Objects of beauty—florals, still lifes, landscapes, wildlife and more—are celebrated during an exhibition at Stone Sparrow NYC that is “more decorative in nature than our typical curation.” Featuring the works of such artists as Richard Thomas Scott, Rose Freymuth-Frazier, Ximena Rendon, Shelah Horvitz, Gigi Chen, Luis Alvarez Roure, Joshua Lawyer and more, Beautiful Things is hauntingly elegant.
Ximena Rendon, Ephemeral I, oil on aluminum panel, 12 x 18"
Scott brings several nocturnes to the exhibition, including Red Star, depicting a white house at night illuminated by lights in the window, and Flowers of the Winter Equinox, featuring a bouquet of flowers against a dark backdrop. “Within the diminishing light the most subtlety is revealed,” the artist says. “The umbers and shades remind us of our shadow selves, the depths of which we’ve all grown more acquainted in this age of solitude. The Nocturne, as the night itself, might remind us of a warm blanket enveloping and comforting us, or it might be filled with terror and doubt. Thus, it is a reflection of the state of the viewer. Nevertheless, it is certain that in the darkness we await the enlightenment. For surely, that is what will arrive with the dawn.”
Rose Freymuth-Frazier, Evening Becomes Her, oil on panel, 18 x 24"
Shelah Horvitz, Coyote Skull, oil on panel, 12 x 12"
Ephemeral I and Ephemeral II, by Rendon, each feature the face of a woman at rest, her head shrouded by roses of white and pale pink. “I sought to convey the relationship between beauty and decay. My work focuses on exploring themes of mortality and the unconscious,” she says. “Distorted reflections allude to memory and its malleability with the passage of time. I’m constantly aware of the precariousness of life—this awareness punctuates my work and feeds the vivid dreams and nightmares that serve as the genesis for my work.”
Richard Thomas Scott, Red Star, oil, 20 x 20"
The oil on panel Evening Becomes Her came about one snowy Saturday morning when Freymuth-Frazier says she wanted to paint an assertive floral painting. “I wanted it to be the opposite of sweet, for it to be erect, bold, dominant and quietly in your face while still retaining the elegance and beauty that is so attractive in flowers...I’ve always been drawn to overt beauty and have been unapologetic about pursuing it in my work. Even if the subject is edgy, I want to present it beautifully,” she says. “When an artist chooses to paint a beautiful subject beautifully, they are potentially treading on dangerous territory, but there’s a big difference between something that’s saccharine and cheesy and something that’s refined and aesthetically pleasing.”
Beautiful Things at Stone Sparrow NYC opens March 3 and remains on view through April 10. —
Stone Sparrow NYC 45
Greenwich Avenue • New York, NY 10014
(646) 449-8004 • www.stonesparrownyc.com
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