PLEASURE DOME
April 10 through May 15
Michael Bevilacqua
Cecily Brown
Inka Essenhigh
Jason Fox
Richard Kern
Cathy de Monchaux
Takashi Murakami
Fred Tomaselli
Marnie Weber
The Jessica Fredericks Gallery is pleased to present PLEASURE DOME, a group exhibiton of new work by 9 artists. The title for this show is taken from the Kenneth Anger film The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, (1954). PLEASURE DOME will present a group of artists who work outside specific mythologies and concrete narratives, yet manage to create strange, remarkably mythic worlds. The visual structure for the exhibition is based on Anger’s colors and images. The work selected for the exhibition is, above all, sensuous and epic.
The Inauguration... is an operatic Bacchanalia where jewels are consumed, guests are poisoned and served as prizes, and an odd layering of lush and jarring images create the drama. Mythology is referenced. The party guests include Shiva, Isis, Pan, etc. Yet while the narrative is somewhat recognizable, the mythic quality seems to be born internally and not from external plotline or characterization. The epic is obscure, unfamiliar, and completely owned by Anger.
The artists in this show take one step further than Anger, forgoing known mythologies completely. Yet they share the creative impulse to build mythic weight outside of narrative. Part of the impetus for this exhibition is to draw connections on how this is done from artist to artist. We also realize that fairytale, fable, and mythology have once again become prominent in contemporary art, and want to highlight an alternative, subtler trend.
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 6pm. For further information and/or photographs please contact the gallery by telephone at (212) 633-6555 or fax at (212) 367-9502.