant text artwork “Woman Free Yourself” (1971) to Chicago’s dynamic and figurative “Birth Trinity” (1985), the artworks on view release women from the prison of perception, freeing them to embrace the creates new prisms of conception of a wide array of roles that women artists can play to push the boundaries of modern and contemporary art.

Siona Benjamin (b. 1960) is an Indian-American artist creating visionary scenes of female figures engaging in actions both nurturing and assertive, demonstrating the range of roles that women assume. Her vivid color blocking and sinuous line evoke otherworldly scenes stemming from her Jewish-Indian heritage, blending the spirituality of Chagall’s coloration with a femininity exuded by sculptural figures of the subcontinent. Judy Chicago, (b. 1939) a prominent American artist, writer and art educator, rose to prominence with the advent of feminism which swept the art world in the 1960s and 1970s. Her work is well known for its interdisciplinary scope, combining welding alongside needlework to subvert tropes of “feminine” art forms. Her work “Birth Trinity” embraces a recurring use of abstract motifs in a celebration of the female form and its incredible ability to procreate and nurture. Maxi Cohen’s films, photography and installations embrace an astounding sense of intimacy and self-awareness. Her series of scenes taken of women’s bathrooms around the world evoke an effortless observation of the rites and rituals women undertake in their daily lives, elevating the mundane to almost sacred. Grace Hartigan, (b. 1922, d. 2008) whose renowned role as an abstract expressionist earned her the respect of male colleagues such as Jackson Pollock, later injected figurative pieces such as “Alexandra” (2006) with her bold and imaginative brushstrokes. Esteemed artist and renowned quilter Faith Ringgold (b. 1930) is represented in the show with the poster “Woman Free Yourself” (1971) and her piece “The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles” (1997). Displaying her bold range of styles spanning bold text to precise linear compositions, Ringgold’s role as a prominent artist who was working as a woman of color within a predominately white field was groundbreaking and set the stage for the continued efforts to espouse intersectional feminism..

Woman Free Yourself will open on Thursday, May 18 from 6-8 pm at La Esquina (203 Lafayette), and presents a rare opportunity to view masterful artists stemming from diverse backgrounds and spanning glorious generations of 20th century feminist art. The exhibit will be on view until July 17, daily from 12–10 pm.

La Esquina | 203 Lafayette Street, NY, New York 10012 | Mon-Sun: 12pm–10pm

Curator: Natasha Stefanovic | ns@beautifulthingscurated.com | 917-454-8534

Press Contact: Dominick Banks | pr@beautifulthingscurated.com | 312-523-4293