RJD Gallery | 1/1-2/3 | Romeo, MI

Through the Mirror

RJD Gallery presents a group show that explores a mirrored reality.

It’s been said that art is a mirror for the person looking into it. The viewer sees themselves. Even when the subject doesn’t look like them, or is even human, or is even living. Artists may be painting very specific things from their own being, but the viewer can instantly rewire that to fit their lives with just one glance.

This is what makes art so wonderful and profound. This is also the subject of RJD Gallery’s new show, Mirrored Reality,opening January 1 in Romeo, Michigan. The show will feature some of the gallery’s most important painters, as well as works from deeper in its stunning inventory.

Michael Viera, Dissimulation, oil on canvas, 48 x 60"

“Truth in art can be a mirrored reality reflecting back to us what is happening in the world or what we perceive is happening. It can present an outward validation of our innermost feelings and provide comfort that we are not alone in how we are thinking,” says Joi Jackson Perle, RJD’s gallery director. “Art challenges us to think deeply, engage fully and meet the complexities of the world with curiosity and grace. What better way to start the new year?”

Artists with works in the show include Haley Hasler, Julia Chen, Ben Hengst, Will Teather, Michael Viera, Pamela Wilson, Christina Pettersson and others.

Pamela Wilson, Calling Calliope, oil on canvas, 48 x 24"

Hasler, who will be showing her work Trick Roper in the show, notes that her works are often self-portraits, which allow her unique conversations with her audience. “The experience of looking at the exterior from within is a perspective unique to the self-portrait. My work explores this collision: the collision between interior and exterior self, the complex nature of portrayal, and the possibilities of exploring narrative and meaning inherent in this process,” Hasler says. “My painting Trick Roper is a sly mix of a pin-up girl, a cowgirl and a saint. Like all real protagonists, she is good, bad and complicated.”

For Teather, his painted works aren’t just mirrors, but also windows which offer a mutual agreement with viewers. “I think paintings are a collaboration between the viewer and artist. A painting often expresses the artist’s vision but there is also a sense of self expression in the range of work that a collector surrounds themself with,” he says. “I find a connection between myself and my followers, where we both are drawn to an interest in themes of escapism, the carnivalesque and an interest in the history of painting.”

Haley Hasler, Trick Roper, oil on canvas, 48 x 36"

In Teather’s painting The Moon Has Lost His Memory, the artist creates a moonlit scene infused with drama and mystery. “This work is a lunar feast. The moon, which provides me with a little cameo in the artwork, nods toward Georges Méliès black-and-white classic, A Trip to the Moon,” he says. “The central characters are drawn from the play Ernest and the Pale Moon. I was lucky enough to gain access to the cast during dress rehearsals. The play is quite minimal, using physical theatre to signify most props, leaving a lot of room for my later embellishment of the composition. I have drawn inspiration from both Vaudeville and early cinema, which have a similar sense of spectacle.”

Top: Ben Hengst, Radiant Orgasm, oil on canvas, 52 x 62"; Christina Pettersson, The Hunting Ground, graphite on paper, 45 x 80". Bottom: Will Teather, The Moon Has Lost His Memory, acrylic on panel, 15½ x 20"; Pamela Wilson, Birds of a Dream Disorder, oil on canvas, 20 x 16"

In Viera’s Dissimulation, the artist paints a figure in a gas mask on a train. Viewers may feel this is a figure that should be left alone, or the open seats might reveal a welcome invitation. “I painted Dissimulation the year following 9/11 during a time when there was a lot of worry of further terrorist attacks within NYC. I had heard much discussion about gas mask sales rising to new levels in the city. I started down a path of researching the history of gas masks and found the one I used in the painting. I believe it was from the 1930s and I really responded to its peculiar nature. Looks like something from Star Wars! I positioned the passenger so that the viewer had a choice to sit next to him. I liked the idea of choice. Do you want to actually sit down next to this odd-looking person? Or do you relate to them?” Viera says. “The idea of wearing masks in public at the time seemed absolutely absurd, but really became the norm years later during Covid. I would expect people respond differently today.”

Pamela Wilson, By You Possessed, oil on canvas 20 x 16 in.

Julia Chen, This Wish Has to Come Through, oil on linen, gold and silver leaf, 72 x 84"

Other works in the show include Chen’s more surreal table scene with three figures, a cat and a cake; Hengst’s bedroom scene Radiant Orgasm, which asks viewers to ponder what’s happening under the sheets; and Pettersson’s The Hunting Ground, a graphite work showing a seemingly wounded figure lying near a tortoise and an alligator. (“Seemingly wounded” or is that my mirror trying to tell me something?) Finally, the gallery has several works from Wilson, whose carnival-like twist on the post-apocalypse shows beautiful figures in opulent costumes and facepaint.

The show will remain on view at RJD Gallery through February 3. —

RJD Gallery 227 N. Main Street • Romeo, MI 48065 (586) 281-3613 • www.rjdgallery.com