Puppies and Flowers
March 5th March 31st, 2019
Opening reception Friday, March 8th, 7 9 PM
The Royal is pleased to present, Puppies and Flowers a group exhibition curated by Katie Hector which features the work of Jenn Dierdorf, Dominique Fung, Delphine Hennelly, Katarina Janeckova, Tess Michalik, Aliza Morell, and Mark Zubrovich. This collection of paintings reimagines historically “domestic” subjects in order to reveal a contemporary unvarnished reality.
Depictions of household pets and sumptuous flower arrangements conjure a sense of comfort, nostalgia, and serenity emblematic of a leisure class lifestyle. However, artists throughout the history of painting have utilized these seemingly docile subjects in order to address the complexities of human existence. For example in the hands of Frida Kahlo, René Magritte, Francisco Goya, Georgia O’Keeffe, Adriaen van Utrecht, and many others flowers and domesticated animals transformed into allegories which spoke to the atrocities of war, gender dynamics, sociopolitical climates, and the omnipresence of death.
In dialogue with this historical convention the artists included in Puppies and Flowers interpret the world around them through shared motifs. The work collectively deciphers elements of longing, sexuality, and gender as each artist imbues their subject with personal narratives and ambiguous symbolism. Projections of alternate realities take form as anthropomorphized canines coax feelings of desire, neon flowers glow within the void of a blacken canvas, and porcelain vases struggle to contain feral bouquets. The portrayal of puppies and flowers lend their subversive beauty to the exhibition and persuade the viewer to reconsider the thorny histories which have forged contemporary aesthetics.
Email gallery@rsoaa.com for more information.